Excellent timing from the authors and the editor of the Journal of Archaeological Science, a perfect companion piece to the new Indiana Jones movie, albeit with a more down-to-earth message. In other movie news, a film named Olympia is in the works:

Danish helmer Asger Leth has signed on to helm "Olympia" for Columbia Pictures.

Mark Gordon ("10,000 BC") is producing the love story, which is set against the backdrop of the ancient Olympic Games in Greece as war waged between Athens and Sparta. Lawrence Inglee also produces.

One hopes that Mark Gordon doesn't bring the same level of period inaccuracy to ancient Greece as he did to the Paleolithic.

Journal of Archaeological Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.05.007

The origin of two purportedly pre-Columbian Mexican crystal skulls

Margaret Sax et al.

The well-known life-size rock crystal skull in the British Museum was purchased in 1897 as an example of genuine pre-Columbian workmanship, but its authenticity has been the subject of increasing speculation since the 1930s. This paper is concerned with the history, technology and material of the skull and another larger white quartz skull, donated recently to the Smithsonian Institution. Manufacturing techniques were investigated, using scanning electron microscopy to examine tool marks on the artefacts, and compared with Mesoamerican material from secure contexts. A Mixtec rock crystal goblet and a group of Aztec/Mixtec rock crystal beads show no evidence of lapidary wheels. They were probably worked with stone and wood tools charged with abrasives, some of which may have been as hard as corundum. Textual evidence for Mexican lapidary techniques during the early colonial period, supported by limited archaeological evidence, also indicates a technology without the wheel, probably based on natural tool materials. In contrast, the two skulls under consideration were carved with rotary wheels. The British Museum skull was worked with hard abrasives such as corundum or diamond, whereas X-ray diffraction revealed traces of carborundum (SiC), a hard modern synthetic abrasive, on the Smithsonian skull. Investigation of fluid and solid inclusions in the quartz of the British Museum skull, using microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, shows that the material formed in a mesothermal metamorphic environment equivalent to greenschist facies. This suggests that the quartz was obtained from Brazil or Madagascar, areas far outside pre-Columbian trade networks. Recent archival research revealed that the British Museum skull was rejected as a modern artefact by the Museo Nacional de Mexico in 1885, when offered for sale by the collector and dealer, Eugène Boban. These findings lead to the conclusion that the British Museum skull was worked in Europe during the nineteenth century. The Smithsonian Institution skull was probably manufactured shortly before it was bought in Mexico City in 1960; large blocks of white quartz would have been available from deposits in Mexico and the U.S.A.

Link

Labels: America, Archaeology, Films, Mexico

The samples:



Note that haplogroup J2-(DYS413<=18) should be fairly close to J-M410, and J2-(xDYS413<=18) should be fairly close to J-M12, since there seem to be few J-M410's with the "long" DYS413 alleles. The correlation analysis:

The only correlation that reaches significance (and at the 1%) level is between the aforementioned J2 groups; this may point to a differential representation of J2a and J2b in Greek sub-populations.

A dendrogram of the 19 populations:



The principal components plot:

As it appears, J2-(DYS413<=18) is positively correlated with PC1, while J2-(xDYS413<=18) is negatively correlated with it. On the other hand PC2 contrasts haplogroup DE on the one hand with mainly R1 on the other; indeed, the correlation between DE and the combined frequency of R1a and P*(xR1a) -which mostly corresponds to R1b and indeed R-M269 in Greece- is almost significant at the 5% level. Ratio of J2*(xDYS413<=18)/J2 in Greece: A north-west "Epirotic" concentration of high ratios is, I think, evident, contrasted with a south-western "Aegean" concentration of low ratios.

Labels: Greece, Greeks, haplogroup, Y chromosome

The European Society of Human Genetics conference is coming up, and there are some very interesting abstracts.

Note: The ESHG site has updated with a notice that the abstracts are embargoed until their presentation time. Therefore, I have decided to remove the body of this post until then, although I think it is a bit weird to embargo something that one places on the public web. In any case, you can find the abstracts easily by going to the site above.

