Dynamic changes in genomic and social structures in third millennium BCE central Europe.

Europe's prehistory oversaw dynamic and complex interactions of diverse societies, hitherto unexplored at detailed regional scales. Studying 271 human genomes dated ~4900 to 1600 BCE from the European heartland, Bohemia, we reveal unprecedented genetic changes and social processes. Major migrations preceded the arrival of "steppe" ancestry, and at ~2800 BCE, three genetically and culturally differentiated groups coexisted. Corded Ware appeared by 2900 BCE, were initially genetically diverse, did not derive all steppe ancestry from known Yamnaya, and assimilated females of diverse backgrounds. Both Corded Ware and Bell Beaker groups underwent dynamic changes, involving sharp reductions and complete replacements of Y-chromosomal diversity at ~2600 and ~2400 BCE, respectively, the latter accompanied by increased Neolithic-like ancestry. The Bronze Age saw new social organization emerge amid a ≥40% population turnover.

The health status of the early medieval population of Greater Moravia in relations to social and economic structures.

The Greater Moravian Empire (9th-10th century AD) was the first early state formation of the Slavonic populations in Central Europe. The focus of this research is the comparative assessment of the health status of three cemeteries of different socio-economic status in the area surrounding the Mikulcice castle. We have compared about 850 skeletons from (1) the castle cemetery and (2) non-castle cemeteries in Mikulcice and (3) a cemetery from the poor village of Josefov located eight kilometres from Mikulcice. The following characteristics were examined: linear enamel defects, dental caries, cribra orbitalia, Harris lines, trauma, degenerative joint disease and occupation stress markers, sexual dimorphism and demographic estimators. Hypoplastic defects of enamel determined on the permanent dentition of children appear with high frequency (over 80%). As the incidence of these defects is found mostly in individuals between the ages of 2 to 4 years, it is interpreted to be a consequence of weaning stress. Cribra orbitalia appears more frequently in the rural Josefov cemetery. Inhabitants at the extramural settlement exhibit poorer dental health than people buried inside the castle. Demographic estimators showed also clear the differences between the cemeteries in the Mikulcice settlement and inside the castle. The results show that there were significant differences between the health status of early Slavonic populations from South Moravia.

Harris lines in the non-adult Great Moravian population of Mikulcice (Czech Republic).

Harris lines have been recognised as an indicator of the stress since the thirties of the last century, when the work of dr. H. A. Harris was published. Despite seventy years of interest, the aetiology of this marker remains unclear. The lines are generally interpreted as being the consequence of a temporary interruption or arrest of bone growth during ontogenesis. Various factors as a trauma, malnutrition and protein deficiency can be the cause of HL's development [e.g. 1]. Clinical studies, have not confirmed these connections unequivocally [e.g. 2, 3]. The lines form in the region of the metaphyses, where the bones grow. Their position vis-a-vis the bone enables to deduce, more or less, the time of their formation [e.g. 4, 5, 6]. The aim of our research was to study the Harris line's formarion in the non-adult population of the Great-Moravian settlement agglomeration at Mikulcice-Valy. We focused only on the non-adult population because it is impossible to rule out the possibility of re-modelling (obliteration) of these lines in adults [e.g. 7]. We recorded the incidence of these markers using X-rays of the long bones of the upper (Hu) and lower (Fe, Ti) extremities. We evaluated a total of 132 individuals. In the first phase, we calculated the intra-observer and inter-observer errors [e.g. 8]. After determining the incidence of these markers on individual bones, we observed the difference in the incidence of markers among individual bones, as well as differences in the distribution of lines in the proximal and distal parts of the bone under study. We also studied the intensity of line formation, which, together with the density of the lines themselves, could indicate the degree of intensity and duration of the stress [e.g. 9]. Finally, we evaluated, the period in the child's life when bone growth was most frequently disrupted [e.g. 6].

Impact of secular trends on sex assessment evaluated through femoral dimensions of the Czech population.

Human skeletal variability is influenced by several factors, including genetics, environment, and socio-cultural background. Forensic methods being traditionally based on targeted reference groups, it is recognized that they are population-specific. Additionally, secular trends highly impact on the skeletal morphology, but the effect of outdated methods on forensic cases is not yet well documented. This paper compares the sexual dimorphism of femoral dimensions in two samples from the Czech population separated by 60 years in time (Pachner and the Prague National Museum Collections). Significant secular trends are present within this short span in both sexes and for most of the seven tested linear variables. The consequence of secular trends on sex determination is tested with logistic regression, and a decrease in reliability is systematically observed when using the older Czech sample on the 20th century sample, whichever the set of variables included. A model based on a recent Croatian sample provides a higher reliability on contemporaneous Czech individuals. These results imply that above population specificity, temporal consistency may be a major criterion to fulfil when applying forensic anthropology identification methods.

Histological estimation of age at death from the compact bone of burned and unburned human ribs.

This study describes the estimation of age at death from the compact bone of burned and unburned human ribs. Bone samples came from individuals of known age, sex, and cause of death. Each bone was divided into four sections; three sections were burned at 700, 800, and 1000°C. Undecalcified, unstained ground cross sections were photographed, and 28 variables were analyzed in the bones using SigmaScan Pro 5. Age-related as well as heat-induced microstructural changes were found. These changes were often very similar and made estimating the age at death difficult in the burned bones. Differences between the sexes were found in some variables, caused by both aging and also by the different behavior of some variables during burning. Regression equations were developed to estimate age at death for unburned bones (r² = 0.579 and 0.707), bones burned at 700°C (r² = 0.453 and 0.501), and 800°C (r² = 0.334 and 0.340).

The temperature of cremation and its effect on the microstructure of the human rib compact bone.

The presented study deals with the effect of the cremation temperature on the microstructure and morphology of the human compact bone. The biological material consisted of samples from ribs of recent Central European origin belonging to individuals of known age, sex and cause of death. Each bone sample was divided into several sections. One section remained unburned and the rest were burned at 700, 800 and 1000 degrees C. A few samples were burned also at the temperature of 600 degrees C. The undecalcified unstained ground cross-sections were made from burned and unburned bones; photographed and analysed using the SigmaScan Pro 5 programme. During burning, both the macroscopic and microscopic dimensions of the bone shrink, including the measures of the individual microstructures. The percentual representation of the area of individual microstructures on the area of the cross-section decreases. The number of individual microstructures per mm2 of the compact bone cross-section increases. Most microstructural variables demonstrated statistically significant differences at the individual temperatures of cremation. The burned bones showed a large scale of the colours, especially at 700 degrees C.