Network of large pedigrees reveals social practices of Avar communities.

From AD 567-568, at the onset of the Avar period, populations from the Eurasian Steppe settled in the Carpathian Basin for approximately 250 years1. Extensive sampling for archaeogenomics (424 individuals) and isotopes, combined with archaeological, anthropological and historical contextualization of four Avar-period cemeteries, allowed for a detailed description of the genomic structure of these communities and their kinship and social practices. We present a set of large pedigrees, reconstructed using ancient DNA, spanning nine generations and comprising around 300 individuals. We uncover a strict patrilineal kinship system, in which patrilocality and female exogamy were the norm and multiple reproductive partnering and levirate unions were common. The absence of consanguinity indicates that this society maintained a detailed memory of ancestry over generations. These kinship practices correspond with previous evidence from historical sources and anthropological research on Eurasian Steppe societies2. Network analyses of identity-by-descent DNA connections suggest that social cohesion between communities was maintained via female exogamy. Finally, despite the absence of major ancestry shifts, the level of resolution of our analyses allowed us to detect genetic discontinuity caused by the replacement of a community at one of the sites. This was paralleled with changes in the archaeological record and was probably a result of local political realignment.

Isotopic and DNA analyses reveal multiscale PPNB mobility and migration across Southeastern Anatolia and the Southern Levant.

Growing reliance on animal and plant domestication in the Near East and beyond during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) (the ninth to eighth millennium BC) has often been associated with a "revolutionary" social transformation from mobility toward more sedentary lifestyles. We are able to yield nuanced insights into the process of the Neolithization in the Near East based on a bioarchaeological approach integrating isotopic and archaeogenetic analyses on the bone remains recovered from Nevali Çori, a site occupied from the early PPNB in Turkey where some of the earliest evidence of animal and plant domestication emerged, and from Ba'ja, a typical late PPNB site in Jordan. In addition, we present the archaeological sequence of Nevali Çori together with newly generated radiocarbon dates. Our results are based on strontium (87Sr/86Sr), carbon, and oxygen (δ18O and δ13Ccarb) isotopic analyses conducted on 28 human and 29 animal individuals from the site of Nevali Çori. 87Sr/86Sr results indicate mobility and connection with the contemporaneous surrounding sites during the earlier PPNB prior to an apparent decline in this mobility at a time of growing reliance on domesticates. Genome-wide data from six human individuals from Nevali Çori and Ba'ja demonstrate a diverse gene pool at Nevali Çori that supports connectedness within the Fertile Crescent during the earlier phases of Neolithization and evidence of consanguineous union in the PPNB Ba'ja and the Iron Age Nevali Çori.

Use of Stock Titanium Mesh Plates in Cranioplasty.

Craniofacial surgeons are often confronted with major defects of the calvarium. These most commonly are post-traumatic but could also be consequent upon neurosurgical procedures, infection, or tumor removal. There are several options available to reconstruct these defects including autogenous, heterogeneous, and alloplastic material. The goal is to have a method that is easy, cost-effective, with minimal complications, and long-lasting. In our unit we review 100 cases of the use of stock titanium mesh during a 5-year period. Complications occurred in 5 patients (5%) with 3 exposures, 1 late seroma and 1 case requiring repositioning of the plate following trauma. None of the patients required removal of the plate.

Strontium isotope evidence for landscape use by early hominins.

Ranging and residence patterns among early hominins have been indirectly inferred from morphology, stone-tool sourcing, referential models and phylogenetic models. However, the highly uncertain nature of such reconstructions limits our understanding of early hominin ecology, biology, social structure and evolution. We investigated landscape use in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus from the Sterkfontein and Swartkrans cave sites in South Africa using strontium isotope analysis, a method that can help to identify the geological substrate on which an animal lived during tooth mineralization. Here we show that a higher proportion of small hominins than large hominins had non-local strontium isotope compositions. Given the relatively high levels of sexual dimorphism in early hominins, the smaller teeth are likely to represent female individuals, thus indicating that females were more likely than males to disperse from their natal groups. This is similar to the dispersal pattern found in chimpanzees, bonobos and many human groups, but dissimilar from that of most gorillas and other primates. The small proportion of demonstrably non-local large hominin individuals could indicate that male australopiths had relatively small home ranges, or that they preferred dolomitic landscapes.

Bioarchaeology and evidence of violence from a precolonial later stone age communal burial in South Africa.

