DNA from the Lichtenstein Cave bronze age burials

Skulls from Lichtenstein Cave, a burial site for bronze age Germans. Two male line descendants (below).

Two Germans Share World’s Longest Family Tree. The Two Men Recently Discovered They Were Related Through a 3,000-Year-Old Ancestor

The men, Manfred Huchthausen, a 58-year-old teacher, and Uwe Lange, a 48-year-old surveyor, had known each other from living in the same village, about half a mile apart from each other.

But they never knew they were related through a 3,000-year-old shared ancestor.

They only recently found out they are both true descendants of Bronze Age cave-dwellers who lived in the area three millenniums ago.

Thanks to a DNA test on well-preserved Bronze Age bones found in the Lichtenstein cave in the foothills of the Harz Mountains in Germany’s Lower Saxony, the men can now claim to have the longest family tree in the world.

“Before the discovery, I could trace my family back by name to 1550,” Lange said. “Now, I can go back 120 generations.”

Lange comes from the small village of Nienstedt, which is near the excavation site.

 Lichtenstein Cave Data Analysis

Again, ancient European DNA showing the same haplogroups as modern people (although not in the same percentages)

-STR Haplotypes of the 19 male individuals^[

HT	393	390	19	391	385a	385b	439	389i	392	389ii	437	438	Σ	Hg
Y1	13	25	16	11	13	17	11	12	11	28	15	10	6	I2b*
Y2	13	25	15	11	13	17	11	12	11	27	15	10	3	I2b*
Y3	13	23	14	11	11	14	12	13	13	29	15	12	1	R1b
Y4	–	–	(17)	(11)	–	–	(11)	12	–	–	–	10	1	I2b*
Y5	13	25	15	11	11	(13)	11	13	11	30	14	11	2	R1a
Y6	13	24	16	11	13	17	11	12	11	28	15	10	3	I2b*
nd	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–

A full item (unfortunately in German) is here

DNA research bridges a gap of a thousand years

Reconstruction of a skull fromVlaardingen

DNA research bridges a gap of a thousand years

Early 2002 archaeologists recovered in the city centre of Vlaardingen, the Netherlands, the remains of people who had been buried there between 1000 and 1050 A.D. The question arose whether any of their offspring or family members would be alive today. To answer this question last year cheek saliva samples of 88 current inhabitants of Vlaardingen were taken and studied carefully. Although there was only a slim chance, a kinship was established in one instance. It means that for the first time in the Netherlands a period of a thousand years is bridged on the basis of DNA-research. On Friday July 6 the mayor of Vlaardingen, Tjerk Bruinsma, will reveal the current inhabitant of Vlaardingen that is related to the one from the 11th century A.D. Other results from these unique DNA-studies will be disclosed by the researchers themselves.

The 1000-year-old skeletons were dug up in 2002 on a site called “Hole in the Market”. At the time it was an undeveloped corner of the Market close to the ‘Grote Kerk’. The archaeological expectations of this spot were quite high which made the Province of ‘Zuid-Holland’ decide to partly subsidise the research project. And with good reason (rightly so): within an area of nearly five by five meters archaeologists found the remains of 41 beautifully conserved bodies and several other parts of individuals. 32 were good for DNA tests. The molars of 24 of these 32 males, females and children proved to have usable DNA, important for setting up a database of old human DNA.The study of human DNA is a new and promising technique that can cause a true revolution in archaeological research.

The search for the original Vlaardingen-inhabitant
To investigate whether there are descendants of the old inhabitants buried a thousand years ago a project was started. This ‘search for the original Vlaardingen – inhabitant’ is an exceptional cooperation of the department City Archives and Archaeology of the city of Vlaardingen and the University Medical Centre of Leiden (LUMC). For this study only males were selected as kinship is most easily established in the male line. The only piece of DNA material passed on in unaltered form from parent to child is the Y-chromosome determining the male sex. Also, the male line can more easily be followed on the basis of genealogical data because the last name is normally passed on in the male line.

