Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria.

Malaria-causing protozoa of the genus Plasmodium have exerted one of the strongest selective pressures on the human genome, and resistance alleles provide biomolecular footprints that outline the historical reach of these species. Nevertheless, debate persists over when and how malaria parasites emerged as human pathogens and spread around the globe. To address these questions, we generated high-coverage ancient mitochondrial and nuclear genome-wide data from P.

Extracting the truth through chemical analyses: Early life histories of Victorian-era dental patients in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Objectives: There are few bioarcheological analyses of life experiences in colonial period Aotearoa New Zealand, despite this being a time of major adaptation and social change. In our study, early life histories are constructed from multi-isotope and enamel peptide analysis of permanent first molars associated with Victorian era dental practices operating between AD 1881 and 1905 in Invercargill. Chemical analyses of the teeth provide insight into the childhood feeding practices, diet, and mobility of the people who had their teeth extracted.

Female bone physiology resilience in a past Polynesian Outlier community.

Remodelling is a fundamental biological process involved in the maintenance of bone physiology and function. We know that a range of health and lifestyle factors can impact this process in living and past societies, but there is a notable gap in bone remodelling data for populations from the Pacific Islands. We conducted the first examination of femoral cortical histology in 69 individuals from ca.

Sensationalism and speaking to the public: Scientific rigour and interdisciplinary collaborations in palaeopathology.

Objectives: In this brief communication we discuss issues concerning scientific rigour in palaeopathological publications, particularly studies published in clinical or general science journals, that employ skeletal analysis to elucidate the lives and deaths of historical figures or interpret "mysterious" assemblages or burials. We highlight the relationship between poor methodological rigour and lack of interdisciplinary communication, and discuss how this can result in scientifically weak, sensational narratives being presented to the public.

Conclusions: Although most high profile publications involving analysis of archaeological human remains are methodologically sound and well interpreted, others have suffered from poor scientific rigour stemming from an apparent lack of awareness of anthropological methods and ethics.

A bioarchaeological analysis of oral and physiological health on the south coast of New Guinea.

Objectives: The south coast of New Guinea has a complex prehistory known for its exchange systems that linked distinct cultural groups living along the coast, inland, and on offshore islands. Here we compare the palaeohealth of two relatively contemporaneous skeletal samples from the south coast of New Guinea (850-200 BP) that were from two ecologically different sites (one inland and one offshore island) and likely represent distinct cultural groups. We aim to elucidate health patterns that may provide information about the specific lifeways and quality of life of each community.

Assessing human diet and movement in the Tongan maritime chiefdom using isotopic analyses.

The rise of stratified societies fundamentally influences the interactions between status, movement, and food. Using isotopic analyses, we assess differences in diet and mobility of individuals excavated from two burial mounds located at the `Atele burial site on Tongatapu, the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga (c. 500 - 150 BP).

Lapita diet and subsistence strategies on Watom Island, Papua New Guinea: New stable isotope evidence from humans and animals.

Stable isotope ratios (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) were analyzed from the bone collagen of individuals (n = 8) from a Lapita burial ground (ca. 2800-2350 BP) on Watom Island, located off northeast New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago. The aim of this study was to assess the diet and subsistence strategies of humans that lived during the later Lapita period in Near Oceania.

Diet and social status on Taumako, a Polynesian outlier in the Southeastern Solomon Islands.

Stable isotopes (δ(13)C, δ(15)N, and δ(34)S) are used to characterize the diet of the adult individuals (n = 99) interred in the Namu burial ground located on the Polynesian outlier of Taumako (∼300-750 BP). Polynesian outliers are islands on the fringe of Remote Oceania that were inhabited by a back migration of populations from Polynesia during prehistory. As a result of admixture with nearby island communities, little is known about the social structure and social diversity of the prehistoric inhabitants of Taumako.

The first New Zealanders: patterns of diet and mobility revealed through isotope analysis.

Direct evidence of the environmental impact of human colonization and subsequent human adaptational responses to new environments is extremely rare anywhere in the world. New Zealand was the last Polynesian island group to be settled by humans, who arrived around the end of the 13th century AD. Little is known about the nature of human adaptation and mobility during the initial phase of colonization.