scholarly journals Ancient mitochondrial DNA connects house mice in the British Isles to trade across Europe over three millennia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oxala García-Rodríguez ◽  
Emilie A Hardouin ◽  
Ellen Hambleton ◽  
Jonathan Monteith ◽  
Clare Randall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
House Mouse ◽  
Wood Mouse ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Mus Musculus Domesticus

Abstract The earliest records in Britain for the western house mouse ( Mus musculus domesticus ) date from the Late Bronze Age. As a commensal species, the arrival to Britain is suggested to be related with human transport and trade. In order to study the arrival of the species in Britain, we collected a total of 16 ancient mouse mandibulae from some of the rare early sites with the species in the four British archaeological sites, ranging from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman period. From these, we obtained the first ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) house mouse sequences from the British Isles, including eight house mice from three different archaeological sites ranging from the Late Bronze Age to the Middle Iron Age. We also obtained five ancient mtDNA wood mouse ( Apodemus spp.) sequences from across all four sites. Modern British house mouse mtDNAs are primarily characterised by haplogroups E, F and, much less commonly, haplogroup D. The presence of haplogroups D and E in our samples provides evidence of an early house mouse colonisation that may be related with Late Bronze Age/Iron Age trade and/or expansions of humans. Our results confirm the hypothesis, based on zooarchaeological evidence and modern mtDNA predictions, that house mice with haplogroups D and E were established in Britain by the Iron Age and, in the case of haplogroup E, possibly even by the Late Bronze Age.

scholarly journals Ancient mitochondrial DNA connects house mice in the British Isles to trade across Europe over three millennia

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oxala García-Rodríguez ◽  
Emilie A. Hardouin ◽  
Ellen Hambleton ◽  
Jonathan Monteith ◽  
Clare Randall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
House Mouse ◽  
Wood Mouse ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Mus Musculus Domesticus ◽  
Middle Iron Age

Abstract Background The earliest records in Britain for the western European house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) date from the Late Bronze Age. The arrival of this commensal species in Britain is thought to be related to human transport and trade with continental Europe. In order to study this arrival, we collected a total of 16 ancient mouse mandibulae from four early British archaeological sites, ranging from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman period. Results From these, we obtained ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) house mouse sequences from eight house mice from two of the sites dating from the Late Bronze to Middle Iron Age. We also obtained five ancient mtDNA wood mouse (Apodemus spp.) sequences from all four sites. The ancient house mouse sequences found in this study were from haplogroups E (N = 6) and D (N = 2). Modern British house mouse mtDNA sequences are primarily characterised by haplogroups E and F and, much less commonly, haplogroup D. Conclusions The presence of haplogroups D and E in our samples and the dating of the archaeological sites provide evidence of an early house mouse colonisation that may relate to Late Bronze Age/Iron Age trade and/or human expansion. Our results confirm the hypothesis, based on zooarchaeological evidence and modern mtDNA predictions, that house mice, with haplogroups D and E, were established in Britain by the Iron Age and, in the case of haplogroup E, possibly as early as the Late Bronze Age.

scholarly journals The Iron Age I in the Northern Levant: New perspectives from Lebanon

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanan Charaf
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Local Characteristics ◽  
Iron Age I ◽  
Tell Tayinat

The beginning of the Iron Age in the Levant has been for the past three decades the focus of intense studies and debates. The main reason that had triggered this interest is the turmoil characterizing the end of the Late Bronze Age coupled with the migration of newcomers dubbed the “Sea People” to the coastal Levant. This phenomenon has been studied to a length in the southern Levant where evidence of destructions followed by a new culture is attested on many coastal sites. However, in neighboring Lebanon, few studies focused on this period mainly due to the paucity of archaeological sites dating to the end of the Late Bronze Age/beginning of the Iron Age. In recent years, remains uncovered at major sites such as Tell Arqa (Irqata of the Amarna Tablets), Sarepta, Tyre, or Kamid el-Loz (Kumidi of the Amarna Tablets) gave no evidence for destructions at the end of the Late Bronze Age in this country. On the contrary, the architectural and material culture found at sites such as Tell Arqa and Sarepta points to a smooth transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age. While the exposed architecture is usually flimsy and is characterized by a widespread use of pits and silos (a phenomenon equally observed on other neighboring sites such as Tell Afis in Syria or Tell Tayinat in Turkey), the pottery still retains old characteristics; yet integrated into a few new shapes and fabrics. The patterns of archaism observed in the material cultural in Lebanon challenges the established understanding of the Iron Age I in the southern Levant where it is characterized as a period of turmoil and transformation.This presentation analyses the architectural and material characteristics of the end of the Late Bronze Age I/beginning of the Iron Age I in Lebanon with the aim at isolating both local characteristics and regional influences.

scholarly journals Of mice and (Viking?) men: phylogeography of British and Irish house mice

2008 ◽  
Vol 276 (1655) ◽  
pp. 201-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy B Searle ◽  
Catherine S Jones ◽  
İslam Gündüz ◽  
Moira Scascitelli ◽  
Eleanor P Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Published Data ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Mus Musculus Domesticus ◽  
Human Settlements ◽  
Mt Dna ◽  
Human Movements ◽  
Sequence Variations ◽  
Sphere Of Influence

