Inbreeding and population/demographic shifts could have led to Neanderthal extinction

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 27, 2019 / comment : 0 Anthropology, Early Humans, Europe, Genetics, Near East, Ticker

Small populations, inbreeding, and random demographic fluctuations could have been enough to cause Neanderthal extinction, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Krist Vaesen from Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, and colleagues.

Small populations, inbreeding, and random demographic fluctuations could have been enough to cause Neanderthal extinction, according to a new study [Credit: Petr Kratochvil (CC0)]

Paleoanthropologists agree that Neanderthals disappeared around 40,000 years ago--about the same time that anatomically modern humans began migrating into the Near East and Europe. However, the role modern humans played in Neanderthal extinction is disputed. In this study, the authors used population modelling to explore whether Neanderthal populations could have vanished without external factors such as competition from modern humans.

Using data from extant hunter-gatherer populations as parameters, the authors developed population models for simulated Neanderthal populations of various initial sizes (50, 100, 500, 1,000, or 5,000 individuals). They then simulated for their model populations the effects of inbreeding, Allee effects (where reduced population size negatively impacts individuals' fitness), and annual random demographic fluctuations in births, deaths, and the sex ratio, to see if these factors could bring about an extinction event over a 10,000-year period.

The population models show that inbreeding alone was unlikely to have led to extinction (this only occurred in the smallest model population). However, reproduction-related Allee effects where 25 percent or fewer Neanderthal females gave birth within a given year (as is common in extant hunter-gatherers) could have caused extinction in populations of up to 1,000 individuals. In conjunction with demographic fluctuations, Allee effects plus inbreeding could have caused extinction across all population sizes modelled within the 10,000 years allotted.

The population models are limited by their parameters, which are based on modern human hunter-gatherers and exclude the impact of the Allee effect on survival rates. It's also possible that modern humans could have impacted Neanderthal populations in ways which reinforced inbreeding and Allee effects, but are not reflected in the models.

However, by showing demographic issues alone could have led to Neanderthal extinction, the authors note these models may serve as a "null hypothesis" for future competing theories--including the impact of modern humans on Neanderthals.

The authors add: "Did Neanderthals disappear because of us? No, this study suggests. The species' demise might have been due merely to a stroke of bad, demographic luck."

Source: Public Library of Science [November 27, 2019]

Unique sled dogs helped the inuit thrive in the North American Arctic

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 27, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Arctic, Genetics, Indigenous Cultures, North America, Ticker

A unique group of dogs helped the Inuit conquer the tough terrain of the North American Arctic, major new analysis of the remains of hundreds of animals shows.

A team of Greenland sled dogs working in Greenland’s Disko Bay  [Credit: Tatiana Feuerborn]

The study shows that the Inuit brought specialised dogs with them when they migrated from Alaska and Siberia instead of adopting local dogs they would have come across during their migration. They instead maintained their own dogs, suggesting they were keen to enhance or keep the special features they had. By analysing the shape of elements from 391 dogs, the study shows that the Inuit had larger dogs with a proportionally narrower cranium to these earlier dogs. The Inuit dogs are the direct ancestors of modern Arctic sledge dogs, although their appearance has continued to change over time.

Experts had thought the Inuit used dogs to pull sledges, and this is the first study which shows they introduced a new dog population to the region to do this. These dogs then spread across the North American Arctic alongside Inuit migrants.

Dr Carly Ameen, an archaeologist from the University of Exeter who led the study, said: "Dogs have lived in North America for as long as humans, but we show here that the Inuit brought new dogs to the region which were genetically distinct and physically different from earlier dogs.

"Thousands of years ago there was not the huge number of dog breeds as we know them today. Through analysing the DNA and morphology of the remains of hundreds of dogs we've found that the dogs used by the Inuit had distinctive skull and teeth shapes, and would have likely looked different in life to dogs already in the Arctic."

The ancestors of these dogs arrived with the Inuit to the North American Arctic [Credit: Tatiana Feuerborn]

Experts also examined the DNA from 921 dogs and wolves who lived during the last 4,500 years. This analysis of the DNA, and the locations and time periods in which they were found, shows dogs from Inuit sites occupied from around 2,000 years ago were genetically different from the dogs already in the region.

Study co-lead author Tatiana Feuerborn, from the Globe Institute in Denmark and the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Sweden, said: "Archaeological evidence has shown us that before the Inuit arrived in North America dog sledging was a rarity. Our analysis of the DNA suggests dogs brought by the Inuit were distinct from the earlier dogs of the North American Arctic to fill specialist role in helping communities thrive in this hostile environment by aiding with transportation and hunting. The genetic legacy of these Inuit dogs can still be seen today in Arctic sledge dogs."

