Andrey Gromov

Методами двухмерной геометрической морфометрии изучены сагиттальные контуры искусственно деформированных черепов представителей окуневской культуры и эпохи ранней бронзы Калмыкии. Установлено, что наиболее ранние окуневские черепа (уйбатский хронологический горизонт) отличаются от поздних характером деформации. У первых больший акцент деформирующего воздействия приходится на затылочную область мозговой коробки, у вторых — на теменную. Морфология искусственно деформированных черепов эпохи ранней бронзы Калмыкии сходна с таковой ранних окуневских черепов.

Изучение искусственно деформированных черепов осложнено неудобством анализа криволинейных форм без надежных ориентиров для измерения. Методы геометрической морфометрии позволяют решить эту проблему. В статье анализируются 3D-модели деформированных черепов из погребений разных хронологических горизонтов окуневской археологической культуры (XXVI–XVIII вв. до н.э., Южная Сибирь): 26 мужских и 19 женских из памятников Верхний Аскиз I, Уйбат III, V, Уйбат-Чарков, Итколь I, II. С помощью программы Landmark IDAV каждая модель была преобразована в комплекс координат из шести точек, соответствующих классическим краниометрическим, и 450 полуточек, расположенных равномерно по всей поверхности мозгового отдела черепа. Для дальнейшей обработки материалов с помощью прокрустова анализа и метода главных компонент были привлечены отдельные функции нескольких пакетов программ – Morpho, Geomorph и Arothron – в рамках программной среды R. В результате установлено, что черепа из ранних погребений окуневской культуры имеют небольшой деформированный участок в области краниометрической точки лямбда, охватывающий заднюю часть теменных костей и верхнюю часть чешуи затылочной кости. Для черепов из более поздних погребений характерно усиление деформации в теменной области, в результате чего снижалась высота мозгового отдела из-за уменьшения высоты изгиба теменного сегмента, увеличивалась выпуклость боковых стенок черепа, чешуи лобной кости и нижней части чешуи затылочной кости.

The study of artifi cially deformed crania is complicated by diffi culties in analyzing curvilinear shapes without reliable reference points for measurement. Methods of geometric morphometrics (GM) help to solve this problem. We generated 3D-models of deformed crania (26 male and 19 female) from burials of different chronological periods of the Okunev archaeological culture (Verkhniy Askiz I, Uybat III and V, Uybat-Charkov, Itkol I and II), Southern Siberia (2600–1700 BC). Using the Landmark IDAV software, each model was transformed into a set of six traditional craniometric landmarks and 450 semi-landmarks regularly distributed over the entire surface of the braincase. For further processing with the Procrustes and principal component analysis, functions of several R-packages (Morpho, Geomorph, and Arothron) were employed. Crania from early Okunev burials were found to have a small deformed area around lambda, spanning the posterior parts of parietal bones and the upper part of the occipital squama. In crania from later Okunev burials, the deformation extends on the parietal area, causing the reduction of cranial height owing to a lesser curvature of the parietal segment. The lateral walls of the braincase, the frontal squama, and the lower part of the occipital squama in such crania are more convex.

This research examined the occipitoparietal deformations of the Early Bronze Age skulls from the southern European part of Russia and the similarities between those deformations and head modifications among the population of the Okunev culture in Southern Siberia. The study objects used were 3D models of neurocrania from 41 individuals retrieved from Early Bronze Age graves in the northwestern Caspian Sea region and 64 individuals from the Okunev graves. Analyses, of the skull shape variations, included geometric morphometrics, generalized Procrustes analysis, and principal component analysis with visualization of morphological changes as heat maps. Statistically significant differences between the subgroups were tested by performing dispersion analysis (ANOVA) using the Geomorph package. The samples of Early Bronze Age skulls from the southern European part of Russia showed differences between deformed and non-deformed skulls, as well as differences in the location of the deformed regions in both males and females. The differences between chronological groups turned out to be stronger than the difference between undeformed and deformed skulls in the Okunev samples. The next analysis focused only on the Okunev deformed skulls involving a study and assessment of the differences in the types of deformation between the early and late subgroups. The final analysis demonstrated similarities between the Bronze Age male deformed neurocrania from the northwestern Caspian Sea region and those from the early Okunev culture. The study confirmed the occipitoparietal flattening on the Bronze Age skulls from the southern European part of Russia using geometric morphometrics. This skull deformation finds analogies among deformed male neurocrania from the early chronological horizons of the Okunev culture. The similarity of head modifications in populations from different geographical regions indicates contact between these populations. This is confirmed by archaeological data and nonmetric cranial traits.

