The author uses analyses of bone remains from a cemetary of the Luzyce culture in Wicina, Poland,... more The author uses analyses of bone remains from a cemetary of the Luzyce culture in Wicina, Poland, to characterize the biological structure of the population. Patterns of mortality, fertility, and reproductive potential are determined using life table calculations based on the frequency distribution of death by age (SUMMARY IN ENG, RUS)
The paper presents the anthropometric characteristics of 23 male and 9 female crania from two chu... more The paper presents the anthropometric characteristics of 23 male and 9 female crania from two church cemeteries in Inowroc‡aw: the cemetery located by the Church of Our Lady, also called iRuinai (the Ruin) and the one located by the Church of St. Nicholas. The archaeological excavations in Inowroc‡aw were carried out in 1967. They were rescue works performed in connection with the reconstruction of a road. The crania found were dated to the 17th and 18th centuries. For each cranium 28 anthropometric measurements were performed according to R. Martinis (1928) technique. Their sex and age were estimated according to the methods recommended by European anthropologists (Piontek 1999). Data on craniological traits for 20 population groups from Poland were collected from literature. Using principal components analysis differentiation of the Late Middle Ages and modern populations from Poland was analysed. The analysis was performed also with the use of the biological distance calculation method and the dendrogram method. High degree of resemblance of the group of crania under study to the crania of Central Poland (Kujawy, Wielkopolska) populations was revealed.
Background The appearance of Slavs in East-Central Europe has been the subject of an over 200-yea... more Background The appearance of Slavs in East-Central Europe has been the subject of an over 200-year debate driven by two conflicting hypotheses. The first assumes that Slavs came to the territory of contemporary Poland no earlier than the sixth century CE; the second postulates that they already inhabited this region in the Iron Age (IA). Testing either hypothesis is not trivial given that cremation of the dead was the prevailing custom in Central Europe from the late Bronze Age until the Middle Ages (MA). Results To address this problem, we determined the genetic makeup of representatives of the IA Wielbark- and MA Slav-associated cultures from the territory of present-day Poland. The study involved 474 individuals buried in 27 cemeteries. For 197 of them, genome-wide data were obtained. We found close genetic affinities between the IA Wielbark culture-associated individuals and contemporary to them and older northern European populations. Further, we observed that the IA individual...
The origin of the Piast dynasty is a matter of lively discussions and disputes. At least a few co... more The origin of the Piast dynasty is a matter of lively discussions and disputes. At least a few controversial hypotheses exist, but their credibility is difficult to assess due to the scarcity of written as well as material sources, especially from the time of Polish state formation. Life sciences, however, can support history and archeology. Application of genetic tests, used earlier mainly in forensic laboratories, enabled identification of the remains of King Richard III, the Romanov dynasty members and Nicolaus Copernicus. Contemporary DNA studies, based on next generation DNA sequencing, outreach the narrow area of known markers such as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and selected regions of Y chromosome. Although ancient DNA (aDNA), extracted from remains, is usually highly degraded and contaminated with genetic material of microorganisms, there are methods which allow for the analysis of such material and retrieval of information about origin, kinship and some phenotypic features of...
Tight junctions seal intercellular clefts via membrane-related strands, hence, maintaining import... more Tight junctions seal intercellular clefts via membrane-related strands, hence, maintaining important organ functions. We investigated the self-association of strand-forming transmembrane tight junction proteins. The regulatory tight junction protein occludin was differently tagged and cotransfected in eucaryotic cells. These occludins colocalized within the plasma membrane of the same cell, coprecipitated and exhibited fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Differently tagged strand-forming claudin-5 also colocalized in the plasma membrane of the same cell and showed fluorescence resonance energy transfer. This demonstrates self-association in intact cells both of occludin and claudin-5 in one plasma membrane. In search of dimerizing regions of occludin, dimerization of its cytosolic C-terminal coiledcoil domain was identified. In claudin-5, the second extracellular loop was detected as a dimer. Since the transmembrane junctional adhesion molecule also is known to dimerize, the assumption that homodimerization of transmembrane tight junction proteins may serve as a common structural feature in tight junction assembly is supported.
The author uses analyses of bone remains from a cemetary of the Luzyce culture in Wicina, Poland,... more The author uses analyses of bone remains from a cemetary of the Luzyce culture in Wicina, Poland, to characterize the biological structure of the population. Patterns of mortality, fertility, and reproductive potential are determined using life table calculations based on the frequency distribution of death by age (SUMMARY IN ENG, RUS)
The paper presents the anthropometric characteristics of 23 male and 9 female crania from two chu... more The paper presents the anthropometric characteristics of 23 male and 9 female crania from two church cemeteries in Inowroc‡aw: the cemetery located by the Church of Our Lady, also called iRuinai (the Ruin) and the one located by the Church of St. Nicholas. The archaeological excavations in Inowroc‡aw were carried out in 1967. They were rescue works performed in connection with the reconstruction of a road. The crania found were dated to the 17th and 18th centuries. For each cranium 28 anthropometric measurements were performed according to R. Martinis (1928) technique. Their sex and age were estimated according to the methods recommended by European anthropologists (Piontek 1999). Data on craniological traits for 20 population groups from Poland were collected from literature. Using principal components analysis differentiation of the Late Middle Ages and modern populations from Poland was analysed. The analysis was performed also with the use of the biological distance calculation method and the dendrogram method. High degree of resemblance of the group of crania under study to the crania of Central Poland (Kujawy, Wielkopolska) populations was revealed.
