https://becc2021.com/conference-program
A genome-wide view of the peopling history of the Vanuatu archipelago
Arauna et al.
The Vanuatu archipelago was peopled during one of the last human migrations to uninhabited lands, ~3,000 years ago (ya). Ancient DNA studies support an initial settlement by East-Asian-related peoples associated to Lapita cultural assemblies1, which was quickly followed by the arrival of Papuan-related populations, likely from the Bismarck Archipelago2, leading to a major replacement. However, the sources and extent of admixture processes in the archipelago remain uncharacterized. Furthermore, despite the high linguistic and cultural diversity of present-day ni-Vanuatu, genetic studies of this region remain scarce.Here, we generated genome-wide SNP array data from more than 1,000 ni-Vanuatu, originating from 30 islands. Our analyses reveal certain degree of genetic homogeneity, suggesting a common peopling history for the archipelago. Yet, when using haplotype-based methods, we observed fine-scale patterns of genetic structure that mirror geography. The Papuan-related ancestry is present at high proportions overall (~70%), but varies between <50% in the south and >80% in the centre. This suggests that the partial population replacement of Lapita first comers by Papuan-related migrants was geographically uneven. We estimated that admixture between the East-Asian-related and Papuan-related ancestors of ni-Vanuatu occurred concomitantly in the north and centre islands, ~2,000 ya, suggesting a single admixture event followed by genetic isolation. In contrast, the southern islands show more recent admixture events, between 600 and 1,000 ya, and higher genetic affinity with Polynesians, supporting back migrations from that region, as suggested by aDNA3. Together, this study sheds new light onto the complex peopling and admixture history of this largely neglected region.
A genetic overview of movements and transitions in Italy from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age.
Saupe et al.
The prehistory of Italy has been extensively studied in the context of social and cultural shifts using archaeological and historical records. However, genetic studies of ancient Italians have been limited so far to a small number of ancient samples.Here, we present a time-series study of genetic data from ancient individuals generated at the aDNA laboratory of the Institute of Genomics, Tartu, Estonia together with published samples, spanning from the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Europe (~16.5k years ago) to the Bronze Age (2200-900 BCE). We generated 23 new whole-genome sequences (average coverages between 0.0016× and1.2353×) from five archaeological sites geographically located in Northern and Central Italy dated to Paleolithic, Copper Age, and (Early) Bronze Age. We used time-series approaches to estimate the genetic affinities of the ancient individuals to contemporary Eurasian individuals in relation to the two major movements during the Neolithic (7000 - 3500 BCE) and the transition from Chalcolithic to Bronze Age. We found that the Paleolithic sample, dated to 17ka, already falls within the broader European Western hunter-gatherer showing a genetic affinity to the previously described Villabruna Cluster (Fu et al. 2016). Additionally, we present new data from the (Early) Bronze Age time period in Italy and show the arrival of Steppe-related ancestry in Northeast Italy at least as early as 1950 BCE.
Genetic ancestry changes in stone to Bronze Age transition in the East European plain
Saag et al.
The transition from Stone to Bronze Age in Central and Western Europe was a period of major population movements originating from the Ponto-Caspian Steppe. Here, we report new genome-wide sequence data from 30 individuals from the territory north of this area – from the under-studied Western part of present-day Russia. We present genetic data from 3 Stone Age hunter-gatherers (10,800–4,250 cal BCE), including an on average 5x covered shotgun sequenced genome. Furthermore, we have sequenced the genomes of 26 Bronze Age farmers associated with the Fatyanovo Culture (2,900–2,050 cal BCE). Fatyanovo Culture is the easternmost extension of the Corded Ware cultural complex that was spread over a large area in Western Russia and introduced animal husbandry and probably crop cultivation into the forest belt. We show that Eastern hunter-gatherer ancestry was present in Northwestern Russia already from around 10,000 BCE. Hence, we present the highest coverage whole genome and oldest individual with this ancestry published so far to our knowledge. Furthermore, we see a change in ancestry with the arrival of farming – Fatyanovo Culture individuals were genetically similar to other Corded Ware cultures, carrying a mixture of Steppe and European early farmer ancestry. We propose that the possible origin of the migration leading to the formation of the Fatyanovo Culture and of the Corded Ware cultures in general could be modern-day Ukraine, which is the closest area where these ancestries coexisted from around 3,000 BCE.
Knock Knock…Who’s there? The possible role of the R1b haplogroup in the late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age transition at southern Iberia
Basilo et al.
aDNA studies have both a significant number of supporters and sceptics amongst the archaeological community. This is caused by different research scales, terminological incompatibilities and by controversial interpretations that have been produced. As such, it is necessary to reconcile Archaeology and Genetics to produce relevant knowledge about key themes in Human History, like the impact of populational inputs in major cultural changes.
