Category: Archaeology

Sahara’s rather pale-green and discontinuous Sahelo-Sudanian steppe corridor, and the R1b – Afroasiatic connection

palaeolakes-world

Interesting new paper (behind paywall) Megalakes in the Sahara? A Review, by Quade et al. (2018).

Abstract (emphasis mine):

The Sahara was wetter and greener during multiple interglacial periods of the Quaternary, when some have suggested it featured very large (mega) lakes, ranging in surface area from 30,000 to 350,000 km2. In this paper, we review the physical and biological evidence for these large lakes, especially during the African Humid Period (AHP) 11–5 ka. Megalake systems from around the world provide a checklist of diagnostic features, such as multiple well-defined shoreline benches, wave-rounded beach gravels where coarse material is

… Read the rest “Sahara’s rather pale-green and discontinuous Sahelo-Sudanian steppe corridor, and the R1b – Afroasiatic connection”

Recent Africa origin with hybridization, and back to Africa 70,000 years ago

mtdna-l-out-of-africa-expansion

Open access Carriers of mitochondrial DNA macrohaplogroup L3 basal lineages migrated back to Africa from Asia around 70,000 years ago, by Cabrera et al. BMC Evol Biol (2018) 18(98).

Abstract (emphasis mine):

Background

The main unequivocal conclusion after three decades of phylogeographic mtDNA studies is the African origin of all extant modern humans. In addition, a southern coastal route has been argued for to explain the Eurasian colonization of these African pioneers. Based on the age of macrohaplogroup L3, from which all maternal Eurasian and the majority of African lineages originated, the out-of-Africa event has been dated around 60-70

… Read the rest “Recent Africa origin with hybridization, and back to Africa 70,000 years ago”

Reconstruction of Y-DNA phylogeny helps also reconstruct Tibeto-Burman expansion

tibeto-burman-han-chinese-population

New paper (behind paywall) Reconstruction of Y-chromosome phylogeny reveals two neolithic expansions of Tibeto-Burman populations by Wang et al. Mol Genet Genomics (2018).

Interesting excerpts:

Archeological studies suggest that a subgroup of ancient populations of the Miaodigou culture (~ 6300–5500 BP) moved westward to the upper stream region of the Yellow River and created the Majiayao culture (~ 5400–4900 BP) (Liu et al. 2010), which was proposed to be the remains of direct ancestors of Tibeto-Burman populations (Sagart 2008). On the other hand, Han populations, the other major descendant group of the Yang-Shao culture (~ 7000–5500 BP), are composed of

… Read the rest “Reconstruction of Y-DNA phylogeny helps also reconstruct Tibeto-Burman expansion”

Kortlandt: West Indo-Europeans along the Danube, Germanic and Balto-Slavic share a Corded Ware substrate

copper-age-early_yamna-corded-ware

New paper (behind paywall) The Expansion of the Indo-European Languages, by Frederik Kortlandt, JIES (2018) 46(1 & 2):219-231.

Abstract:

When considering the way the Indo-Europeans took to the west, it is important to realize that mountains, forests and marshlands were prohibitive impediments. Moreover, people need fresh water, all the more so when traveling with horses. The natural way from the Russian steppe to the west is therefore along the northern bank of the river Danube. This leads to the hypothesis that the western Indo-Europeans represent successive waves of migration along the Danube and its tributaries. The Celts evidently followed

… Read the rest “Kortlandt: West Indo-Europeans along the Danube, Germanic and Balto-Slavic share a Corded Ware substrate”

Bantu distinguished from Khoe by uniparental markers, not genome-wide autosomal admixture

bantu-expansion

The role of matrilineality in shaping patterns of Y chromosome and mtDNA sequence variation in southwestern Angola, by Oliveira et al. bioRxiv (2018).

