| 1. |
- Günther, Torsten, et al.
(författare)
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Population genomics of Mesolithic Scandinavia : Investigating early postglacial migration routes and high-latitude adaptation
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLoS biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1544-9173 .- 1545-7885. ; 16:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scandinavia was one of the last geographic areas in Europe to become habitable for humans after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, the routes and genetic composition of these postglacial migrants remain unclear. We sequenced the genomes, up to 57x coverage, of seven hunter-gatherers excavated across Scandinavia and dated from 9,500-6,000 years before present (BP). Surprisingly, among the Scandinavian Mesolithic individuals, the genetic data display an east-west genetic gradient that opposes the pattern seen in other parts of Mesolithic Europe. Our results suggest two different early postglacial migrations into Scandinavia: initially from the south, and later, from the northeast. The latter followed the ice-free Norwegian north Atlantic coast, along which novel and advanced pressure-blade stone-tool techniques may have spread. These two groups met and mixed in Scandinavia, creating a genetically diverse population, which shows patterns of genetic adaptation to high latitude environments. These potential adaptations include high frequencies of low pigmentation variants and a gene region associated with physical performance, which shows strong continuity into modern-day northern Europeans.
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| 2. |
- Ginja, Catarina, et al.
(författare)
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Iron age genomic data from Althiburos - Tunisia renew the debate on the origins of African taurine cattle
- 2023
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Ingår i: iScience. - : Cell Press. - 2589-0042. ; 26:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Maghreb is a key region for understanding the dynamics of cattle dispersal and admixture with local aurochs following their earliest domestication in the Fertile Crescent more than 10,000 years ago. Here, we present data on autosomal genomes and mitogenomes obtained for four archaeological specimens of Iron Age (∼2,800 cal BP–2,000 cal BP) domestic cattle from the Eastern Maghreb, i.e. Althiburos (El Kef, Tunisia). D-loop sequences were obtained for an additional eight cattle specimens from this site. Maternal lineages were assigned to the elusive R and ubiquitous African-T1 haplogroups found in two and ten Althiburos specimens, respectively. Our results can be explained by post-domestication hybridization of Althiburos cattle with local aurochs. However, we cannot rule out an independent domestication in North Africa considering the shared ancestry of Althiburos cattle with the pre-domestic Moroccan aurochs and present-day African taurine cattle.
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| 3. |
- Peyroteo-Stjerna, Rita, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Multidisciplinary investigation reveals an individual of West African origin buried in a Portuguese Mesolithic shell midden four centuries ago
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Archaeological Science. - : Elsevier. - 2352-409X .- 2352-4103. ; 42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cabeço da Amoreira is a well-studied shell midden with a robust chronology based on a large number ofradiocarbon dates on Mesolithic human burials. Surprisingly, we discovered one individual that lived about 400years ago buried in this site. We employed a multidisciplinary approach integrating archaeology, historical records,genetics, radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis to investigate the biogeographic origins of thisindividual and burial circumstances. We could determine that this was a man of West African origin, probablyfrom Senegambia, arriving in Portugal via the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Our study provides new insights intoaspects of the life and death of a first-generation African individual in Portugal during the Trans-Atlantic SlaveTrade period and highlights the power of multidisciplinary research to unravel unwritten history.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Pinto da Silva, André, et al.
(författare)
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Climate and anthropogenic factors determine site occupancy in Scotland's Northern-range badger population : implications of context-dependent responses under environmental change
- 2017
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Ingår i: Diversity & distributions. - : Wiley. - 1366-9516 .- 1472-4642. ; 23:6, s. 627-639
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: In the light of human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC), populations are exposed to ever-greater bioclimatic stress at the edge of a species' historic range. The distribution dynamics of European badgers (Meles meles) at their southern edge are linked tightly to climatic variability. We contribute critical data on how climatic context and local factors determine site occupancy in a northern-range population.Location: Eleven study areas (averaging similar to 21.3km(2)) spread over similar to 50,000km(2) in Northern Scotland.Methods: While accounting for heterogeneous detectability, we applied single-season occupancy models to broad-scale camera-trapping data (168 stations) to evaluate how Autumn-Winter weather conditions interact with land-cover type (including agricultural land) and human disturbance to determine badger occupancy.Results: Mean minimum daily winter temperature and elevation influenced inter-site occupancy. When clustering study areas into two distinct topo-climatic types, badger occupancy was associated with agriculture in areas with lower mean minimum winter temperatures (<0.3 degrees C) at higher elevation (>246m). In areas with higher mean minimum winter temperature (>1.2 degrees C) at lower elevation (<133m), badgers selected sites further away from human infrastructures (settlements and main roads). Climatic factors and human disturbance interact in intricate, context-dependent patterns to determine badger site occupancy.Main Conclusions: The UKCP09 Medium Emissions Scenario projects a winter mean minimum temperature increase of between 1 and 3 degrees C (central estimate) for Northern Scotland by the 2050s. Although warmer weather should benefit badger occupancy, this may be counteracted by up to a predicted 5% human population increase in the Scottish highlands, by 2037, which is likely to disturb badgers. We show that even in instances where species' regional responses to climate change are positive, these effects can be neutralized by other anthropogenic pressures. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence advocating that interactive effects should be taken into account when planning conservation management.
