scholarly journals Population genomics on the origin of lactase persistence in Europe and South Asia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoko Satta ◽  
Naoyuki Takahata
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Population Genomics ◽  
South Asians ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Lactase Persistence ◽  
Human Genomes ◽  
Local Selection ◽  
Primary Determinant ◽  
The Bronze Age

AbstractThe C to T mutation at rs4988235 located upstream of the lactase (LCT) gene is the primary determinant for lactase persistence (LP) that is prevalent among Europeans and South Asians. Here, we review evolutionary studies of this mutation based on ancient and present-day human genomes with the following concluding remarks: the mutation arose in the Pontic Steppe somewhere between 23,000 and 5960 years ago, emigrated into Europe and South Asia in the Bronze Age via the expansion of the Steppe ancestry, and experienced local hard sweeps with their delayed onsets occurring between 5000 and 3280 years ago. We also argue that the G to A mutation at rs182549 arose earlier than 23,000 years ago, the intermediate CA haplotype ancestral to the LP-related TA haplotype is still represented by samples from Tuscans, admixed Americans and South Asians, and the great majority of G to A mutated descendants have hitchhiked since the C to T mutation was favored by local selection.

The Bronze Age Round Barrows of Wessex

1941 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 73-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. V. Grinsell
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Northern Limit ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Important Extension ◽  
The One ◽  
The Bronze Age

The area covered by this survey, which epitomizes the writer's work on Wessex barrows since 1929, is limited on the west by a line drawn from Weston-super-Mare to Bridport, on the east by a line drawn from Dorking to Arundel, on the north roughly by the northern limit of the chalk downs south of the Thames, and on the south by the sea. It encloses the great majority of bell, disc, and saucer barrows, all of which appear to be expressions of Piggott's Wessex Bronze Age culture. It should be noted however that elements of this culture are found outside the area dealt with, notably at various places to the north-east. Nearly all of these are so close to the Icknield Way as to make it certain that this was the means of communication linking the one with the other. Another, though less important, extension of the Wessex Bronze Age culture is represented by a few sites, some of them doubtful, within a short distance of the course of the Upper Thames, and it is probable that the river was the means of communication used.Here it is well to point out the respects in which the boundaries of Bronze Age Wessex, as determined by my own distribution-maps of barrows, differ from those adopted in the O.S. Map of Neolithic Wessex, and by Mr Stuart Piggott in his recent paper, ‘The Early Bronze Age in Wessex.’

scholarly journals Between China and South Asia: A Middle Asian corridor of crop dispersal and agricultural innovation in the Bronze Age

The Holocene ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1541-1555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris J Stevens ◽  
Charlene Murphy ◽  
Rebecca Roberts ◽  
Leilani Lucas ◽  
Fabio Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Agricultural Innovation ◽  
The Bronze Age

scholarly journals The population genomics of archaeological transition in west Iberia: Investigation of ancient substructure using imputation and haplotype-based methods

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Martiniano ◽  
Lara M Cassidy ◽  
Ros Ó’Maoldúin ◽  
Russell McLaughlin ◽  
Nuno M Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Population Genomics ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Genetic Impact ◽  
Transition To Agriculture ◽  
Local Hunter ◽  
The Bronze Age