Background The appearance of Slavs in East-Central Europe has been the subject of an over 200-yea... more Background The appearance of Slavs in East-Central Europe has been the subject of an over 200-year debate driven by two conflicting hypotheses. The first assumes that Slavs came to the territory of contemporary Poland no earlier than the sixth century CE; the second postulates that they already inhabited this region in the Iron Age (IA). Testing either hypothesis is not trivial given that cremation of the dead was the prevailing custom in Central Europe from the late Bronze Age until the Middle Ages (MA). Results To address this problem, we determined the genetic makeup of representatives of the IA Wielbark- and MA Slav-associated cultures from the territory of present-day Poland. The study involved 474 individuals buried in 27 cemeteries. For 197 of them, genome-wide data were obtained. We found close genetic affinities between the IA Wielbark culture-associated individuals and contemporary to them and older northern European populations. Further, we observed that the IA individual...
The origin of the Piast dynasty is a matter of lively discussions and disputes. At least a few co... more The origin of the Piast dynasty is a matter of lively discussions and disputes. At least a few controversial hypotheses exist, but their credibility is difficult to assess due to the scarcity of written as well as material sources, especially from the time of Polish state formation. Life sciences, however, can support history and archeology. Application of genetic tests, used earlier mainly in forensic laboratories, enabled identification of the remains of King Richard III, the Romanov dynasty members and Nicolaus Copernicus. Contemporary DNA studies, based on next generation DNA sequencing, outreach the narrow area of known markers such as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and selected regions of Y chromosome. Although ancient DNA (aDNA), extracted from remains, is usually highly degraded and contaminated with genetic material of microorganisms, there are methods which allow for the analysis of such material and retrieval of information about origin, kinship and some phenotypic features of...
Tight junctions seal intercellular clefts via membrane-related strands, hence, maintaining import... more Tight junctions seal intercellular clefts via membrane-related strands, hence, maintaining important organ functions. We investigated the self-association of strand-forming transmembrane tight junction proteins. The regulatory tight junction protein occludin was differently tagged and cotransfected in eucaryotic cells. These occludins colocalized within the plasma membrane of the same cell, coprecipitated and exhibited fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Differently tagged strand-forming claudin-5 also colocalized in the plasma membrane of the same cell and showed fluorescence resonance energy transfer. This demonstrates self-association in intact cells both of occludin and claudin-5 in one plasma membrane. In search of dimerizing regions of occludin, dimerization of its cytosolic C-terminal coiledcoil domain was identified. In claudin-5, the second extracellular loop was detected as a dimer. Since the transmembrane junctional adhesion molecule also is known to dimerize, the assumption that homodimerization of transmembrane tight junction proteins may serve as a common structural feature in tight junction assembly is supported.
European Society for the study of Human Evolution, 2019
A bone’s response to mechanical loading during life and its preserved morphology after death illu... more A bone’s response to mechanical loading during life and its preserved morphology after death illustrate skeletal adaptation within an individual or population. Analyses have shown that the morphology of the lower limbs differ between modern, historic, and prehistoric human populations due to activity, types of terrain, and adaptation to diverse climates. However, not all analysed populations follow this pattern. This may indicate that the trend of change in skeletal parameters is still not clear. That is why, the use of complex statistical models can be helpful interpreting the functional adaptation of the lower limbs. In addition, investigation of human populations from other regions such as Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Africa and Australia may give new information about morphological diversity. The main aim of the proposed study was to investigate variation in femoral cross-sectional indicator of robusticity ( J) between human populations due to different types of economy, regions and chronological periods using a comprehensive statistical model that allows simultaneous analysis of several variables. The sample consisted of 1,981 individuals from the Early Pleistocene to modern times, aged between 16 and 87 years, with no fractures or pathological changes of the lower limbs. For each individual the following variables were collected: sex, age, date range, region, type economy, femoral biomechanical properties (%CA, J, Ix/Iy), average slope of the terrain and body mass. The human populations came from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. The major part of the data came from European Data Set [1] in turn, information about Pleistocene individuals was collected from literature. The biomechanical properties of Neolithic farmers from Poland, Iran, Australian aborigines and Medieval Polish farmers were calculated using Moment Macro (v. 1.4) [2]. Generalized linear model was used to test whether the difference in the robusticity of femur were due to spatial, temporal and biological variation. In the model, difference in polar second moment of area ( J) was the dependent variable and sex, age, date, region, type of economy, %CA, Ix/Iy and average slope of the terrain were independent covariates. The GLM was calculated for raw and standardized femoral biomechanical properties, respectively [3]. The model calculated for raw biomechanical properties showed that region, sex, age, %CA, Ix/Iy and some types of economy (farmers, hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, urban farmers and urban populations) explained most of the variation in the robusticity of the femur. Slightly different results were obtained for the second model which used standardized biomechanical properties. Genealogical data of the skeletal remains, sex, age, %CA, Ix/Iy and one type of economy (hunting-gathering) were significant predictor covariates. The model based on standardised biomechanical properties showed that there was a slight temporal decline in the robusticity of femur from Pleistocene to modern times. Although, this trend should be analysed with cautions due to small sample size of individuals from the older periods. Interestingly, terrain shape did not explain the variation in polar second moment of area ( J) which means that individuals from mountainous terrain are not characterised by more robust femur than individuals from lowlands. Size and not standardised femoral property showed significant differences in sex and age. In addition, the standardized robusticity of the femur was associated with hunting and gathering. It may mean that this type of economy requires more resistant lower limbs to bending and torsion than farming, pastoralism or life in urban areas. On the other hand, not standardized robusticity index also showed association with pastoralism, farming, and urban life. But, this may be a result of differences in body mass and proportions between hunter-gatherers and human populations using different types of economy.
