Slag as evidence for early iron production in arctic Norway

Physical, structural and chemical analyses were made on slag remains obtained from three sites in Iron Age arctic Norway. Scanning electron microscopy and x‐ray microanalysis were employed to confirm that the slag can only be a result of iron production. Although a distinction between slag produced by smithing and smelting proved difficult, consideration of the processes and the resources available support the assumption that both were practiced at the sites. The results provide firm evidence of iron production in the region of Norway north of the 69th parallel, by at least the sixth century AD.     

Dental morphological evidence for biological continuity between the A-group and C-group periods in lower Nubia

Data are presented on non-metric dental morphological traits in skeletal samples from the Lower Nubian A-Group (ca. 3100–2500 BC) and C-Group (ca. 2000–1500 BC) cultural periods. In order to examine possible biological differentiation between these two periods, their trait frequencies were analysed using the mean measure of divergence statistic. Results indicate biological continuity, consistent with in situ evolution, although the problem of small samples requires that these results be accepted with caution. Although the diffusion of ideas or material culture into the area through military and trade contacts is likely, any archaeologically observable cultural differences between these two phases are more consistent with local cultural evolution than with the importation of a new cultural system through the migration of a foreign population into the area. The timing of a population replacement in ancient Nubia that has been identified by other scholars should now be sought either before the A-Group period or after the C-Group.     

New evidence for Upper Palaeolithic small domestic dogs in South-Western Europe

Osteoarchaeology and genetics agree that the earliest dog domestications took place during the Upper Palaeolithic. However, they partially disagree about the process of domestication. The former indicated multiple origins, when some of the results of the latter suggested that dogs mainly came from a Chinese centre of domestication. In this study, we describe and discuss new evidence for Late Glacial small dogs in the South-West (Pont d’Ambon and Montespan) and North of France (Le Closeau). Special attention was paid to the possibility of miss-identification between small early dogs and dholes (Cuon alpinus), a middle-sized Canidae, the size of which can be similar to early small dogs. Detailed analyses of the archaeological contexts alongside that of taphonomy, morphoscopy, morphometry and pathology, identified 49 small canid remains from the three sites. They allowed us to exclude the presence of dholes and to conclude that they were all small Upper Paleolithic dogs. These, together with other more sparse discoveries, confirmed the presence of Western European Upper Paleolithic Small (WEUPS) dogs from, at least, the Middle Magdalenian to the end of the Epipaleolithic (i.e. 15,000–11,500 cal BP). As they are contemporaneous with the much larger Russian Upper Paleolithic dogs, they plea for several Euro-Asian origins for Late Palaeolithic dogs.     

Ancient DNA reveals a major genetic change during the transition from hunting economy to reindeer husbandry in northern Scandinavia

The timing and origin of reindeer domestication has been highly debated. Recent molecular analyses show several mitochondrial lineages of domestic reindeer across Eurasia suggesting different origins of Fennoscandian and Siberian domestic reindeer. In order to investigate the origin of domestic Fennoscandian reindeer, we sequenced a mitochondrial control region fragment of 68 ancient reindeer remains from archaeological sites in Finnmark, the major county for extant reindeer husbandry in Norway, spanning from ca. BC 3400 to AD 1800. The majority of the Stone and Iron Age reindeer assemblages in Finnmark are from settlements in the eastern part of the county, in the Varangerfjord area. The reindeer remains from these settlements show affiliation to the large and complex Beringian haplotype cluster, found in extant reindeer from the Kola Peninsula to north-eastern Russia. A distinct haplotype shift is observed in the late medieval period, when the typical haplotype signatures of extant domestic Fennoscandian reindeer appeared in coastal regions of both eastern and western Finnmark. These haplotypes were not found among the Stone and Iron Age wild reindeer samples of Finnmark, suggesting that this population was not ancestral to extant domestic reindeer of Fennoscandia.     

古DNA分析技术在考古学研究中的应用

保留在古代生物遗骸中的遗传物质DNA是一种重要的遗传学资源,古DNA分析技术在考古学中的成功运用已成为一个新兴的考古学研究领域,将现代分子生物学技术应用于考古学的研究中而形成的一个新兴的分支学科——分子考古学,即指利用分子生物学研究技术,对出土的古代可研究对象进行分子水平的分析和研究。分子考古学在解决人类的起源与迁徙、动植物的家养和驯化过程、及农业的起源和早期发展等重大考古学问题上都具有重要的意义。本文时古DNA分析技术及其在考古学上的应用进行了综合论述,特别是对吉林大学边疆考古研究中心考古DNA实验室在近年来所取得的新进展做了系统的回顾和总结,以期为考古学和人类学的研究提供有益的参考     

Ancient DNA for the Archaeologist: The Future of African Research

Ancient DNA analyses are increasingly popular in archaeology. With the exception of Egypt, the African continent has been grossly understudied using these techniques. We review the state of ancient DNA research on Africa, ancient DNA analysis techniques, and common pitfalls in these studies. We provide recommendations for archaeologists interested in collecting and interpreting ancient DNA data.     