DNA from saliva tests and molars
Of the 24 medieval inhabitants of Vlaardingen who had good DNA there were 16 of the male sex and these formed the group that was compared with the men now living. At the start of 2006 the city of Vlaardingen called up men who could prove their male ancestors had been inhabitants of the place as early as the16th century or even before. 181 responses from all over the country came in, of which 88 candidates were selected for DNA-tests. In August 2006 the city archivist took saliva samples of these men and the samples and molars of the 1000 year old Vlaardingen inhabitants were then studied by Mrs Eveline Altena, M.A., under the guidance of Professor Dr. Peter de Knijff of the LUMC. This was a unique study for the Netherlands . Although it was most unlikely, surprisingly enough one match between two Y-chromosome DNA-profiles with a thousand years between them turned up. This is a first in Dutch history.

11th century Vlaardingen inhabitant severely hit on the head
The 1000-year-old DNA matching that of a current inhabitant is of a man approximately 45 years old. His skull is striking because it has two obvious dents next to each other. The man has obviously been beaten on the head at least twice with a hard, blunt object and survived the blows judging from the fractures that have healed nicely. The skull will be shown to the public.

Official announcement on July 6
On July 6, the mayor of Vlaardingen Tjerk Bruinsma will reveal whose Y-chromosome DNA matches that of the DNA of the man buried in Vlaardingen a thousand years ago.

The announcement of the match will take place in the ‘Grote Kerk’, in the presence of the person who provided it. Historically the ‘Grote Kerk’ is an apt location because for centuries inhabitants of Vlaardingen were buried here and closeby, in a site called ‘Hole in the Market’ where the skeletons which provided the 1000-year-old DNA were found. On this occasion the other outcomes of the research project will be made known by Prof. Dr. Peter de Knijff. The meeting in the ‘Grote Kerk’ is on invitation only.

 An old  news item, but I liked the reconstruction.

Genetic variation in prehistoric Sardinia

Genetic variation in prehistoric Sardinia

 We sampled teeth from 53 ancient Sardinian (Nuragic) individuals who lived in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, between 3,430 and 2,700 years ago. After eliminating the samples that, in preliminary biochemical tests, did not show a high probability to yield reproducible results, we obtained 23 sequences of the mitochondrial DNA control region, which were associated to haplogroups by comparison with a dataset of modern sequences. The Nuragic samples show a remarkably low genetic diversity, comparable to that observed in ancient Iberians, but much lower than among the Etruscans. Most of these sequences have exact matches in two modern Sardinian populations, supporting a clear genealogical continuity from the Late Bronze Age up to current times. The Nuragic populationsappear to be part of a large and geographically unstructuredcluster of modern European populations, thus making it difficult to infer their evolutionary relationships. However, the low levels of genetic diversity, both within and among ancient samples, as opposed to the sharp divergences among modern Sardinian samples, support the hypothesis of the expansion of a small group of maternally related individuals, and of comparatively recent differentiation of the Sardinian gene pools.

I’m still looking for the pdf link for this. The haplotypes involved appear to be H, J, T, V and U. According to the cached text, “Nuragic Sardinians cluster with the majority of the European populations.” Unsurprisingly. 

Mitochondrial DNA diversity in an archaeological site in al-Andalus

Human mitochondrial DNA diversity in an archaeological site in al-Andalus: Genetic impact of migrations from North Africa in medieval Spain

Mitochondrial DNA sequences and restriction fragment polymorphisms were retrieved from three Islamic 12th-13th century samples of 71 bones and teeth (with >85% efficiency) from Madinat Baguh (today called Priego de Cordoba, Spain). Compared with 108 saliva samples from the present population of the same area, the medieval samples show a higher proportion of sub-Saharan African lineages that can only partially be attributed to the historic Muslim occupation. In fact, the unique sharing of transition 16175, in L1b lineages, with Europeans, instead of Africans, suggests a more ancient arrival to Europe from Africa. The present day Priego sample is more similar to the current south Iberian population than to the medieval sample from the same area. The increased gene flow in modern times could be the main cause of this difference.

Am J Phys Anthropol 2006.

This is an odd study. I’m familiar with some Iberian crania that suggest a few more African associated features in the Neolithic crania than there are in the present population. This is suggesting some movement from North Africa in ancient times (16k to 20k is the date given), possibly bringing microlithic technology from the Ibero-Maraussian (the date is compatible with this theory). This could possibly explain why the Celtic languages (who’s ancestors originated in Iberian refugia) have an Afro Asiatic grammar structure. This theory was dumped a while ago, but it may have some basis to it.