Interesting excerpts (emphasis mine):

The origins of NRY diversity in SW Angola

In accordance with our previous mtDNA study9, the present NRY analysis reveals a major division between the Kx’a-speaking !Xun and the Bantu-speaking groups, whose paternal genetic ancestry does not display any old remnant lineages, or a clear link to pre-Bantu eastern African migrants introducing Khoe-Kwadi languages and pastoralism into southern Africa (cf. 15). This is especially evident in the distribution of the

… Read the rest “Bantu distinguished from Khoe by uniparental markers, not genome-wide autosomal admixture”

Pasture usage by ancient pastoralists in Middle and Late Bronze Age Kazakhstan

bestamak-lisakovsk-study-area

Open access Pasture usage by ancient pastoralists in the northern Kazakh steppe informed by carbon and nitrogen isoscapes of contemporary floral biomes, by Miller et al. Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2018).

Interesting excerpts (emphasis mine):

Bronze age settlement, society, and subsistence in the northern Kazakh steppe

The Middle to Late Bronze Age (2200 to 1400 cal BCE) in the northern Kazakh steppe encompassed a major shift in settlement patterns from semi-sedentary pastoralism to more dispersed, mobile lifeways engaged in pastoral nomadism (Tkacheva 1999; Grigory’ev 2002; Koryakova and Epimakhov 2007; Kuz’mina 2007; Tkacheva and Tkachev 2008). Middle Bronze Age (2200 to

… Read the rest “Pasture usage by ancient pastoralists in Middle and Late Bronze Age Kazakhstan”

Complex history of dog origins and translocations in the Pacific revealed by ancient mitogenomes

remote-oceania-vanuatu-lapita

Open access Complex history of dog (Canis familiaris) origins and translocations in the Pacific revealed by ancient mitogenomes, by Creig et al., Scientific Reports (2018).

Abstract:

Archaeological evidence suggests that dogs were introduced to the islands of Oceania via Island Southeast Asia around 3,300 years ago, and reached the eastern islands of Polynesia by the fourteenth century AD. This dispersal is intimately tied to human expansion, but the involvement of dogs in Pacific migrations is not well understood. Our analyses of seven new complete ancient mitogenomes and five partial mtDNA sequences from archaeological dog specimens from Mainland and Island

… Read the rest “Complex history of dog origins and translocations in the Pacific revealed by ancient mitogenomes”

Paleoenvironment in mid- to late Holocene in the Cis-Ural steppes, and Epigravettian in Eastern Europe

Dynamics of paleoenvironments in the Cis-Ural steppes during the mid- to late Holocene, by Khokhlova, Morgunova, Khokhlov, and Golyeva, Quaternary Research (2018), 1–15.

Interesting excerpts:

About the studied site

The Turganik settlement in the Orenburg Region constitutes part of the so-called Ivanovo microregion of cultural heritage monuments, along with the Mesolithic Starotokskaya site; an Ivanovskoye multi-layered settlement (Neolithic, Eneolithic [or Chalcolithic], Late Bronze Age); Toksky I and Toksky II settlements attributed to the Late Bronze Age (the Timber-Grave archaeological culture); an Ivanovsky ground burial dated to the Eneolithic; and the Ivanovsky kurgan cemetery of the Early Iron Age

… Read the rest “Paleoenvironment in mid- to late Holocene in the Cis-Ural steppes, and Epigravettian in Eastern Europe”

Native American genetic continuity and oldest mtDNA hg A2ah in the Andean region

Native American gene continuity to the modern admixed population from the Colombian Andes: Implication for biomedical, population and forensic studies by Criollo-Rayo et al., Forensic Sci Int Genet (2018), in press, corrected proof.

Abstract (emphasis mine):

Andean populations have variable degrees of Native American and European ancestry, representing an opportunity to study admixture dynamics in the populations from Latin America (also known as Hispanics). We characterized the genetic structure of two indigenous (Nasa and Pijao) and three admixed (Ibagué, Ortega and Planadas) groups from Tolima, in the Colombian Andes. DNA samples from 348 individuals were genotyped for six mitochondrial DNA

… Read the rest “Native American genetic continuity and oldest mtDNA hg A2ah in the Andean region”