EAA Abstract Book - 13th ANNUAL MEETING IN ZADAR, CROATIA, 2007
The aim of the study is to assess biological differentiations between Central European population... more The aim of the study is to assess biological differentiations between Central European populations from the Roman period and the Early Middle Ages on the basis of the frequency of odontological traits (nonmetrical dental traits according to Zubov’s classification).
Funding scheme: NSC " Symfonia " The ethnogenesis of the Slavs is still an unsolved research prob... more Funding scheme: NSC " Symfonia " The ethnogenesis of the Slavs is still an unsolved research problem in archaeology, history, and linguistics. The discussion is marked by the clashing opinions of assert that the Slav territories around the Oder and Vistula rivers were continuously inhabited by the ancestors of Slavs from the Bronze Age until the Middle Ages. Physical anthropology, based on a study of the morphological diversity of skeletal populations that inhabited the area between the Oder and Vistula from late antiquity to the Middle Ages, is attempting to resolve the ongoing disputes.
Wstęp Scytowie byli koczownikami, którzy zamieszkiwali rejon Morza Czarnego we wczesnej epoce żel... more Wstęp Scytowie byli koczownikami, którzy zamieszkiwali rejon Morza Czarnego we wczesnej epoce żelaza. Na kartach historii zapisali się jako władcy stepów, którzy w wyniku licznych wojen zajęli rozległe obszary Eurazji (Moroli i in. 2016). Celem prezentowanych badań była ocena stanu i dynamiki biologicznej populacji Scytów z Glinoe (Mołdawia), IV-II w. p.n.e. Weryfikowaliśmy hipotezę, że ze względu na ich pozycję oraz styl życia charakteryzowali się oni stosunkowo niską płodnością, umieralnością oraz dłuższym trwaniem życia w porównaniu z innymi ówczesnymi populacjami. Materiał i metody Dla 220 osobników z Glinoe wykonano analizę wymieralności na podstawie tablic wymieralności. Dla badanej grupy zostały wyznaczone także bayesowskie rozkłady mierników wymierania. Potencjalną zdolność do działania doboru naturalnego oceniono za pomocą podstawowych mierników stanu biologicznego populacji. Parametry płodności zostały zrekonstruowane na podstawie tablic wymieralności oraz założonego przyrostu naturalnego (Henneberg, Steyn 1994). Wyniki i wnioski Pod względem struktury demograficznej grupa nie odbiegała w znaczący sposób od innych ówczesnych populacji ludzkich z wyjątkiem stosunkowo dużego prawdopodobieństwa śmierci we wczesnym okresie dorosłości, które najprawdopodobniej mogło wynikać z ich wojowniczego stylu życia. Płodność w badanej grupie była niska, co jest cechą charakterystyczną dla nomadów. Słowa kluczowe: Nomadowie, epoka żelaza, tablice wymieralności, rejon Morza Czarnego, metody bayesowskie
Wstęp Wpływ transformacji społeczno-ekonomicznych na zmienne biologiczne jest problemem dość dobr... more Wstęp Wpływ transformacji społeczno-ekonomicznych na zmienne biologiczne jest problemem dość dobrze opisanym. Do tej pory badania te dotyczyły zjawisk zachodzących w Polsce w latach 80-tych i 90-tych ubiegłego wieku, brak jest natomiast opracowań dla Polski okresu przedwojennego, czasów II wojny światowej i po jej zakończeniu. Celem prezentowanych badań jest porównanie zmiennych biologicznych takich jak: wysokość, masa ciała i BMI u młodych kobiet urodzonych przed II wojną światową, w jej trakcie i tuż po zakończeniu. Materiał i metody Materiał obejmował dane o wieku, wysokości i masie ciała 492 studentek UAM w Poznaniu, zbadanych w latach 1956-1972 przez pracowników Zakładu Antropologii UAM w Poznaniu. Kobiety podzielono na trzy kohorty urodzeniowe: urodzone przed wybuchem II wojny światowej (1935-1939; n=129), w jej trakcie (1940-1945; n=187), oraz po zakończeniu II wojny światowej (1946-1952; n=176). Na podstawie indywidualnych danych o wysokości i masie ciała obliczono wskaźnik BMI. Następnie średnie wartości wysokości, masy i wskaźnika BMI kobiet z trzech kohort urodzeniowych porównywano za pomocą ANCOVA, kontrolując wiek oraz wykształcenie ojców badanych kobiet. Wyniki Średnie wartości wysokości ciała badanych kobiet różniły się statystycznie istotnie w kohortach urodzeniowych (p<0,01), zaś brak takich różnic odnotowano dla masy ciała i wskaźnika BMI. Kobiety urodzone w czasie II wojny światowej (160,4±0,4 cm) były niższe od urodzonych przed II wojną światową (162,8±0,5 cm, p<0,001) oraz od urodzonych po jej zakończeniu (161,9±0,5 cm, p=0,07). Z kolei średnie wysokości ciała kobiet urodzonych
In our study we compared available archaeological and anthropological data obtained from selected... more In our study we compared available archaeological and anthropological data obtained from selected Central European sites dated to early Bronze Age (the Únětice tradition-mostly inhumations in flat graves) and early Iron Age (the Urnfield tradition-mostly cremation in ceramic containers) to observe selected properties of children's burials and identify possible "funeral indicators" of children graves. We argue that they are far from what has been presented in the traditional archaeological literature defining children as low-status members of the society and sometimes reflected with specific (in terms of their number and quality) grave goods. In case of early Bronze Age graves, children burials were often furnished with objects (ornaments mostly) made of rare, newly-introduced raw material as for example copper-based alloys. There are many examples of cemeteries where metal artefacts were found only in children and women's graves. In early Iron Age evidence, it seems like the cremation process equated all the members of the community and abrogated their individual biological features. The individuals representing various biological categories (based on age and sex) were treated in a similar way. We realize there were many differences both in grave constructions and grave goods but we argue they were not necessarily correlated with biological age categories.
