A case of congenital multiple epiphyseal dysplasia from the Late Migration Period graveyard in Drnholec (Czech Republic).

Objective: To contribute to differential diagnosis of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED) in archeological and clinical contexts.

Materials: A skeleton of a 30- to 45-year-old male (grave no. 806) from the Late Migration Period graveyard in Drnholec-Pod sýpkou (Czech Republic), radio-carbon dated to AD 492-530.

The genetic history of the Southern Arc: A bridge between West Asia and Europe.

By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra-West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations.

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia.

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.

A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia.

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom's northern provinces.

Indicators of motherhood? Sacral preauricular extensions and notches in identified skeletal collections.

The sacral preauricular extension (SPE) and sacral preauricular notch (SPN) are morphological changes at the ventral apex of the sacrum. We recently specified their shapes and appearances and suggested a scoring system based on prehistoric Austrian skeletal assemblages. We hypothesized that these specific pelvic changes relate to past pregnancies and parturitions, a hypothesis that we now tested on a subsample of individuals from the Simon Identified Skeletal collection in Geneva ( = 62) and the Christ Church, Spitalfields collection in London ( = 27) linked to historical information on deliveries.

Palaeogenomic analysis of black rat (Rattus rattus) reveals multiple European introductions associated with human economic history.

The distribution of the black rat (Rattus rattus) has been heavily influenced by its association with humans. The dispersal history of this non-native commensal rodent across Europe, however, remains poorly understood, and different introductions may have occurred during the Roman and medieval periods. Here, in order to reconstruct the population history of European black rats, we first generate a de novo genome assembly of the black rat.

Emergence of monopoly-Copper exchange networks during the Late Bronze Age in the western and central Balkans.

In this paper we present the first results of an interdisciplinary research project focused on Late Bronze Age metallurgy in the western and central Balkans. The comprehensive chemical and lead isotope analysis, and a strict consideration of archaeological criteria, has provided a deeper insight into supra regional metal exchange networks between the 14th and 9th century BC in this part of Europe. Particularly interesting and surprising are results regarding the provenance of raw materials for copper production, which have a chemical composition and lead isotope ratios that closely correspond to ore deposits in the southern Alps (North Italy).

Sacral preauricular extensions and notches as parts of a 'Pelvic Pattern' may provide information on past pregnancies and parturitions.

During the analyses of several hundred prehistoric individuals from Austria, we observed that some women display a "Pelvic Pattern" at the innominate bones and the sacrum, i.e. specific combinations of pronounced expressions of pelvic features.

Age dependent changes in pelvic shape during adulthood.

The human pelvis has been reported to change in shape throughout adult lifetime, and also the expression of parturition scars, or "pelvic features", increases with age. However, little is known about the causes and timing of these changes. Here we investigate changes in pelvic shape and the expression of pelvic features by applying a comprehensive geometric morphometric approach to a modern sample of 167 adult individuals with known age, parity, and cause of death.

Anatomic basics and technical approaches: sacral preauricular extensions, preauricular sulci and dorsal pubic pits in modern anatomical specimens.

The aim of this study is the evaluation of three selected osseous pelvic features in modern anatomical specimen - the sacral preauricular extension, the preauricular sulcus and pits on the dorsal side of the pubic bone laterally to the symphysis. The specificity and significance of these features are under debate and their genesis is largely unclear. Descriptive data of specific soft tissue structures surrounding the anterior sacroiliac joint gap and the pubic symphysis were generated by assessing 20 fresh pelves and 12 embalmed hemipelves from human body donors.

Feeding Babies at the Beginnings of Urbanization in Central Europe.

Small ceramic vessels with spouts, from which liquid can be poured, became popular during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Central Europe (. 1200-600 BC). Such feeding vessels represent a functional type and are highly variable in size, shape and decoration.

Exceptional ancient DNA preservation and fibre remains of a Sasanian saltmine sheep mummy in Chehrābād, Iran.

Mummified remains have long attracted interest as a potential source of ancient DNA. However, mummification is a rare process that requires an anhydrous environment to rapidly dehydrate and preserve tissue before complete decomposition occurs. We present the whole-genome sequences (3.

The elusive parasite: comparing macroscopic, immunological, and genomic approaches to identifying malaria in human skeletal remains from Sayala, Egypt (third to sixth centuries AD).

Unlabelled: Although malaria is one of the oldest and most widely distributed diseases affecting humans, identifying and characterizing its presence in ancient human remains continue to challenge researchers. We attempted to establish a reliable approach to detecting malaria in human skeletons using multiple avenues of analysis: macroscopic observations, rapid diagnostic tests, and shotgun-capture sequencing techniques, to identify pathological changes, antigens, and DNA, respectively. Bone and tooth samples from ten individuals who displayed skeletal lesions associated with anaemia, from a site in southern Egypt (third to sixth centuries AD), were selected.

Quantification of dental macrowear using 3D occlusal surface topographic measurements in deciduous and permanent molars of children.