This is precisely the case of the transition between Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (LN/EBA) in Iberia, where several social/cultural variations occur. In this region, southern Portugal must be highlighted. In here, the LN/EBA transition represents one of the biggest unknowns of Iberian Prehistory, being marked by unexpected invisibility of the EBA communities.
With recent aDNA results, new data and questions were added to the study of this cultural shift. This is mainly because a synchronic significant genetic turnover has been observed in Iberia, showing a significant input of individuals from the R1b Y chromosome haplogroup.
However, is this populational input connected with the cultural and social shifts at LN/EBA in southern Portugal? That is the big question. There is still a lack of discourses that integrate the available archaeological and genetic data. However, aDNA might provide a possible “culprit”, otherwise unknown. In this sense, it is necessary to check if the Southern Portugal cultural shifts are directly connected to the detected genetic turnover. Here, a critical summary of several aDNA studies will be presented in an attempt to conciliate the views of both archaeologists and geneticists.
Quarto Capello del Prete (1st-3rd cent. CE): genomic structure of a rural Roman community
Veltre et al.
Rome grew from a small City up to an Empire encompassing the whole Mediterranean area and beyond. Hence, it became a complex mosaic of people coming to the City from elsewhere. Indeed, Imperial Rome (1st -3rd centuries CE) could be referred to as the largest urban center in the preindustrial world. Indeed, Rome allured people into its walls to gain better life conditions. Thus, the identification of foreigners might be critical in the proper demographical estimations. The development of biomolecular techniques has remarkably deepened our knowledge about past populations by providing powerful tools to shed light on crucial aspects of individual biological characteristics. However, the genomic evidence for the population of one of the broadest Empire in antiquity has been very scanty until recently. In an attempt to contribute to elucidate the genomic structure of Imperial Rome inhabitants, we recruited 26 individuals from Quarto Cappello del Prete (QCP) necropolis. These samples were submitted to whole-genome sequencing to unveil the genetic component featuring the studied samples and the community's putative demographic structure. The preliminary results allow identifying heterogeneous landscape and providing reliable biological evidence about migration movements towards the Urbe. The genomic legacy with the south-eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the central and western northern-African coast funerary influence pave the way to consider people buried in QCP resembling a Punic-derived human group. Continued efforts are mandatory, though the overall findings could provide a more comprehensive scenario of the events that shaped Imperial Rome inhabitants' genomic makeup.
Ancient DNA perspective on the origins and structure of a Merovingian population in Belgium
Sasso et al.
This project focuses on ancestry, kinship and genetic affinities of people buried in the dunes of the Early Medieval Merovingian burial site of Koksijde on the coast of Belgium. The Merovingian period (7th-9th ccAD), that followed the fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD) was the time of state formation in western Europe (Cook, 2002). The remains of 51 individuals were uncovered in archaeological excavations in 2017. Initial datings and skeletal examinations suggested that the burial ground was used by one or a limited number of family groups for a maximum of a century. Isotope analyses pointed to likely origins of the individuals from outside of Belgium, possibly from Scandinavia. To address the questions of genetic origins of the people of Koksijde and the extent of genetic relatedness at the site 36 best preserved remains of the 51 individuals were chosen for ancient DNA analyses using teeth, petrous bones and talus bones. For initial screening we produced low-coverage data that allowed us to run the first analyses of genetic ancestry and kinship. We investigated the endogenous DNA of each sample and analyzed mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome haplogroups of the individuals, that showed levels of diversity that are comparable and not compatible with one or limited number of family groups. Autosomal data analyses cluster Koksijde individuals more closely with 15 individuals from a Late Medieval site of Sint-Truiden from central Belgium than with Scandinavians. Finally, the kinship analysis (Monroy Kuhn et al., 2018) done revealed 3 pairs of second-degree relatives.
The Mesolithic-Neolithic and Neolithic-Bronze Age transitions in the Aegean: exploring the nature and the extent of migration through aDNA
Papadimitriou
During the Mesolithic-Neolithic and the Neolithic-Bronze Age transitional periods, the two sides of the Aegean experienced the arrival and dispersal of migrant populations. The archaeogenetic evidence coming from 11 Neolithic individuals from both sides of the Aegean showed lack of conspicuous pre-Neolithic European hunter-gatherer ancestry. Nevertheless, the archaeological record supports the persistence of local Mesolithic cultural influences based on pre-existing Mesolithic exchange networks. During the Neolithic-Bronze Age period, two main admixture episodes can be inferred based on the genomes of 19 individuals from Mycenaean, Minoan and Bronze Age Anatolian archaeological contexts. The first probably occurred during the Final Neolithic involving populations with Caucasian and/or Iranian ancestry dating to the Chalcolithic period, and the second shows a migrant population with eastern European/Siberian hunter-gatherer ancestry found only in the Mycenaean genome. The total non-local genetic influx of the Bronze Age populations studied ranges at around 20 % of their total genetic makeup. Therefore, it seems probable that the “Neolithization” of the Aegean was a gradual and multifaceted procedure involving significant non-local genetic influx while the Bronze Age period was marked with high levels of genetic continuity with the previous period.
