Browse
Submit Data
Databases
API
Help

Dataset Information

9 Views

0 Connections

0 Citations

0 Reanalyses

0 Downloads

Omics score: 0

Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence.

ABSTRACT: The Middle and Late Bronze Age, a period roughly spanning the 2nd millennium BC (ca. 2000-1200 BC) in the Near East, is frequently referred to as the first 'international age', characterized by intense and far-reaching contacts between different entities from the eastern Mediterranean to the Near East and beyond. In a large-scale tandem study of stable isotopes and ancient DNA of individuals excavated at Tell Atchana (Alalakh, located in Hatay, Turkey), we explored the role of mobility at the capital of a regional kingdom, named Mukish during the Late Bronze Age, which spanned the Amuq Valley and some areas beyond. We generated strontium and oxygen isotope data from dental enamel for 53 individuals and 77 individuals, respectively, and added ancient DNA data of 10 newly sequenced individuals to a dataset of 27 individuals published in 2020. Additionally, we improved the DNA coverage of one individual from this 2020 dataset. The DNA data revealed a very homogeneous gene pool. This picture of an overwhelmingly local ancestry was consistent with the evidence of local upbringing in most of the individuals indicated by the isotopic data, where only five were found to be non-local. High levels of contact, trade, and exchange of ideas and goods in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, therefore, seem not to have translated into high levels of individual mobility detectable at Tell Atchana.

SUBMITTER: Ingman T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8244877 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Json Xml

Similar Datasets

Early evidence (late 2nd millennium BCE) of plant-based dyeing of textiles from Timna, Israel.

Project description:In this article, we focus on the analysis of dyed textile fragments uncovered at an early Iron Age (11th-10th centuries BCE) copper smelting site during new excavations in the Timna Valley conducted by the Central Timna Valley (CTV) Project, as well as those found by the Arabah Expedition at the Hathor Temple (Site 200), dated to the Late Bronze/early Iron Ages (13th-11th centuries BCE). Analysis by HPLC-DAD identified two organic dyestuffs, Rubia tinctorum L. and indigotin, from a plant source (probably Isatis tinctoria L.). They are among the earliest plants known in the dyeing craft and cultivated primarily for this purpose. This study provides the earliest evidence of textiles dyed utilizing a chemical dyeing process based on an industrial dyeing plant from the Levant. Moreover, our results shed new light on the society operating the copper mines at the time, suggesting the existence of an elite that was interested in these high quality textiles and invested efforts in procuring them by long-distance trade.

| S-EPMC5489155 | biostudies-literature

Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh)

Project description:Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: integration of isotopic and genomic evidence

| PRJEB43663 | ENA

Isotopic evidence for residential mobility of farming communities during the transition to agriculture in Britain.

Project description:Development of agriculture is often assumed to be accompanied by a decline in residential mobility, and sedentism is frequently proposed to provide the basis for economic intensification, population growth and increasing social complexity. In Britain, however, the nature of the agricultural transition (ca 4000 BC) and its effect on residence patterns has been intensely debated. Some authors attribute the transition to the arrival of populations who practised a system of sedentary intensive mixed farming similar to that of the very earliest agricultural regimes in central Europe, ca 5500 BC, with cultivation of crops in fixed plots and livestock keeping close to permanently occupied farmsteads. Others argue that local hunter-gatherers within Britain adopted selected elements of a farming economy and retained a mobile way of life. We use strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel from an Early Neolithic burial population in Gloucestershire, England, to evaluate the residence patterns of early farmers. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that early farming communities in Britain were residentially mobile and were not fully sedentary. Results highlight the diverse nature of settlement strategies associated with early farming in Europe and are of wider significance to understanding the effect of the transition to agriculture on residence patterns.

| S-EPMC4736932 | biostudies-literature

Use of hide glue in 4th millennium BC Europe

Project description:To test whether hide or fish glue was used to fix bark decorations to the body of a wood bow (of a different species) found during the archaeological excavation of at the site “Parkhaus-Opéra” in Zurich (Switzerland), dated by dendrochronology to 3175 - 3157 BC, we attempted extraction of collagen residues from wood flakes collected from two areas of the bow surface under the bark and their identification by on-line nanoflow reversed-phase C18 liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

2015-08-20 | PXD001727 | Pride

Earliest expansion of animal husbandry beyond the Mediterranean zone in the sixth millennium BC.