Labels: 35delG, Africa, Bayash, Caucasoid, Croatia, Czech Republic, Disease, ESHG, Gypsies, haplogroup, Macedonia, Mongoloid, Natural selection, Negroid, Siberia, Uralic, Vlachs, Xhosa, Zulu

Nature Genetics, Published online: 18 May 2008 | doi:10.1038/ng.160

Two newly identified genetic determinants of pigmentation in Europeans

Patrick Sulem et al.

We present results from a genome-wide association study for variants associated with human pigmentation characteristics among 5,130 Icelanders, with follow-up analyses in 2,116 Icelanders and 1,214 Dutch individuals. Two coding variants in TPCN2 are associated with hair color, and a variant at the ASIP locus shows strong association with skin sensitivity to sun, freckling and red hair, phenotypic characteristics similar to those affected by well-known mutations in MC1R.

Link

Labels: ASIP, Europe, Hair, Pigmentation, Skin Color, TPCN2

PLoS Genet. 2008 May 16;4(5):e1000075.

Demographic History of European Populations of Arabidopsis thaliana.

François O, Blum MG, Jakobsson M, Rosenberg NA.

The model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana is successful at colonizing land that has recently undergone human-mediated disturbance. To investigate the prehistoric spread of A. thaliana, we applied approximate Bayesian computation and explicit spatial modeling to 76 European accessions sequenced at 876 nuclear loci. We find evidence that a major migration wave occurred from east to west, affecting most of the sampled individuals. The longitudinal gradient appears to result from the plant having spread in Europe from the east approximately 10,000 years ago, with a rate of westward spread of approximately 0.9 km/year. This wave-of-advance model is consistent with a natural colonization from an eastern glacial refugium that overwhelmed ancient western lineages. However, the speed and time frame of the model also suggest that the migration of A. thaliana into Europe may have accompanied the spread of agriculture during the Neolithic transition.

Link

Labels: Arabidopsis, Europe, Neolithic

BMC Evol Biol. 2008 May 15;8(1):146.

Paternal genetic affinity between western Austronesians and Daic populations.

Li H, Wen B, Chen SJ, Su B, Pramoonjago P, Liu Y, Pan S, Qin Z, Liu W, Cheng X, Yang N, Li X, Tran D, Lu D, Hsu MT, Deka R, Marzuki S, Tan CC, Jin L.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Austronesian is a linguistic family spread in most areas of the Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. Based on their linguistic similarity, this linguistic family included Malayo-Polynesians and Taiwan aborigines. The linguistic similarity also led to the controversial hypothesis that Taiwan is the homeland of all the Malayo-Polynesians, a hypothesis that has been debated by ethnologists, linguists, archaeologists, and geneticists. It is well accepted that the Eastern Austronesians (Micronesians and Polynesians) derived from the Western Austronesians (Island Southeast Asians and Taiwanese), and that the Daic populations on the mainland are supposed to be the headstream of all the Austronesian populations. RESULTS: In this report, we studied 20 SNPs and 7 STRs in the non-recombining region of the 1,509 Y chromosomes from 30 China Daic populations, 23 Indonesian and Vietnam Malayo-Polynesian populations, and 11 Taiwan aboriginal populations. These three groups show many resemblances in paternal lineages. Admixture analyses demonstrated that the Daic populations are hardly influenced by Han Chinese genetically, and that they make up the largest proportion of Indonesians. Most of the population samples contain a high frequency of haplogroup O1a-M119, which is nearly absent in other ethnic families. The STR network of haplogroup O1a* illustrated that Indonesian lineages did not derive from Taiwan aborigines as linguistic studies suggest, but from Daic populations. CONCLUSION: We show that, in contrast to the Taiwan homeland hypothesis, the Island Southeast Asians do not have a Taiwan origin based on their paternal lineages. Furthermore, we show that both Taiwan aborigines and Indonesians likely derived from the Daic populations based on their paternal lineages. These two populations seem to have evolved independently of each other. Our results indicate that a super-phylum, which includes Taiwan aborigines, Daic, and Malayo-Polynesians, is genetically educible.

Link

Labels: Asia, Austronesian, China, Daic, haplogroup, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Y chromosome

Related: The evolution of adult height in Europe.

Acta Paediatr. 2008 May 12 [Epub ahead of print]

Greek young men grow taller.

Papadimitriou A, Fytanidis G, Douros K, Papadimitriou DT, Nicolaidou P, Fretzayas A.

