RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: North Mesopotamia has witnessed dramatic social change during the Holocene, but the impact of these events on its demographic history is poorly understood. Here, we study this question by analysing genetic data from the recently excavated Late Iron Age settlement of Çemialo Sirti in Batman, southeast Turkey. Archaeological and radiocarbon evidence indicate that the site was inhabited during the second and first millennia BCE. Çemialo Sirti reveals nomadic items of the Early Iron Age, as well as items associated with the Late Achaemenid and subsequent Hellenistic Periods. We compare Çemialo Sirti mitochondrial DNA profiles with earlier and later populations from west Eurasia to describe genetic continuity patterns in the region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 16 Çemialo Sirti individuals' remains were studied. PCR and Sanger sequencing were used to obtain mitochondrial DNA HVRI-HVRII sequences. We studied haplotype diversity and pairwise genetic distances using FST , comparing the Çemialo Sirti population with ancient and modern-day populations from west Eurasia. Coalescent simulations were carried out to test continuity for specific population comparisons. RESULTS: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes from 12 Çemialo Sirti individuals reveal high haplotype diversity in this population, conspicuously higher than early Holocene west Eurasian populations, which supports the notion of increasing population admixture in west Eurasia through the Holocene. In its mtDNA composition, Çemialo Sirti shows highest affinity to Neolithic north Syria and Neolithic Anatolia among ancient populations studied, and to modern-day southwest Asian populations. Based on population genetic simulations we cannot reject continuity between Neolithic and Iron Age, or between Iron Age and present-day populations of the region. DISCUSSION: Despite the region's complex sociopolitical history and indication for increased genetic diversity over time, we find no evidence for sharp shifts in north Mesopotamian maternal genetic composition within the last 10,000 years.
