Angela
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This conference on Near Eastern archaeology has some interesting abstracts.
See:
https://www.icaane2018.vorderas-arc....de/programme/main-sessions/abstract-book.pdf
This one may have some information pertinent to our discussions on PIE as it investigates cultural movement east to west from Anatolia to Greece.
"“DALL’ARMELLINA, Vittoria Ca'Foscari University of Venice, Department of Humanistic Studies, Sciences of Antiquity Images of a New Aristocracy – A koinè of symbols and cultural values in the Caucasus, Anatolia and Aegean during the Bronze Age The paper will present the preliminary results of the author's PhD project, which deals with the diffusion between the Southern Caucasus, Anatolia, the Aegean Islands, Crete and Mainland Greece, in the course of the Bronze Age, of selected types of insignia dignitatis. These apparently reflect the birth of a new ruling elite that maintains its power through military exercise, and is also associated to the spread of particular funerary customs (e.g. funerary burrows and other elite burial types) mainly. It becomes increasingly clear that these northern portions of the Near East share some cultural specificities witch set them apart from the better known traditions of Mesopotamia and the SyroLevantine region. A series of characteristics items, mainly weapons but also parade standards, and different types of ornaments, spread in this northern areas. They are strongly linked to a warlike symbolism, and characterise a warrior aristocracy whose concept apparently originated and developed between the Caucasus and Anatolia and spread from there toward mainland Europe, in particular towards the Aegean area. In the presentation, these concepts will be illustrated by the distribution of selected categories of items."
This one is an overlap with the SMBE conference, but I couldn't find the abstract there. It's about large scale dairying in Anatolia. Obviously, they see it more in areas that were more suitable to pastoral economies than strictly crop farming.
"“SCHOOP, Ulf-Dietrich University of Edinburgh HENDY, Jessica Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena
The emergence of intensive dairying as a socioeconomic strategy in Chalcolithic Anatolia 168 The adoption of milk products into the human diet represents a major step-change in the history of food production. Much recent effort has been invested to identify the beginnings of milk-use, successfully pushing it into increasingly remote times. Less attention has been paid to the circumstances surrounding the full adoption of milk production into human economy. In Anatolia, this comparatively rapid transition seems to be marked by the first appearance of specialised equipment used for the processing of milk (such as churns) in the late 5th and 4th millennia BC. This initial development does not seem to be characteristic for Anatolia as a whole but displays a distinctive focus on the highland areas in the north and the southwest which have produced early evidence for pastoral economies with a pronounced dairying component. The talk will discuss the possible economic and social factors which contributed to trigger and sustain this development. The situation at the Late Chalcolithic site of Çamlıbel Tarlası in north-west Anatolia will serve as a case study to demonstrate the complexities of the question. Together with other evidence, the paper will discuss the results and implications of an ongoing research project investigating the remains of pottery churns found here with biomolecular methods. “
A few of the abstracts do mention ancient dna:
"FELDMAN, Michal Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena A genetic study of Bronze and Iron Age populations from present-day Israel Past human migrations have long been traced by archaeologists based on shared and distinct features of material culture. However, in cases where foreign features are adopted by a local population, it is often difficult to determine whether they were brought by a large-scale migration of people or by diffusion of ideas. Recent advances in ancient DNA research such as next-generation sequencing and new capture and sampling techniques have enabled the retrieval of genomic information from ancient individuals, even from regions previously known to have poor conditions for DNA preservation, such as the Eastern Mediterranean. Archaeological evidence outlines the end of the second millennium BCE as a time of dramatic changes in material culture in the coastal plain of what is present-day Israel. However, the demographic structure spanning this time of transition in the region is so far unknown. Here, we present initial results from the genetic investigation of Bronze and Iron Age skeletal remains excavated at present day Israel, aimed at characterizing the genetic makeup of populations across this time transect, possibly shedding light on past migrations in this region."
Is the above the paper from which we got a leak that the Israelite genomes were very "EEF" like?
Also,...
