Environmental conditions influenced how early humans migrated across northern Eurasia and the Americas beyond Africa

 

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THE INFOGRAPHIC SHOWS THE ROUTES MOST LIKELY FAVOURED BY THE FIRST HUMAN MIGRANTS ACROSS EURASIA AND THE AMERICAS. THESE ROUTES ARE ESTIMATED USING A STATISTICAL COMBINATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND GENETIC DATA. COLOURED AREAS INDICATE THE TYPE OF ECOSYSTEMS ENCOUNTERED, BASED ON CLIMATE AND VEGETATION MODELS. THE INSET IMAGE ILLUSTRATES THE IDEAL MIGRATION CONDITIONS: WARM AND HUMID AREAS CONTAINING A MIX OF FOREST AND GRASSLANDS NEAR RIVERS.

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CREDIT: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

Study finds environmental conditions influenced how early humans migrated across northern Eurasia and the Americas beyond Africa

Researchers have gleaned new insights into the great human migration, revealing how environmental conditions in northern Eurasia and the Americas shaped the journey of ancestors who left Africa tens of thousands of years ago.

The Out of Africa theory suggests that more than 70,000 years ago, some groups left Africa to spread across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. However, it remains unclear how much the environment they encountered beyond Africa facilitated or hindered their journey.

Researchers combined climate models, genetic data, and archaeological evidence to examine how regional environmental conditions influenced migration and to re-establish our long-lasting connection to nature. 

The multidisciplinary analysis, led by Flinders University ecologist Dr Frédérik Saltré and recently published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that while the relative importance of environmental factors varies across regions, our ancestors travelled primarily through warm and humid areas containing a mix of forest and grasslands near rivers.  

“The first human migrants favoured routes that provided essential resources and facilitated travel, as well as regions with a mix of forests and open areas for shelter and food, while allowing them to expand into new territories,” Dr Saltré, whose study was supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), said.

In Europe, humans likely first spread from the Fertile Crescent through the Caucasus Mountains into Scandinavia approximately 48,300 years ago and Western Europe around 44,100 years ago, following warmer and wetter conditions. 

In northern Asia, migration routes followed major rivers to cope with harsher climates before reaching Beringia, a currently submerged land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, approximately 34,700 years ago. 

In North America, humans initially migrated along the Pacific coast around 16,000 years ago, and then approximately 3000 years later, moved inland through the ice-free corridor by the Mackenzie River. 

In South America, migration followed wetter grasslands bordering the Amazon, leveraging connectivity provided by major rivers by 14,800 years ago.

Professor Tom Higham of the University of Vienna said the power of these new modelling approaches in understanding the deep human past is exciting for archaeological science.

“For too long we have been working rather separately in our different approaches. Incorporating new modelling methods with the latest climatic, archaeological, and environmental data allows really exciting insights into understanding how ancient humans moved and adapted across vast continents tens of thousands of years ago.” 

Professor Corey Bradshaw, also from Flinders University and a Chief Investigator at CABAH, said modelling provides a powerful framework for exploring and understanding the complexities of deep history, offering insights into how past events and conditions have shaped the present.

“Knowing where people first trekked beyond the cradle of human evolution gives us a flavour of how adaptable our early ancestors were, what environmental challenges they faced, and how they overcame them and survived. We can also infer the technological innovations that were at play during those times—such as watercraft, clothing, and other tools—that allowed people to exploit the most hostile environments.”

Associate Professor Bastien Llamas from The University of Adelaide and a Deputy Director in CABAH said merging genetic data with historical climate information and archaeological discoveries is a powerful method for inferring past human migration patterns.

“Studying genetic differences between groups of people helps us understand ancient migration patterns. Typically, this results in a basic map showing general movements from one area to another without detailed routes. However, by combining genetic data with information about past climates, environments, and archaeological findings, we can create much more detailed and accurate maps of how people moved over time and across different regions.” 

Dr Saltré said the study’s results help us appreciate the importance of biodiversity in how our ancestors adapted to and overcame environmental challenges. 

“It underscores how climate and ecology shaped human prehistory, highlighting biodiversity's role in human survival and mobility, demonstrating that rich ecosystems enabled humans to thrive in new environments for thousands of years. The biodiversity crisis that we are experiencing now compromises our ability to thrive. Despite the advanced technology we have today, I genuinely wonder if we will last long without maintaining the bulk of current biodiversity.”