CONCLUSIONS
The medieval Priego sample showed greater affinities to North-Africa than other Iberian Peninsula samples including that of present day Priego. Haplotype analysis revealed that some African haplotypes detected in medieval Priego have matches with samples of precise north- African origin as Tunisia, west-Sahara or the Canary Islands pointing to well documented historic connections with this area. However, medieval Priego L1b lineages  carrying the 16175 transition have their most related counterparts in Europe instead of Africa. The coalescence age for these L1b lineages is compatible with a minor prehistoric African influence on Priego that also reached other European areas.

From studying the Y chromosomes of North Africa, the mate of this L1b was probably an R1b, so I’m going to have to have a look to see if any of the R1b’s in Iberia track back to North Africa (E3b1b is a neolithic addition to North Africa).

Whole-mtDNA Genome Sequence Analysis of Ancient African Lineages

Whole-mtDNA Genome Sequence Analysis of Ancient African Lineages

Mary Katherine Gonder*, Holly M. Mortensen*, Floyd A. Reed*, Alexandra de Sousa, and Sarah A. Tishkoff* 
 
Studies of human mitochondrial (mt) DNA genomes demonstrate that the root of the human phylogenetic tree occurs in Africa. Although 2 mtDNA lineages with an African origin (haplogroups M and N) were the progenitors of all non-African haplogroups, macrohaplogroup L (including haplogroups L0–L6) is limited to sub-Saharan Africa. Several L haplogroup lineages occur most frequently in eastern Africa (e.g., L0a, L0f, L5, and L3g), but some are specific to certain ethnic groups, such as haplogroup lineages L0d and L0k that previously have been found nearly exclusively among southern African “click” speakers. Few studies have included multiple mtDNA genome samples belonging to haplogroups that occur in eastern and southern Africa but are rare or absent elsewhere. This lack of sampling in eastern Africa makes it difficult to infer relationships among mtDNA haplogroups or to examine events that occurred early in human history. We sequenced 62 complete mtDNA genomes of ethnically diverse Tanzanians, southern African Khoisan speakers, and Bakola Pygmies and compared them with a global pool of 226 mtDNA genomes. From these, we infer phylogenetic relationships amongst mtDNA haplogroups and estimate the time to most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) for haplogroup lineages. These data suggest that Tanzanians have high genetic diversity and possess ancient mtDNA haplogroups, some of which are either rare (L0d and L5) or absent (L0f) in other regions of Africa. We propose that a large and diverse human population has persisted in eastern Africa and that eastern Africa may have been an ancient source of dispersion of modern humans both within and outside of Africa.

Firstly, I feel obliged to point out that M and N both have a Eurasian origin. Okay, so the origin of M was up for a debate a while ago, but I’ve never seen N down as African in origin. Where did that come from? This is contradicted in the full text:

For example, mtDNAs of Tanzanians belonging to haplogroup M1 cluster with peoples from Oceania, whereas Tanzanian mtDNAs belonging to haplogroup N1 and J cluster with peoples of Middle Eastern and Eurasian origin. However, the presence of haplogroups N1 and J in Tanzania suggest “back” migration from the Middle East or Eurasia into eastern Africa, which has been inferred from previous studies of other populations in eastern Africa (Kivisild et al. 2004).

I’m trying to figure out if there was a migration South from east Africa that might explain the Hofmeyr skull. Anyone with any thoughts on this, let me know.

 

Population affinities of Neolithic Siberians

Population affinities of Neolithic Siberians: A snapshot from prehistoric Lake Baikal

Abstract
Archaeological evidence supports the inhabitation of the Lake Baikal region since the Paleolithic. Both metric and nonmetric osteological studies suggest that Neolithic Cis-Baikal populations are the ancestors of contemporary inhabitants of the region. To date, ancient DNA data have not been used to corroborate this biological continuity hypothesis. This study presents a temporal snapshot of the Cis-Baikal Neolithic by examining mtDNA diversity in two cemetery populations situated on the Angara River downstream of Lake Baikal. The 800 years separating the use of the two cemeteries is thought to represent a biocultural hiatus in the Cis-Baikal region, one that ended when a new group migrated into the area. To assess the likelihood that genetic continuity exists between these two Neolithic groups, we examined both mtDNA coding region and hypervariable region I (HVI) polymorphisms from skeletal remains excavated from both cemeteries (Lokomotiv and Ust’-Ida). The mtDNA haplogroup distributions of the two cemetery populations differ significantly, suggesting that they were biologically distinct groups. When the biological distance between these Neolithic groups is compared with modern Siberian and other East Eurasian groups, the posthiatus group (Serovo-Glazkovo) generally aligns with contemporary Siberians, while the prehiatus (Kitoi) individuals are significantly different from all but modern Kets and Shorians living in the Yenisey and Ob River basins to the west of Lake Baikal. These results suggest that the Lake Baikal region experienced a significant depopulation event during the sixth millennium BP, and was reoccupied by a new immigrant population some 800 years later.