The assumptions made here are far from conclusive and it is evident that further studies must be conducted in order to be able to arrive to more certain conclusions. Nonetheless, these studies offer a first glimpse of the overall picture and constitute a good starting point in our effort to understand the nature and the extent of prehistoric migrations in the Aegean.
Pre-Roman human occupation of Northern Apulia: a bridge between two worlds
Aneli et al.
The geographical location and shape of Apulia, a narrow land stretching out in the sea at the South of Italy, made this region an important bridge between Western Europe and the Aegean world. Such movements culminated at the beginning of the Iron Age with the Iapygian civilization which consisted of three tribes: Peucetians, Messapians and Daunians. Among them, the Daunians left peculiar cultural heritage, with one-of-a-kind steles and pottery, but, despite the extensive archaeological literature, their origin has been lost to time.
In order to shed light on this, we collected human remains from three archaeological sites (Ordona, Salapia and San Giovanni Rotondo) geographically located in Northern Apulia and corresponding to the area historically inhabited by Daunians. According to the cultural and archaeological context, these remains may be as ancient as the 9th century BC; radiocarbon dates are in progress. These samples were sequenced at the aDNA laboratory of the Institute of Genomics (Tartu, Estonia) yielding 21 new whole-genome sequences at an average coverage of 0.03X.
Preliminary explorations of their genetic variation together with published samples (projected principal components) show that our individuals fall within the genetic variability of their contemporaries from
surrounding areas, with some interesting exceptions, possibly suggestive of a foreign influx. More work has still to be done to retrace the footprints of Daunians and ultimately, to reconstruct the tumultuous ancient dynamics shaping the genetic variability of people inhabiting those areas during the Pre-Roman period, as well as to explore the genetic continuity with modern times.
Arauna et al.
The Vanuatu archipelago was peopled during one of the last human migrations to uninhabited lands, ~3,000 years ago (ya). Ancient DNA studies support an initial settlement by East-Asian-related peoples associated to Lapita cultural assemblies1, which was quickly followed by the arrival of Papuan-related populations, likely from the Bismarck Archipelago2, leading to a major replacement. However, the sources and extent of admixture processes in the archipelago remain uncharacterized. Furthermore, despite the high linguistic and cultural diversity of present-day ni-Vanuatu, genetic studies of this region remain scarce.Here, we generated genome-wide SNP array data from more than 1,000 ni-Vanuatu, originating from 30 islands. Our analyses reveal certain degree of genetic homogeneity, suggesting a common peopling history for the archipelago. Yet, when using haplotype-based methods, we observed fine-scale patterns of genetic structure that mirror geography. The Papuan-related ancestry is present at high proportions overall (~70%), but varies between <50% in the south and >80% in the centre. This suggests that the partial population replacement of Lapita first comers by Papuan-related migrants was geographically uneven. We estimated that admixture between the East-Asian-related and Papuan-related ancestors of ni-Vanuatu occurred concomitantly in the north and centre islands, ~2,000 ya, suggesting a single admixture event followed by genetic isolation. In contrast, the southern islands show more recent admixture events, between 600 and 1,000 ya, and higher genetic affinity with Polynesians, supporting back migrations from that region, as suggested by aDNA3. Together, this study sheds new light onto the complex peopling and admixture history of this largely neglected region.
A genetic overview of movements and transitions in Italy from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age.
Saupe et al.
The prehistory of Italy has been extensively studied in the context of social and cultural shifts using archaeological and historical records. However, genetic studies of ancient Italians have been limited so far to a small number of ancient samples.Here, we present a time-series study of genetic data from ancient individuals generated at the aDNA laboratory of the Institute of Genomics, Tartu, Estonia together with published samples, spanning from the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Europe (~16.5k years ago) to the Bronze Age (2200-900 BCE). We generated 23 new whole-genome sequences (average coverages between 0.0016× and1.2353×) from five archaeological sites geographically located in Northern and Central Italy dated to Paleolithic, Copper Age, and (Early) Bronze Age. We used time-series approaches to estimate the genetic affinities of the ancient individuals to contemporary Eurasian individuals in relation to the two major movements during the Neolithic (7000 - 3500 BCE) and the transition from Chalcolithic to Bronze Age. We found that the Paleolithic sample, dated to 17ka, already falls within the broader European Western hunter-gatherer showing a genetic affinity to the previously described Villabruna Cluster (Fu et al. 2016). Additionally, we present new data from the (Early) Bronze Age time period in Italy and show the arrival of Steppe-related ancestry in Northeast Italy at least as early as 1950 BCE.
