ICAANE Conference 2018

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
 
"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?

What leak was that?
 
What leak was that?

I recall hearing that some samples from ancient Israel were coming out to look very EEF like. It didn't make much sense to me, because they, like everyone else in the Levant, would have been subjected to the gene flows from the northern Near East during the Bronze Age, gene flow which would have brought a lot of Iran Neo like ancestry.

It was not a published paper to the best of my recollection.

Unfortunately, I can't find anything about it in my files. Perhaps someone else can remember the source.
 
Some other interesting abstracts from the conference:

We've been talking about Ebla. Here's an abstract on it:
"Social Vs. Genetic Change; the Formation of the Middle Bronze’s Culture in Ebla Two important changes have marked the transition from the Third into the Second Millennium B.C. the first one is change in the material culture and the end of the Early Bronze Age pottery horizon, while the second is the appearance of the Amorites as dominant political power to role most of the Second Millennium B.C. urban centres in Syria and Mesopotamia. In this paper the relationship between the change in the material culture and the change in the population in Ebla will be the critical issue in understanding the transition phase. Preliminary results of Genetic and Anthropological-based study of the late third and early second millennium B.C. transition phase will be presented. Genetic and Isotopic analysis will be performed on the human bones found in Ebla and dated to the both phases of Early and Middle Bronze Age. Furthermore, the study of the pottery assemblage discovered in the same context of the bones under analysis will be carried out in order to define, when and how the Middle Bronze Age pottery horizon has been formed and affected by the “ethnic” change."





This indicates that farming was not developed in situ in the area around the HOTU cave, but was imported.

"“Last Hunters and First Farmers in Southeastern of Caspian Sea, Iran The southeastern of Caspian Sea is a region which has very important in the studies of origin of Neolithic life style in northeastern of Iran and west central Asia which Mesolithic and Neolithic evidence reported there from eighty years ago onward. Although Neolithic dispersal was considered in Northeast Iran and 140 central Asia, but the southwestern Caspian Sea has less attractive for Neolithic researchers in this regard. Yet, Mesolithic evidence come from excavated Cave sites such as Hotu, Kamarband, Ali Tappeh and Komishan, and Neolithic evidence come from soundings and surface survey some open sites and also aforementioned Caves sites. For Neolithic transition in this area, we can fallowed to type of explanations: In situ or Imported Neolithic transition. The lacks of evidence for domestication, the gap between Mesolithic and Neolithic sites and the proximity of this geographical region to the well-known candidates of the origins of early domestications (Zagros-Tauros and Levant), undermine the in situ Model. But the present of Chakhmaq/Jiton in open sites, Caspian software in the caves with Mesolithic layers, have supported imported Models. In fact, the present data has supported integrated view comprised from the arrival of migratory farmers and adoption some Neolithic package items such as Pottery and Domesticated animals by locale Mesolithic Bands"

"Another interesting one:
“KOPANIAS, Konstantinos National & Kapodistrian University of Athens A Reappraisal of the Greek Migration in Cilicia and Pamphylia during the Early Iron Age Various Greek authors from the Archaic to the Roman period mentioned a migration, that took place from the Aegean and West Anatolia to Pamphylia and Cilicia right after the Trojan War. The meagre archaeological evidence, as well as the Arcadocypriot and Mycenaean elements in the Pamphylian dialect also indicate that, after the collapse of the Hittite kingdom, small groups of settlers migrated from the Aegean, west Anatolia and Cyprus to Cilicia. From (at least) the end of the 10th to the late 8th century a kingdom, called Hiyawa in Luwian and Qw or ‘mq ’dn in Phoenician inscriptions, controlled Cilicia and possibly also Pamphylia. Its subjects were called Hiyawa in Luwian and dnnym in Phoenician respectively. The term Hiyawa stems from the Hittite geographic term Ahhiyawa, which referred to one of the Mycenaean kingdoms in the Aegean during the LBA; both terms originate from the ethnicon 'Achaeans', later used also by Homer. At least one of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hiyawa considered himself to be a descendant of a certain Muksas/mpš, which shows that the later stories about Mopsos were not entirely fictious. The Achaean settlers in Cilicia and Pamphylia gradually merged with the Luwian population. Herodotus later called them Hypachaeans, in order to denote that they were neither Achaeans or Greeks, nor Luwians or Cilicians.”