‘Extraordinary’ 4,000-year-old Egyptian skull may show signs of attempts to treat cancer

 

Cutmarks on a 4,000-year-old skull could be indications that the ancient Egyptians tried to operate on excessive tissue growth or learn more about cancerous disorders after a patient’s death

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FRONTIERS

 

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SKULL AND MANDIBLE 236, DATING FROM BETWEEN 2687 AND 2345 BCE, BELONGED TO A MALE INDIVIDUAL AGED 30 TO 35. IMAGE: TONDINI, ISIDRO, CAMARÓS, 2024.

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CREDIT: TONDINI, ISIDRO, CAMARÓS, 2024.

From ancient texts we know that – for their times – the ancient Egyptians were exceptionally skilled at medicine. For example, they could identify, describe, and treat diseases and traumatic injuries, build protheses, and put in dental fillings. Other conditions, like cancer, they couldn’t treat – but they might have tried.

Examining the limits of traumatological and oncological treatments in ancient Egypt, an international team of researchers has now studied two human skulls, each thousands of years old.

“We see that although ancient Egyptians were able to deal with complex cranial fractures, cancer was still a medical knowledge frontier,” said Tatiana Tondini, a researcher at the University of Tübingen and first author of the study published in Frontiers in Medicine.

“This finding is unique evidence of how ancient Egyptian medicine would have tried to deal with or explore cancer more than 4,000 years ago,” added the study’s lead author, Prof Edgard Camarós, a paleopathologist at the University of Santiago de Compostela. “This is an extraordinary new perspective in our understanding of the history of medicine.”

Cutting away cancer

“We wanted to learn about the role of cancer in the past, how prevalent this disease was in antiquity, and how ancient societies interacted with this pathology,” explained Tondini. To do so, the researchers examined two skulls held at the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collection. Skull and mandible 236, dating from between 2687 and 2345 BCE, belonged to a male individual aged 30 to 35. Skull E270, dating from between 663 and 343 BCE, belonged to a female individual who was older than 50 years.

On skull 236, microscopic observation showed a big-sized lesion consistent with excessive tissue destruction, a condition known as neoplasm. In addition, there are 30 or so small and round metastasized lesions scattered across the skull.

What stunned the researchers was the discovery of cutmarks around these lesions, which probably were made with a sharp object such as a metal instrument. “When we first observed the cutmarks under the microscope, we could not believe what was in front of us,” said Tondini.

“It seems ancient Egyptians performed some kind of surgical intervention related to the presence of cancerous cells, proving that ancient Egyptian medicine was also conducting experimental treatments or medical explorations in relation to cancer,” explained co-author Prof Albert Isidro, a surgical oncologist at the University Hospital Sagrat Cor, who specializes in Egyptology.

Cancer in antiquity

Skull E270, too, shows a big lesion consistent with a cancerous tumor that led to bone destruction. This may indicate that although today’s lifestyle, people getting older, and cancer-causing substances in the environment increase cancer risk, cancer was also a common pathology in the past.

On skull E270, there are also two healed lesions from traumatic injuries. One of them seems to have originated from a close-range violent event using a sharp weapon. These healed lesions could mean that the individual potentially received some kind of treatment, and as a result, survived.

Seeing such a wound on a female individual, however, is uncommon, and most violence-related injuries are found on males. “Was this female individual involved in any kind of warfare activities?” asked Tondini. “If so, we must rethink the role of women in the past and how they took active part in conflicts during antiquity.”

The researchers, however, also said that studying skeletal remains comes with certain challenges that make definitive statements difficult, especially since remains often are incomplete and there is no known clinical history. “In archaeology we work with a fragmented portion of the past, complicating an accurate approach,” Isidro pointed out.

“This study contributes to a changing of perspective and sets an encouraging base for future research on the field of paleo-oncology, but more studies will be needed to untangle how ancient societies dealt with cancer,” concluded Camarós.

Differences in Neanderthal and Palaeolithic human childhood stress

 

Neanderthal children (who lived between 400,000 and 40,000 years ago) and modern human children living during the Upper Palaeolithic era (between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago) may have faced similar levels of childhood stress but at different developmental stages, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. The authors suggest that these findings could reflect differences in childcare and other behavioural strategies between the two species.