European Society for the study of Human Evolution ESHE 9th Annual Meeting Liege, Belgium, 19th-21st September, 2019, 2019
A bone's response to mechanical loading during life and its preserved morphology after death illu... more A bone's response to mechanical loading during life and its preserved morphology after death illustrate skeletal adaptation within an individual or population. Analyses have shown that the morphology of the lower limbs differ between modern, historic, and prehistoric human populations due to activity, types of terrain, and adaptation to diverse climates. However, not all analysed populations follow this pattern. This may indicate that the trend of change in skeletal parameters is still not clear. That is why, the use of complex statistical models can be helpful interpreting the functional adaptation of the lower limbs. In addition, investigation of human populations from other regions such as Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Africa and Australia may give new information about morphological diversity. The main aim of the proposed study was to investigate variation in femoral cross-sectional indicator of robusticity (J) between human populations due to different types of economy, regions and chronological periods using a comprehensive statistical model that allows simultaneous analysis of several variables. The sample consisted of 1,981 individuals from the Early Pleistocene to modern times, aged between 16 and 87 years, with no fractures or pathological changes of the lower limbs. For each individual the following variables were collected: sex, age, date range, region, type economy, femoral biomechanical properties (%CA, J, Ix/Iy), average slope of the terrain and body mass. The human populations came from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. The major part of the data came from European Data Set [1] in turn, information about Pleistocene individuals was collected from literature. The biomechanical properties of Neolithic farmers from Poland, Iran, Australian aborigines and Medieval Polish farmers were calculated using Moment Macro (v. 1.4) [2]. Generalized linear model was used to test whether the difference in the robusticity of femur were due to spatial, temporal and biological variation. In the model, difference in
Critics of paleodemographic research have indicated among others inaccuracy of techniques of age ... more Critics of paleodemographic research have indicated among others inaccuracy of techniques of age determination, lack of data reflecting the number of individuals by age and the fact that the samples do not represent a population from which they are drawn. Researchers have omitted paledemographic methods and have searched for a new methodological approach. In the light of the above criticism of paleodemographic methods, in this work the following issues will be discussed: 1) Paleodemographic research is still an important part of studies of skeletal populations; 2) It is worth looking for new methodological solutions provided that there is a certain criticism of the results interpretation. In order to address the above excursus different research approaches will be applied (classical methods and new ones with the use of software) and possibilities of interpreting the results will be proposed. For this purpose the cremated human remains (N=438 individuals with age and sex determined) excavated from the cemetery at Wicina (the Lusatian Culture), Poland, will be used. Life tables will be built using the classic Halley's method, without/ with the corrected number of the individuals deceased, and without/ with the introduction of the values of natural growth, estimated on the basis of the parameters of the Bocquet-Appel regression function and from the model life tables proposed by Weiss (1973). The biological status will be assessed using the measures of the opportunity for natural selection (biological state index and potential reproductive growth) and the parameters of fertility will be estimated. Next, survival analysis will be applied. This method is useful since there are observation only partially known (underestimated number of children) and the grouping of the time of events into intervals of equal length is not required. Ultimately, the Bayesian models will be used for assessing the uncertainty in the resulting estimates of age.
Social stratification might have been reflected in a selection of grave goods and time-consuming ... more Social stratification might have been reflected in a selection of grave goods and time-consuming preparation of grave pits. In this presentation, minimal number of vessel per grave (MNVs) and presence of a chamber (reflected in vessel arrangement; PCh) were treated as a proxy for social stratification. We tested the hypothesis that the indices describing differences in social structure could differentiate the time of survival of individuals from different age classes in the Lusatian Culture. The cremated human remains excavated from the urnfield at Wicina, were used for this study. For 438 individuals age at death was determined. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard were applied. The survival analysis confirmed statistically significant differences in probability of survival between individuals according to social stratification determinants. The probability of survival was higher in the group with greater MNVs (≥10) than in the group with MNVs<10. Over 80% individuals from the group with MNVs≥10 reached the age of 15. Over 60% of individuals from MNVs<10 died before the onset of reproduction. To age 40 years survived over 30-40% of individuals from grave chambers with MNVs≥10, and 10% reached the end of reproduction. In the group with MNVs<10 the same fractions were as half as many. The Chi-squared test showed that the frequency of MNVs depended on individual's age at death. The greater MNVs (≥10) occurred more frequently in adults (70-80%) than in the groups of children (aged ≤15). The differences in the times of survival were also statistically significant in favour of the PCh's group. The Cox proportional hazard confirmed that MNVs was significantly related with the time of survival. With some interpretive caution, it can be concluded, that social stratification, analysed by MNVs and PCh indicators, in the community of the Lusatian Culture, could be reflected in the time of survival.