Project description:Since their domestication in the Mediterranean zone of Southwest Asia in the eighth millennium BC, sheep, goats, pigs and cattle have been remarkably successful in colonizing a broad variety of environments. The initial steps in this process can be traced back to the dispersal of farming groups into the interior of the Balkans in the early sixth millennium BC, who were the first to introduce Mediterranean livestock beyond its natural climatic range. Here, we combine analysis of biomolecular and isotopic compositions of lipids preserved in prehistoric pottery with faunal analyses of taxonomic composition from the earliest farming sites in southeast Europe to reconstruct this pivotal event in the early history of animal husbandry. We observe a marked divergence between the (sub)Mediterranean and temperate regions of Southeast Europe, and in particular a significant increase of dairying in the biochemical record coupled with a shift to cattle and wild fauna at most sites north of the Balkan mountain range. The findings strongly suggest that dairying was crucial for the expansion of the earliest farming system beyond its native bioclimatic zone.

| S-EPMC5541088 | biostudies-other

Maternal genetic features of the Iron Age Tagar population from Southern Siberia (1st millennium BC).

Project description:Early nomads in the Eurasian steppes since the beginning of the 1st millennium BC played a key role in the formation of the cultural and genetic landscape of populations of a significant part of Eurasia, from Eastern Europe to Eastern Central Asia. Numerous archaeological cultures associated with early nomads have been discovered throughout the Eurasian steppe belt. The Tagar archaeological culture existed in the Minusinsk basin (Sayan Mountains, Southern Siberia, Russia) in the northeastern periphery of the Eurasian steppe belt from the 8th to 1st century BC during the pre-Scythian, Scythian, and Early Xiongnu-Sarmatian periods. In this study, we evaluated mtDNA diversity in the Tagar population based on representative series (N = 79) belonging to all chronological stages of the culture. The Tagar population had a mixed mtDNA pool dominated by Western Eurasian haplogroups and subgroups (H, HV6, HV*, I, K, T, U2e, U4, U5a, and U*) and, to a lesser degree, Eastern Eurasian haplogroups (A*, A8, C*, C5, D, G2a, and F1b). The Tagar population showed a similar mtDNA pool structure to those of other Iron Age populations representing the "Scythian World." We observed particularly high similarity between the Tagar and Classic Scythians from the North Pontic region. Our results support the assumption that genetic components introduced by Bronze Age migrants from Western Eurasia contributed to the formation of the genetic composition of Scythian period populations in Southern Siberia. Another important component of the Tagar mtDNA pool was autochthonous East Eurasian lineages, some of which (A8 and C4a2a) are potential markers of the westward genetic influence of the eastern populations of the Scythian period. Our results suggest a genetic continuity (at least partial) between the Early, Middle, and Late Tagar populations.

| S-EPMC6147448 | biostudies-literature

Evidence for long-distance trade in exotic foods and spices from South Asia to the Near East in the 2nd millennium BCE

Project description: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 and Early Iron Age, we analyzed microremains and proteins preserved in the dental calculus of individuals who lived during the 2nd 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 known availability of these foods in the Mediterranean by centuries (turmeric) or even millennia (soybean). We find that, from the early 2nd millennium onwards, at least some people in the Eastern Mediterranean had access to food from distant locations, including South Asia, and such trade goods likely reached the Eastern Mediterranean in the form of oils, dried fruits, and spices. These novel insights force us to rethink the complexity and intensity of Indo-Mediterranean trade during the Bronze Age and also the degree of globalization in early Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.

2020-12-22 | PXD021498 | Pride

The earliest lead ore processing in Europe. 5th millennium BC finds from Pietrele on the Lower Danube.