Laura Limmer, Sireen El Zaatari and colleagues analysed the dental enamel of 423 Neanderthal teeth (from 74 Homo neanderthalensis individuals) and 444 Upper Palaeolithic humans (from 102 Homo sapiens individuals). They investigated early-life stress in these individuals by identifying horizontal grooves of thinner enamel, which previous research has demonstrated can be associated with childhood stressors such as illness, infections, malnutrition, nutritional deficiencies, and trauma.

The authors found that the overall likelihood of enamel defects was similar in both Neanderthal and Upper Palaeolithic modern human teeth but that the developmental stages that these defects were likely to occur in varied between both species. Among Upper Palaeolithic humans, enamel defects were more likely to occur around the ages weaning is estimated to have occurred — between one and three years of age — than after the estimated weaning period. Among Neanderthals, enamel defects were more likely to begin to appear with the expected weaning period (around one year of age), before peaking during the post-weaning period (between two and four years of age) and then decreasing.

The authors hypothesise that the stress experienced by Palaeolithic human children during weaning could have been caused by increasing energy demands raising the risk of malnutrition. They propose that Upper Palaeolithic humans may have helped reduce developmental stress in children after weaning through strategies such as encouraging prolonged dependence on parents, exploiting resources more efficiently, and providing children with access to food. They suggest that these strategies may not have been used by Neanderthals and that this could have contributed to long-term survival advantages for modern humans compared to Neanderthals.

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Article https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-61321-x.

Excavation reveals ‘major’ ancient migration to Timor Island

 

The discovery of thousands of stone artefacts and animal bones in a deep cave in Timor Island has led archaeologists to reassess the route that early humans took to reach Australia.

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU), Flinders University, University College London (UCL) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage dated and analysed the artefacts and sediment at the Laili rock shelter in central-north Timor-Leste, north of Australia, to pinpoint the arrival of the colonists.

They detected a human “arrival signature” from about 44,000 years ago, suggesting there were no humans on the island prior to this time.

“Unlike other sites in the region, the Laili rock shelter preserved deep sediments dating between 59,000 and 54,000 years ago which showed no clear signs of human occupation,” Dr Shimona Kealy, from the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, said.

“When we analyse and compare markers of human occupation from other sites across Timor-Leste and nearby Flores Island, we can confidently say humans were also absent throughout the wider region of the southern Wallacean islands.

“This is significant as these islands were most likely a gateway crossing for ancient humans making the crossing to Australia.”

Study co-author Professor Sue O’Connor, also from ANU, said Timor Island has long been considered a stepping stone island for the first human migration between mainland Southeast Asia and into Australia and New Guinea. But the new findings challenge this theory.

“The absence of humans on Timor Island earlier than at least 50,000 years ago is significant as it indicates that these early humans arrived on the island later than previously believed,” she said.

“This provides further evidence to suggest early humans were making the crossing to Australia using the stepping stone island of New Guinea, rather than Timor Island as researchers had previously suggested.

“In addition to prompting a re-evaluation of the route and timing of earliest human migration through Wallacea and into Sahul, our findings highlight the fact that migration into the islands was ongoing with occupation of the southern islands occurring thousands of years after the initial settlement of Australia.”

The sediment from the site was analysed at the Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory by co-author Associate Professor Mike Morley.

“The shift from pre-occupation to intensive human activity at the site was very clear in the sediments,” Associate Professor Morley, from Flinders University, said.

“As soon as people arrived on the scene, their use of the cave was very intensive, with clear evidence of burning and trampling of the shelter floor underfoot.”

The research team unearthed lots of small stone tools during the excavation, as well as charred fish bones.

“We know these people specialised in making tiny stone tools, but we’re not 100 per cent sure what they were used for,” Dr Kealy said.

“Because a lot of their diet was either shellfish or small animals, you don't really need big knives to gather that sort of food. But having small, fine tools is useful for things like stripping leaves to then weave into baskets, but also for creating wooden tools.”