"SHAFIQ, R. S. – EISENMANN, S. Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Middle and Late Bronze Age Burials from Alalakh The large number of human remains uncovered at Tell Atchana (Alalakh) makes them in combination with their good preservation and excellent documentation a coherent dataset seemingly destined for bioarchaeological investigations. With the application of dental morphology, ancient DNA and isotopic (Strontium and Oxygen) analyses this study aims at gaining multifaceted insights into the population structure of this Bronze Age urban center. Biodistance study based on dental non-metric traits, uses features present in tooth crowns and roots that are expressed in varying degrees between populations. Populations living in different geographical locations exhibit sets of dental traits which differentiate them from other regions. The accumulative frequencies of dental non-metric traits, which are heavily regulated by genetic coding, can help to determine the biological affinities of the populations which once inhabited Alalakh, using the methodology known as (ASUDAS). The genetic makeup of everybody is determined by her/his ancestors. DNA extracted from skeletal material can thus be used to differentiate geographically driven genetic patterns amongst groups of people as well as to determine population changes over time. In contrast to the inheritance of genetic traits, strontium isotopes accumulate in tooth enamel during its formation at certain stages of a person’s lifetime. The strontium ratios (87SR/86SR) in tooth enamel are symptomatic for the underlying geology and enable to distinguish “locals” from “immigrants”. Both methods, DNA and strontium isotope analyses can therefore be used to investigate human mobility, but shed light on this topic from different angles. Their combination may enable us to write detailed mobility biographies of single individuals as well as groups. This paper represents the state and perspectives of an ongoing research from a selected number of individuals."
I wonder if we have some of these samples already.
Tell Atchana, supposedly founded by the Amorites and eventually conquered by the Hittites is a middle Bronze Age site that is down into the border with Syria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alalakh
Another paper from the Max Plank Institute trying to come to grips with gene flow over the Caucasus.
"SKOURTANIOTI, Eirini Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena SELIM, Erdal Yilmaz Department of Anthropology, Hacettepe University, Ankara Palaeogenetic and Anthropological Perspectives on late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Arslantepe While Anatolia was highlighted as the genetic origin of early Neolithic European farmers, the genetic substructure in Anatolia itself as well as the demographic and cultural changes remain unclear. In eastern Anatolia, the archaeological record reflects influences from North-Central Anatolia, the northeastern sectors of Fertile Crescent and the Caucasus, and suggests that some of these were brought along with the movement of people. Central to this question is the archaeological site of Arslantepe (6th-1 st millennium BC), strategically located at the Upper Euphrates, the nexus of all three regions. Arslantepe also developed one of the first state societies of Anatolia along with advanced metal-technologies. Archaeological research suggests that conflicts with surrounding groups of pastoralists affiliated to the Caucasus might have contributed to the collapse of its palatial system at the end of the Chalcolithic period (4th millennium BC). To test if these developments were accompanied by genetic changes, we generated genome-wide data from 18 ancient individuals spanning from the Late Chalcolithic period to the Early Bronze Age of Arslantepe. Our results show no evidence for a major genetic shift between the two time periods. However, we observe that individuals from Arslantepe are very heterogeneous and differentiated from other ancient western and central Anatolians in that they have more Iran/Caucasus related ancestry. Our data also show evidence for an ongoing but also recent confluence of Anatolian/Levantine and Caucasus/Iranian ancestries, highlighting the complexity of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods in this region."
Arslantepe:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5908/
http://www.arslantepe.com/en/
"POLCARO, Andrea Perugia University MUNIZ, Juan Ramon Pontificia Facultad San Esteban PANICUCCI, Chiara –CILLI, Elisabetta – SERVENTI, Patrizia – GRUPPIONI, Giorgio Laboratories of Physical Anthropology and Ancient DNA, Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna The Early Bronze Age I Necropolis and Dolmen Field of Jebel al Mutawwaq, Jordan: Results of Ancient DNA analysis and anthropological studies on human remains The Necropolis of Jebel al-Mutawwaq consists in a large dolmen field, surrounding and partially overlapping a settlement of the Early Bronze Age I. The two chronological phases of the megalithic necropolis (EB IA and EB IB-II) were recently investigated, during five years of excavations campaigns (2012-2016), by a Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition, directed by Pontificia Facultad San Esteban of Salamanca and Perugia University. In these years, eight dolmens have been excavated, discovering in their inner megalithic chambers several human bones, in some case more preserved than others, with also the burial assemblages in situ. In particular the burial chambers of two dolmens were recovered well preserved: the one of the extramural Dolmen 317, dated to the EB IA, and the one of the intramural Dolmen 534, dated to the EB IB-II. The human remains coming from these and other dolmens excavated by the Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition have been analyzed in the laboratory of ancient DNA of the Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Campus of Ravenna (Italy). Teeth and petrous bones have been selected as the samples of choice for the ancient DNA analysis. DNA was extracted from a first set of samples and sequenced for the first hypervariable region (HVR1) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The poster presents the preliminary results of these analyses and anthropological studies on human remains from the Jebel al-Mutawwaq Necropolis and their meaning in the historical framework of the IV millennium BC Southern Levant."
https://translate.google.com/transl...ipedia.org/wiki/Jebel_Al-Mutawwaq&prev=search
See:
https://www.icaane2018.vorderas-arc....de/programme/main-sessions/abstract-book.pdf
This one may have some information pertinent to our discussions on PIE as it investigates cultural movement east to west from Anatolia to Greece.