Aim: To examine whether a secular trend for greater height is still observed in young Greek men. Method: Height and weight of 3982 Greek conscripts, aged 18-26 years, were measured and correlated with the level of education and place of residence. Our data were collected from May 2006 to May 2007 from pre-selected army camps all over Greece. The data were compared with those of a similar study performed in 1990. Results: Mean height (+/-SD) of the conscripts was 178.06 (+/-7.05) cm. From 1990 until 2006, mean height increased from 175.7 cm to 178.06 cm (p < p =" 0.007)"> Conclusions: Our data show a further increase in the stature of young Greek men in the last 16 years. It appears that the male Greek population has still not exhausted its growth potential.

Link

Labels: Greeks, stature

Gnxp points me to this new paper on hair and skin color pigmentation alleles.

PLoS Genet 4(5): e1000074. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000074

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Novel Alleles Associated with Hair Color and Skin Pigmentation

Jiali Han et al.

Abstract

We conducted a multi-stage genome-wide association study of natural hair color in more than 10,000 men and women of European ancestry from the United States and Australia. An initial analysis of 528,173 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped on 2,287 women identified IRF4 and SLC24A4 as loci highly associated with hair color, along with three other regions encompassing known pigmentation genes. We confirmed these associations in 7,028 individuals from three additional studies. Across these four studies, SLC24A4 rs12896399 and IRF4 rs12203592 showed strong associations with hair color, with p = 6.0×10⁻⁶² and p = 7.46×10⁻¹²⁷, respectively. The IRF4 SNP was also associated with skin color (p = 6.2×10⁻¹⁴), eye color (p = 6.1×10⁻¹³), and skin tanning response to sunlight (p = 3.9×10⁻⁸⁹). A multivariable analysis pooling data from the initial GWAS and an additional 1,440 individuals suggested that the association between rs12203592 and hair color was independent of rs1540771, a SNP between the IRF4 and EXOC2 genes previously found to be associated with hair color. After adjustment for rs12203592, the association between rs1540771 and hair color was not significant (p = 0.52). One variant in the MATP gene was associated with hair color. A variant in the HERC2 gene upstream of the OCA2 gene showed the strongest and independent association with hair color compared with other SNPs in this region, including three previously reported SNPs. The signals detected in a region around the MC1R gene were explained by MC1R red hair color alleles. Our results suggest that the IRF4 and SLC24A4 loci are associated with human hair color and skin pigmentation.

Link

Labels: Hair, IRF4, Pigmentation, Skin Color, SLC24A4

Research on modern cattle had suggested the Neolithic Near Eastern origin of domesticated cattle, but also that some of the European aurochsen transmitted their mtDNA to European cattle. By looking at prehistoric mtDNA, the researchers were able to discover that the Neolithic to Bronze Age cattle of Europe lacked the native aurochs mtDNA and were exclusively descended from the domesticated animals brought into Europe from the Near East.

From the paper:

Therefore, it is of utmost importance to control the PCR. This is possible when using a quantitative approach, and, in particular, quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR), which allows for online monitoring of the PCR and quantification of the amplified DNA thanks to the use of fluorescent probes [49].

...

Therefore, QPCR is, to my mind, the best method for amplification of ancient DNA. Up until now, however, it has rarely been used and not a single study of the genetics of ancient populations or of a domestication process has been conducted using this method. We have adapted QPCR to ancient DNA research and used it for our study of the domestication process of the aurochs in Southwest Asia with a so far unequalled success rate. We have thus been able to appreciate better:

• DNA conservation, during and after burial;
• contamination with modern DNA;
• base modifications and amplification errors.

The method has proved to be a key asset in the study of DNA preserved in fossilising bones that have been subjected to climatic and/or chemical conditions that are
unfavourable to DNA preservation. This will be discussed hereafter.

...

The combination of the use of freshly unearthed, unwashed fossil remains and our quantitative high-fidelity and high-sensitivity PCR approach allowed us to obtain some 60 authenticated mitochondrial sequences from between 9500- and 3000-year-old bovine remains, 30 from Southwest Asia and 30 from western Europe (mainly France) (Pruvost et al., in preparation).

...