This study reports on the bioarchaeology and evidence of interpersonal violence in a group of archaeological skeletons found near Ladismith, Western Cape, South Africa. The co-mingled skeletal remains derive from at least ten individuals of varying ages and both sexes. Overlapping radiocarbon dates on three individuals place them in the first half of the 15th century CE, pre-dating first European contact at the end of that century. Three juvenile crania have perimortem perforations, the locations of which indicate violent deaths. The sizes and shapes of the lesions suggest impact by a blade at least 110mm long and 50mm wide but with edges only 2mm thick. Based on these dimensions, we hypothesise that this was a metal-tipped spear. The nearest metal-working communities at this time lived approximately 500 km away, implying long-distance trade or exchange. δ13C, δ15N and 87Sr/86Sr values indicate that this was a heterogenous group of individuals who had spent their early lives in different locations and consumed varied diets, who had come together and were living in or travelling through the Ladismith area at the time of their deaths. This finding extends the timeframe and location for the practice of communal burial in the Holocene of southern Africa and provides additional support for the hypothesis that communal burials in this region tend to be associated with violence.

Multi-isotope reconstruction of Late Pleistocene large-herbivore biogeography and mobility patterns in Central Europe.

Interpretations of Late Pleistocene hominin adaptative capacities by archaeologists have focused heavily on their exploitation of certain prey and documented contemporary behaviours for these species. However, we cannot assume that animal prey-taxa ecology and ethology were the same in the past as in the present, or were constant over archaeological timescales. Sequential isotope analysis of herbivore teeth has emerged as a particularly powerful method of directly reconstructing diet, ecology and mobility patterns on sub-annual scales. Here, we apply 87Sr/86Sr isotope analysis, in combination with δ18O and δ13C isotope analysis, to sequentially sampled tooth enamel of prevalent herbivore species that populated Europe during the Last Glacial Period, including Rangifer tarandus, Equus sp. and Mammuthus primigenius. Our samples come from two open-air archaeological sites in Central Germany, Königsaue and Breitenbach, associated with Middle Palaeolithic and early Upper Palaeolithic cultures, respectively. We identify potential inter- and intra-species differences in range size and movement through time, contextualised through insights into diet and the wider environment. However, homogeneous bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr across large parts of the study region prevented the identification of specific migration routes. Finally, we discuss the possible influence of large-herbivore behaviour on hominin hunting decisions at the two sites.

Multi-proxy bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains shows genetic discontinuity in a Medieval Sicilian community.

The medieval period in Sicily was turbulent, involving successive regime changes, from Byzantine (Greek Christian), Aghlabid (Sunni Muslim), Fatimid (Shi'a Muslim), to Normans and Swabians (Latin Christian). To shed new light on the local implications of regime changes, we conducted a multidisciplinary analysis of 27 individuals buried in adjacent Muslim and Christian cemeteries at the site of Segesta, western Sicily. By combining radiocarbon dating, genome-wide sequencing, stable and radiogenic isotopic data, and archaeological records, we uncover genetic differences between the two communities but find evidence of continuity in other aspects of life. Historical and archaeological evidence shows a Muslim community was present by the 12th century during Norman governance, with the Christian settlement appearing in the 13th century under Swabian governance. A Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates from the burials finds the abandonment of the Muslim cemetery likely occurred after the establishment of the Christian cemetery, indicating that individuals of both faiths were present in the area in the first half of the 13th century. The biomolecular results suggest the Christians remained genetically distinct from the Muslim community at Segesta while following a substantially similar diet. This study demonstrates that medieval regime changes had major impacts beyond the political core, leading to demographic changes while economic systems persisted and new social relationships emerged.

Isotopic evidence for human mobility in late antique Bulla Regia (Tunisia).

This paper represents the first isotopic study on late antique human mobility in North Africa, using the urban site of Bulla Regia in Tunisia as a case study. We also present the first values for bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in northern Tunisia, analysing 63 plant and snail samples, as well as a simple method for the pre-processing of plants in the field to facilitate their export. Bulla Regia was a prominent Roman and late antique town situated on an important axis of transport and communication in North Africa and is therefore an ideal site to explore mobility in the region during this time period. Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18OCarb) isotopic analysis of 22 late antique individuals from a Christian church and cemetery identified at least seven or eight non-locals, while comparative analysis of five Roman individuals from a funerary enclosure on the same site classified all but one of them as potential locals. Most non-local individuals exhibit 87Sr/86Sr values that match various areas of northern Tunisia, which supports regional mobility rather than long-distance migration, although when combined with the oxygen results, inter-regional mobility from an area with a warmer climate may be hypothesised for some individuals. Examination of the spatial distribution of non-local individuals in their cemetery setting reveals that they were privileged individuals, thus they may reflect the mobility of wealthier town-dwellers in late antiquity, particularly perhaps along the Carthage-Hippo route.