Ancient DNA insights from the Middle Neolithic in Germany

Genetic studies of Neolithic groups in central Europe have provided insights into the demographic processes that have occurred during the initial transition to agriculture as well as in later Neolithic contexts. While distinct genetic patterns between indigenous hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers in Europe have been observed, it is still under discussion how the genetic diversity changed during the 5,000-year span of the Neolithic period. In order to investigate genetic patterns after the earliest farming communities, we carried out an ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis of 34 individuals from Wittmar, Germany representing three different Neolithic farming groups (ca. 5,200–4,300 cal bc) including Rössen societies. Ancient DNA analysis was successful for six individuals associated with the Middle Neolithic Rössen and observed haplotypes were assigned to mtDNA haplogroups H5, HV0, U5, and K. Our results offer perspectives on the genetic composition of individuals associated with the Rössen culture at Wittmar and permit insights into genetic landscapes in central Europe at a time when regional groups first emerged during the Middle Neolithic.     

Sailing and Sailing Rigs in the Ancient Mediterranean: implications of continuity,variation and change in propulsion technology

Ships and boats form the foundations of the maritime connectivity that is a central part of our understanding of the ancient Mediterranean. While the general chronological sequence of sail and sailing‐rig development is well established, the implications are less‐well discussed. This article sets out how sails and sailing rigs developed in antiquity, with emphasis on the Greco‐Roman world. Subsequently, instances of innovation are defined. Why specific pieces of maritime technology were, or were not, widely adopted is considered. Long‐term technological continuity can be comprehended, and a shared maritime culture of sailing in the ancient Mediterranean is suggested.     

古人骨DNA的提取、扩增、测序与研究

古代生物遗体中的DNA经历了漫长的历史年代后,总会发生破坏和损伤,因此,古DNA 的长度至多有几百个碱基对的水平。本文对出土于河南省郑州市西山仰韶文化晚期遗址、内 蒙古克什克腾旗龙头山青铜时代遗址和察右后旗三道湾汉代鲜卑族墓葬的古代人骨进行了古 DNA的实验研究。从4例古人骨标本中提取出古DNA。提取物的线粒体DNA片段由聚合酶链式反应（PCR）扩增,且被测序。本实验证明了扩增序列的真实性,不存在外源基因的污染。通过Clustal X序列分析软件进行同源性比较后,发现龙头山夏家店上层文化居民与三道湾汉代鲜卑族居民之间的同源性较近,而西山新石器时代居民与前二者之间的同源性则相对较远。〔     

Demography and ethnic continuity in the Tlailotlacan enclave of Teotihuacan: the evidence from stable oxygen isotopes

Mechanisms for the maintenance of Zapotec ethnicity in Tlailotlacan, an enclave of Teotihuacan, Mexico, are reconstructed using oxygen-isotope analyses of bone and enamel phosphate. The data indicate continual interaction among the enclave inhabitants, their Oaxacan homeland, and other diaspora colonies, with no dominant post-marital residence pattern. There is no apparent association between social status and place of origin, and individual agency is indicated by variable acceptance of Teotihuacan traditions. Striking patterns of movement include the sojourning of children in other regions and the relocation of breastfeeding women. These segments of the population would have played major roles in the social and political articulation of diaspora colonies. Foreign signatures in primary burials indicate that some immigrants died shortly after their arrival in Tlailotlacan. Data from secondary burials indicate the transportation of dead relatives or ancestors to Teotihuacan for burial. We conclude that the behaviour of immigrants in ancient and modern cities is analogous in many ways.     

Evaluating Ancient Whale Exploitation on the Northern Oregon Coast Through Ancient DNA and Zooarchaeological Analysis

Whales have long been an important part of Pacific Northwest Coast human subsistence and lifeways. Native peoples on the Oregon Coast were not known to hunt whales, but a humpback whale phalange with an embedded bone harpoon at the Par-Tee site (35CLT20) and ethnographic accounts raised the possibility of opportunistic whale hunting. We analyzed a suite of whale remains from Par-Tee and performed ancient DNA-based species identifications on 30 specimens. The assemblage includes gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus, 60.7% of the assemblage), humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae, 32.1%), minkes (Balaenoptera acutorostrata, 3.6%), and orcas (Orcinus orca, 3.6%). While the species composition is similar to those found in archaeological deposits from systematic whaling areas in Washington and Vancouver Island, bone modification patterns and element representation reveal important differences. Our analysis demonstrates that whales were likely a supplementary part of human subsistence at Par-Tee and, while opportunistic whale hunting likely occurred, it may have been secondary to scavenging and utilization of beached and/or drift whales.     