The result of this large-scale analysis proves on the genetic level that it was the aurochs population from the Upper Euphrates and Tigris Basin that had been domesticated almost 10,000 years ago and then spread into Europe, since Neolithic and Bronze Age cattle in western Europe show a mitochondrial signature that is a subset of that of their ancestral populations in Southwest Asia (Pruvost et al., in preparation). They also gave rise to the extant cattle populations all over the world, although modern-day cattle in continental Europe represent only a small subset of the original populations (Pruvost et al., in preparation). In contrast, the western European aurochsen did not leave a mitochondrial signature in extant European cattle, which indicates that female western European aurochsen were not domesticated in Europe, but rather maintained their status as hunted game until at least the Bronze Age (Pruvost et al., in preparation).

Comptes Rendus Palevol doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2008.02.001

Palaeogenetics of cattle domestication: Methodological challenges for the study of fossil bones preserved in the domestication centre in Southwest Asia


Eva-Maria Geigl

Abstract

Recently, palaeogenetics encountered enormous success when parts of the nuclear genomes of mammoth and Neanderthal man were analysed. Their bones, however, had been preserved in environments favourable to DNA preservation, i.e., permafrost regions
and caves in temperate regions. Few studies have tackled archaeological bones from hot, arid regions, although they bear great significance for the study of evolution of humans and the precursors of modern societies. According to archaeological evidence, a key event in neolithisation, the domestication of cattle, took place around 10,000 years ago in Southwest Asia. Genetic data from prehistoric bovine bones preserved in this region might shed light on this process, but the palaeogenetic approach has been hampered by poor DNA preservation. Here, I discuss various aspects of DNA preservation in fossils and the production of reliable palaeogenetic data and present methodological improvements that have enabled us to shed light on the process of cattle domestication in Southwest Asia and its spread into western Europe.

Link

Labels: ancient DNA, Cattle, Domestication, Europe, mtDNA, Near East, Neolithic

Cytogenet Genome Res. 2008;120(1-2):150-156. Epub 2008 Apr 30.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of Bos taurus and Bos indicus provide new insights into intra-species variation, taxonomy and domestication.

Hiendleder S, Lewalski H, Janke A.

The taurine and zebuine cattle breeds comprise the majority of the world cattle population but their taxonomic status is still controversial. The two forms of cattle are currently classified as Bos taurus and Bos indicus species and are differentiated primarily by the presence or absence of a hump. However, these two species hybridize readily, producing fully fertile offspring. We have determined and analyzed complete B. taurus and B. indicus mitochondrial genome sequences to investigate the extent of sequence divergences and to study their taxonomic status by molecular dating. The sequences encompassed 16,338 and 16,339 nucleotides, respectively, and differed at 237 positions. Estimated divergence times indicated that the two cattle lineages separated 1.7-2.0 million years ago. Combined phylogenetic analyses of 18 new and 130 previously reported extant B. taurus and B. indicus control region sequences with data from 32 archaeological specimens of the extinct wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) identified four major maternal lineages. B. primigenius haplotypes were present in all but the B. indicus lineage, and one B. taurus sequence clustered with B. primigenius P haplotypes that were not previously linked with domestic cattle. The B. indicus cluster and a recently reported new B. primigenius haplotype that represents a new lineage were approximately equidistant from the B. taurus cluster. These data suggest domestications from several differentiated populations of B. primigenius and a subspecies status for taurine (B. primigenius taurus) and zebuine (B. primigenius indicus) cattle.

Link

Labels: Cattle, Domestication, mtDNA

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

The peopling of America: Craniofacial shape variation on a continental scale and its interpretation from an interdisciplinary view

Rolando González-José et al.

Abstract

Twenty-two years ago, Greenberg, Turner and Zegura (Curr. Anthropol. 27,477-495, 1986) suggested a multidisciplinary model for the human settlement of the New World. Since their synthesis, several studies based mainly on partial evidence such as skull morphology and molecular genetics have presented competing, apparently mutually exclusive, settlement hypotheses. These contradictory views are represented by the genetic-based Single Wave or Out of Beringia models and the cranial morphology-based Two Components/Stocks model. Here, we present a geometric morphometric analysis of 576 late Pleistocene/early Holocene and modern skulls suggesting that the classical Paleoamerican and Mongoloid craniofacial patterns should be viewed as extremes of a continuous morphological variation. Our results also suggest that recent contact among Asian and American circumarctic populations took place during the Holocene. These results along with data from other fields are synthesized in a model for the settlement of the New World that considers, in an integrative and parsimonious way, evidence coming from genetics and physical anthropology. This model takes into account a founder population occupying Beringia during the last glaciation characterized by high craniofacial diversity, founder mtDNA and Y-chromosome lineages and some private autosomal alleles. After a Beringian population expansion, which could have occurred concomitant with their entry into America, more recent circumarctic gene flow would have enabled the dispersion of northeast Asian-derived characters and some particular genetic lineages from East Asia to America and vice versa.

