Capturing the fusion of two ancestries and kinship structures in Merovingian Flanders.

The Merovingian period (5th to 8th cc AD) was a time of demographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and political realignment in Western Europe. Here, we report the whole-genome shotgun sequence data of 30 human skeletal remains from a coastal Late Merovingian site of Koksijde (675 to 750 AD), alongside 18 remains from two Early to Late Medieval sites in present-day Flanders, Belgium. We find two distinct ancestries, one shared with Early Medieval England and the Netherlands, while the other, minor component, reflecting likely continental Gaulish ancestry. Kinship analyses identified no large pedigrees characteristic to elite burials revealing instead a high modularity of distant relationships among individuals of the main ancestry group. In contrast, individuals with >90% Gaulish ancestry had no kinship links among sampled individuals. Evidence for population structure and major differences in the extent of Gaulish ancestry in the main group, including in a mother-daughter pair, suggests ongoing admixture in the community at the time of their burial. The isotopic and genetic evidence combined supports a model by which the burials, representing an established coastal nonelite community, had incorporated migrants from inland populations. The main group of burials at Koksijde shows an abundance of >5 cM long shared allelic intervals with the High Medieval site nearby, implying long-term continuity and suggesting that similarly to Britain, the Early Medieval ancestry shifts left a significant and long-lasting impact on the genetic makeup of the Flemish population. We find substantial allele frequency differences between the two ancestry groups in pigmentation and diet-associated variants, including those linked with lactase persistence, likely reflecting ancestry change rather than local adaptation.

Female Vanity in the Early Modern Period: Evidence from the Science Based Reassessment of a Supposed Merovingian Dental Appliance.

Musée de la Cour d'Or, Metz, France, possesses a female skull bearing a gold wire dental appliance claimed in a 1934 Dental Cosmos article on the history of dental prosthetics to be 'probably' Merovingian in origin. Inquiries in 2017 revealed current museum curators were unaware of this claim but were skeptical of such dating suggesting scientific analysis might provide clarity. Carbon dating of a tooth from the skull was carried out placing the artifact in the mid seventeenth-late eighteenth centuries while Metz historical records reveal the find site was occupied by a convent of nuns for most of C14 dated period. Strontium isotopic analysis indicates the woman was a local of the Metz region while fluorine analysis indicates exposure to fluoride early in life. Oral health status and the dentistry indicate the woman was of high social status.

Female Vanity in the Early Modern Period: Evidence from the Science Based Reassessment of a Supposed Merovingian Dental Appliance.

Musée de la Cour d'Or, Metz, France, possesses a female skull bearing a gold wire dental appliance claimed in a 1934 Dental Cosmos article on the history of dental prosthetics to be 'probably' Merovingian in origin. Inquiries in 2017 revealed current museum curators were unaware of this claim but were skeptical of such dating, suggesting scientific analysis might provide clarity. Carbon dating of a tooth from the skull was performed placing the artifact in the mid seventeenth-late eighteenth centuries, while Metz historical records reveal the find site was occupied by a convent of nuns for most of C14 dated period. Strontium isotopic analysis indicated that the woman was a local of the Metz region while fluorine analysis indicated exposure to fluoride early in life. Oral health status and the dentistry indicate the woman was of high social status.

Paleoparasitology of Merovingian Corpses Buried in Stone Sarcophagi in the Saint-Martin-au-Val Church (Chartres, France).

Paleoparasitological analysis was carried on 4 Merovingian skeletons, dated from the late-5th to the late-9th centuries, and recovered in the church of Saint-Martin-au-Val in Chartres (Center region, France). The corpses were buried in stone sarcophagi, which were still sealed at the time of excavation. Parasite marker extraction was conducted on sediment samples taken from the abdominal and pelvic regions, but also on samples taken from under the head and the feet as control samples. Microscopic observation revealed the presence of 3 gastrointestinal parasites, namely the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and the fish tapeworm (genus Diphyllobothrium). This analysis contributes to a better knowledge of the health status and the lifestyle of ancient medieval populations during the Merovingian period, for which very few paleoparasitological data were available, up until now. It demonstrates the presence of the fish tapeworm for the first time during this period.

Changes in dietary practices and social organization during the pivotal late iron age period in Norway (AD 550-1030): isotope analyses of Merovingian and Viking Age human remains.

Human remains representing 33 individuals buried along the coast in northern Norway were analyzed for diet composition using collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. Where possible, both teeth and bone were included to investigate whether there were dietary changes from childhood to adulthood. A general shift was documented from the Merovingian Age 550-800 AD to the Viking Age AD 800-1050 (VA), with a heavier reliance on marine diet in the VA. Dietary life history data show that 15 individuals changed their diets through life with 11 of these having consumed more marine foods in the later years of life. In combination with (87) Sr/(86) Sr data, it is argued that at least six individuals possibly originated from inland areas and then moved to the coastal region where they were eventually interred. The trend is considered in relation to the increasing expansion of the marine fishing industry at this time, and it is suggested that results from isotope analyses reflect the expanding production and export of stockfish in this region.