XLVII Ogólnopolska Konferencja Naukowa Polskiego Towarzystwa Antropologicznego "ANTROPOS - MIĘDZY NATURĄ A KULTURĄ" ,11-13 września 2019 r., Kraków, 2019
Etnogeneza Słowian jako problem badawczy w antropologii fizycznej Tezy referatu Czytając prace ar... more Etnogeneza Słowian jako problem badawczy w antropologii fizycznej Tezy referatu Czytając prace archeologiczne, historyczne i językoznawcze dotyczące zagadnień etnogenezy Słowian można dojść do wniosku, że badania społeczeństw pradziejowych i historycznych są prawie wyłącznie obszarem badań nauk humanistycznych. Nauki przyrodnicze, w tym antropologia fizyczna, postrzegane są jako dziedziny dostarczające jedynie ekspertyzy i analizy specjalistyczne. Główne sprzeczności, miedzy hipotezami stawianymi przez antropologów fizycznych czy genetyków, a hipotezami stawianymi przez archeologów czy historyków, w kwestii pochodzenia i rozprzestrzenienia się Słowian, dotyczyły i nadal dotyczą poglądów na: (a) stan i dynamikę biologiczną populacji słowiańskich w okresie ich ekspansji i w czasach późniejszych (zdolności do ekspansji ludnościowej), (b) zróżnicowanie i podobieństwa biologiczne różnych grup zamieszkujących Europę Środkową u schyłku starożytności i we wczesnym średniowieczu, (c) ruchy migracyjne i ich nasilenie, (d) kierunków migracji oraz ich znaczenia w tworzeniu się "etnosu" słowiańskiego itp. Antropolodzy fizyczni uważają, że populacje Słowian zachodnich zamieszkujące dorzecze Odry i Wisły wyraźnie różniły się pod względem cech morfologicznych szkieletu od ludności germańskiej zamieszkującej Europę Środkową oraz populacji zamieszkujących Skandynawię w okresie średniowiecza. Na podstawie wyników badań antropologicznych można więc stwierdzić, że: (a) zarówno w okresie późnej starożytności jak i w okresie wczesnego średniowiecza utrzymywało się, wyraźnie zaznaczone, zróżnicowanie regionalne ludności zamieszkującej dorzecze Odry i Wisły, (b) podobieństwa biologiczne, oceniane cechami fenotypowymi szkieletu, między ludnością zamieszkującą różne regiony geograficzne dorzecza Odry i Wisły, w okresie późnej starożytności i we wczesnym średniowieczu, nie kształtowały się na jednakowym poziomie. Między niektórymi regionami podobieństwa były mniejsze (np. Kujawy, Wielkopolska, Dolny Śląsk) między innymi były większe (np. Pomorze, Małopolska, Lubelszczyzna), (c) stwierdzono występowanie gradientu geograficznego w zmienności cech morfologicznych czaszki z zachodu na wschód Europy, (d) populacje zaliczane do ludności germańskiej oraz populacje zamieszkujące Skandynawię, w okresie średniowiecza, wyraźnie różniły się pod względem cech morfologicznych szkieletu od populacji Słowian zachodnich zamieszkujących dorzecze Odry i Wisły. Wykształcenie się natomiast czytelnego gradientu geograficznego w zmienności cech morfologicznych
The aim of the work is to show how important in studies of prehistoric populations is a shift fro... more The aim of the work is to show how important in studies of prehistoric populations is a shift from the level of individual to the level of local population. The individual grave goods and time-consuming preparation of grave pits, represented by minimal number of vessel per grave and presence of a chamber, respectively, might be treated as a proxy for social position/ stratification of each individual. In this work it was checked whether the social strata of individuals translated into differences in their demographic characteristics. The work focused on how using palaeographic tools and information about an individual we are able to provide some models to reconstruct the biological dynamics of a given population. The human remains excavated from the cemetrery at Wicina (the Lusatian Culture), Poland, were used for this study (N= 438 individuals with age and sex determined). The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard were applied. At the population level life tables were built using the classic Halley's method, without/ with the corrected number of the individuals deceased (see Henneberg 1977), and without/ with the introduction of the values of natural growth, estimated on the basis of the parameters of the Bocquet-Appel regression function and from the model life tables proposed by Weiss (1973). It was shown that paleodemography provides tools which are only an attempt of the best characterization of the population under study-but not the exact and faithful description of how it was looked like.
Recently genetics and genomics have become new driving forces that have stimulated the rapid deve... more Recently genetics and genomics have become new driving forces that have stimulated the rapid development of studies on the human past. As a result, an increasingly precise map of the biological history of a human population is generated. Despite the progress in our understanding of the demographic processes that took place in Europe since its first peopling, the map still has a numerous blank spaces. They are especially frequent in the case of the Bronze Age (BA) and later periods, when more complex demographic and cultural events occurred. One of the issues raising a particularly heated discussion is the origin of the Germanic tribes and their early migrations in the Iron Age (IA). To verify the existing hypotheses on these processes, we initiated systematic studies of the populations inhabiting the territory corresponding to presentday Poland in the first centuries AD. We sequenced mitochondrial DNA of approximately 100 individuals from cemeteries of the IA Wielbark culture, located in west (KowOVIA group) and east (MasVBIA group) Poland. The collected data revealed high genetic diversity of both groups, suggesting that they were not small isolated populations. Analyses of all genetically characterized ancient European populations showed that KowOVIA and MasVBIA were most closely linked to the Jutland IA population. We also found the genetic connection between MasVBIA and ancient PonticCaspian steppe groups. Interestingly, women and men from KowOVIA had a significantly different genetic history. The same phenomenon was not observed for MasVBIA. The picture emerging from our studies reveals several new facts that are not present in the existing historical narratives and disclose the mechanisms that shaped the regionspecific genetic substructures within the populations inhabiting the Vistula River Basin in the IA.