So, gene flow in Anatolia also went west to east.

These two abstracts provide archaeological support, I think, for the gene flow that ultimately changed the Near East.

"“Neither diffusion of ideas nor simple trade of objects: the moving of specialized Canaanean blade knappers during the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant Canaanean blades are large standardized flint blades mainly used as sickle inserts, and are one of the lithic hallmark of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant (4th-3rd millennium BCE). Recent studies combining a detailed technological analysis and spatial distribution of the entire range of Canaanean production waste, debitage and tools offer new insight on the appearance of this sophisticated technology in the region, and on the organization of its production/consumption system. In the Southern Levant, Canaanean blades were produced using the lever-pressure technique, one of the most complex and sophisticated knapping techniques. Although some authors have suggested a local invention and development, the absence of the evolutionary stages required for the invention of this techniques indicates that it must have spread in the Southern Levant from another core area. Considering the difficulties in learning and mastering the lever-pressure technique, and given the lack of a “sophisticated” technological background able to r eproduce it, the emergence of the Canaanean blade technology reflects the movement of some knappers, probably coming from the North where an older lever-pressure technique tradition is attested since the Neolithic. Given the time required to master the pressure technique, and the necessity to maintain the knapping skills with regular practice and elevated productivity, only a few expert knappers were contemporaneously active, supplying the mass consumption of Canaanean blades in the region. The limited number of specialists involved in their manufacture seems to suggest that the production/distribution system of Canaanean blades was more complex than previously thought. As indicated by the spatial segmentation of the chaîne opératoire, itinerant knappers moved from their workshops to other places, villages and cities, exchanging and producing blades along their routes."


"MARCINIAK, Arkadiusz Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Institute of Archaeology Mobility of people and ideas in the Near East in the second half of the seventh millennium BC. The Late Neolithic Çatalhöyük in its regional and pan-regional context The second half of the 7th millennium cal BC marks the major transformation in all domains of existence of the Near Eastern Neolithic communities including the mode of farming and husbandry, subsistence practices, social organization as well as ceremonial and funerary practices. The Late Neolithic also involves a dynamic demographic expansion of farming groups and the construction of new and powerful forms of connectivity among different regions, involving integration of the hitherto unoccupied regions. These developments led to creating regional identities across different parts of the Near East. The recently completed work on the Late Neolithic levels at Çatalhöyük East significantly contributed to better understanding of this important period in the history of the Near East. The paper aims at addressing multiscalar nature of connectivity between inhabitants of the Late Neolithic Çatalhöyük and contemporary groups from different parts of the Near East. It will address the procurement of different raw materials such as shells, obsidian, and flint from far afield as well as the exploitation of local environment for timber, clay and pasture in the immediate vicinity. It will also examine materials of foreign origin in the Late Neolithic strata at Çatalhöyük as well as presence of different objects, motifs and architectural solutions of the Çatalhöyük provenance across different parts of the region. In more general terms, the paper will attempt to scrutinize the nature of movement of people and ideas between Çatalhöyük and different regions of the Near East ranging from southern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia through Cappadocia and western, south-western and north-western Anatolia.”