Based on the sheer number of artefacts unearthed at the site, the researchers say the migration to Timor Island was a “major” one. According to the researchers, these ancient humans likely made the crossing to Timor from nearby Flores Island and mainland Southeast Asia.

“The traditional view held by researchers is that early humans who were making these significant water crossings were stumbling upon these islands by mistake, largely because it was so long ago,” Dr Kealy said.

“Their arrival on Timor was no accident. This was a major colonisation effort, evident through the sheer number of people who were making the journey.

“It’s a testament to these peoples’ level of maritime technology and the boats they created, but also their confidence and competence in braving maritime crossings.”

The research is published in Nature Communications.

Ancient DNA study reveals population history of Western Tibetan Plateau

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THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF NGARI SAMPLES INVOLVED IN THE STUDY

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CREDIT: IVPP

According to a study published in Current Biology on May 22, the genetic components of the ancient populations in the western Tibetan Plateau are closest to ancient populations in the southern Tibetan Plateau, and their major genetic components have been maintained over the past 3,500 years. In addition, these ancient populations in the western Tibetan Plateau had complex and frequent interactions with ancient populations inside and outside the plateau.

The study was conducted by Prof. FU Qiaomei's team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and archaeologists from the Tibet Institute for Conservation and Research of Cultural Relics and other institutions.

Ngari Prefecture, located in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau, is the junction connecting the Tibetan Plateau, South Asia and Central Asia, and a potential migration channel for early human populations. Previous research has confirmed that genetic components related to Central Asian populations affected this region about 2,300 years ago, but the genetic history of earlier populations in this region was unclear.

In this study, the researchers sequenced the genome-wide nuclear data of a total of 65 individuals from six sites dating from 3,500 to 300 years ago in Ngari Prefecture. The newly sequenced data cover six archaeological sites, including Gebusailu, Laga, Sangdalongguo, Pulanduowa, Qulongsazha, and Guge Ganshi Cave.

Combining the recently sequenced data with previously published ancient genomic data, the evolutionary history of the populations in the western Tibetan Plateau over the past 3,500 years has now been reconstructed.

This study is a systematic, long-term genomic study of ancient populations in the western Tibetan Plateau. It is of great significance for the in-depth understanding of the history of interactions between ancient western plateau populations and ancient populations within the plateau and in neighboring South Asia and Central Asia, according to the researchers.

Genetic characteristics of ancient western plateau populations and their interactions with ancient populations within the plateau

Previously, the understanding of the genetic history of the ancient populations of the western plateau was extremely limited. Based on only one site dating back 2,300 years ago, researchers had speculated that genetic influence occurred between western plateau populations and Central Asians. However, the specific time, place, and extent of this influence were unknown. In this study, the researchers reconstructed the population evolutionary history in the western plateau over thousands of years using genetic information from various ancient Tibetan populations.

They showed that the ancient Ngari populations of 3,500 years ago had genetic components similar to the populations of the southern plateau and did not carry additional genetic components from Central Asia or South Asia.

This genetic composition has been stably maintained in northwestern Ngari Prefecture for more than a thousand years: The genetic composition of the late Gebusailu and Laga populations of 2,300 years ago is almost the same as that of the Gebusailu population of 3,500 years ago. In other words, the Ngari population during this period mainly carried the genetic components of ancient populations in the southern plateau, while genetic components from Central Asia and South Asia were introduced much later.

After that, starting from 2,300 years ago, Central Asian components appeared in some sites in northwestern Ngari Prefecture, but until 150 years ago, the proportion of Central Asian components was still less than 15%. Overall, local Ngari genetic components remained dominant from 3,500 to 150 years ago.

The researchers also found complex population interactions and migrations within the plateau. The genetic components of ancient populations in the southern and western parts of the plateau 3,500 years ago were very similar, indicating that population migration and expansion from south to west may have occurred earlier.

In addition, compared with the population in northwestern Ngari, populations from 1,800 to 1,600 years ago from the Kongque River to the upper reaches of the Xiangquan River in southeast Ngari were further influenced by ancient populations from the southern plateau. This indicates that the southern plateau people may have begun to expand westward again before the Tubo Empire expanded westward in the early 7th century.

In summary, the interactions between the ancient populations of the southern and western plateau were far more complex than recorded in historical documents. As early as 1,800 years ago, multiple east-to-west human migrations between the two places had occurred, and a gradient of genetic components introduced by the expansions can be observed in these east-to-west populations.