Small-scale mobility fostering the interaction networks of Patagonian (Argentina) hunter-gatherers during the Late Holocene: Perspectives from strontium isotopes and exotic items.

During the Late Holocene, hunter-gatherer interaction networks significantly grew in intensity and extension across Patagonia. Although this growth is evidenced by the increased flow of exotic items across the region, the mechanisms behind these strengthening social networks remain unclear. Since evidence suggests that some individuals might have performed long-distance trips, this article aims to address the potential relationship between these individuals and the flows of exotic items in North Patagonia. We analyzed 54 enamel teeth for strontium isotopes and reconstructed their probable mobility using mixed-effect models and isotope-based geographic assignments. We inferred population and individual mobility trends and compared them against the flow of exotic items built from a standardized compilation. Our results indicate that most individuals have isotopic composition compatible with residence within their burial and surrounding areas. However, a few individuals show isotopic composition incompatible with their burial areas, which suggests axes -from the burial location to the most likely isotope integration area- of extraordinary mobility. At the same time, the flows of exotic items overlap with these axes around the eastern sector of the study area suggesting that this location could have been a central point of convergence for people and items. We argue that small-scale socially driven mobility could have played a relevant role as a general mechanism of interaction that fostered and materialized Patagonian interaction networks during the Late Holocene.

Bilateral hip dysplasia in a South African male: A case study from the 17-18th century.

OBJECTIVE: To identify, critically analyse and describe severe bilateral skeletal pathology involving the ossa coxae of an individual from historic era Cape Town. MATERIALS: A single individual from the University of Cape Town's Human Skeletal Repository was analysed under research approval (HREC# 035/2021). METHODS: An osteobiography was constructed, radiocarbon dating and isotopic analyses were conducted. Pathological description and contextualised disability analyses followed, along with differential diagnosis. The pelvis and femora were visualised macroscopically and radiographically. RESULTS: This individual was a non-European middle-aged adult male who lived in the 17-18th centuries CE. Morphological changes showed hypoplastic hips with collapsed femoral heads and neoacetabulae. A diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hips (DDH) was made. Then a contextualised disability analysis including consideration of the clinical and functional impacts of the condition were applied. No signs of maltreatment, physiological stress or persistent infections were present. His bones were well developed, illustrating mobility and use. CONCLUSIONS: He developed DDH early in life and lived through adulthood, and his strong, healthy bones suggest resilience, some mobility and contribution to society through less physically demanding tasks. SIGNIFICANCE: Value for palaepathological analyses to inform and understand disability and culturally significant health mediation to offer a more objective interpretation and improve understanding of past people. It expands our understanding of the presence of DDH globally and in Africa and provides insight into disease impact for individuals with bilateral expression. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: Further contextual research is required. LIMITATIONS: Poor scene recovery hindered in-depth care analysis and interpretation of the condition.

Isotopic and proteomic evidence for communal stability at Pre-Pottery Neolithic Jericho in the Southern Levant.

As one of the key, long-term occupied sites in the Southern Levant, Jericho was one of the most important early Neolithic centres to witness social and economic changes associated with the domestication of plants and animals. This study applies strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotope analyses to the enamel of 52 human teeth from Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) layers of Jericho to directly study human diet and mobility and investigate the degree of consolidation and the flexibility of social organization of Jericho society in the PPN period. The results indicate only two non-local individuals out of the 44 sampled inhabitants identified by strontium isotope analysis and are consistent with the presence of a largely sedentary community at PPN Jericho with no evidence for large-scale migration. We also construct strontium spatial baselines (87Sr/86Sr map) with local 87Sr/86Sr signatures for the sites across the Southern Levant based on systematic compilation and analysis of available data. In addition, we apply proteomic analysis of sex-specific amelogenin peptides in tooth enamel for sex estimation of the sampled individuals (n = 44), the results of which showed a sex-biased ratio (more male than female detected in this sample pool) in Jericho society during the PPN period, which may be due to the limited sample size or selective ritual practices like particular burial zones used for specific groups. We also pretreated a batch of human bone samples recovered from PPNB Jericho for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses for dietary investigations. However, the extracted collagen showed poor preservation and no valid δ13C or δ15N data were obtained.

Interdisciplinary evidence for early domestic horse exploitation in southern Patagonia.