Link

Labels: America, Craniometry, Mongoloid, Paleoanthropology

Hainan Island on Wikipedia.

PLoS ONE. 2008 May 14;3(5):e2168.

Paternal genetic structure of Hainan aborigines isolated at the entrance to East Asia.

Li D, Li H, Ou C, Lu Y, Sun Y, Yang B, Qin Z, Zhou Z, Li S, Jin L.

BACKGROUND: At the southern entrance to East Asia, early population migration has affected most of the Y-chromosome variations of East Asians. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To assess the isolated genetic structure of Hainan Island and the original genetic structure at the southern entrance, we studied the Y chromosome diversity of 405 Hainan Island aborigines from all the six populations, who have little influence of the recent mainland population relocations and admixtures. Here we report that haplogroups O1a* and O2a* are dominant among Hainan aborigines. In addition, the frequency of the mainland dominant haplogroup O3 is quite low among these aborigines, indicating that they have lived rather isolated. Clustering analyses suggests that the Hainan aborigines have been segregated since about 20 thousand years ago, after two dominant haplogroups entered East Asia (31 to 36 thousand years ago). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that Hainan aborigines have been isolated at the entrance to East Asia for about 20 thousand years, whose distinctive genetic characteristics could be used as important controls in many population genetic studies.

Link

Labels: Asia, China, Hainan, haplogroup, Y chromosome

Divers find bust of Julius Caesar in Rhone River

"The culture ministry said that the life-sized bust is believed to be the oldest of the Roman emperor ever discovered.

It portrays the Roman ruler at an advanced age, with wrinkles and hollows in his face."

Labels: Faces, France, History, Romans

Not really anything we didn't already know, and it's unfortunate that they didn't type some informative downstream markers, e.g., in haplogroup I, but a good source of data nonetheless. See also the other recent survey on Russian Y chromosomes.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

Boundaries and clines in the West Eurasian Y-chromosome landscape: Insights from the European part of Russia

Angela Fechner et al.

Abstract

Previous studies of Y chromosome variation have revealed that western Europe, the Volga-Ural region, and the Caucasus differ dramatically with respect to Y-SNP haplogroup composition. The European part of Russia is situated in between these three regions; to determine if these differences reflect clines or boundaries in the Y-chromosome landscape, we analyzed 12 Y-SNPs in 545 males from 12 populations from the European part of Russia. The majority of Russian Y chromosomes (from 74% to 94%) belong to three Y chromosomal lineages [I-M170, R1a1-M17, and N3-TAT] that are also frequent in the rest of east Europe, north Europe, and/or in the Volga-Ural region. We find significant but low correlations between haplogroup frequencies and the geographic location of populations, suggesting gradual change in the Y chromosome gene pool across western Eurasia. However, we also find some significant boundaries between populations, suggesting that both isolation and migration have influenced the Y chromosome landscape.

Link

Labels: haplogroup, Russia, Y chromosome

Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msn114

Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny in Eastern and Western Slavs