Interactions between ancient populations in the western plateau and outside the plateau

Although Central Asian components began to affect some Ngari populations around 2,300 years ago, the proportion of Central Asian components in the genomes of these populations is low (<5%). On the one hand, these results provide genetic evidence for the cultural interactions between ancient populations on the plateau and ancient populations in neighboring Xinjiang, Central Asia, and South Asia. On the other hand, they also reflect that such cross-plateau cultural interactions were accompanied by limited population migrations or mixtures.

Beginning 2,000 years ago, genetic components related to South Asia also affected the Ngari Prefecture region. Interestingly, the South Asian-related genetic components that affected the ancient Ngari populations came from mixed populations that settled in Central Asia. These populations are genetically related to Central Asians but are culturally typical South Asians. Previous research suggested that they were immigrants from the Indus Valley Civilization who settled in Central Asia.

This is the first identification of South Asian-related genetic components in ancient populations on the Tibetan Plateau, providing clues to the interactions between ancient populations on the plateau and those related to the Indus Valley Civilization.

In the 9th century AD, with the decline of the Tubo regime, descendants of the Tubo royal family established the Guge Kingdom in what is now Ngari Prefecture. It was not until the 17th century AD that the Guge Kingdom collapsed. As the continuation of the Tubo lineage, the Guge population is an important window into the genetic characteristics of the last Tubo people. An ancient human sample collected by the researchers from the Guge Cave showed the influence of Central Asian populations, and the proportion of Central Asian components was as high as 31%. This admixture event is estimated to have occurred around 1,353 AD, coinciding with the prosperity of the Guge Kingdom. This new result shows that in addition to its historical connections with South Asian kingdoms, the Guge Kingdom also had population interactions with people from Central Asian kingdoms.

Kinship practices in early western plateau communities

The researchers also examined kinship among individuals from early western plateau sites. At the Gebusailu tomb dating back 2,300 years ago, a second-generation family structure consisting of a father and two sons was discovered. At the same time, individuals at this site and the 1,800-year-old Pulanduowa site were mainly male, and the diversity of Y-chromosome haplotypes is evidently lower than that of mitochondrial haplotypes, indicating that both may have been communities dominated by paternal inheritance.

The 1,600-year-old Qulongsazha tomb includes a family line in which the second- and third-generation descendants are related by maternal kinship, suggesting the role of maternal kinship in the family line. Combined with the sex ratio and paternal and maternal genetic diversity, this pattern reflects a relatively balanced paternal and maternal inheritance structure.

Nevertheless, this study is a preliminary exploration of the kinship practices at early plateau sites, and future research with more samples will shed more light on the details and diversity of the community structure of ancient Tibetans.

Due to the high altitude and harsh natural environment of the western Tibetan Plateau, anthropological and archaeological research in this region is relatively limited. In particular, large gaps exist in previous research on the evolutionary history of early ancient western Tibetan Plateau populations and their interaction with ancient populations in neighboring areas. Using a combination of genetics and archeology, the researchers thoroughly investigated the evolutionary history of ancient populations on the western plateau over the past 3,500 years. While the major genetic components of the ancient western plateau populations show continuity, those populations had complex and frequent interactions with the ancient populations in the adjacent southern plateau region, Central Asia, and South Asia off the plateau.

Since the Tibetan Plateau is a bridge between East, Central, and South Asia, the results of this study are important for understanding the genetics of ancient populations on the plateau and those populations' interactions with ancient Central and South Asians 

Ancient people hunted extinct elephants at Tagua Tagua Lake in Chile 12,000 years ago

 

Multiple temporary campsites reveal recurring visits by early hunter-gatherers

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PLOS

 

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PHOTOGRAPHS FROM TT-3. A. COMBUSTION FEATURE SPATIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH GOMPHOTHERE CERVICAL VERTEBRAE AND SKULL FRAGMENTS (EXCAVATION UNIT C5); B. SACRAL AND CAUDAL VERTEBRAE, VERTEBRAL DISCS, AND UNFUSED COXAL PORTIONS (EXCAVATION UNIT F5). NOTE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FIRST SACRAL VERTEBRA AND ITS VERTEBRAL DISC; C. END SCRAPER (TT3-U1-N18) IN SITU (EXCAVATION UNIT 1); D. CORE DEBITAGE (TT3-G5-N18-12) IN SITU SPATIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH GOMPHOTHERE REMAINS (EXCAVATION UNIT G5).