One on the Gonur skulls:
"“Paleoanthropological Data from Bronze Age Sites of Southern Turkmenistan and Migration Routes of the Ancient East Paleoanthropological data from Bronze Age sites of Southern Turkmenistan is enough presented. All material, collected before 1990s show that during Neolith population not only of this region but also of Southern parts of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan is very similar by their anthropological features to the synchronous ones of Iranian plateau and Anatolia. In the Bronze Age the situation became more complicated. Population growth, migrations in different directions, settling on previously unoccupied territories and connected with them formation of large protourban centers where many trade and cultural routes intersected took place. As a result of these processes, certain anthropological complexes developed 136 on some territories and others ones appears on others. From the second hand, new anthropological components have come to the southern part of Middle Asia, early from the South-Western Asia and Indus Valley and later from the Eurasian Steppe. Bronze Age site of Turkmenistan Gonur Depe (2300-1600 BC) gave new numerous paleoanthropological data, which can be successfully analyzed by different statistical methods. Discoverer and excavator for more than 40 years of this site which occupied more than 50 hectares prof. Victor Sarianidi underlined many times that together with many hundreds of pottery typical for northern foothills of Kopeth Dag, in its premises and tombs cylindrical perforated jars similar to those from Indus valley, several vessels with folded neck, found parallels with those from the territory of ancient Syria as well as grey polished vessels like ones found in Tepe Hissar were found. He and many other scholars found many other archaeological evidences of wide and close contacts with Near and Middle East form one hand and Indus valley from the other. But archaeological data cannot give answer if these analogies are a result of trade and cultural contacts or the real migration and metisation of the population from different territories took place. Not rare only physical anthropology together with analysis of ancient DNA can solve this problem. Paleoanthropological material at Gonur Depe and satellite settlements has been collected since the 1990s by O. Babakov, A. Nechvaloda and authors of this text. It is published partly. Many craniological traits of the series demonstrate a variation from the smallest to the largest values. This, together with the results of the multivariate analysis of a wide range of cranioseries from Eurasia, gave good reasons for researchers to talk about the heterogeneity of Gonur population both in terms of fixing more archaic and more progressive South-Caucasoid forms. The presence among inhabitants of Ancient Margiana of brachicranial skulls, not fixed earlier in the Bronze Age of Middle Asia, was also shown. But the conclusion that complex of traits, which are characteristic of the most ancient population of the Indian subcontinent can be also fixed in this group, was based only on the close position of Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, Timargarha, Butkara with Gonur series. Statistical analysis of some parameters of Gonur skulls (dimensions of lower-alveolar part of the face skeleton, the degree of face protrusion and other) help to separate them for four clusters, one of which has significant pronounced prognathism (degree of face protrusion). Male skulls of this cluster have longitudinal and transverse diameters below the average for the whole group, i.e. a slightly smaller head than the one that is typical for the sample as a whole. In comparison with the whole group, they are characterized by a broader nose, slightly larger cranial and facial indexes, as well as a face that is more flattened both in the upper (naso-molar) and middle (zygo-maxillar) parts of the face. This complex of features is precisely the case for the Ancient population of the South Asia. It should be especially underlined that this data are presented only male skulls, whereas the described features are more often and in a more vivid form observed among female. It can be summarized that these results statistically prove that in the Bronze Age there was a real migration of the population from South Asia to Margiana.”

I don't know why this author is convinced there was no actual change in pigmentation in these various eras, as we know there was different gene flow.