The transitions from foraging to farming and later to pastoralism in Stone Age Eurasia (c. 113 thousand years before present, BP) represent some of the most dramatic lifestyle changes in human evolution. We sequenced 317 genomes of primarily Mesolithic and Neolithic individuals from across Eurasia combined with radiocarbon dates, stable isotope data, and pollen records. Genome imputation and co-analysis with previously published shotgun sequencing data resulted in >1600 complete ancient genome sequences offering fine-grained resolution into the Stone Age populations. We observe that: 1) Hunter-gatherer groups were more genetically diverse than previously known, and deeply divergent between western and eastern Eurasia. 2) We identify hitherto genetically undescribed hunter-gatherers from the Middle Don region that contributed ancestry to the later Yamnaya steppe pastoralists; 3) The genetic impact of the Neolithic transition was highly distinct, east and west of a boundary zone extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic. Large-scale shifts in genetic ancestry occurred to the west of this “Great Divide”, including an almost complete replacement of hunter-gatherers in Denmark, while no substantial ancestry shifts took place during the same period to the east. This difference is also reflected in genetic relatedness within the populations, decreasing substantially in the west but not in the east where it remained high until c. 4,000 BP; 4) The second major genetic transformation around 5,000 BP happened at a much faster pace with Steppe-related ancestry reaching most parts of Europe within 1,000years. Local Neolithic farmers admixed with incoming pastoralists in eastern, western, and southern Europe whereas Scandinavia experienced another near-complete population replacement. Similar dramatic turnover-patterns are evident in western Siberia; 5) Extensive regional differences in the ancestry components involved in these early events remain visible to this day, even within countries. Neolithic farmer ancestry is highest in southern and eastern England while Steppe-related ancestry is highest in the Celtic populations of Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall (this research has been conducted using the UK Biobank resource); 6) Shifts in diet, lifestyle and environment introduced new selection pressures involving at least 21 genomic regions. Most such variants were not universally selected across populations but were only advantageous in particular ancestral backgrounds. Contrary to previous claims, we find that selection on the FADS regions, associated with fatty acid metabolism, began before the Neolithisation of Europe. Similarly, the lactase persistence allele started increasing in frequency before the expansion of Steppe-related groups into Europe and has continued to increase up to the present. Along the genetic cline separating Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from Neolithic farmers, we find significant correlations with trait associations related to skin disorders, diet and lifestyle and mental health status, suggesting marked phenotypic differences between these groups with very different lifestyles. This work provides new insights into major transformations in recent human evolution, elucidating the complex interplay between selection and admixture that shaped patterns of genetic variation in modern populations.

The Yamnaya expansions from the western steppe into Europe and Asia during the Early Bronze Age (~3000 BCE) are believed to have brought with them Indo-European
languages and possibly horse husbandry. We analyze 74 ancient whole-genome sequences from across Inner Asia and Anatolia and show that the Botai people associated with the earliest horse husbandry derived from a hunter-gatherer population deeply diverged from the Yamnaya. Our results also suggest distinct migrations bringing West Eurasian ancestry into South Asia before and after but not at the time of Yamnaya culture. We find no evidence of steppe ancestry in Bronze Age Anatolia from when Indo-European languages are attested there. Thus, in contrast to
Europe, Early Bronze Age Yamnaya-related migrations had limited direct genetic impact in Asia.
One Sentence Summary: We investigate the origins of Indo-European languages in Asia by coupling ancient genomics to archaeology and linguistics

Методами многомерной статистики изучены мужские краниологические серии раннего железного века Западной и Южной Сибири, Казахстана, Средней Азии и Восточной Европы. Анализ населения Минусинской котловины обнаруживает существенные отличия серий из склепов тесинского времени от всех остальных групп. Выявлена преемственность между носителями тагарской культуры и населением, оставившим грунтовые тесинские могилы. В рамках тагарской культуры прослеживаются различия между сериями подгорновского и сарагашенского этапов. Эти результаты подтверждаются на фоне сравнения с широким кругом материалов раннего железного века Евразии. Серии тагарской культуры отличаются от всех остальных групп степной зоны Евразии сравнительно небольшими поперечным и скуловым диаметрами, меньшей шириной орбиты, резкой горизонтальной профилированностью лицевого скелета в сочетании с длинной мозговой коробкой и большим углом выступания носа.