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| 6. |
- Sanchez-Quinto, Federico, et al.
(författare)
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Megalithic tombs in western and northern Neolithic Europe were linked to a kindred society
- 2019
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 116:19, s. 9469-9474
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Paleogenomic and archaeological studies show that Neolithic lifeways spread from the Fertile Crescent into Europe around 9000 BCE, reaching northwestern Europe by 4000 BCE. Starting around 4500 BCE, a new phenomenon of constructing megalithic monuments, particularly for funerary practices, emerged along the Atlantic facade. While it has been suggested that the emergence of megaliths was associated with the territories of farming communities, the origin and social structure of the groups that erected them has remained largely unknown. We generated genome sequence data from human remains, corresponding to 24 individuals from five megalithic burial sites, encompassing the widespread tradition of megalithic construction in northern and western Europe, and analyzed our results in relation to the existing European paleogenomic data. The various individuals buried in megaliths show genetic affinities with local farming groups within their different chronological contexts. Individuals buried in megaliths display (past) admixture with local hunter-gatherers, similar to that seen in other Neolithic individuals in Europe. In relation to the tomb populations, we find significantly more males than females buried in the megaliths of the British Isles. The genetic data show close kin relationships among the individuals buried within the megaliths, and for the Irish megaliths, we found a kin relation between individuals buried in different megaliths. We also see paternal continuity through time, including the same Y-chromosome haplotypes reoccurring. These observations suggest that the investigated funerary monuments were associated with patrilineal kindred groups. Our genomic investigation provides insight into the people associated with this long-standing megalith funerary tradition, including their social dynamics.
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| 7. |
- Simões, Luciana G., et al.
(författare)
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Genomic ancestry and social dynamics of the last hunter-gatherers of Atlantic France
- 2024
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 121:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Since the early Holocene, western and central Europe was inhabited by a genetically distinct group of Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHGs). This group was eventually replaced and assimilated by the incoming Neolithic farmers. The western Atlantic façade was home to some of the last Mesolithic sites of mainland Europe, represented by the iconic open-air sites at Hoedic and Téviec in southern Brittany, France. These sites are known for the unusually well-preserved and rich burials. Genomic studies of Mesolithic European hunter-gatherers have been limited to single or a few individuals per site and our understanding of the social dynamics of the last Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Europe and their interactions with incoming farmers is limited. We sequenced and analyzed the complete genomes of 10 individuals from the Late Mesolithic sites of Hoedic, Téviec, and Champigny, in France, four of which sequenced to between 23- and 8-times genome coverage. The analysis of genomic, chronological and dietary data revealed that the Late Mesolithic populations in Brittany maintained distinct social units within a network of exchanging mates. This resulted in low intra-group biological relatedness that prevented consanguineous mating, despite the small population size of the Late Mesolithic groups. We found no genetic ancestry from Neolithic farmers in the analyzed hunter-gatherers, even though some of them may have coexisted with the first farming groups in neighboring regions. Hence, contrary to previous conclusions based on stable isotope data from the same sites, the Late Mesolithic forager community was limited in mate-exchange to neighboring hunter-gatherer groups, to the exclusion of Neolithic farmers.
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| 8. |
- Simões, Luciana G., et al.