B. Malyarchuk et al.

To resolve the phylogeny of certain mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups in Eastern Europe and estimate their evolutionary age, a total of 73 samples representing mitochondrial haplogroups U4, HV*, and R1 were selected for complete mitochondrial genome sequencing from a collection of about 2000 control-region sequences sampled in Eastern (Russians, Belorussians, Ukrainians) and Western (Poles, Czechs and Slovaks) Slavs. On the basis of whole-genome resolution, we fully characterized a number of haplogroups (HV3, HV4, U4a1, U4a2, U4a3, U4b, U4c, U4d, and R1a) that were previously described only partially. Our findings demonstrate that haplogroups HV3, HV4, and U4a1 could be traced back to the pre-Neolithic times ( 12,000-19,000 YBP) in Eastern Europe. In addition, an ancient connection between the Caucasus/Europe and India has been revealed by analysis of haplogroup R1 diversity, with a split between the Indian and Caucasus/European R1a lineages occurring about 16,500 years ago. Meanwhile, some mtDNA subgroups detected in Slavs (such as U4a2a, U4a2*, HV3a, R1a1) are definitely younger being dated between 6,400-8,200 YBP. However, robust age estimations appear to be problematic due to the high ratios of non-synonymous to synonymous substitutions found in young mtDNA subclusters.

Link

Labels: Belarus, Czech Republic, haplogroup, mtDNA, Polish, Russia, Slavs, Slovakia, Ukraine

Neurosci Lett. 2008 Apr 8 [Epub ahead of print]

A study on the correlation between IL1RAPL1 and human cognitive ability.

Gao X, Xi G, Niu Y, Zhang S, Fu R, Zheng Z, Zhang K, Lv S, He H, Xue M, Zhang F.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of IL1RAPL1 on the human cognitive ability. Four genetic marker sites, i.e., DXS1218, DXS9896, rs6526806 and rs12847959 on IL1RAPL1 were genotyped in 332 Qinba Mountain Area children. Meanwhile, a cognition test with a C-WISC scale was performed to study the relationship of genotype with cognition test scores. Results indicated that genotypes of DXS1218, DXS9896 and rs12847959 were associated with memory/concentration factor intelligence quotient (IQ) (P=0.027, 0.042, 0.029, respectively). DXS1218 also associated with full IQ, verbal IQ, and performance IQ (P=0.006, 0.014, 0.006, respectively). rs12847959 were related to verbal comprehension factor and perceptual organization factor IQ (P=0.021, 0.043, respectively). Further study on rat brain revealed that Il1rapl was mainly expressed in memory/concentration-associated encephalic regions, such as hippocampus, dentate fascia, osmesis perithelium, and piriform cortex. mRNA expression levels of Il1rapl in brains of rats with different learning and memory abilities showed significant difference. Combined data suggested that IL1RAPL1 affected human cognitive ability to some extent, especially the memory and concentration capability.

Link

Labels: China, IL1RAPL1, Intelligence, IQ

Thule culture Inuit was A2, Roman Iron Age Denmark (2000BP) was T2, and three Viking Age Icelanders were J, K, and H.

See also mtDNA from Iron Age Denmark.

Journal of Archaeological Science
Volume 35, Issue 6, June 2008, Pages 1445-1452

On the elimination of extraneous DNA in fossil human teeth with hypochlorite

Jørgen Dissing, Margrét A. Kristinsdottir and Camilla Friis

Abstract

Labels: ancient DNA, Denmark, haplogroup, Iceland, Inuit, mtDNA

Archaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology of Eurasia, vol. 4 (32), 2007, pp. 143-157

SCYTHIANS OF THE NORTH PONTIC REGION: BETWEEN-GROUP CRANIAL VARIATION, AFFINITIES, AND ORIGINS

A.G. Kozintsev

(no abstract)

"First of all, the variation between the Scythian groups must be assessed in order to compare it with the total variation. The average distance between all the 22 Scythian groups is 6.30; that between the 17 steppe groups, 5.25; that between the five forest-steppe groups, 5.88; and that between the steppe and the forest-steppe groups, 8.04. As will be seen below, these values are not at all small by the general standard."

...

"Our results agree with the conclusions made by A.Yu. Alekseyev (1993), who speaks of two Scythian cultures, separated by a sharp gap: one archaic, distributed mostly in the forest-steppe and in the northern Caucasus, another classical, distributed in the steppe. It appears reasonable to assume that the two cultures were associated with tribes differing in origin, and that the term “Scythians” can be used with regard to the forest-steppe people only in a broad sense."

...

"Therefore, contrary to a widely held belief, which, until quite recently, was shared by all physical anthropologists, not a single biological fact (at least insofar as craniometry is concerned) suggests that the only, or at least the principal ancestors of the steppe Scythians were people of the Timber-grave culture. Now that this culture is represented by numerous populations from various parts of its distribution area, the above statement can be made with certainty not only with regard to the steppe Scythians in general, but also with regard to the vast majority of local steppe populations as well."