Our note is prompted by the article Nonmetric cranial trait variation and the origins of the Scythians by A.A. Movsesian and V.Yu. Bakholdina (hereafter M&B), recently published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology (Movsesian, Bakholdina, 2017). The objective of their study was to use the multivariate analysis of frequencies of 32 nonmetric cranial traits (hereafter NMTs) to test the two competing scenarios of Scythian origins––autochthonous (originating from people of the Late Bronze Age Timber-Frame, or Srubnaya culture) versus resulting from a migration from Eastern Central Asia. It would be wrong to claim that M&B have failed to accomplish their task; rather, they didn't begin to approach it. This might be partly due to their expectations regarding the potential readership. Apparently, the first thing that captured the attention of the editors, the reviewers, and many Western readers alike was not the gist of the matter (with which most of them are less than intimately familiar) but the formal aspect–– statistical analysis, formulae, plots, English writing style, etc. All this M&B have demonstrated brilliantly, and the outcome is an article which is formal in the most literal sense. We can hardly imagine such a publication in a Russian journal destined for specialists in population history and archaeology. To begin with, their database is entirely unsuited for the purpose of the study for several reasons. All the five Scythian series are quite late, dating to late 3d century BC – 3d century CE. We are at a loss to find the reason behind such a choice. The early Scythian samples are admittedly very scarce, but those dating to the 5 th –4 th centuries BC are abundant. Regarding the chronological gap between them and the late Scythians as insignificant testifies to being unversed in the issues raised. Numerous events occurred in the population history of the region during those centuries. Specifically, the influx of Asian groups increased, and separating this late genetic signal from the early one,

The bacteria Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague and has caused human pandemics with millions of deaths in historic times. How and when it originated remains contentious. Here, we report the oldest direct evidence of Yersinia pestis identified by ancient DNA in human teeth from Asia and Europe dating from 2,800 to 5,000 years ago. By sequencing the genomes, we find that these ancient plague strains are basal to all known Yersinia pestis. We find the origins of the Yersinia pestis lineage to be at least two times older than previous estimates. We also identify a temporal sequence of genetic changes that lead to increased virulence and the emergence of the bubonic plague. Our results show that plague infection was endemic in the human populations of Eurasia at least 3,000 years before any historical recordings of pandemics.

В статье представлены результаты обобщающего исследования всех известных в настоящий момент палеодемографических и краниологических данных о меотском населении Восточного Приазовья и Прикубанья. Демографические характеристики меотов разнообразны, однако в широком масштабе анализа популяций разных культурно-хозяйственных групп прослеживаются различия в среднем возрасте смерти и количестве пожилых людей между оседло-земледельческим населением Приазовья и Прикубанья, включая меотов, и скифскими группами Северного Причерноморья и Крыма, а также ранними и средними сарматами Поволжья и Подонья. Краниологические черты погребенных в меотских могильниках в целом близки облику других оседлых популяций, однако характеризуются высокой степенью межгрупповой изменчивости, сформировавшейся, вероятно, вследствие очень продолжительного проживания в данном регионе.

The Bronze Age of Eurasia (around 3000-1000 BC) was a period of major cultural changes. However, there is debate about whether these changes resulted from the circulation of ideas or from human migrations, potentially also facilitating the spread of languages and certain phenotypic traits. We investigated this by using new, improved methods to sequence low-coverage genomes from 101 ancient humans from across Eurasia. We show that the Bronze Age was a highly dynamic period involving large-scale population migrations and replacements, responsible for shaping major parts of present-day demographic structure in both Europe and Asia. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesized spread of Indo-European languages during the Early Bronze Age. We also demonstrate that light skin pigmentation in Europeans was already present at high frequency in the Bronze Age, but not lactose tolerance, indicating a more recent onset of positive selection on lactose tolerance than previously thought.

The paper focuses on analyzing new osteometrical data on populations of 7th century BC — 3rd AD
from Tuva, Minusinsk Basin, Upper Ob’ basin, Western Mongolia and TransBaikal area. The analysis
of cranial and osteometric traits revealed that series of the Hunnu period were significantly different
from those of the Scythian period not only in their skull morphology but in metric characteristics of
long bones as well. Hunnu series are characterized by flat facial skeleton, shorter tibia, and massive
femurs. The most specific series of Scythian period are those of Tagar culture of the Minusinsk Basin
which are characterized by long and massive bones of the upper limbs. Correlation between results of
cranial and osteometric analyses are high and statistically significant. This suggests that osteometric
data can be a rather important source of information for reconstruction of biological affinities of
human populations.

Методами геометрической морфометрии проведен анализ кубков из погребений эпохи бронзы могильника Пархай II в Юго-Западном Туркменистане. Показаны высокая дифференцирующая способность метода, его наглядность, большие объективность и точность по сравнению с визуально-типологической классификацией

http://camera-praehistorica.kunstkamera.ru/en/online_databases

This publication opens a series of databases of individual craniometric measurements relating to collections owned by the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) in Saint-Petersburg and by other institutions of Russia. The present database relates to 3139 recent human crania (2209 male and 930 female) representing 16 ethnic groups. They come from various regions of eastern and northeastern Europe including European Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Belorussia. The texts are in Russian and in English. The publication is destined for those studying the population history of the respective regions and aspects of cranial morphology.