"“NUNN, Astrid Universität Würzburg Are Sumerians and Babylonians different? Skin colours on polychrome statues Since 2011, Astrid Nunn, Heinrich Piening and Barbara Jändl have worked together as a team to investigate the polychromy of Mesopotamian stone statues dating from the 4th to the 1st millennium BCE. Although Near Eastern archaeologists have conducted several scientific analyses of Mesopotamian painted murals, on glazed material and neo-Assyrian or Achaemenid reliefs, the polychromy of Mesopotamian stone statues had not previously been the subject of further study. The two main reasons are the almost complete destruction of the colours themselves, and the ensuing difficulty of adapting the technical equipment to the spectroscopy process. 142 In this paper, Astrid Nunn will specifically address the aspect of skin colour, an area that had led to several unexpected discoveries. To the team’s great surprise, it turns out that the skin colour differs depending on the millennium in which the statue was made. In the third millennium skin tones are lighter than in the second and in the second millennium skin is redder than in the first. In the first section of this paper, the author will compare the statues with other coloured Mesopotamian media, primarily wall paintings. In doing so, she will address both the congruence and the deviations from these other polychrome sources. It is widely acknowledged that skin colouring is a social construct that is subject to societal ideas, preconceptions, and ideals; this explains why in many cultures female skin is depicted as lighter than male skin. This is not the case in the ancient Orient. There are, however, a few examples in which light- and dark-skinned figures are juxtaposed. This leads the author to conclude her paper by examining the motives determining colour choice and to consider whether it is possible to narrow down the theoretical bandwidth separating realism from symbolism and the religious and political attitudes of commissioners and recipients.”


Metallurgy on the Iranian plateau:
"
“SALAMAT, Soheil – ABBASNEJAD SERESTI, Rahmat University of Mazandaran, Department of Archaeology The Application of Tin-Based and Arsenical Bronze in 4th and 3rd Millennium Metallurgy of Iranian Plateau: A New Look The research question of the study is the importance of ancient metallurgy in terms of alloying, focusing on tin-based bronze in economical interactions of prehistoric societies. The researchers aim to analyze the discovered evidence from the excavation of prehistoric sites of Iranian plateau and Mesopotamia. The required evidence was gathered through library study and documentation. In the late forth millennium and early third millennium B.C. we observed the emergence and rapid development of urban centers in Mesopotamia and the sociopolitical changes had major influences on economy of the regions by affecting the supply and demand system. Although ancient metallurgy initiated from parts of southwest Asia like the plateau of Iran, with abundant and rich metal resources as well as facilities like fuel and water, the major impact of using copper-based alloys in decorative and functional objects by the main urban centers of Mesopotamia have an undeniable role in the methodology and the scale of production in this region. Most of the sites belonging to the 4th and 3rd millennium B.C. in various parts of Iran Plateau such as Tel Iblis, Shahdad, Shahr-e Sukhteh, Tal malyan, Yahya Hill, Jiroft Hill, Hesar, Silak and Arisman, as well as the evidence from ancient mines and accumulated hills of metal smelting, evidently prove this claim. In addition, Mesopotamian writing sources emphasize on provision of the need for raw materials from the regions, most notably the plateau of Iran. As we know, copper naturally contains abundant impurities such as combinations of iron, arsenic, lead, nickel, bismuth and tin. Metallurgy is the result of thousands of years of human effort in shaping hard and bony objects, and the ancient metallurgists provided the ground for the improvement of copper properties, by mixing and changing the technical methods. Undoubtedly, the elusiveness and toxicity of pseudo-metal made the ancient metallurgists to look for a suitable alternative to it. In this process, they succeeded to discover tin. With this discovery, bronze alloys entered a new stage. In the metal mixing step, they deliberately added the metals and pseudo-metals such as tin, antimony, nickel, zinc and arsenic to copper, and enhanced the properties of durability, strength, hammering as well as other physical properties. Evidence suggests that in the middle of the third millennium B.C. the tin-based bronze replaced the arsenic-based bronze. In addition, according to some recent researches, the western regions of Iran are considered as an important source for the production of tin and its export to the urban centers of the Mesopotamia and southwest of Iran. In this study we concluded that tin-based bronze was used in most ancient sites of the 4th and 3rd millennium B.C. on the plateau of Iran. The metalworkers had access to less tin, which was probably provided by local resources and the transnational trade flow. The authors of the paper will try to analyze the methodology and quantity of tin and arsenic based-bronze used in the metalwork of these courses, and evaluate the role of tin metal in the economic interactions of the Southwest region of Asia.”