Genetic ancestry changes in stone to Bronze Age transition in the East European plain
Saag et al.
The transition from Stone to Bronze Age in Central and Western Europe was a period of major population movements originating from the Ponto-Caspian Steppe. Here, we report new genome-wide sequence data from 30 individuals from the territory north of this area – from the under-studied Western part of present-day Russia. We present genetic data from 3 Stone Age hunter-gatherers (10,800–4,250 cal BCE), including an on average 5x covered shotgun sequenced genome. Furthermore, we have sequenced the genomes of 26 Bronze Age farmers associated with the Fatyanovo Culture (2,900–2,050 cal BCE). Fatyanovo Culture is the easternmost extension of the Corded Ware cultural complex that was spread over a large area in Western Russia and introduced animal husbandry and probably crop cultivation into the forest belt. We show that Eastern hunter-gatherer ancestry was present in Northwestern Russia already from around 10,000 BCE. Hence, we present the highest coverage whole genome and oldest individual with this ancestry published so far to our knowledge. Furthermore, we see a change in ancestry with the arrival of farming – Fatyanovo Culture individuals were genetically similar to other Corded Ware cultures, carrying a mixture of Steppe and European early farmer ancestry. We propose that the possible origin of the migration leading to the formation of the Fatyanovo Culture and of the Corded Ware cultures in general could be modern-day Ukraine, which is the closest area where these ancestries coexisted from around 3,000 BCE.
Knock Knock…Who’s there? The possible role of the R1b haplogroup in the late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age transition at southern Iberia
Basilo et al.
aDNA studies have both a significant number of supporters and sceptics amongst the archaeological community. This is caused by different research scales, terminological incompatibilities and by controversial interpretations that have been produced. As such, it is necessary to reconcile Archaeology and Genetics to produce relevant knowledge about key themes in Human History, like the impact of populational inputs in major cultural changes.
This is precisely the case of the transition between Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (LN/EBA) in Iberia, where several social/cultural variations occur. In this region, southern Portugal must be highlighted. In here, the LN/EBA transition represents one of the biggest unknowns of Iberian Prehistory, being marked by unexpected invisibility of the EBA communities.
With recent aDNA results, new data and questions were added to the study of this cultural shift. This is mainly because a synchronic significant genetic turnover has been observed in Iberia, showing a significant input of individuals from the R1b Y chromosome haplogroup.
However, is this populational input connected with the cultural and social shifts at LN/EBA in southern Portugal? That is the big question. There is still a lack of discourses that integrate the available archaeological and genetic data. However, aDNA might provide a possible “culprit”, otherwise unknown. In this sense, it is necessary to check if the Southern Portugal cultural shifts are directly connected to the detected genetic turnover. Here, a critical summary of several aDNA studies will be presented in an attempt to conciliate the views of both archaeologists and geneticists.
Quarto Capello del Prete (1st-3rd cent. CE): genomic structure of a rural Roman community
Veltre et al.
Rome grew from a small City up to an Empire encompassing the whole Mediterranean area and beyond. Hence, it became a complex mosaic of people coming to the City from elsewhere. Indeed, Imperial Rome (1st -3rd centuries CE) could be referred to as the largest urban center in the preindustrial world. Indeed, Rome allured people into its walls to gain better life conditions. Thus, the identification of foreigners might be critical in the proper demographical estimations. The development of biomolecular techniques has remarkably deepened our knowledge about past populations by providing powerful tools to shed light on crucial aspects of individual biological characteristics. However, the genomic evidence for the population of one of the broadest Empire in antiquity has been very scanty until recently. In an attempt to contribute to elucidate the genomic structure of Imperial Rome inhabitants, we recruited 26 individuals from Quarto Cappello del Prete (QCP) necropolis. These samples were submitted to whole-genome sequencing to unveil the genetic component featuring the studied samples and the community's putative demographic structure. The preliminary results allow identifying heterogeneous landscape and providing reliable biological evidence about migration movements towards the Urbe. The genomic legacy with the south-eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the central and western northern-African coast funerary influence pave the way to consider people buried in QCP resembling a Punic-derived human group. Continued efforts are mandatory, though the overall findings could provide a more comprehensive scenario of the events that shaped Imperial Rome inhabitants' genomic makeup.