Zastosowanie cech niemetrycznych zębów do badań zróżnicowania biologicznego ludności kultury łuży... more Zastosowanie cech niemetrycznych zębów do badań zróżnicowania biologicznego ludności kultury łużyckiej Abstrakt Badania antropologiczne dotyczące zróżnicowania biologicznego (genetycznego) ludności zamieszkującej dorzecze Odry i Wisły w epoce brązu i w epoce żelaza są bardzo utrudnione z powodu ciałopalnego obrządku pogrzebowego. Jednak w przypadku badań antropolo‐ gicznych kości z grobów ciałopalnych, w szczególności z grobów popielnicowych dzieci, możliwe jest wyselekcjonowanie zawiązków zębów stałych, na których można opisać cechy niemetryczne zębów wykorzystywane w badaniach zmienności biologicznej człowieka. Zdaniem wielu autorów, fenotypowa zmienność cech niemetrycznych zębów może być wykorzystana do analiz zróżnicowania genetycznego osobników i populacji. Cechy niemetryczne zębów wykazują wysoki stopień determinacji genetycznej, co pozwala na opisanie wzorców zróżnicowania genetycznego porównywanych populacji. Na zmienność międzyosobniczą i międzygrupową tych cech nie wpływają wiek w chwili śmierci i płeć badanego osobnika. Pozwala to na uzyskiwanie do badań statystycznych większych zbiorów danych. Zawiązki zębów w dziecięcych grobach ciałopalnych stanowią jedną z niewielu struktur kostnych, które zachowują się kompletnie. Wyniki badań cech niemetrycznych zębów wykonane przez różnych autorów dowodzą, że cechy te mogą być dobrym narzędziem badawczym w analizach zróżnicowania biologicznego grup ludzkich w pradziejach, w czasach historycznych i współcześnie. Mogą być one także wykorzystane w badaniach zmienności biologicznej populacji ludzkich, po których pozostały jedynie pochówki ciałopalne. Słowa kluczowe: kultura łużycka, cechy niemetryczne zębów, zróżnicowanie biologiczne
Body size and body build including limb proportions are important for the analysis of evolutionar... more Body size and body build including limb proportions are important for the analysis of evolutionary changes and trends. We have studied evolutionary trends in body shape changes in Central Europe. All body parameters are computed by several verified estimation methods. Probabilistic population approach is applied. The same package of methods for computing body height and body mass and ponderal indexes is used for any examined population. Mean values for the estimates of body height and body mass for any examined individual are utilized for the estimates of BMI or Rohrer index. Our results show that changes in body build after transition to agriculture basically corresponds to changes of environmental and social conditions as well as to genetic and epigenetic changes in Neolithic populations as a complex adaptive response of human organism to new conditions of life in Neolithic societies We suppose that these factors could substantially influence differential fertility of early and late maturating individuals/populations (Piontek, Vančata; IANZA 2012). There are significant differences among LBK (LBPC-agricultural) and CWC (pastoral) populations in Central Europe. It corresponds to our model of early and delayed matured populations during changes in adaptive strategies from hunter/gatherers to agriculture. The results could be influenced by regional difference between various Neolithic populations, by assemblage and quality of studied skeletal populations, by possible hybridization with autochtonous " Mesolithic " populations and possible cultural transfer, like in the Bell Beaker Culture populations where the genetic profiles of central European and British populations differ. Our results are compatible with genetic migrations models of colonisation of Europe since Late Paleolithic till Neolithic and early Bronze. That is why we strongly prefer " biological " hypothesis primarily independent on purely cultural indicators, that is changes way of life, long term adaptations and by genetic admixture of migrating and/or autochtonous populations.
The aim of the research is to describe the biological status of human populations inhabiting the ... more The aim of the research is to describe the biological status of human populations inhabiting the Odra and Vistula basin since the late antiquity to the Middle Ages, and the reconstruction of their living conditions. The research is supposed to contribute to the positive/ or negative verification of the hypothesis put forward by some historians and archaeologists, saying that the low level of economy and general living conditions could be considered a distinctive feature of the Slavic culture, regardless of the time and place of its development. The research concerned the following tasks: (a) an analysis of the prevalence of determinants of environmental stress in populations inhabiting the Odra and Vistula basins since the late antiquity to the Middle Ages, (b) a comparative data analysis of the frequency of stress determinants in European populations, (c) an attempt to reconstruct living conditions and biological condition in the period of deep socioeconomic and cultural transformation in the late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. On the basis of the following biological survey: (a) inter-population diversity, (b) paleodemographic analysis, (c) individual reactions to living conditions, (d) physical activity, (e) sexual dimorphism, (f) paleopathological analysis, and (g) analysis of paleodiet, etc., it was found the similar level of adaptation of human groups to living conditions in Central Europe of the late antiquity and early Middle Ages. Our findings are consistent with the results obtained by other anthropologists, who had compared biological characteristics of human communities living in the late antiquity and the early Middle Ages on the territories of the present-day Poland, the Czech Republic and Croatia, at the individual and population level.