"“DALL’ARMELLINA, Vittoria Ca'Foscari University of Venice, Department of Humanistic Studies, Sciences of Antiquity Images of a New Aristocracy – A koinè of symbols and cultural values in the Caucasus, Anatolia and Aegean during the Bronze Age The paper will present the preliminary results of the author's PhD project, which deals with the diffusion between the Southern Caucasus, Anatolia, the Aegean Islands, Crete and Mainland Greece, in the course of the Bronze Age, of selected types of insignia dignitatis. These apparently reflect the birth of a new ruling elite that maintains its power through military exercise, and is also associated to the spread of particular funerary customs (e.g. funerary burrows and other elite burial types) mainly. It becomes increasingly clear that these northern portions of the Near East share some cultural specificities witch set them apart from the better known traditions of Mesopotamia and the SyroLevantine region. A series of characteristics items, mainly weapons but also parade standards, and different types of ornaments, spread in this northern areas. They are strongly linked to a warlike symbolism, and characterise a warrior aristocracy whose concept apparently originated and developed between the Caucasus and Anatolia and spread from there toward mainland Europe, in particular towards the Aegean area. In the presentation, these concepts will be illustrated by the distribution of selected categories of items."
This one is an overlap with the SMBE conference, but I couldn't find the abstract there. It's about large scale dairying in Anatolia. Obviously, they see it more in areas that were more suitable to pastoral economies than strictly crop farming.
"“SCHOOP, Ulf-Dietrich University of Edinburgh HENDY, Jessica Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena
The emergence of intensive dairying as a socioeconomic strategy in Chalcolithic Anatolia 168 The adoption of milk products into the human diet represents a major step-change in the history of food production. Much recent effort has been invested to identify the beginnings of milk-use, successfully pushing it into increasingly remote times. Less attention has been paid to the circumstances surrounding the full adoption of milk production into human economy. In Anatolia, this comparatively rapid transition seems to be marked by the first appearance of specialised equipment used for the processing of milk (such as churns) in the late 5th and 4th millennia BC. This initial development does not seem to be characteristic for Anatolia as a whole but displays a distinctive focus on the highland areas in the north and the southwest which have produced early evidence for pastoral economies with a pronounced dairying component. The talk will discuss the possible economic and social factors which contributed to trigger and sustain this development. The situation at the Late Chalcolithic site of Çamlıbel Tarlası in north-west Anatolia will serve as a case study to demonstrate the complexities of the question. Together with other evidence, the paper will discuss the results and implications of an ongoing research project investigating the remains of pottery churns found here with biomolecular methods. “
A few of the abstracts do mention ancient dna:
"FELDMAN, Michal Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena A genetic study of Bronze and Iron Age populations from present-day Israel Past human migrations have long been traced by archaeologists based on shared and distinct features of material culture. However, in cases where foreign features are adopted by a local population, it is often difficult to determine whether they were brought by a large-scale migration of people or by diffusion of ideas. Recent advances in ancient DNA research such as next-generation sequencing and new capture and sampling techniques have enabled the retrieval of genomic information from ancient individuals, even from regions previously known to have poor conditions for DNA preservation, such as the Eastern Mediterranean. Archaeological evidence outlines the end of the second millennium BCE as a time of dramatic changes in material culture in the coastal plain of what is present-day Israel. However, the demographic structure spanning this time of transition in the region is so far unknown. Here, we present initial results from the genetic investigation of Bronze and Iron Age skeletal remains excavated at present day Israel, aimed at characterizing the genetic makeup of populations across this time transect, possibly shedding light on past migrations in this region."
Is the above the paper from which we got a leak that the Israelite genomes were very "EEF" like?
Also,...