The Inuit were specialised sea mammal hunters, and were more mobile than other groups living in the Arctic, migrating huge distances across the region over 1,000 years ago, with the help of dog sledges and water craft. Today, sledge dogs whose origins can be traced back to the Inuit period continue to be an important part of Arctic communities.

The article is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Source: University of Exeter [November 27, 2019]

Iron Age site discovered in Oman

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 26, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Middle East, Oman, Ticker

Archaeologists discovered an Iron Age settlement and burial site with 45 tombs in Oman’s Al Sharqiyah governorate.

Credit: Omani Ministry of Heritage and Culture

Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Culture, working with Germany’s Heidelberg University on a project to study Iron Age settlements in North Al Sharqiyah found the new site in Al Mudhaibi. The ministry said the tombs are “very well preserved” and cover a 50 to 80-square metre area.

The tombs are 700 metres from a settlement that the team believes dates from the beginning of the Iron Age and may have been home to people who worked in copper mining.

It is believed there was copper mining at the site during the Iron Age and continued until early in the Islamic era.

Credit: Omani Ministry of Heritage and Culture

“It is the most preserved sites of its components, where stone buildings and tombs resembling huts are retained by nature for more than 3,000 years, and reflect the method of burial,” the Ministry of Heritage and Culture said.

“It features the social status of the deceased through the length of the tomb and archaeological artefacts buried with him.”

Al Sharqiyah site is one of many archaeological finds discovered in Oman over the past decade. Many were discovered by a team from the archaeology department at Sultan Qaboos University, which works with the Ministry of Heritage and Culture to find, protect and preserve sites of interest.

Credit: Omani Ministry of Heritage and Culture

Oman’s ancient sites have also been recognised by the UN. In 1988, Bat, Al Khutm and Al Ayn were certified as World Heritage Sites. The three ancient settlements in Al Dhahira Governorate of north-west Oman are the most complete of their kind from the Iron Age.

In January 2018, the largest trove of Iron Age weapons in the region was discovered at Mudhmar East. It contained more than 3,000 arrows, daggers and axes.

Author: Taylor Heyman | Source: The National [November 26, 2019]

Animal mummies and other discoveries from Saqqara necropolis unveiled

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 23, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Egypt, Near East, Ticker

A rare animal mummies’ discovery has been announced by Egyptian authorities in a press conference.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

The Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Dr. Khaled El-Enany announced  that a new discovery in Saqqara necropolis was carried out by an Egyptian archaeological mission led by Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The discovery took place at the sacred animals necropolis, where excavations carried out by the mission last year uncovered the exceptionally well-preserved tomb of the 5th Dynasty royal priest Wahtye and dozens of animal mummies: of cats, cobras, crocodiles and even scarab beetles.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

Dr. El-Enany explains that today’s discovery includes a large collection of 75 wooden and bronze statues of cats of different shapes and sizes; a group of mummified cats found inside 25 wooden boxes with lids decorated with hieroglyphic texts; wooden statues of animals and birds among them the apis bull, the mongoose, the ibis, the falcon and the ancient Egyptian god Anubis in the animal form.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

The mission has also found, he continues, a very distinguished large scarab made of stone hidden inside a wooden box, two small size scarabs made of wood and sandstone; three statues of crocodiles inside them found remains of small crocodiles’ mummies.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

A collection of ancient Egyptian deities was also unearthed, said Dr. El-Enany, including 73 bronze statuettes depicting god Osiris; six wooden statues of god Ptah-Sokar; 11 wooden and faience statues of the lioness god Sekhmet as well as a beautifully carved statues of goddess Neith wearing the crown of Lower Egypt.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

A relief bearing the name of king Psamtik I was also discovered along with a collection of statues of Cobra; amulets; faience amulets of different shapes and sizes; wooden and clay mummies masks and a collection of papyri decorated with drawings showing goddess Tawert.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

El-Enay describes the discovery as “a museum by itself as hundred objects have been unearthed here at the Bubastian necropolis in saqqara.” He said that these artifacts belong to the 26 th Dynasty of the seventh century BC, considered as the renaissance era.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

During the conference El-Enany announced that today is not the last discovery of the year but there will be another one next month before celebrating the Christmas. He said that studies revealed that five of these mummies may belong to lion cubs as studies revealed. El-Enany pointed out that French Egyptologist,  Alain Zivie has previously uncovered near  this necropolis a skeleton of a lion.

Credit: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities

Dr. Mostafa Waziri, said that the most distinguished items of this discovery are the five mummies of big cats which probably are lion cubs. According to the CT-scan carried out in two of these mummies revealed that the mummies for 95 per cent belong to lion cubs according to the size and shape of the bones of the mummies. But more studies will be carried out for more details.