Panel ID 751: Traditional and modern anthropometry The aim of this study was to evaluate the accu... more Panel ID 751: Traditional and modern anthropometry The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of sex assessment using measurements of the first rib from computed tomography (CT) to develop a discriminant formula. Four discriminant formulae were derived based on CT imaging of the right first rib of 85 female and 91 male Polish patients of known age and sex. In direct discriminant analysis, the first equation consisted of all first rib variables; the second included measurements of the rib body; the third comprised only two measurements of the sternal end of the first rib. The stepwise method selected the four best variables from all measurements. The discriminant function equation was then tested on a crossvalidated group consisting of 23 females and 24 males. The direct discriminant analysis showed that sex assessment was possible in 81.5% of cases in the first group and in 91.5% in the cross-validated group when all variables for the first rib were included. The average accuracy for the original group for rib body and sternal end were 80.9% and 67.9%, respectively. The percentages of correctly assigned individuals for the functions based on the rib body and sternal end in the cross-validated group were 76.6% and 85.0%, respectively. Higher average accuracies were obtained for stepwise discriminant analysis: 83.1% for the original group and 91.2% for the cross-validated group. Our results suggest that the first rib is dimorphic and that the described method can be used for sex assessment .
Panel ID: 751 Traditional and modern anthropometry Degrees of upper-limb bilateral asymmetry refl... more Panel ID: 751 Traditional and modern anthropometry Degrees of upper-limb bilateral asymmetry reflect habitual behavior and activity levels throughout life in human populations. The shoulder joint facilitates a wide range of combined motions due to the simultaneous motion of all three bones: clavicle, scapula and humerus. Linear morphometrics provides information about size but not shape differences between the two sides of the body. Accordingly, we used three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to analyze shape differences in the glenoid cavity and linear morphometrics to obtain the degree of directional asymmetry in a medieval population. To calculate directional asymmetry, clavicles, humeri and scapulae from 100 individuals (50 females, 50 males) were measured. Landmarks and semilandmarks were placed within a three-dimensional reconstruction of the glenoid cavity for analysis of shape differences between sides of the body within sexes. Linear morphometrics shows significant directional asymmetry in both sexes in all bones. Geometric morphometrics reveals significant shape differences of the glenoid cavity between sides of the body in females but not in males. Both indicators of directional asymmetry (%DA and %AA) show significant differences between sexes. The studied population, perhaps due to a high level of activity, exhibits slightly greater upper-limb bone bilateral asymmetry than other agricultural populations. Results of linear and geometric morphometrics suggest that the upper limbs were involved in similar activity patterns in both sexes but were characterized by different habitual behaviors. To obtain comprehensive results, studies should be based on sophisticated methods such as geometric morphometrics as well as standard measurements.
XIX MIĘDZYNARODOWA INTERDYSCYPLINARNA SESJA STUDENTÓW ARCHEOLOGII „BOGOWIE, GROBY, UCZENI” Poznań, 24-26 listopad 2017 roku Collegium Historicum Novum, 2017
Etyczne aspekty pracy z ludzkimi szczątkami kostnymi Referat zwraca uwagę na potrzebę sformułowan... more Etyczne aspekty pracy z ludzkimi szczątkami kostnymi Referat zwraca uwagę na potrzebę sformułowania odpowiedzi na wiele pytań powstających w czasie badań cmentarzysk pradziejowych i ludzkich szczątków kostnych pochodzących z wykopalisk archeologicznych. Autorzy uważają, że obecnie brak jednoznacznych regulacji prawnych związanych z wydawaniem zgody na prowadzenie wykopalisk archeologicznych, w przypadku których oczekuje się odkrycia ludzkich szczątków kostnych. Takie regulacje prawne powinny przede wszystkim dotyczyć zasad prowadzenia prac wykopaliskowych, a jako niedopuszczalną należy uznać eksplorację cmentarzyska bez udziału antropologa. Powinny także odpowiedzieć na pytania: kto ma być odpowiedzialny za przechowywanie i dysponowanie zbiorami kostnymi? Potrzebne są takżeregulacje prawne dotyczące warunków przechowywania i dostępu do materiałów, wywozu szczątków za granicę itp. Problemy etyczne odnotowujemy we wszystkich naukach dotyczących człowieka, czyli w naukach medycznych, biologii, antropologii biologicznej i kulturowej, socjologii, historii, itp. Zachodzi zatem potrzeba ustalenia dozwolonych i niedozwolonych działań naukowych w przypadku różnych projektów badawczych. W tym celu, przy różnych uczelniach, powstają Komisje Bioetyczne. Komisje Bioetyczne opiniują projekty eksperymentów medycznych, badań biologicznych, socjologicznych i z innych dziedzin, oceniając etyczną dopuszczalność i naukową poprawność projektów badań naukowych, chronią interesy i dobro istot ludzkich, które uczestniczą w tych badaniach lub są obiektem tych badań. W ustaleniach Narodowego Centrum Nauki nie wymienia się badań ludzkich szczątków kostnych jako badań wymagających pozytywnej opinii Komisji Bioetycznej, to jednak ludzkie szczątki mają wyjątkowy status wśród innych materiałów archeologicznych i styczność z nimi wymaga rozważenia zagadnień etycznych. Ludzkie szczątki zawsze powinny być traktowane z godnością i szacunkiem, bez względu na ich datowanie i pochodzenie, a zważając na istotność ludzkich szczątków jako źródła informacji o przeszłości człowieka, informacji która może pomoc nam zrozumieć współczesny świat i współczesne zagrożenia, powinniśmy działać w kierunku długoterminowego przechowywania materiałów osteologicznych, traktując je jako niezwykle ważny bank danych. Powinniśmy też działać na rzecz edukacji publicznej i promocji wartości badań naukowych, w tym pradziejowych szczątków ludzkich.