The west European subspecies of house mouse ( Mus musculus domesticus ) has gained much of its current widespread distribution through commensalism with humans. This means that the phylogeography of M. m. domesticus should reflect patterns of human movements. We studied restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and DNA sequence variations in mouse mitochondrial (mt) DNA throughout the British Isles (328 mice from 105 localities, including previously published data). There is a major mtDNA lineage revealed by both RFLP and sequence analyses, which is restricted to the northern and western peripheries of the British Isles, and also occurs in Norway. This distribution of the ‘Orkney’ lineage fits well with the sphere of influence of the Norwegian Vikings and was probably generated through inadvertent transport by them. To form viable populations, house mice would have required large human settlements such as the Norwegian Vikings founded. The other parts of the British Isles (essentially most of mainland Britain) are characterized by house mice with different mtDNA sequences, some of which are also found in Germany, and which probably reflect both Iron Age movements of people and mice and earlier development of large human settlements. MtDNA studies on house mice have the potential to reveal novel aspects of human history.

scholarly journals THE BEGINNING OF THE IRON AGE AT ARSLANTEPE: A 14C PERSPECTIVE

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Federico Manuelli ◽  
Cristiano Vignola ◽  
Fabio Marzaioli ◽  
Isabella Passariello ◽  
Filippo Terrasi
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
High Precision ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Archaeological Data

ABSTRACT The Iron Age chronology at Arslantepe is the result of the interpretation of Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions and archaeological data coming from the site and its surrounding region. A new round of investigations of the Iron Age levels has been conducted at the site over the last 10 years. Preliminary results allowed the combination of the archaeological sequence with the historical events that extended from the collapse of the Late Bronze Age empires to the formation and development of the new Iron Age kingdoms. The integration into this picture of a new set of radiocarbon (14C) dates is aimed at establishing a more solid local chronology. High precision 14C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and its correlation with archaeobotanical analysis and stratigraphic data are presented here with the purpose of improving our knowledge of the site’s history and to build a reliable absolute chronology of the Iron Age. The results show that the earliest level of the sequence dates to ca. the mid-13th century BC, implying that the site started developing a new set of relationships with the Levant already before the breakdown of the Hittite empire, entailing important historical implications for the Syro-Anatolian region at the end of the 2nd millennium BC.

Cremated animal remains and shattered pottery. Rare ritual deposits from the Middle to Late Bronze Age at Aalst – Siesegemkouter (Belgium)

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Verbrugge ◽  
Maaike Groot ◽  
Koen Deforce ◽  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Wouter Van der Meer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Low Countries ◽  
Early Date ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Maintenance Practice ◽  
Organic Remains

Abstract Archaeological research at Aalst – Siesegemkouter revealed several pits within a Middle to Late Bronze Age settlement. Most of them hardly contained any artefacts, but one exception showed a structured stratigraphy with an abundance of finds, including a large amount of shattered pottery, charcoal and calcined animal bone. The study of this assemblage, and comparison with two other pits showing similarities, provides strong indications of a closing deposit or another type of ‘site maintenance practice’. In the Low Countries, comparable contexts generally date from the Iron Age, suggesting that the finds from Aalst – Siesegemkouter represent early forerunners of this ritual practice. On top of this early date, the large volume of cremated animal bone represents an almost unique characteristic for which, until now, parallels from the Metal Ages have hardly been found, even on a Northwestern European scale. In general, the role played by organic remains in ritual contexts from these periods and regions is poorly understood, often due to bad preservation conditions or the lack of a multidisciplinary approach.

Dogs that Ate Plants: Changes in the Canine Diet During the Late Bronze Age and the First Iron Age in the Northeast Iberian Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Albizuri ◽  
Aurora Grandal-d’Anglade ◽  
Julià Maroto ◽  
Mònica Oliva ◽  
Alba Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age

Neolithic Pits, a Bronze Age Cremation and an Early Iron Age Ring-Ditch at Newton Farm, Cambuslang, Lanarkshire

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Leonora O'Brien ◽  
Victoria Clements ◽  
Mike Roy ◽  
Neil Macnab
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Housing Development ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Small Ring ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
River Terraces

Fieldwork at Newton Farm, Cambuslang (NGR NS 672 610) was undertaken in advance of housing development in 2005–6. A cluster of six shallow Neolithic pits were excavated, and a collection of 157 round-based, carinated bowl sherds and a quern fragment were recovered from them. The pits produced a date range of 3700 to 3360 cal BC. Most of the pits yielded burnt material, and one of the pits showed evidence of in situ burning. The pottery may form ‘structured deposits’. A Bronze Age adult cremation placed in a Food Vessel dated to 3610±30 BP (2040–1880 cal BC) was set in a wider landscape of single and multiple cremations and inhumations on the river terraces overlooking the Clyde. A possible unurned cremation was also identified. This was cut by the course of a small ring-ditch dated to the very late Bronze Age or early Iron Age 2520±30 BP (800–530cal BC).

Massive storage in As Laias/O Castelo (Ourense, NW Spain) from the Late Bronze Age/Iron Age transition to the Roman period: a palaeoethnobotanical approach

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 3865-3877 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Pedro Tereso ◽  
Pablo Ramil-Rego ◽  
Yolanda Álvarez González ◽  
Luis López González ◽  
Rubim Almeida-da-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Nw Spain

scholarly journals Moẓa during the 10th–9th Centuries BCE: The Results of Excavation Seasons 1993, 2002, and 2003 and their Reflection in a Wider Judahite Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 180-202
Author(s):  
Zvi Greenhut
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age I

The paper discusses the finds of the Late Bronze Age, the Iron Age I/IIA, and the Iron Age IIA from the excavations at Moẓa during the years 1993, 2002, and 2003. The site is discussed in its historical framework, relating to Shishak’s campaign to Palestine, as well as in its wider Judahite archaeological context during those periods.

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