The introduction of domestic horses transformed Indigenous societies across the grasslands of Argentina, leading to the emergence of specialized horse cultures across the Southern Cone. However, the dynamics of this introduction are poorly chronicled by historic records. Here, we apply archaeozoological and biomolecular techniques to horse remains from the site of Chorrillo Grande 1 in southern Argentina. Osteological and taphonomic analyses suggest that horses were pastorally managed and used for food by Aónikenk/Tehuelche hunter-gatherers before the onset of permanent European settlement, as early as the mid-17th century. DNA-based sex identifications suggest consumption of both male and female horses, while ceramic residue also shows use of guanaco products. Sequential isotope analyses on horse dentition reveal an origin in southern Patagonia and movement of these animals between the Río Coig and Río Gallegos basins. These results reinforce emerging evidence for rapid Indigenous-mediated dispersal of horses in the Americas and demonstrate that horses catalyzed rapid economic and social transformations.

Multi-tissue and multi-isotope (δ13 C, δ15 N, δ18 O and 87/86 Sr) data for early medieval human and animal palaeoecology.

Human isotopic ecology at its core aims to study humans as a part of their environments, as animals within an ecosystem. We are complex animals with complicated foodways and mobility patterns that are hard to address without large multifaceted data sets. As biomolecular data from archaeological remains proliferates scientists are now at the stage where we are able to collate large bodies of data and undertake complex meta-analyses and address the complexities of human ecology and past socioenvironmental dynamics. Here we present a data set of 862 entries of new primary isotopic data (37 faunal bone, 235 human enamel carbonate with a subset of 18 for 87/86 Sr, 347 human bone, 243 human bulk dentine) within a larger data set compiled from available legacy data. It contains a total of 8,910 isotopic entries from ancient humans and animals relating to diet and mobility from the late Roman period into the Middle Ages (c. 400-1200 AD). It includes carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotope ratios from human bone, human dentine, faunal bone, and human bioapatite from thousands of individuals, and hundreds of sites found across 26 modern countries in western Europe. Studies have previously focused on only one of these aspects, compiling data sets for one tissue, or common isotopic pairing, or focusing on a particular site or region at a smaller scale for multi-isotope multitissue studies. This is the largest and first multitissue, multi-isotope, multiproxy data set of its kind from premodern populations. In publishing this data set, we hope to inspire more synthetic and meta-analytical work on human isotopic ecology. Insights from these data should lead to greater understanding of diet, agriculture, climate change, human-animal interactions, mobility/migration, and much more in the past. It is hoped that these insights into past socioenvironmental dynamics will help inform current discourse on human-environmental interactions. There are no copyright or proprietary restrictions on the data; these data papers should be cited when these data are used in publications. Additionally, we would like to hear from other researchers who use these data sets in teaching or for their own research.

Sunda arc mantle source δ18O value revealed by intracrystal isotope analysis.

Magma plumbing systems underlying subduction zone volcanoes extend from the mantle through the overlying crust and facilitate protracted fractional crystallisation, assimilation, and mixing, which frequently obscures a clear view of mantle source compositions. In order to see through this crustal noise, we present intracrystal Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) δ18O values in clinopyroxene from Merapi, Kelut, Batur, and Agung volcanoes in the Sunda arc, Indonesia, under which the thickness of the crust decreases from ca. 30 km at Merapi to ≤20 km at Agung. Here we show that mean clinopyroxene δ18O values decrease concomitantly with crustal thickness and that lavas from Agung possess mantle-like He-Sr-Nd-Pb isotope ratios and clinopyroxene mean equilibrium melt δ18O values of 5.7 ‰ (±0.2 1 SD) indistinguishable from the δ18O range for Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB). The oxygen isotope composition of the mantle underlying the East Sunda Arc is therefore largely unaffected by subduction-driven metasomatism and may thus represent a sediment-poor arc end-member.

Re-evaluating Scythian lifeways: Isotopic analysis of diet and mobility in Iron Age Ukraine.

The Scythians are frequently presented, in popular and academic thought alike, as highly mobile warrior nomads who posed a great economic risk to growing Mediterranean empires from the Iron Age into the Classical period. Archaeological studies provide evidence of first millennium BCE urbanism in the steppe while historical texts reference steppe agriculture, challenging traditional characterizations of Scythians as nomads. However, there have been few direct studies of the diet and mobility of populations living in the Pontic steppe and forest-steppe during the Scythian era. Here, we analyse strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope data from human tooth enamel samples, as well as nitrogen and carbon isotope data of bone collagen, at several Iron Age sites across Ukraine commonly associated with 'Scythian' era communities. Our multi-isotopic approach demonstrates generally low levels of human mobility in the vicinity of urban locales, where populations engaged in agro-pastoralism focused primarily on millet agriculture. Some individuals show evidence for long-distance mobility, likely associated with significant inter-regional connections. We argue that this pattern supports economic diversity of urban locales and complex trading networks, rather than a homogeneous nomadic population.

Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence.