Source: Egypt. Ministry of Antiquities [November 23, 2019]

Massive Neolithic ritual site in Poland built before 4800 BC

By: Thomas Schmitt Attorney on November 12, 2019 / comment : 0 Archaeology, Eastern Europe, Europe, Poland, Ticker

The neolithic structure named ‘Roundel’ in Polish because of its shape resembling a saucepan, was discovered in 2017 in New Objezierz (West Pomeranian Voivodeship). But now researchers have discovered that it was built before 4800 BC and functioned for about 200-250 years, a lot longer than archaeologists thought.

Looking like crop circles the remains of the roundel was first spotted by a paraglider in 2015 [Credit: Anna Cebula/PAP]

"This is quite sensational, given the fact that it coincides with the dating of structures located on the Danube, considered the oldest. It seems equally important that the four ditches surrounding the central area of the structure probably did not function simultaneously, but every few dozen years, a new ditch with an ever larger diameter was dug," said the project leader, Professor Lech Czerniak from the University of Gdansk.

He added that dating more than a dozen further samples should allow to specify how often the ditches were renewed. Thanks to this, it will be possible to determine the "ritual calendar", according to which the object was used. "It is worth realizing that many so-called pre-literate communities celebrated the most important holidays once in a few, or even a dozen or so years, but very intensely,” he said.

The circular structure has a diameter of 110 meters and consists of four ditches and three palisades [Credit: Marcin Bielecki/PAP]

Measuring 110 m in diameter, the structure consisted of four circular ditches with a central part protected by three palisades. Three gates led into the interior.

Since September last year, interdisciplinary research has been carried out using the latest methods to determine the function of the structure and provide information on the lives of communities living in its vicinity.

Almost 1,000 pieces of ceramics, as well as flint and stone objects, shells, dye (ochre) and a fragment of quartzite have been dug up [Credit: Marcin Bielecki/PAP]

This year, scientists conducted two types of research. They used non-invasive method to study the eastern part of the object and areas located north, south and east of it. Excavations were conducted around the so-called south and west gates.

"In the excavation within the west gate, we revealed the remains of four ditches. Their depth was from 1.3 to almost 2 m. Similarly to the other two gates, we also found remains of the triple palisade," Dr. Agnieszka Matuszewska from the University of Szczecin told PAP.

Pottery sherds found at the site [Credit: Marcin Bielecki/PAP]

According to Matuszewska, during this year`s research archaeologists found numerous fragments of ceramics, flint and stone products, animal bones, as well as several lumps of pugging, shells, dye (ocher) and a fragment of quartzite.

"Compared to previous seasons, we have more bone (472 fragments) and ceramic remains (nearly 1000 fragments of vessels)," the researcher noted. Bone deposits will be analysed by archaeozoologists, and then some of them will serve as samples for radiocarbon dating at the Poznan Radiocarbon Laboratory.

Fragment of a stone axe [Credit: Agnieszka Matuszewska/PAP]

According to the researchers, the radiocarbon dates obtained so far (eleven datings) are the most important findings. They set the object`s functioning time quite precisely at around 200-250 years, and they put the construction of the object before 4800 BC.

According to Dr. Matuszewska, palaeoenvironmental research carried out on site and in its vicinity are a very important part of the project. They are expected to allow to determine the environmental impact of the communities using the roundel in the first half of the fifth millennium BC.

Entrance at the "west gate" [Credit: Lech Czerniak/PAP]

"But the primary focus of the project are questions about the social aspects of the functioning operation of roundels, including what prompted the inhabitants of a given region to make a huge effort in building and maintaining the roundel, where the idea and knowledge necessary to build this object came from, and how often and for how long the object was used," said Professor Czerniak.

Researchers explain that roundels were of particular importance to local communities because of their structural and ritual connections with cosmic forces. This is indicated by azimuths that can be determined between the central point of the object and its gates.

What the roundel may have looked like in its prime [Credit: Anna Cebula/PAP]

It is puzzling that they functioned in a fairly limited area (today`s Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Poland) and for a relatively short time between 4850 and 4600 BC. However, similar objects in terms of function, and to some extent also form, were built in different eras and regions of Europe. The most famous such object is Stonehenge.

In the third season of research of the object in New Objezierz, researchers (archaeologists and researchers specialising in other disciplines) from Gdansk, Poznan, Szczecin and Warsaw, as well as students participated. The research is financed by the National Science Centre.

Author: Elzbieta Bielecka | Source: PAP - Science in Poland [November 12, 2019]