The aim of this study is twofold: first is to examine to what extent the following indicators of ... more The aim of this study is twofold: first is to examine to what extent the following indicators of socioeconomic status (SES): per capita income, consumption of meat, potatoes and sugar influenced the body size trends (height, weight, BMI) in populations from the Polish lands being a part of the Prussian partition, 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries; secondly to verify the occurrence of changes in the fraction of individuals classified as "tall" and "short" over time. The dataset was built on the basis of information derived from measuring cards containing anthropometric data (height and weight) and questionnaires of conscripts aged 20, born in the years 1860-1895 and conscripted to the Prussian army in the years 1880-1915. The second source of data were information on per capita income for the territories of western and northern Poland and information on the consumption of meat, fish, potatoes, wheat flour, rye flour, sugar in the Prussian Empire in 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890. The latter data were taken from literature. Means and standard deviations for body height, weight and BMIs in birth cohorts were calculated and their changes against the changes in meat, potato and flour consumption, and per capita income were demonstrated. In Wielkopolska and Pomerania, being in the 19 th and early 20 th centuries a part of Prussian sector, a breakthrough in nutrition was observed. Agricultural production was doubled at that time. All of them translated the increase in calorie consumption per person, and finally in the occurrence of the positive trends in body size.
The aim of the paper is to describe the cultural and biological conditions of childhood in the lo... more The aim of the paper is to describe the cultural and biological conditions of childhood in the local community represented by the urnfield cemetery of Wicina, Poland. The research is of interdisciplinary character and encompasses three study areas. In archaeological framework the analysis concerns the assessment of diversity of burial forms and their equipment (social status) due to the biological age of children deceased i.e. infancy, the period before and after weaning stress, the period of early childhood. In anthropological (paleodemographic) terms, the analysis concerns the description of the structure of deceased of local population, on the basis of which the structure of child mortality and reproduction patterns were reconstructed. The reconstruction models of the reproductive patterns are based on actualistic studies, using the results from research on non-Malthusian historical and ethnographic populations. Their contribute to the assessment of the reliability of source information from excavations, regarding the number of buried children at the cemetery and the structure of deceased. In the bioarcheological approach, it has been shown to what extent sources from the cemeteries (archaeological and anthropological characterization of graves) provide reliable and valuable knowledge about childhood for creation interdisciplinary studies, concerning e.g. the mutual interpretation of archaeological and anthropological findings, conducted on the urnfield population from Wicina, Poland.
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Papers by Janusz Piontek
The main aim of the proposed study was to investigate variation in femoral cross-sectional indicator of robusticity ( J) between human populations due to different types of economy, regions and chronological periods using a comprehensive statistical model that allows simultaneous analysis of several variables. The sample consisted of 1,981 individuals from the Early Pleistocene to modern times, aged between 16 and 87 years, with no fractures or pathological changes of the lower limbs.
For each individual the following variables were collected: sex, age, date range, region, type economy, femoral biomechanical properties (%CA, J, Ix/Iy), average slope of the terrain and body mass. The human populations came from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. The major part of the data came from European Data Set [1] in turn, information about Pleistocene individuals was collected from literature. The biomechanical properties of Neolithic farmers from Poland, Iran, Australian aborigines and Medieval Polish farmers were calculated using Moment Macro (v. 1.4) [2].
Generalized linear model was used to test whether the difference in the robusticity of femur were due to spatial, temporal and biological variation. In the model, difference in polar second moment of area ( J) was the dependent variable and sex, age, date, region, type of economy, %CA, Ix/Iy and average slope of the terrain were independent covariates. The GLM was calculated for raw and standardized femoral biomechanical properties, respectively [3]. The model calculated for raw biomechanical properties showed that region, sex, age, %CA, Ix/Iy and some types of economy (farmers, hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, urban farmers and urban populations) explained most of the variation in the robusticity of the femur. Slightly different results were obtained for the second model which used standardized biomechanical properties. Genealogical data of the skeletal remains, sex, age, %CA, Ix/Iy and one type of economy (hunting-gathering) were significant predictor covariates.
The model based on standardised biomechanical properties showed that there was a slight temporal decline in the robusticity of femur from Pleistocene to modern times. Although, this trend should be analysed with cautions due to small sample size of individuals from the older periods. Interestingly, terrain shape did not explain the variation in polar second moment of area ( J) which means that individuals from mountainous terrain are not characterised by more robust femur than individuals from lowlands. Size and not standardised femoral property showed significant differences in sex and age.
In addition, the standardized robusticity of the femur was associated with hunting and gathering. It may mean that this type of economy requires more resistant lower limbs to bending and torsion than farming, pastoralism or life in urban areas. On the other hand, not standardized robusticity index also showed association with pastoralism, farming, and urban life. But, this may be a result of differences in body mass and proportions between hunter-gatherers and human populations using different types of economy.