An atypical Ancient Egyptian pillow from Sedment el-Gebel: evidence for migrant worker trading and technology

Archaeological artefacts are irreplaceable information resources. Consequently analytical methods must be non-destructive or use the minimum of sample so that an artefact remains accessible and unchanged for future research. The significance and innovation of the current study is the application of micro- and non-destructive analytical methods to an ancient Egyptian pillow in order to gain new knowledge about funerary customs, population composition, trade routes, and technological expertise. In this study, the analytical results highlight the funerary customs of a migrant community within ancient Egypt with an ephemeral technological expertise.     

Boats and meaning: A study of change and continuity in the Alta fjord,arctic Norway,from 4200 to 500 years B.C.

This paper is an analysis of socioeconomic and symbolic meaning associated with rock carvings of boats which were carved on rock surfaces between 4200 and 500 calendric years B.C. in the Alta fjord, arctic Norway. The carvings, which are divided into four diachronic phases, change in form and partly in content, approximately contemporaneous with the general archaeological record. The analysis of the human figures associated with the boats indicates that there were functional and possibly status differences, in the real as well as in the mythological world. There are also diachronic changes in the activities in which the boats are depicted. The changes in the carvings might be associated with other cultural transformations such as in material culture and socioeconomic and religious systems, among northern hunters and fishers. Some of the changes could be influenced by ideologies associated with Neolithic and Bronze Age socioeconomic systems further south in Scandinavia.     

Burying key evidence: the social bond between dogs and people

People have been burying or otherwise ritually disposing of dead dogs for a long time. They sometimes treat other animals in such a fashion, but not nearly as often as dogs. This presentation documents the consistent and worldwide distribution of this practice over about the past 12,000–14,000 years. Such practices directly reflect the domestic relationship between people and dogs, and speak rather directly to the timing of canid domestication. In doing so, they contradict recent genetics-based inferences, thus calling into question the legitimacy of focusing mostly on genetic factors as opposed to other factors. This discussion seeks to work towards a sound framework for analyzing and thus understanding the social compatibility between people and dogs. That compatibility is directly signified by the burial of dogs, with people often responding to the deaths of individual dogs much as they usually respond to the death of a family member. Moreover, that special social relationship continues, as illustrated clearly by the establishment, maintenance, and ongoing use of several modern dog cemeteries, in different countries of the world.     

Ancient olive DNA in pits: preservation,amplification and sequence analysis

The olive tree (Olea europaea) was domesticated by vegetative propagation of selected wild individuals with superior fruit. Later, new cultivars were established repeatedly from feral trees or from crosses between wild, feral, and domesticated trees. Thus the genetic background of many contemporary domesticated lines is a mixture of ancient cultivars and local wild trees. Ancient DNA may illuminate the complicated process of olive domestication because such DNA sequences provide data about ancient genomes that existed closer to the domestication events. Well preserved DNA must be available for such studies, even though in the Mediterranean region, where olive cultivation took place, the climatic conditions are not favorable for DNA preservation. To select for well preserved pits we measured their proportions of lignin by IR spectroscopy, and correlated this with parameters of DNA quality such as template length in an olive-specific repeat array, and template quantity as determined by real-time PCR amplification. Archaeological pits that passed these tests did contain high quality ancient DNA. We present the first ancient olive DNA sequences and compare them to modern wild, feral and domesticated lines.     

Anthropology in the arctic and subarctic today

Gösta Berg, ed. Circumpolar Problems: Habitat, Economy and Social Relations in the Arctic. Wenner‐Gren International Symposium Series. Vol. 21. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1973. vi + 194 pp. Figures, tables, and references. $19.50.     

Ancient DNA typing of archaeological pig remains corroborates historical records

The recent increase in both the abundance and taxonomic range of DNA sequence data in public repositories makes it possible to determine the maternal origin of lineages of faunal archaeological material by characterizing its mitochondrial DNA. Among the most commonly represented taxa are domesticated animals, for which extensive genetic characterization has revealed high levels of genetic diversity and (in at least some cases) strong phylogeographic clustering. Such information has significant implications not only for characterizing important aspects of the occupation history of archaeological sites, but also in providing novel insights into colonisation history and the scale and scope of trade and exchange networks. This can be done through studying the origins and dispersal of proxy organisms such as commensal and domesticated animals, as well as economically important wild fauna. To illustrate this approach, we compare historical records of maritime movement of people and pigs from two sites on Lord Howe Island, Australia, to phylogeographic results of DNA extracted from pig bones.     

Ancient bacterial DNA (aDNA) in dental calculus from archaeological human remains

The purpose of this study was to identify reactive bacterial aDNA in archaeological human dental calculus. Dental calculus was collected from a middle/late Neolithic human skull from Hulbjerg passage grave, Langeland, Denmark and prepared for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or gold-labeled antibody TEM. TEM showed calcified, as well as non-calcified bacteria. Immunogold labeling occurred over the cytoplasmic portions of the sectioned bacteria. The result demonstrated that it is possible to identify aDNA sequences from bacteria in archaeological material of considerable age by this technique.