- Paleoanthropology, Paleopathology, Human Remains (Anthropology), Archaeology, Anthropology, Art History, and 20 morePrehistoric Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, History, Medieval Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Paleontology, Forensic Anthropology, Demography, Skeletal Biology, Paleolithic Europe, Upper Paleolithic, Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Lower Paleolithic, History of Lesbos island, Mediaeval Art, Warrior Saints, LESVOS ARCHEOLOGY, Byzantine art, Byzantine Studies, and Late Antiquityedit
- Paleoanthropology, Paleopathology, Archaeological Context of Human Remainsedit
The study investigates material from inhumations in high level of fragmentation using classical methods of the macroscopic anthropological analysis. As a result, the following remains have been recognised: in grave # 1: one male, at age... more
The study investigates material from inhumations in high level of fragmentation using classical methods of the macroscopic anthropological analysis. As a result, the following remains have been recognised: in grave # 1: one male, at age about 30 to 50 years; grave # 2: one male, 35-40 years (skeleton in primary position) and a female, at about 30-40 years (singular, secondary laid bones); grave # 3: one male at young age, 20-25 up to 30 years, and single, secondary lied bones from an adult individual, possibly female; grave # 4: a male, 25 up to 30-35 years, and an adult individual, undetermined sex, both individuals presented in singular, secondary lied bones. Calculation of stature is possible for three males, two of them with medium height and one with short stature. Affectation from degenerative joint disease and dental caries could be apprised as low in the small studied series, or even uncertain, considering the poor state of preservation of the material. The result could be explained with the relatively young age of buried. The evidence from the studied skeletal remains, even highly fragmented, points to a long-lasting chronic disease of the individual buried in the grave # 1. He should have been disabled for long time-with serious gait disorders and unable to perform most work activities typical for the period. The individual from grave # 2 (primary skeleton) possibly also suffered from difficulties in gait and movements and high pain in the feet and muscle with development of disability for some period before death. The destruction of the bone material does not allow concrete conclusion, but in view of the porosity found on the preserved portion of the endocranial surface of the same individual, one could suppose also a process in the meningeal layers, which could lead to increased intracranial pressure and result in head pain. One of the individuals from grave # 4 had also developed a stage of disability with painful movements of the hands, according to the defects of first metacarpals (thumb).
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and... more
We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.
Research Interests: Genetics, Geography, Archaeology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Indo-European Studies, and 15 moreAnatolian History, Science, Neolithic Archaeology, Ancient DNA (Archaeology), Ancient DNA Research, Multidisciplinary, Mesopotamian history, Ancient DNA (Anthropology), Pottery, Mesopotamia, Archaeogenetic, Ancient DNA, DNA genealogy, Ancient DNA of Human Populations, and Geogenetics
By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when... more
By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra–West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations. This contrasts with all other regions where Indo-European languages were spoken, suggesting that the homeland of the Indo-Anatolian language family was in West Asia, with only secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe.
Research Interests: Ancient History, Geography, Historical Archaeology, Population Genetics, Indo-European Studies, and 15 moreScience, Ancient DNA (Archaeology), Multidisciplinary, Ancient DNA (Anthropology), Ancient DNA, Pastoralism, Archaeology of the Eurasian steppe belt, Homeland, Yamnaya, Archaeology of the southern Levant in the Bronze Age, Steppe Pastoralism, Steppe, Pastoralists/Nomads, Geogenetics, and Yamna Culture
Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and... more
Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom’s northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region.
Research Interests: Ancient History, Geography, Archaeology, Slavic Languages, Anatolian History, and 13 moreScience, Byzantine Architecture, Ancient DNA (Archaeology), Ancient DNA Research, Multidisciplinary, Ancient DNA (Anthropology), Bronze Age, Population, Human Population Genetics, Archaeology of the Southern Levant, Ancient Studies, Steppe, and Geogenetics
Anthropological investigations of the Middle Ages necropolis of Anchialos from 11-12 c. AD register development of degenerative joint disease. In spite of the small sample size, which doesn't allow statistical analysis, obtained... more
Anthropological investigations of the Middle Ages necropolis of Anchialos from 11-12 c. AD register development of degenerative joint disease. In spite of the small sample size, which doesn't allow statistical analysis, obtained results enrich the knowledge about the health status and life quality in the ancient population. Most individuals over 30-40 years of age developed the studied changes, but, except in three cases, where joint changes can be interpreted as secondary developed process to other condition, degenerative joint disease in population didn't lead to heavy disability.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Balchik 3, VIII-IX c., graves with cremation ABSTRACT. Anthropological material from graves with cremation burial ritual from necropolis Balchik 3, Bulgaria, dated to VIII-IX c. is investigated. Determination of the age and/or sex of... more
Balchik 3, VIII-IX c., graves with cremation ABSTRACT. Anthropological material from graves with cremation burial ritual from necropolis Balchik 3, Bulgaria, dated to VIII-IX c. is investigated. Determination of the age and/or sex of buried as well as the number of individuals in the material from graves was possible in some cases after data from dentition, cranial fragments, epiphyseal fusion and basic measures. Necropolis Balchik 3 in the area of Military Airport in Balchik is dated to VIII-IX c. AD and presents one of earliest archaeological materials from the Bulgarian Middle Ages [8, 9]. In the 2004 excavation season were studied 27 graves. The studied sector presented graves with both burial rituals specific of the biritual necropolis – cremation and inhumation, or 21 graves with cremated and seven with inhumated remains. The identification of sex and age of the buried in the graves with cremation ritual was of great interest as such graves prevailed highly in the excavated se...