The Middle and Late Bronze Age, a period roughly spanning the 2nd millennium BC (ca. 2000-1200 BC) in the Near East, is frequently referred to as the first 'international age', characterized by intense and far-reaching contacts between different entities from the eastern Mediterranean to the Near East and beyond. In a large-scale tandem study of stable isotopes and ancient DNA of individuals excavated at Tell Atchana (Alalakh, located in Hatay, Turkey), we explored the role of mobility at the capital of a regional kingdom, named Mukish during the Late Bronze Age, which spanned the Amuq Valley and some areas beyond. We generated strontium and oxygen isotope data from dental enamel for 53 individuals and 77 individuals, respectively, and added ancient DNA data of 10 newly sequenced individuals to a dataset of 27 individuals published in 2020. Additionally, we improved the DNA coverage of one individual from this 2020 dataset. The DNA data revealed a very homogeneous gene pool. This picture of an overwhelmingly local ancestry was consistent with the evidence of local upbringing in most of the individuals indicated by the isotopic data, where only five were found to be non-local. High levels of contact, trade, and exchange of ideas and goods in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, therefore, seem not to have translated into high levels of individual mobility detectable at Tell Atchana.

Constraining the sub-arc, parental magma composition for the giant Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, northern Chile.

The Andean continental arc is built upon the thickest crust on Earth, whose eruption products reflect varying degrees of crustal assimilation. In order to robustly model magma evolution and assimilation at subduction zones such as the Andes, the compositions of parental magmas feeding crustal magma reservoirs need to be defined. Here we present new olivine and clinopyroxene oxygen isotope data from rare mafic volcanic rocks erupted at the margins of the giant Altiplano-Puna Magma Body (APMB) of the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Central Andes. Existing olivine and pyroxene δ18O values for the Central Andes are highly variable and potentially not representative of sub-arc parental compositions. However, new olivine (n = 6) and clinopyroxene (n = 12) δ18O values of six Central Andean volcanoes presented here display a narrow range, with averages at 6.0‰ ± 0.2 (2σ S.D.) and 6.7‰ ± 0.3 (2σ S.D.), consistent with a common history for the investigated minerals. These data allow us to estimate the δ18O values of sub-arc, parental melts to ca. 7.0‰ ± 0.2 (2σ S.D.). Parental melts feeding the APMB and associated volcanic centres are postulated to form in the felsic continental crust following assimilation of up to 28% high-δ18O basement rocks by mantle-derived magmas.

Multi-isotopic and morphometric evidence for the migration of farmers leading up to the Inka conquest of the southern Andes.

We present isotopic and morphometric evidence suggesting the migration of farmers in the southern Andes in the period AD 1270-1420, leading up to the Inka conquest occurring ~ AD 1400. This is based on the interdisciplinary study of human remains from archaeological cemeteries in the Andean Uspallata Valley (Argentina), located in the southern frontier of the Inka Empire. The studied samples span AD 800-1500, encompassing the highly dynamic Late Intermediate Period and culminating with the imperial expansion. Our research combines a macro-regional study of human paleomobility and migration based on a new strontium isoscape across the Andes that allows identifying locals and migrants, a geometric morphometric analysis of cranio-facial morphology suggesting separate ancestral lineages, and a paleodietary reconstruction based on stable isotopes showing that the migrants had diets exceptionally high in C4 plants and largely based on maize agriculture. Significantly, this migration influx occurred during a period of regional demographic increase and would have been part of a widespread period of change in settlement patterns and population movements that preceded the Inka expansion. These processes increased local social diversity and may have been subsequently utilized by the Inka to channel interaction with the local societies.

Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of tooth enamel: a comparison of solution and laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry methods.

Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in tooth enamel provide a means to investigate migration and landscape use in humans and other animals. Established methods for measuring (87)Sr/(86)Sr in teeth use bulk sampling (5-20 mg) and labor-intensive elemental purification procedures before analysis by either thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) or multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). Another method for measuring 87Sr/86Sr is laser ablation MC-ICP-MS, but concerns have been expressed about its accuracy for measuring tooth enamel. In this study we test the precision and accuracy of the technique by analyzing 30 modern rodent teeth from the Sterkfontein Valley, South Africa by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS and solution MC-ICP-MS. The results show a mean difference in 87Sr/86Sr measured by laser ablation and by solution of 0.0003 +/- 0.0002. This degree of precision is well within the margin necessary for investigating the potential geographic origins of humans or animals in many areas of the world. Because laser ablation is faster, less expensive, and less destructive than bulk sampling solution methods, it opens the possibility for conducting 87Sr/86Sr analyses of intra-tooth samples and small and/or rare specimens such as micromammal and fossil teeth.