Project description:Eleven biconical vessels from the Copper Age sites Pietrele and Blejeşti (Romania) have been investigated using p-XRF. In most cases, traces of lead could be measured on their surfaces. Samples of slag-like material from two vessels and the clay of one vessel were investigated using laboratory methods, namely SEM, XRD, LIA and optical microscopy. The vessels were obviously used as a kind of crucible in which slag-like remains and galena ore were detected. It still remains unclear as to what final product was gained by smelting galena in this way. The amount of these such vessels in the Pietrele settlement, their appearance as grave goods in Pietrele and Vărăști (Romania), and their supposed occurrence in a number of other Copper Age settlements in Romania and Bulgaria show the significance of this phenomenon. It must have been a widespread and more or less well known practice, an important part of cultural habit during a particular period in the Lower Danube region and likely even farther afield. For the first time, extensive experimentation with lead ore can be shown in a clear chronological horizon, ca. 4400-4300 BCE in southeastern Europe.

| S-EPMC6457500 | biostudies-literature

Isotopic evidence of early hominin diets

Project description:Carbon isotope studies of early hominins from southern Africa showed that their diets differed markedly from the diets of extant apes. Only recently, however, has a major influx of isotopic data from eastern Africa allowed for broad taxonomic, temporal, and regional comparisons among hominins. Before 4 Ma, hominins had diets that were dominated by C3 resources and were, in that sense, similar to extant chimpanzees. By about 3.5 Ma, multiple hominin taxa began incorporating 13C-enriched [C4 or crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM)] foods in their diets and had highly variable carbon isotope compositions which are atypical for African mammals. By about 2.5 Ma, Paranthropus in eastern Africa diverged toward C4/CAM specialization and occupied an isotopic niche unknown in catarrhine primates, except in the fossil relations of grass-eating geladas (Theropithecus gelada). At the same time, other taxa (e.g., Australopithecus africanus) continued to have highly mixed and varied C3/C4 diets. Overall, there is a trend toward greater consumption of 13C-enriched foods in early hominins over time, although this trend varies by region. Hominin carbon isotope ratios also increase with postcanine tooth area and mandibular cross-sectional area, which could indicate that these foods played a role in the evolution of australopith masticatory robusticity. The 13C-enriched resources that hominins ate remain unknown and must await additional integration of existing paleodietary proxy data and new research on the distribution, abundance, nutrition, and mechanical properties of C4 (and CAM) plants.

| S-EPMC3696771 | biostudies-literature

Manuring practices in the first millennium AD in southern Sweden inferred from isotopic analysis of crop remains.

Project description:This study uses crop stable nitrogen isotope analysis of charred grain to explore manuring practices in arable production at the affluent regional center Uppåkra and a set of smaller surrounding sites, dating to the first millennium AD in southern Sweden. The isotopic analysis focuses on hulled barley, the principle crop in the Scandinavian Iron Age, and the minor crops: bread wheat, emmer wheat, rye and oat, are included to compare manuring practices in cultivation of other crop species during this period. A field experiment was first conducted to establish relationships between manuring and ?15N values in modern grain from known growing conditions. The data formed an interpretive framework to reconstruct past agricultural practices and manuring intensity in the archaeological study area. Our results from the ancient grains have demonstrated that barley from the early phase in the study area (AD 0-200) varies widely in its ?15N values, reflecting mixed manuring regimes. In the following periods (AD 200-1000), isotopic values are relatively high overall, indicating systematic input of manure. In this paper, we explore whether the isotopic data that indicates sustained and high manuring levels could reflect the wealth of Uppåkra and its surrounding areas by showing prosperity also in its agricultural production, since intensive manuring would have required more resource and labor investments. The new crop nitrogen isotopic data shed light on the agricultural practices of a long-lived Iron Age center and its surrounding areas.

| S-EPMC6472791 | biostudies-literature

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

OmicsDI is an Elixir interoperability service. Learn more ›

Tweets

OmicsDI Databases

PRIDE
PeptideAtlas
MassIVE
JPOST Repository
Physiome Model Repository

EGA
EVA
ENA
LINCS
PAXDB
Cell Collective

MetaboLights
Metabolomics Workbench
MetabolomeExpress
GNPS
BioModels
FAIRDOMHub

ArrayExpress
dbGaP
ExpressionAtlas
GEO
NODE

Information

Databases
Help
API
Contact us
Code on GitHub
Terms of use
Submit Data