AbstractWe analyse new genomic data (0.05-2.95x) from 14 ancient individuals from Portugal distributed from the Middle Neolithic (4200-3500 BC) to the Middle Bronze Age (1740-1430 BC) and impute genomewide diploid genotypes in these together with published ancient Eurasians. While discontinuity is evident in the transition to agriculture across the region, sensitive haplotype-based analyses suggest a significant degree of local hunter-gatherer contribution to later Iberian Neolithic populations. A more subtle genetic influx is also apparent in the Bronze Age, detectable from analyses including haplotype sharing with both ancient and modern genomes, D-statistics and Y-chromosome lineages. However, the limited nature of this introgression contrasts with the major Steppe migration turnovers within third Millennium northern Europe and echoes the survival of non-Indo-European language in Iberia. Changes in genomic estimates of individual height across Europe are also associated with these major cultural transitions, and ancestral components continue to correlate with modern differences in stature.Author SummaryRecent ancient DNA work has demonstrated the significant genetic impact of mass migrations from the Steppe into Central and Northern Europe during the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. In Iberia, archaeological change at the level of material culture and funerary rituals has been reported during this period, however, the genetic impact associated with this cultural transformation has not yet been estimated. In order to investigate this, we sequence Neolithic and Bronze Age samples from Portugal, which we compare to other ancient and present-day individuals. Genome-wide imputation of a large dataset of ancient samples enabled sensitive methods for detecting population structure and selection in ancient samples. We revealed subtle genetic differentiation between the Portuguese Neolithic and Bronze Age samples suggesting a markedly reduced influx in Iberia compared to other European regions. Furthermore, we predict individual height in ancients, suggesting that stature was reduced in the Neolithic and affected by subsequent admixtures. Lastly, we examine signatures of strong selection in important traits and the timing of their origins.

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

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (35) ◽  
pp. eabi6941
Author(s):  
Luka Papac ◽  
Michal Ernée ◽  
Miroslav Dobeš ◽  
Michaela Langová ◽  
Adam B. Rohrlach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Dynamic Changes ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Human Genomes ◽  
Population Turnover ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Third Millennium Bce ◽  
The Bronze Age

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.

scholarly journals The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6457) ◽  
pp. eaat7487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vagheesh M. Narasimhan ◽  
Nick Patterson ◽  
Priya Moorjani ◽  
Nadin Rohland ◽  
Rebecca Bernardos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
South Asians ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Ancestral Population ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Slavic Languages

By sequencing 523 ancient humans, we show that the primary source of ancestry in modern South Asians is a prehistoric genetic gradient between people related to early hunter-gatherers of Iran and Southeast Asia. After the Indus Valley Civilization’s decline, its people mixed with individuals in the southeast to form one of the two main ancestral populations of South Asia, whose direct descendants live in southern India. Simultaneously, they mixed with descendants of Steppe pastoralists who, starting around 4000 years ago, spread via Central Asia to form the other main ancestral population. The Steppe ancestry in South Asia has the same profile as that in Bronze Age Eastern Europe, tracking a movement of people that affected both regions and that likely spread the distinctive features shared between Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages.

The Characterisation of a Bronze Age Weapon Hoard

2002 ◽  
Vol 712 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.P. Northover ◽  
S.D. Bridgford
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Electron Probe Microanalysis ◽  
Electron Probe ◽  
Compositional Analysis ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Optical Metallography ◽  
Microhardness Testing ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Bronze Artefact

ABSTRACTThe study described here is based on the proposition that all events in the life of a bronze artefact, from the moment it was cast to the time it became available for characterisation, have the potential to leave a trace that can be identified by one or more metallographic methods. The hoard presented here was found at Waterden, Norfolk, England by metal detecting and excavation after it was scattered by the plough. The find comprises 201 fragments from approximately 130 swords and spearheads. It is important for understanding the evolution of the Bronze Age sword in Britain, and also for understanding the destruction and deposition of weapons in weapon-only assemblages. Besides a consideration of the hoard from a typological perspective the project used five methods of examination: a) a surface study for manufacturing traces, combat damage, possible cremation, and damage in the ground or at recovery, b) radiography, c) compositional analysis by electron probe microanalysis, d) optical metallography, and e) microhardness testing. This is the first occasion in which these techniques have been combined in the investigation of a complete hoard. It has been possible to divide the results from each technique into simple categories so that clear correlations can be made, so it can be shown that sword blades had more elaborate finishing than others, that some workshops had better casting practice than others and that the great majority of swords had combat damage. The effects of destruction and fire are also discussed and a context for the deposition of the hoard reconstructed.

scholarly journals Exotic foods reveal contact between South Asia and the Near East during the second millennium BCE

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. e2014956117
Author(s):  
Ashley Scott ◽  
Robert C. Power ◽  
Victoria Altmann-Wendling ◽  
Michal Artzy ◽  
Mario A. S. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Second Millennium Bce ◽  
Access To Food ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Shed Light

