Search results for "neolithic"
showing 10 items of 124 documents
Storytelling and story testing in domestication
2014
The domestication of plants and animals marks one of the most significant transitions in human, and indeed global, history. Traditionally, study of the domestication process was the exclusive domain of archaeologists and agricultural scientists; today it is an increasingly multidisciplinary enterprise that has come to involve the skills of evolutionary biologists and geneticists. Although the application of new information sources and methodologies has dramatically transformed our ability to study and understand domestication, it has also generated increasingly large and complex datasets, the interpretation of which is not straightforward. In particular, challenges of equifinality, evolutio…
Using Y-chromosome capture enrichment to resolve haplogroup H2 shows new evidence for a two-path Neolithic expansion to Western Europe
2021
Uniparentally-inherited markers on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the non-recombining regions of the Y chromosome (NRY), have been used for the past 30 years to investigate the history of humans from a maternal and paternal perspective. Researchers have preferred mtDNA due to its abundance in the cells, and comparatively high substitution rate. Conversely, the NRY is less susceptible to back mutations and saturation, and is potentially more informative than mtDNA owing to its longer sequence length. However, due to comparatively poor NRY coverage via shotgun sequencing, and the relatively low and biased representation of Y-chromosome variants on capture assays such as the 1240 k, ancient DNA…
Une possible paléo-forêt du Néolithique ancien à Joze (Puy-de-Dôme)
2014
Several subfossil woods dating from the early Neolithic period were discovered in the vicinity of the Allier river alluvial terrace on the left bank of the commune of Joze. The sedimentary sequence and the chronology (radiocarbon, dendrochronology) as well as the growth of the collected wood series allow to document the evolution of the river course through flood episodes and its impact on the tree cover in the surrounding area.
Discrepancies between archaeological and 14C-based chronologies: problems and possible solutions
2018
14C dating of bone collagen is believed to produce the most reliable absolute dates for the Central European Early Neolithic, as the selection of bones in anatomical context minimises taphonomic problems. In contrast, a comparison of three newly published local or regional chronological models as well as a comparison of several series of dates from bone collagen, charcoal and cereals highlights problems probably caused by diagenetic influences, especially on collagen. Therefore, at least the checking of bone collagen 14C dates against charcoal or cereal dates from the same contexts seems to be indispensable.
New data on the exploitation of obsidian in the mediterranean basin: The harbour of pyrgi and the trade in neolithic age
2020
The contribution shows the first results of ongoing research on the origins and prehistoric assumptions of the well-known Etruscan and Roman harbour of Pyrgi, an ancient Ceretan harbour in southern Etruria. In the light of recent land and submarine investigations, traces of ancient frequentations and contacts dating back to the Neolithic era are emerging when the coastal morphology and environmental characteristics of the site were very different from the current ones. The Etruscan port of Pyrgi, which continues its historical history in Roman and Medieval times, appears as the heir of one or more landing points frequented perhaps already in the Middle Neolithic. As part of this contributio…
Technologies of the Stone Age: the Coastal Dimension: Programme and Abstracts PrehCOAST Network Workshop, Riga, Latvia, 6-8 June 2023, Institute of L…
2023
This volume contains the programme and presentation abstracts of the international workshop “Technologies of the Stone Age: The Coastal Dimension”, held on 6–8 June 2023 at the Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia, within the frame of the PrehCOAST network.
Correction for Frantz et al., Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe
2020
Significance Archaeological evidence indicates that domestic pigs arrived in Europe, alongside farmers from the Near East ∼8,500 y ago, yet mitochondrial genomes of modern European pigs are derived from European wild boars. To address this conundrum, we obtained mitochondrial and nuclear data from modern and ancient Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses indicate that, aside from a coat color gene, most Near Eastern ancestry in the genomes of European domestic pigs disappeared over 3,000 y as a result of interbreeding with local wild boars. This implies that pigs were not domesticated independently in Europe, yet the first 2,500 y of human-mediated selection applied by Near Eastern Ne…
Lactase persistence and milk consumption in Europe: an interdisciplinary approach involving genetics and archeology:
2013
The ability to digest milk during adulthood (lactase persistence) is a genetically determined trait present only in humans. Its origin and diffusion are correlated with the development of pastoralism and the consumption of fresh milk. This work will present the genetic and archaeologi- cal data that allow the reconstruction of the co-evolutionary process between dairying culture and lactase persistence, as well as a discussion of the chronology and the way lactase persistence spread in Europe. Sposobnost presnavljanja mleka v odrasli dobi (laktazna persistenca) je genetsko pogojena značilnost, navzoča le pri ljudeh. Njen izvor in razširitev sta povezana z razvojem pastirstva in uživanjem sv…
Is the Anthropocene really worthy of a formal geologic definition?
2014
Scientists are actively debating whether the Anthropocene, the geologic time span (GTS) we are now living in, should be considered a period, epoch, or age in the geologic timescale. The solution is not easy, because the beginning of this GTS is undefined and the end unknown. In fact, there is no agreement on when the Anthropocene began, the proposed dates ranging from the Second World War, when radioactive fallout branded soils and sediments all over the world, to little after the end of the last glacial period, i.e. 11.7 thousand years ago, therefore coinciding with the onset of the Holocene. We are in favour of a concurrence of the Anthropocene with the Holocene, although a major impact …
Les Hypogées d'Arles-Fontvieille et leur environnement : nouvelles perceptions, nouvelles perspectives
2014
Due to their unique architecture and the exceptional dimensions of the largest monument in the group, the Arles-Fontvieille hypogea are among the most remarkable megalithic monuments in Europe and the western Mediterranean region. A collective research program was launched in 2013 to study these well-known monuments which have, paradoxically, been the subject of relatively few field studies since the 19th century. The research program consisted of an inventory and analysis of the grave goods and associated artefacts, as well as a number of field studies providing an improved archaeological context of a megalithic group too often thought of only in terms of funerary monuments. Various traces…