"The Analysis of Chalcolithization of CentralPlateau of Iran on the Basis of Archaeometallurgical Data From the viewpoint ofthe studying of craft specialism, metalwork enjoys more distinct specificationsthan the other specialties. The process of the formation and the expansion ofmetallurgy in central plateau of Iran during the chalcolithic period onwardshave been possible by some mechanisms such as planning and management aboutmetal production and procurement of metal objects and manufactures for nativeand exotic societies. The craft specialism of metalwork in prehistoricsocietiesof central plateau of Iran, has been accomplished by five groups consist ofminers, casters, molders, merchants and consumers in the form of industrialchain At the end of 5th millennium and during the 4th millennium B.C. Theanalysis of some evidences which were discovered from ancient mines andarchaeological sites indicate that the ancient in this region exploited themineral materials, shaped them into objects, and created a metallurgical cycle.The studying on explored ancient materials such as metal, precious andsemi-precious stones such as agate, turquoise, marble and azure from theancient sites and the graveyards and the other simultaneous areas in thecentral plateau of Iran, and the focusing on probable sources of the mentionedmaterials and finally the discovering of some evidences that indicate theexistence of the early administrative mechanisms in the mentioned region,conveys the currency of goods’ exchange and trade in a level of the regionaland beyond regional. The consumers of metal products divided into two groups:native and un-native groups. Discovering some indicators of the 4th millenniumculture of Uruk such as beveled rim bowls in the central plateau of Iran andcentral Zagros like Tepe Sialk, Tepe Qabristan, Arisman and Godin Tepe shocultural interactions between these regions and Southwest of Iran andMesopotamia. According to the present evidences, metal has entered to theexchange cycle since 4th millennium B.C. Thus, the central plateau of Iran hasplayed its role at the economic, social and political evolution of 4thmillennium B.C. in Southwest Asia."

There is often a discussion as to whether pottery makers were male or female, with the idea that if it were women, they might have brought it from their home areas. In some cases, it was both men and women.

"
“FOWLER, Kent – WALKER, Elizabeth – ROSS, Jon – GREENFIELD, Haskel University of Manitoba MAEIR, Aren Bar-Ilan University The age and sex of Early Bronze Age potters from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel, Israel The organization of craft production has long been a marker for broader social, economic and political changes that accompanied urbanism. The identity of producers is out of reach using conventional archaeological data. There has been some success using epidermal prints on artifacts to identify the age and sex of producers. However, while age estimates are well developed, determining the sex of ancient potters is complicated by similarities between the prints of adult women and adolescents of either sex. In this study, we examined prints on EB III pottery from the early urban neighborhood at Tel es-Safi/Gath, Israel. We introduce two measurement techniques of mean ridge breadth (MRB) for distinguishing the age and sex of prints using digital photographs imported into the measurement software Macnification® normally used in biomedical research. Our analysis accounted for ancestry and the shrinkage of marl clays, which can both substantially impact age and sex estimates. We applied a modified version of the Kamp et al. (1999) regression equation to the MRB for each individual print. Our analyses indicate that the measurement techniques produce comparable results. The sex of producers complicates inferring their age. Only children and adult males can be clearly distinguished. Half of the prints were made by adult females/adolescents and the other half by adult males. This result suggests that pottery production was not a gendered craft and men did not dominate pottery manufacture at early urban centers in the Levant. The pattern contrasts with finger print studies of post-state urban pottery production during the EBA in Mesopotamia. “