Although the key role of long-distance trade in the transformation of cuisines worldwide has been well-documented since at least the Roman era, the prehistory of the Eurasian food trade is less visible. In order to shed light on the transformation of Eastern Mediterranean cuisines during the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, we analyzed microremains and proteins preserved in the dental calculus of individuals who lived during the second millennium BCE in the Southern Levant. Our results provide clear evidence for the consumption of expected staple foods, such as cereals (Triticeae), sesame (Sesamum), and dates (Phoenix). We additionally report evidence for the consumption of soybean (Glycine), probable banana (Musa), and turmeric (Curcuma), which pushes back the earliest evidence of these foods in the Mediterranean by centuries (turmeric) or even millennia (soybean). We find that, from the early second millennium onwards, at least some people in the Eastern Mediterranean had access to food from distant locations, including South Asia, and such goods were likely consumed as oils, dried fruits, and spices. These insights force us to rethink the complexity and intensity of Indo-Mediterranean trade during the Bronze Age as well as the degree of globalization in early Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.

scholarly journals The Genomic Formation of South and Central Asia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vagheesh M. Narasimhan ◽  
Nick Patterson ◽  
Priya Moorjani ◽  
Iosif Lazaridis ◽  
Mark Lipson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Ancient Dna ◽  
South Asians ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Steppe Communities ◽  
Genome Wide Data

AbstractThe genetic formation of Central and South Asian populations has been unclear because of an absence of ancient DNA. To address this gap, we generated genome-wide data from 362 ancient individuals, including the first from eastern Iran, Turan (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan), Bronze Age Kazakhstan, and South Asia. Our data reveal a complex set of genetic sources that ultimately combined to form the ancestry of South Asians today. We document a southward spread of genetic ancestry from the Eurasian Steppe, correlating with the archaeologically known expansion of pastoralist sites from the Steppe to Turan in the Middle Bronze Age (2300-1500 BCE). These Steppe communities mixed genetically with peoples of the Bactria Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) whom they encountered in Turan (primarily descendants of earlier agriculturalists of Iran), but there is no evidence that the main BMAC population contributed genetically to later South Asians. Instead, Steppe communities integrated farther south throughout the 2nd millennium BCE, and we show that they mixed with a more southern population that we document at multiple sites as outlier individuals exhibiting a distinctive mixture of ancestry related to Iranian agriculturalists and South Asian hunter-gathers. We call this group Indus Periphery because they were found at sites in cultural contact with the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) and along its northern fringe, and also because they were genetically similar to post-IVC groups in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. By co-analyzing ancient DNA and genomic data from diverse present-day South Asians, we show that Indus Periphery-related people are the single most important source of ancestry in South Asia—consistent with the idea that the Indus Periphery individuals are providing us with the first direct look at the ancestry of peoples of the IVC—and we develop a model for the formation of present-day South Asians in terms of the temporally and geographically proximate sources of Indus Periphery-related, Steppe, and local South Asian hunter-gatherer-related ancestry. Our results show how ancestry from the Steppe genetically linked Europe and South Asia in the Bronze Age, and identifies the populations that almost certainly were responsible for spreading Indo-European languages across much of Eurasia.One Sentence SummaryGenome wide ancient DNA from 357 individuals from Central and South Asia sheds new light on the spread of Indo-European languages and parallels between the genetic history of two sub-continents, Europe and South Asia.

Investigating Burnt Mounds in Clydesdale during Motorway Construction

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
John A Atkinson ◽  
Camilla Dickson ◽  
Jane Downes ◽  
Paul Robins ◽  
David Sanderson
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Short Account ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Bronze Age

Summary Two small burnt mounds were excavated as part of the programme to mitigate the impact of motorway construction in the Crawford area. The excavations followed a research strategy designed to address questions of date and function. This paper surveys the various competing theories about burnt mounds and how the archaeological evidence was evaluated against those theories. Both sites produced radiocarbon dates from the Bronze Age and evidence to suggest that they were cooking places. In addition, a short account is presented of two further burnt mounds discovered during the construction of the motorway in Annandale.

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