(författare)
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Northwest African Neolithic initiated by migrants from Iberia and Levant
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 618:7965, s. 550-556
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In northwestern Africa, lifestyle transitioned from foraging to food production around 7,400 years ago but what sparked that change remains unclear. Archaeological data support conflicting views: (1) that migrant European Neolithic farmers brought the new way of life to North Africa1,2,3 or (2) that local hunter-gatherers adopted technological innovations4,5. The latter view is also supported by archaeogenetic data6. Here we fill key chronological and archaeogenetic gaps for the Maghreb, from Epipalaeolithic to Middle Neolithic, by sequencing the genomes of nine individuals (to between 45.8- and 0.2-fold genome coverage). Notably, we trace 8,000 years of population continuity and isolation from the Upper Palaeolithic, via the Epipaleolithic, to some Maghrebi Neolithic farming groups. However, remains from the earliest Neolithic contexts showed mostly European Neolithic ancestry. We suggest that farming was introduced by European migrants and was then rapidly adopted by local groups. During the Middle Neolithic a new ancestry from the Levant appears in the Maghreb, coinciding with the arrival of pastoralism in the region, and all three ancestries blend together during the Late Neolithic. Our results show ancestry shifts in the Neolithization of northwestern Africa that probably mirrored a heterogeneous economic and cultural landscape, in a more multifaceted process than observed in other regions.
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| 9. |
- Simões, Luciana G., 1986-
(författare)
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Uncovering the Past through ancient DNA : The Fate and Legacy of the last hunter-gatherers in Western Europe and Northwestern Africa
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The genetic analysis of ancient human remains has revolutionized the study of human history, opening a direct window onto the demographic and evolutionary events that shaped our species' past. I use state-of-the-art ancient DNA methodologies, from sample collection and DNA extraction to data analysis, to study the ancient past of the western Mediterranean region, where climate does not favour DNA preservation. After the Last Glacial Maximum, amenable climatic conditions enabled the development of agriculture in the Levant, initiating the Neolithic period. In Europe, the transition from foraging to farming was driven by the migration of people from Anatolia, but in North Africa, evidence indicates a cultural diffusion, instead of population replacement. In this thesis, I show that this transition was in fact ignited by the migration of early farmers from Iberia. Moreover, a different migration wave, originating in the Levant and expanding within Africa, was associated with pastoralism in that region during the Neolithic. While the Neolithic transition is one of the most studied periods of pre-history, earlier periods are comparatively under-studied. Using whole genome sequencing data for 36 hunter-gatherers from Iberia and France, I observed that genetic lineages rooted in the Palaeolithic, survived throught the Mesolithic. Mesolithic hunter-gatherer populations formed social units that were not based on familial bonds; exchanges between groups avoided consanguinity. Coexistence with the first farming communities resulted in unidirectional admixture patterns, as we do not find gene flow from farmers to the last hunter-gatherers. Finally, using a multidisciplinary approach to study an exceptional individual of African descent buried in a Mesolithic shell midden, we find that the burial of this man during the transatlantic slave trade period could be an example of the maintenance of African cultural practices by African people displaced to Europe. My thesis highlights the power of ancient DNA analysis to uncover events and patterns of the human evolutionary history, but also that integrative approaches, where different lines of evidence are combined, can lead to exciting findings.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Valdiosera, Cristina, et al.
(författare)
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Four millennia of Iberian biomolecular prehistory illustrate the impact of prehistoric migrations at the far end of Eurasia
- 2018
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 115:13, s. 3428-3433
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Population genomic studies of ancient human remains have shown how modern-day European population structure has been shaped by a number of prehistoric migrations. The Neolithization of Europe has been associated with large-scale migrations from Anatolia, which was followed by migrations of herders from the Pontic steppe at the onset of the Bronze Age. Southwestern Europe was one of the last parts of the continent reached by these migrations, and modern-day populations from this region show intriguing similarities to the initial Neolithic migrants. Partly due to climatic conditions that are unfavorable for DNA preservation, regional studies on the Mediterranean remain challenging. Here, we present genome-wide sequence data from 13 individuals combined with stable isotope analysis from the north and south of Iberia covering a four-millennial temporal transect (7,500-3,500 BP). Early Iberian farmers and Early Central European farmers exhibit significant genetic differences, suggesting two independent fronts of the Neolithic expansion. The first Neolithic migrants that arrived in Iberia had low levels of genetic diversity, potentially reflecting a small number of individuals; this diversity gradually increased over time from mixing with local hunter-gatherers and potential population expansion. The impact of post-Neolithic migrations on Iberia was much smaller than for the rest of the continent, showing little external influence from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Paleodietary reconstruction shows that these populations have a remarkable degree of dietary homogeneity across space and time, suggesting a strong reliance on terrestrial food resources despite changing culture and genetic make-up.
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