Human skull artifacts are found relatively rarely and in various cultural environments. They have been discussed in anthropological literature since the nineteenth century during which the discovery of the majority of the known finds from... more
Human skull artifacts are found relatively rarely and in various cultural environments. They have been discussed in anthropological literature since the nineteenth century during which the discovery of the majority of the known finds from Western Europe, mostly related to the Neolithic, occurred. Unfortunately, the discovery context is known for only a few of them. It is assumed that they were made and used as objects with supernatural properties. They are usually considered together with human skull trepanations. According to one of their interpretations, roundels were made from skulls of people who survived trepanations or other skull traumas, and had a magic and protective function. This paper presents five new finds of skull roundels, as well as a bowl made from a human skull, that were discovered in Late Eneolithic layers of the Kozareva Mogila settlement. Two of the roundels bear marks of survived skull traumas. The roundels were found in two adjacent buildings in a burned lay...
Research Interests:
Anthropological material from graves with cremation burial ritual from necropolis Balchik 3, Bulgaria, dated to VIII-IX c. is investigated. Determination of the age and/or sex of buried as well as the number of individuals in the material... more
Anthropological material from graves with cremation burial ritual from necropolis Balchik 3, Bulgaria, dated to VIII-IX c. is investigated. Determination of the age and/or sex of buried as well as the number of individuals in the material from graves was possible in some cases after data from dentition, cranial fragments, epiphyseal fusion and basic measures. Necropolis Balchik 3 in the area of Military Airport in Balchik is dated to VIII-IX c. AD and presents one of earliest archaeological materials from the Bulgarian Middle Ages [8, 9]. In the 2004 excavation season were studied 27 graves. The studied sector presented graves with both burial rituals specific of the biritual necropolis – cremation and inhumation, or 21 graves with cremated and seven with inhumated remains. The identification of sex and age of the buried in the graves with cremation ritual was of great interest as such graves prevailed highly in the excavated sector and are often found in the necropolises from North...
Research Interests:
Настоящото издание представя резултатите от археологическото проучване на могилен некропол от римската епоха, намиращ се в землището на гр. Стралджа, Ямболска област. Изследването е със спасителен характер и е свързано с изграждането на... more
Настоящото издание представя резултатите от археологическото проучване на могилен некропол от римската епоха, намиращ се в землището на гр. Стралджа, Ямболска област. Изследването е със спасителен характер и е свързано с изграждането на автомагистрала „Тракия“. Напълно са проучени пет могили от некропола. Разкрити са общо 31 гроба, от които 19 са трупоизгаряния, а 12 са трупополагания. Деветнадесет са проучените комплекси, свързани с поменални практики, а две са извършените погребения на коне. От проучените инхумации, 8 се явяват вторични погребения, а един е гроб от бронзовата епоха, заварен на място. При изследването на некропола са установени скелетни останки от 34 индивида, на 22 от които е направена полово-възрастова идентификация. Детайлно са изследвани целият керамичния материал и всички дребни находки, открити в археологическия обект. Датировката на проучвания некропол край гр. Стралджа е направена въз основа на откритите монети и различни предмети, положени като гробни дарове. Периодът на първоначалното му натрупване и използване е началото на ІІ в. до първите десетилетия на ІІІ в.
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The volume presents the results of the archaeological survey of a Roman age tumular necropolis in the administrative territory of the town of Straldzha, Yambol region, SE Bulgaria. The investigation was carried out as a rescue excavation due to the construction of the “Trakia” highway. Five tumuli of the necropolis have been thoroughly researched. A total of thirty one graves have been discovered, of which nineteen are cremations and twelve are inhumations. Nineteen complexes related to commemoration practices have been surveyed. There are two horse burials. Eight of the studied inhumations are secondary, and one grave is from the Bronze age and predates the necropolis. The excavation of the necropolis has revealed the skeletal remains of thirty-four individuals, and for twenty-two of them age and sex have been determined. The entire ceramic material and all small finds discovered at the site have been investigated in detail. The date of the researched necropolis near Straldzha is based on the coins found and the various objects put as grave goods. The period of its initial heaping and use is the early 2nd until the first decades of the 3rd century.
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The volume presents the results of the archaeological survey of a Roman age tumular necropolis in the administrative territory of the town of Straldzha, Yambol region, SE Bulgaria. The investigation was carried out as a rescue excavation due to the construction of the “Trakia” highway. Five tumuli of the necropolis have been thoroughly researched. A total of thirty one graves have been discovered, of which nineteen are cremations and twelve are inhumations. Nineteen complexes related to commemoration practices have been surveyed. There are two horse burials. Eight of the studied inhumations are secondary, and one grave is from the Bronze age and predates the necropolis. The excavation of the necropolis has revealed the skeletal remains of thirty-four individuals, and for twenty-two of them age and sex have been determined. The entire ceramic material and all small finds discovered at the site have been investigated in detail. The date of the researched necropolis near Straldzha is based on the coins found and the various objects put as grave goods. The period of its initial heaping and use is the early 2nd until the first decades of the 3rd century.
Research Interests:
Five roundels and a skull cap fragment are found in the Late Chalcolithic layers of Kozareva mogila, Bulgaria. The finds are in a non burial context, in dwelling environment. Parallels found point to their use in magic rituals in which a... more
Five roundels and a skull cap fragment are found in the Late Chalcolithic layers of Kozareva mogila, Bulgaria. The finds are in a non burial context, in dwelling environment. Parallels found point to their use in magic rituals in which a possible role of the already dead member of the social group has a particular role.