Tag: neolithic

Iberian prehistoric migrations in Genomics from Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age

iberia-neolithic-bronze-age

New open access paper Four millennia of Iberian biomolecular prehistory illustrate the impact of prehistoric migrations at the far end of Eurasia, by Valdiosera, Günther, Vera-Rodríguez, et al. PNAS (2018) published ahead of print.

Abstract (emphasis mine)

Population genomic studies of ancient human remains have shown how modern-day European population structure has been shaped by a number of prehistoric migrations. The Neolithization of Europe has been associated with large-scale migrations from Anatolia, which was followed by migrations of herders from the Pontic steppe at the onset of the Bronze Age. Southwestern Europe was one of the last parts of

… Read the rest “Iberian prehistoric migrations in Genomics from Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age”

On the potential origin of Caucasus hunter-gatherer ancestry in Eneolithic steppe cultures

An interesting open genomic question is the origin and spread of Caucasus hunter-gatherer (CHG) ancestry in steppe populations during the Eneolithic.

My broad theory regarding the appearance of this ancestral component is based on:

Two recently published papers ivestigating the Don Region may shed some light on this issue:

Plant food subsistence in … Read the rest “On the potential origin of Caucasus hunter-gatherer ancestry in Eneolithic steppe cultures”

Ancient genomes document multiple waves of migration in south-east Asian prehistory

southeast-asia-reich

Open access preprint at bioRxiv Ancient genomes document multiple waves of migration in Southeast Asian prehistory, by Lipson, Cheronet, Mallick, et al. (2018).

Abstract (emphasis mine):

Southeast Asia is home to rich human genetic and linguistic diversity, but the details of past population movements in the region are not well known. Here, we report genome-wide ancient DNA data from thirteen Southeast Asian individuals spanning from the Neolithic period through the Iron Age (4100-1700 years ago). Early agriculturalists from Man Bac in Vietnam possessed a mixture of East Asian (southern Chinese farmer) and deeply diverged eastern Eurasian (hunter-gatherer) ancestry characteristic

… Read the rest “Ancient genomes document multiple waves of migration in south-east Asian prehistory”

Population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain, and new Bell Beaker SNPs

copper-age-late-bell-beaker

New (copyrighted) preprint at BioRxiv, Population Replacement in Early Neolithic Britain, by Brace et al. (2018).

Abstract (emphasis mine):

The roles of migration, admixture and acculturation in the European transition to farming have been debated for over 100 years. Genome-wide ancient DNA studies indicate predominantly Anatolian ancestry for continental Neolithic farmers, but also variable admixture with local Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Neolithic cultures first appear in Britain c. 6000 years ago (kBP), a millennium after they appear in adjacent areas of northwestern continental Europe. However, the pattern and process of the British Neolithic transition remains unclear. We assembled genome-wide

… Read the rest “Population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain, and new Bell Beaker SNPs”

Corded Ware culture contacts in the Baltic Sea region linked to immigrant potters

chalcolithic_early_corded_ware

Article behind paywall Tracing grog and pots to reveal neolithic Corded Ware Culture contacts in the Baltic Sea region (SEM-EDS, PIXE) by Larsson et al., J. Archaeol. Sci. (2018) 91:77-91.

Abstract (emphasis mine):

The Neolithic Corded Ware Culture (CWC) complex spread across the Baltic Sea region ca. 2900/2800–2300/2000 BCE. Whether this cultural adaptation was driven by migration or diffusion remains widely debated. To gather evidence for contact and movement in the CWC material culture, grog-tempered CWC pots from 24 archaeological sites in southern Baltoscandia (Estonia and the southern regions of Finland and Sweden) were sampled for geochemical and micro-structural analyses.

… Read the rest “Corded Ware culture contacts in the Baltic Sea region linked to immigrant potters”

Demographic research of Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age Europe

europe-demographic

I mentioned in the Indo-European demic diffusion model the need to assess absolute and relative population growth – as well as other demographic changes – to interpret genomic data from the different European regions studied.

One article I referred to was Demographic traces of technological innovation, social change and mobility: from 1 to 8 million Europeans (6000–2000 BCE), by Johannes Müller.

Excerpts (emphasis mine):

  • The neolithization of Northern and Northwestern Europe (probably with new forms of slash-and-burn agriculture; Feeser et al. 2012; Schier 2009) was also one of the causes for the population increase observed.
  • The introduction of
… Read the rest “Demographic research of Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age Europe”

The concept of “Outlier” in Human Ancestry (III): Late Neolithic samples from the Baltic region and origins of the Corded Ware culture

corded-ware-regions-main

I have written before about how the Late Neolithic sample from Zvejnieki seemed to be an outlier among Corded Ware samples (read also the Admixture analysis section on the IEDDM), due to its position in PCA, even more than its admixture components or statistical comparison might show.

In the recent update to Northern European samples in Mittnik et al. (2018), an evaluation of events similar to the previous preprint (2017) is given:

Computing D-statistics for each individual of the form D(Baltic LN, Yamnaya; X, Mbuti), we find that the two individuals from the early phase of the

… Read the rest “The concept of “Outlier” in Human Ancestry (III): Late Neolithic samples from the Baltic region and origins of the Corded Ware culture”

The myth of mixed language, the concepts of culture core and package, and the invention of ‘Steppe folk’

neolithic-steppe

I recently read some papers which, albeit apparently unrelated, should be of interest for many today.

Mixed language

The myth of the mixed languages, by Kees Versteeg, in Advances in Maltese linguistics, ed. by Benjamin Saade and Mauro Tosco, 217-238. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2017 [uncorrected proofs]

This paper focuses on the usefulness of the label ‘mixed languages’ as an analytical tool. Section 1 sketches the emergence of the biological paradigm in linguistics and its effect on the contemporary debate about mixed languages. Sections 2 and 3 discuss two processes that have been held responsible

… Read the rest “The myth of mixed language, the concepts of culture core and package, and the invention of ‘Steppe folk’”

Genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region and Y-DNA: Corded Ware and R1a-Z645, Bronze Age and N1c

baltic-region-mittnik

Open Access The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region, by Mittnik et al., Nature Communications 9: 442 (2018), based on preprint The Genetic History of Northern Europe, at BioRxirv.

As you can see, it follows my predictions in terms of haplogroups, and sadly the same trend to substitute ‘Yamna’ for ‘steppe’ while keeping linguistic interpretations unchanged…

Important excerpts for the Indo-European question (emphasis mine):

Mesolithic to Neolithic

In the archaeological understanding, the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic in the Eastern Baltic region does not coincide with a large-scale population turnover and a stark shift in economy

… Read the rest “Genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region and Y-DNA: Corded Ware and R1a-Z645, Bronze Age and N1c”