Objectives: Childhood paleodietary reconstruction via dental macrowear analysis is limited in part by available methods to measure dental macrowear. We describe a method to quantify dental macrowear progression (in both deciduous and permanent molars) using a handheld intraoral scanner and two 3D occlusal topographic measurements. We assess the agreement of our macrowear proxies with an established qualitative wear scoring system and their relationship to age.

UPLC-MS Metabolome-Based Seed Classification of 16 Vicia Species: A Prospect for Phyto-Equivalency and Chemotaxonomy of Different Accessions.

Seeds of domesticated Vicia (vetch) species (family Fabaceae-Faboideae) are produced and consumed worldwide for their nutritional value. Seed accessions belonging to 16 different species of Vicia-both domesticated and wild taxa-were subjected to a chemotaxonomic study using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) analyzed by chemometrics. A total of 89 metabolites were observed in the examined Vicia accessions.

Dig out, Dig in! Plant-based diet at the Late Bronze Age copper production site of Prigglitz-Gasteil (Lower Austria) and the relevance of processed foodstuffs for the supply of Alpine Bronze Age miners.

This paper starts from theoretical and methodical considerations about the role of archaeobotanical finds in culinary archaeology, emphasizing the importance of processed cereal preparations as the "missing link" between crop and consumption. These considerations are exemplified by the discussion of abundant new archaeobotanical data from the Late Bronze Age copper mining site of Prigglitz-Gasteil, situated at the easternmost fringe of the Alps. At this site, copper ore mining in opencast mines took place from the 11th until the 9th century BCE (late Urnfield Culture), as well as copper processing (beneficiation, smelting, refining, casting) on artificial terrain terraces.

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Based Classification of 12 Fennel ( Miller) Varieties Based on Their Aroma Profiles and Estragole Levels as Analyzed Using Chemometric Tools.

Fennel ( Miller) is a popular aromatic plant native to the Mediterranean basin and cultivated worldwide that is valued for the nutritional and health benefits of its fruits. Headspace solid-phase microextraction of 12 fennel accessions of cultivated ( subsp. ) and wild forms ( subsp.

Re-assessing the notion(s) of craft standardization through diversity statistics: A pilot study on Late Chalcolithic pottery from Arslantepe in Eastern Anatolia.

This paper proposes a new range of diversity indexes applicable to ceramic petrographic and geochemical data and potentially to any archaeological data of both metric and non-metric nature in order to assess the degree of craft standardization. The case study is the Late Chalcolithic pottery from Arslantepe in eastern Anatolia, ideal to test the standardization hypothesis, i.e.

Three-dimensional surface scanning methods in osteology: A topographical and geometric morphometric comparison.

Objectives: Three-dimensional (3D) data collected by structured light scanners, photogrammetry, and computed tomography (CT) scans are increasingly combined in joint analyses, even though the scanning techniques and reconstruction software differ considerably. The aim of the present study was to compare the quality and accuracy of surface models and landmark data obtained from modern clinical CT scanning, 3D structured light scanner, photogrammetry, and MicroScribe digitizer.

Material And Methods: We tested 13 different photogrammetric software tools and compared surface models obtained by different methods for four articulated human pelves in a topographical analysis.

New AMS C dates track the arrival and spread of broomcorn millet cultivation and agricultural change in prehistoric Europe.

Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is not one of the founder crops domesticated in Southwest Asia in the early Holocene, but was domesticated in northeast China by 6000 BC. In Europe, millet was reported in Early Neolithic contexts formed by 6000 BC, but recent radiocarbon dating of a dozen 'early' grains cast doubt on these claims.

On the geoarchaeology of Limyra (SW Anatolia)-new insights into the famous Lycian city and its environs.

Geoarchives in ancient settlement sites and their environs bear valuable information about Holocene landscape evolution and human-environment interactions. During the last six millennia, sea-level and coastline changes have had a significant impact on coastal settlements, some of which even had to be relocated. This paper reveals new insights into the spatio-temporal development of the Lycian city of Limyra.

Radiocarbon dating the Greek Protogeometric and Geometric periods: The evidence of Sindos.

Mediterranean Early Iron Age chronology was mainly constructed by means of Greek Protogeometric and Geometric ceramic wares, which are widely used for chronological correlations with the Aegean. However, Greek Early Iron Age chronology that is exclusively based on historical evidence in the eastern Mediterranean as well as in the contexts of Greek colonisation in Sicily has not yet been tested by extended series of radiocarbon dates from well-dated stratified contexts in the Aegean. Due to the high chronological resolution that is only achievable by (metric-scale) stratigraphic 14C-age-depth modelling, the analysis of 21 14C-AMS dates on stratified animal bones from Sindos (northern Greece) shows results that immediately challenge the conventional Greek chronology.

Mashes to Mashes, Crust to Crust. Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record.

The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is still a challenge to archaeological science, as most of the markers known up to now are either not durable or diagnostic enough to be used as secure proof. The current study addresses this question by experimental work reproducing the malting processes and subsequent charring of the resulting products under laboratory conditions in order to simulate their preservation (by charring) in archaeological contexts and to explore the preservation of microstructural alterations of the cereal grains. The experimentally germinated and charred grains showed clearly degraded (thinned) aleurone cell walls.