"SHAFIQ, R. S. – EISENMANN, S. Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Middle and Late Bronze Age Burials from Alalakh The large number of human remains uncovered at Tell Atchana (Alalakh) makes them in combination with their good preservation and excellent documentation a coherent dataset seemingly destined for bioarchaeological investigations. With the application of dental morphology, ancient DNA and isotopic (Strontium and Oxygen) analyses this study aims at gaining multifaceted insights into the population structure of this Bronze Age urban center. Biodistance study based on dental non-metric traits, uses features present in tooth crowns and roots that are expressed in varying degrees between populations. Populations living in different geographical locations exhibit sets of dental traits which differentiate them from other regions. The accumulative frequencies of dental non-metric traits, which are heavily regulated by genetic coding, can help to determine the biological affinities of the populations which once inhabited Alalakh, using the methodology known as (ASUDAS). The genetic makeup of everybody is determined by her/his ancestors. DNA extracted from skeletal material can thus be used to differentiate geographically driven genetic patterns amongst groups of people as well as to determine population changes over time. In contrast to the inheritance of genetic traits, strontium isotopes accumulate in tooth enamel during its formation at certain stages of a person’s lifetime. The strontium ratios (87SR/86SR) in tooth enamel are symptomatic for the underlying geology and enable to distinguish “locals” from “immigrants”. Both methods, DNA and strontium isotope analyses can therefore be used to investigate human mobility, but shed light on this topic from different angles. Their combination may enable us to write detailed mobility biographies of single individuals as well as groups. This paper represents the state and perspectives of an ongoing research from a selected number of individuals."
I wonder if we have some of these samples already.
Tell Atchana, supposedly founded by the Amorites and eventually conquered by the Hittites is a middle Bronze Age site that is down into the border with Syria.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alalakh
Another paper from the Max Plank Institute trying to come to grips with gene flow over the Caucasus.
"SKOURTANIOTI, Eirini Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena SELIM, Erdal Yilmaz Department of Anthropology, Hacettepe University, Ankara Palaeogenetic and Anthropological Perspectives on late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Arslantepe While Anatolia was highlighted as the genetic origin of early Neolithic European farmers, the genetic substructure in Anatolia itself as well as the demographic and cultural changes remain unclear. In eastern Anatolia, the archaeological record reflects influences from North-Central Anatolia, the northeastern sectors of Fertile Crescent and the Caucasus, and suggests that some of these were brought along with the movement of people. Central to this question is the archaeological site of Arslantepe (6th-1 st millennium BC), strategically located at the Upper Euphrates, the nexus of all three regions. Arslantepe also developed one of the first state societies of Anatolia along with advanced metal-technologies. Archaeological research suggests that conflicts with surrounding groups of pastoralists affiliated to the Caucasus might have contributed to the collapse of its palatial system at the end of the Chalcolithic period (4th millennium BC). To test if these developments were accompanied by genetic changes, we generated genome-wide data from 18 ancient individuals spanning from the Late Chalcolithic period to the Early Bronze Age of Arslantepe. Our results show no evidence for a major genetic shift between the two time periods. However, we observe that individuals from Arslantepe are very heterogeneous and differentiated from other ancient western and central Anatolians in that they have more Iran/Caucasus related ancestry. Our data also show evidence for an ongoing but also recent confluence of Anatolian/Levantine and Caucasus/Iranian ancestries, highlighting the complexity of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age periods in this region."
Arslantepe:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5908/
http://www.arslantepe.com/en/
"POLCARO, Andrea Perugia University MUNIZ, Juan Ramon Pontificia Facultad San Esteban PANICUCCI, Chiara –CILLI, Elisabetta – SERVENTI, Patrizia – GRUPPIONI, Giorgio Laboratories of Physical Anthropology and Ancient DNA, Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna The Early Bronze Age I Necropolis and Dolmen Field of Jebel al Mutawwaq, Jordan: Results of Ancient DNA analysis and anthropological studies on human remains The Necropolis of Jebel al-Mutawwaq consists in a large dolmen field, surrounding and partially overlapping a settlement of the Early Bronze Age I. The two chronological phases of the megalithic necropolis (EB IA and EB IB-II) were recently investigated, during five years of excavations campaigns (2012-2016), by a Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition, directed by Pontificia Facultad San Esteban of Salamanca and Perugia University. In these years, eight dolmens have been excavated, discovering in their inner megalithic chambers several human bones, in some case more preserved than others, with also the burial assemblages in situ. In particular the burial chambers of two dolmens were recovered well preserved: the one of the extramural Dolmen 317, dated to the EB IA, and the one of the intramural Dolmen 534, dated to the EB IB-II. The human remains coming from these and other dolmens excavated by the Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition have been analyzed in the laboratory of ancient DNA of the Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Campus of Ravenna (Italy). Teeth and petrous bones have been selected as the samples of choice for the ancient DNA analysis. DNA was extracted from a first set of samples and sequenced for the first hypervariable region (HVR1) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The poster presents the preliminary results of these analyses and anthropological studies on human remains from the Jebel al-Mutawwaq Necropolis and their meaning in the historical framework of the IV millennium BC Southern Levant."
https://translate.google.com/transl...ipedia.org/wiki/Jebel_Al-Mutawwaq&prev=search