...

"The hypothesis formulated by Kovalev (see above) does not contradict the fact that gracilization began in the southern part of the Caucasoid distribution range. At the same time, this hypothesis agrees with the theory of two Indo-European homelands – the early one, Near Eastern, and the late one, European, situated in regions from the Balkans (Diakonov, 1982) to Central or even Northern Europe (Safronov, 1989; Klein, 1990 and in print), i.e., areas covered by the depigmentation process."

...

"Craniometrical findings indirectly support the theory that the forest-steppe Scythians were autochthonous. Both for this group as a whole and for its local populations, including the earliest one, from Medvin, the most distinct ties are those with people of the Timber-grave culture of the Ukraine, especially with the group from the ground burials of that culture. No less relevant are ties with the Belozerskaia group. The isolated position of certain forest-steppe Scythian groups, which reveal no ties with other populations, may point to a key role of microevolutionary (especially random) processes.

4. Parallels between the steppe Scythians and people of the Timber-grave culture evidently do not attest to the local origin of the former. They are less distinct than parallels with earlier Bronze Age populations (those associated with the Pit-grave and Catacomb cultures) and therefore point not so much to the local roots of the steppe Scythians as to the fact that their ancestors were Indo-Europeans (most likely Indo-Iranians), some groups of which migrated during the Bronze Age as far east as Eastern Central Asia. The return of their descendants to the North Pontic steppes in the Early Iron Age was apparently the key factor in the origin of the steppe Scythians (at least of the relatively late populations represented in our database)."

Labels: Asia, Craniometry, Europe, Indo-European, Scythians

Unfortunately no actual DNA results are in the article, and a whole lot of bad news.

Journal of Archaeological Science doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.04.019

Ancient DNA in human bones from neolithic and bronze age sites in greece and crete

Elizabeth R. Chilversa, Abigail S. Bouwmana, Keri A. Browna, Robert G. Arnottb, A. John N.W. Pragc and Terence A. Brown

Abstract

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nikomedia, Lerna, Karaviádena (Zakro), Antron Grave Circle A and Mycenae Grave Circle A. For each of three skeletons from Antron Grave Circle B that were sampled, polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) gave products for nuclear but not mitochondrial DNA, but amplicon yield was low and inconsistent with replicate PCRs failing to give reproducible results. With specimens from Mycenae Grave Circle B, evidence for mitochondrial aDNA was obtained for four of the 22 skeletons that were studied, and at Kouphovouno evidence for mitochondrial and/or nuclear aDNA was obtained with eight of the 20 skeletons that were examined. We conclude that, although aDNA might be present in some Eastern Mediterranean skeletons from later centuries of the Bronze Age, it is not commonly found in material from this period and is likely to be absent from older material.

Link

Labels: ancient DNA, Ancient Greek, Greece, Greeks, mtDNA, Neolithic

Proc Biol Sci. 2008 May 6 [Epub ahead of print]

Genetic analyses reveal independent domestication origins of Eurasian reindeer.

Røed KH, Flagstad O, Nieminen M, Holand O, Dwyer MJ, Røv N, Vilà C.

Although there is little doubt that the domestication of mammals was instrumental for the modernization of human societies, even basic features of the path towards domestication remain largely unresolved for many species. Reindeer are considered to be in the early phase of domestication with wild and domestic herds still coexisting widely across Eurasia. This provides a unique model system for understanding how the early domestication process may have taken place. We analysed mitochondrial sequences and nuclear microsatellites in domestic and wild herds throughout Eurasia to address the origin of reindeer herding and domestication history. Our data demonstrate independent origins of domestic reindeer in Russia and Fennoscandia. This implies that the Saami people of Fennoscandia domesticated their own reindeer independently of the indigenous cultures in western Russia. We also found that augmentation of local reindeer herds by crossing with wild animals has been common. However, some wild reindeer populations have not contributed to the domestic gene pool, suggesting variation in domestication potential among populations. These differences may explain why geographically isolated indigenous groups have been able to make the technological shift from mobile hunting to large-scale reindeer pastoralism independently.

Link

Labels: Domestication, Reindeer, Russia, Saami