HLA molecular markers in Tuvinians

HLA molecular markers in Tuvinians: a population with both Oriental and Caucasoid characteristics

HLA class I and class II alleles have been studied for the first time in the Turkish-speaking Tuvinian population, which lives in Russia, North of Mongolia and close to the Altai mountains. Comparisons have been done with about 11,000 chromosomes from other worldwide populations, and extended haplotypes, genetic distances, neighbor joining dendrograms and correspondence analyses have been calculated. Tuvinians show an admixture of Mongoloid and Caucasoid characters, the latter probably coming from the ancient Kyrgyz background or, less feasibly, more recent Russian Caucasoid admixture. However, Siberian population traits are not found and thus Tuvinians are closer to Central Asian populations. Siberians are more related to Na-Dene and Eskimo American Indians; Amerindians (from nowadays Iberian–America) are not related to any other group, including Pacific Islanders, Siberians or other American Indians. The ‘more than one wave’ model for the peopling of the Americas is supported.

It’s an HLA study, and by it’s nature a bit unreliable as to population relationships. But it does seem to suggest that Southern native Americans have some HLA ancestry from another source. Maybe Aborigines HLA profiles should be compared.

2.5 million year old Australopithecus manuport shows symbolic thought

The Makapansgat cobble

 

Found in a cave in Limpopo, South Africa. The Makapansgat cobble is a naturally occurring peice of reddish jasperite, found in cave breccia at the Makapansgat quarry, along  with Australopithecus bones. It’s dated to have been left in the cave 2.5 to 3 million years old. Technically it’s called a manuport, a naturally occurring object that’s been deliberately moved for some reason to a new location. It was found four kilometres from the nearest possible site, so it wasn’t carried back as an act of absent mindedness. Carrying an object over 4km has a reason. Presumably it was picked up by a hominid and carried back to the cave as a curiosity, because of it’s resemblance to a face and unusual colour. It seems that it was recognised it as a ‘face’, and taken it home; an indication of symbolic thought. Although, it may have been a ‘toy’ rather than ‘art’, as modern primates show a fondness for toys, and the colour red in particular.

Isotope analysis of the bones from this site suggest that the Australopithecus in residence were eating meat as well as fruits and vegetables, and that they were exploiting open grassland for food. Absent from this stage are stone tool and fire use. It would seem that Australopithecus was clever enough to recognize and value a face, but not to create tools or use fire. An ape right on the verge of the Homo genus.

300,000 year old wolf tooth pendant from Austria

A Wolf incisor from Repolust cave Austria. This is believed to be about 300,000 years old. It’s the oldest known piece of jewellery there is, made during the Heidelbergensis occupation of Europe.

I got this from a great paper on paleoart objects, so this is probably going to be my subject for the week. One thing that’s become abundantly clear from reading it is that Homo Erectus and Heidelbergensis were behaviourally very similar to us, at least in their fondness for art and jewellery.

200,000 year old shell beads from Libya.

Three fragments of ostrich eggshell beads from the Late Acheulian of El Greifa E, Libya), similar to beads found at two Upper Palaeolithic sites in India. The site of discovery is Wadi el Adjal. There’s a modern example of this kind of bead to show how they are still worn.

Finally I found a solid reference and images of these beads. I’d heard of them in another paper, but I was starting to think someone had made them up. If the dating is accurate, they beat all the other contenders for the worlds oldest beads hands down. Except of course, for two items, drilled with stone tools, from the Repolust Cave, Austria (Bednarik 1992a: 34). They are thought to be almost 300,000 years old, although they could be beads or pendants. This would be a Heidelbergensis date for the Austrian pendants.

 It seems that a fondness for personal adornment is something common to all humans, modern and archaic.