Gene flow and the Caucasus:
"MARRO, Catherine CNRS – UMR 5133 – Archéorient- Environnements et Sociétés de l'Orient Ancien – Lyon, France Beyond the Great Mountains: the integration of Late Chalcolithic Caucasian Communities into Middle-Eastern dynamics During the Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic (ca. 6200-4500 BCE), South Caucasian economies basically developed within a fairly secluded environment that allowed only limited relationships with Syrian or Mesopotamian communities. However, a change in interregional dynamics occurred in the course of the 5 th millennium, which led to the progressive integration of the South Caucasus into a wider region that included western Iran, eastern Anatolia, the northern Levant, Syria and Mesopotamia. This shift resulted into the development of a new interaction sphere that we have called the “Chaff-Faced Ware oikumenè”. Our current hypothesis aiming to explain this shift in interregional dynamics draws on a large body of evidence, which suggests that the South Caucasus and probably Eastern Anatolia had become an economic hub by the end of the 5th millennium, at the core of which lay the exploitation of mineral resources (especially copper), and the practice of extractive metallurgy by highland communities: as shown by recent data, the practice of metallurgy in the Araxes basin had indeed started some 500 years earlier than in the South. It will be argued in this paper that the integration of the South Caucasus into the SyroMesopotamian sphere during the 5th and 4th millennia is probably linked to the development of technical innovations in the highlands (copper metallurgy, woollen textiles, possibly the domestication of equids) as much as to their wealth in natural resources. In any case, this shift should be regarded as reflecting simultaneous change in lowland and highland communities, brought about by constant interactions, rather than by Mesopotamian migrations or Mesopotamian influence over the Anatolian and Caucasian highlands."
 
"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."

Don't forget that there are Anatolian names from Armi, very close to Arslantepe, from 2500 BC.
 
"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."

Don't forget that there are Anatolian names from Armi, very close to Arslantepe, from 2500 BC.

The real significance is that Arslantepe is the earliest proper Bronze Age society, wherein a centralized warlike elite appears to have controlled vast stretches of lands. Their implements are quite telling:

Metal-objects-from-Arslantepe-Period-VIA-a-Golden-bead-from-Temple-B-b-Ag-Cu-ring.png


Difficult to say what language they spoke, though.
 
The conference about the Bronze Age from Orea is still under embargo unfortunately, but whatever the case I think everyone here is getting the impression that 2019 is the year we finally unravel the truth about the Indo-Europeans. This looks very interesting, perhaps related to the Kura-Araxes expansion?
 
I think Anatolian language distribution map would perfectly fit with an expansion from this area.
Hopefully we will also know about that Hajji Firuz R1b with supposedly steppe ancestry. That might be an argument for steppe origin of IE.
 
Apparently, between 3'000 to 2'000 BC the City of Ebla was overrun by Amorites ( Semitics ) people over a local population. Where did they came from? Kura-Araxes? South?
 
The real significance is that Arslantepe is the earliest proper Bronze Age society, wherein a centralized warlike elite appears to have controlled vast stretches of lands. Their implements are quite telling:

Metal-objects-from-Arslantepe-Period-VIA-a-Golden-bead-from-Temple-B-b-Ag-Cu-ring.png


Difficult to say what language they spoke, though.

Impressive, were those Copper or Bronze artifacts? The Swords are totally related with Maykop Swords.
 
The decline of early Arslantepe was due to them being overrun by the Kura-Araxes culture - if they claim no appreciable genetic difference over this period (which was very dramatic archaeologically), then I'm a bit confused. These invaders would have to be EXTREMELY elitist, just as the first paper Angela posted suggests. Presumably, this expansion was related to the spread of Y DNA J and CHG, but the behaviour is typically Indo-European (is it fair to give Indo-Europeans a monopoly on pastoralist elitist warriors - probably not, but everyone seems to do it anyway!), so I would guess Y DNA R1b-Z2103 would be amongst these elite lineages too. Definitely the best Anatolian candidates so far, and extremely confusing if it is related to the Hellenic languages, as it makes much more sense for the non-Anatolian languages to have come from the Steppe given e.g. the association with the clearly Steppe Indo-Iranians. I suppose nothing much is known about the language of the Pelasgians, so instead of this expansionist CHG group being Greeks they could perhaps have even been part of the Anatolian branch of Indo-Europeans? That would be a pretty interesting twist, seems unlikely though.
 
Impressive, were those Copper or Bronze artifacts? The Swords are totally related with Maykop Swords.