Ancient DNA perspective on the origins and structure of a Merovingian population in Belgium
Sasso et al.
This project focuses on ancestry, kinship and genetic affinities of people buried in the dunes of the Early Medieval Merovingian burial site of Koksijde on the coast of Belgium. The Merovingian period (7th-9th ccAD), that followed the fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD) was the time of state formation in western Europe (Cook, 2002). The remains of 51 individuals were uncovered in archaeological excavations in 2017. Initial datings and skeletal examinations suggested that the burial ground was used by one or a limited number of family groups for a maximum of a century. Isotope analyses pointed to likely origins of the individuals from outside of Belgium, possibly from Scandinavia. To address the questions of genetic origins of the people of Koksijde and the extent of genetic relatedness at the site 36 best preserved remains of the 51 individuals were chosen for ancient DNA analyses using teeth, petrous bones and talus bones. For initial screening we produced low-coverage data that allowed us to run the first analyses of genetic ancestry and kinship. We investigated the endogenous DNA of each sample and analyzed mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome haplogroups of the individuals, that showed levels of diversity that are comparable and not compatible with one or limited number of family groups. Autosomal data analyses cluster Koksijde individuals more closely with 15 individuals from a Late Medieval site of Sint-Truiden from central Belgium than with Scandinavians. Finally, the kinship analysis (Monroy Kuhn et al., 2018) done revealed 3 pairs of second-degree relatives.
The Mesolithic-Neolithic and Neolithic-Bronze Age transitions in the Aegean: exploring the nature and the extent of migration through aDNA
Papadimitriou
During the Mesolithic-Neolithic and the Neolithic-Bronze Age transitional periods, the two sides of the Aegean experienced the arrival and dispersal of migrant populations. The archaeogenetic evidence coming from 11 Neolithic individuals from both sides of the Aegean showed lack of conspicuous pre-Neolithic European hunter-gatherer ancestry. Nevertheless, the archaeological record supports the persistence of local Mesolithic cultural influences based on pre-existing Mesolithic exchange networks. During the Neolithic-Bronze Age period, two main admixture episodes can be inferred based on the genomes of 19 individuals from Mycenaean, Minoan and Bronze Age Anatolian archaeological contexts. The first probably occurred during the Final Neolithic involving populations with Caucasian and/or Iranian ancestry dating to the Chalcolithic period, and the second shows a migrant population with eastern European/Siberian hunter-gatherer ancestry found only in the Mycenaean genome. The total non-local genetic influx of the Bronze Age populations studied ranges at around 20 % of their total genetic makeup. Therefore, it seems probable that the “Neolithization” of the Aegean was a gradual and multifaceted procedure involving significant non-local genetic influx while the Bronze Age period was marked with high levels of genetic continuity with the previous period.
The assumptions made here are far from conclusive and it is evident that further studies must be conducted in order to be able to arrive to more certain conclusions. Nonetheless, these studies offer a first glimpse of the overall picture and constitute a good starting point in our effort to understand the nature and the extent of prehistoric migrations in the Aegean.
Pre-Roman human occupation of Northern Apulia: a bridge between two worlds
Aneli et al.
The geographical location and shape of Apulia, a narrow land stretching out in the sea at the South of Italy, made this region an important bridge between Western Europe and the Aegean world. Such movements culminated at the beginning of the Iron Age with the Iapygian civilization which consisted of three tribes: Peucetians, Messapians and Daunians. Among them, the Daunians left peculiar cultural heritage, with one-of-a-kind steles and pottery, but, despite the extensive archaeological literature, their origin has been lost to time.
In order to shed light on this, we collected human remains from three archaeological sites (Ordona, Salapia and San Giovanni Rotondo) geographically located in Northern Apulia and corresponding to the area historically inhabited by Daunians. According to the cultural and archaeological context, these remains may be as ancient as the 9th century BC; radiocarbon dates are in progress. These samples were sequenced at the aDNA laboratory of the Institute of Genomics (Tartu, Estonia) yielding 21 new whole-genome sequences at an average coverage of 0.03X.
Preliminary explorations of their genetic variation together with published samples (projected principal components) show that our individuals fall within the genetic variability of their contemporaries from
surrounding areas, with some interesting exceptions, possibly suggestive of a foreign influx. More work has still to be done to retrace the footprints of Daunians and ultimately, to reconstruct the tumultuous ancient dynamics shaping the genetic variability of people inhabiting those areas during the Pre-Roman period, as well as to explore the genetic continuity with modern times.