They're bronze. It's interesting btw that despite the early introduction, swords remain rather unimportant in Anatolia and vicinity throughout the metal ages. Near Easterners seem to have preferred spears. It's in the Aegean and the Carpathian basin where swords really take off.

I'd read that shortly after the introduction the bronze swords in Serbia alone numbered in the hundreds.
 
They're bronze. It's interesting btw that despite the early introduction, swords remain rather unimportant in Anatolia and vicinity throughout the metal ages. Near Easterners seem to have preferred spears. It's in the Aegean and the Carpathian basin where swords really take off.

I'd read that shortly after the introduction the bronze swords in Serbia alone numbered in the hundreds.

Spears are more useful than swords in battle by a long shot. This video is great:

 
Spears are more useful than swords in battle by a long shot. This video is great:


Interesting, the swordsmen looked helpless in many of the matches. Spears should be more economical as well, and more useful in armies that make use of formations.

Perhaps Bronze Age Euros simply thought swords looked cool.
 
The decline of early Arslantepe was due to them being overrun by the Kura-Araxes culture - if they claim no appreciable genetic difference over this period (which was very dramatic archaeologically), then I'm a bit confused. These invaders would have to be EXTREMELY elitist, just as the first paper Angela posted suggests. Presumably, this expansion was related to the spread of Y DNA J and CHG, but the behaviour is typically Indo-European (is it fair to give Indo-Europeans a monopoly on pastoralist elitist warriors - probably not, but everyone seems to do it anyway!), so I would guess Y DNA R1b-Z2103 would be amongst these elite lineages too. Definitely the best Anatolian candidates so far, and extremely confusing if it is related to the Hellenic languages, as it makes much more sense for the non-Anatolian languages to have come from the Steppe given e.g. the association with the clearly Steppe Indo-Iranians. I suppose nothing much is known about the language of the Pelasgians, so instead of this expansionist CHG group being Greeks they could perhaps have even been part of the Anatolian branch of Indo-Europeans? That would be a pretty interesting twist, seems unlikely though.

Okay, just done a bit of Googling, and I now think that the Tyrsenian languages, as well as other languages presumably related to this CHG and Y DNA J spread across the Mediterranean (e.g. Minoan, the Pelasgians in general etc.), were somehow related to the Anatolian languages. Obviously it doesn't matter what I think, but I'm just putting it out there.

There's no way, in my mind at least, for the Hellenic languages to have not come from the Steppe given the relatively close relations to Indo-Iranian. If that is the case, and if this CHG spread from East to West (important to emphasise - I'm not referring to the very early CHG spread amongst farmers, but one associated with the later military elite in the first paper posted in this thread) can be associated at least partly with the spread of the Anatolian languages, and knowing this spread across the Aegean and further across the Mediterranean, it only makes sense for this spread in the Aegean and Italy to be related to an Indo-European language (and the only real language family that is a candidate for this is the Anatolian language family).

There are numerous hypotheses about the origin of the pre-Greek and pre-Italic languages of the Aegean and Italy, and relations with the Anatolians are always near the top of the list, so it isn't that far-fetched.
 
Interesting, the swordsmen looked helpless in many of the matches. Spears should be more economical as well, and more useful in armies that make use of formations.

Perhaps Bronze Age Euros simply thought swords looked cool.

It rather indicates that Bronze Age Euros didn't have the organised militaries that the more civilised West Asians would have had. In group skirmishes where the spearmen were not organised in tight formations, the swordsmen had the advantage, so that's likely why it was more prevalent among the presumably less organised Europeans.
 
It rather indicates that Bronze Age Euros didn't have the organised militaries that the more civilised West Asians would have had. In group skirmishes where the spearmen were not organised in tight formations, the swordsmen had the advantage, so that's likely why it was more prevalent among the presumably less organised Europeans.

You're probably right. Running/riding would be easier with swords as well I would think.
 

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