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CREDIT: LABARCA ET AL., 2024, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/4.0/)

Thousands of years ago, early hunter-gatherers returned regularly to Tagua Tagua Lake in Chile to hunt ancient elephants and take advantage of other local resources, according to a study published May 22, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Rafael Labarca of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and colleagues.

Multiple archaeological sites are known from the region of Tagua Tagua Lake in central Chile, representing some of the earliest known human settlements in the Americas. In this study, Labarca and colleagues report the recent discovery of a new site called Taguatagua 3, an ancient hunter-gatherer camp dating to the Late Pleistocene, between 12,440-12,550 years old.

Notably, this site features the fossil remains of a gomphothere, an extinct relative of elephants. Signs of butchery on the bones, along with stone tools and other evidence, indicate that Taguatagua 3 represents a temporary camp established around the task of processing the large carcass. Other activities were also carried out during the camp’s brief period of use, including processing of other foods as indicated by additional charred remains of plants and small animals such as frogs and birds. Fossil cactus seeds and bird eggshell suggest that this camp was occupied specifically during the dry season.

Numerous such sites of similar age are now known from this region, implying that Tagua Tagua Lake was a recurring hunting and scavenging ground for people during the Late Pleistocene due to abundant and predictable local resources. The authors suggest that this area was a key location along the routes taken by mobile communities of the time and that temporary camps might have hosted regular meetings between these mobile bands. Further investigation of this rich archaeological region will continue to provide insights into the mobility and subsistence strategies of early humans in South America.

The authors add: “Taguatagua 3 helps us to understand better how the early humans adapted to fast changing environments in central Chile during the late Pleistocene times.”

The freely available article in PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0302465

3,500-year-old Mycenaean armor was suitable for extended battle - study

 

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A MAN WEARING THE REPLICA ARMOUR FOR THE STUDY AND HOLDING A SWORD.

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CREDIT: ANDREAS FLOURIS AND MARIJA MARKOVIĆ.

A 3,500-year-old suit of Mycenaean armour may have been used in battle - and not just for ceremonial purposes as previously thought – new research reveals.

Researchers worked with a group of Greek military volunteers who wore a replica of the Dendra armour during extended simulations of the rigours of battle.

One of the best and most complete examples of Mycenaean-era full-body armour, the bronze panoply was discovered in a tomb in the Greek village of Dendra, by Greek and Swedish archaeologists in the 1960s. But since its discovery, the question has remained as to whether the armour was purely for ceremonial purposes, or for use in battle.

This question has limited historians’ and academics’ understanding of ancient warfare and its consequences, which underpinned the social transformation of the prehistoric world.

But now, new research from an international team of researchers, published in PLOS ONE, has found that the armour was suitable for active warfare, providing new insights into war in the Late Bronze Age.

The research team conducted human experiments with a metal replica of the armour, which was created in the 1980s by staff and students at the former Bournville College of Art in Birmingham, UK at the invitation of the late Diana Wardle. A group of Greek special armed forces personnel wearing the replica armour completed an 11-hour simulation of Late Bronze Age combat protocols based on details from Homer’s Iliad.

Professor Andreas Flouris, from the University of Thessaly, who led the research said: “The armour that our volunteers wore was the same dimensions and similar weight to the Bronze Age original. We also monitored calorie intake based on a ‘Homeric diet’ (about 4,443 calories) derived from relevant descriptions found in the Iliad, and calorie expenditure together with the stresses placed on the volunteers’ bodies under temperatures typical for a Greek summer of 30-36 degrees Celsius. When the 11-hour battle protocol began we measured heart rate, oxygen consumption, core temperature, fluid loss, and muscular function.

“We found that the armour allowed full flexibility of movement and did not exert excessive physiological stress on the body. This means that despite earlier views which classified it as only a ceremonial outfit, the armour could be worn for extended periods by fit individuals in battle. Sixty years on from the discovery of the Dendra armour we now understand, despite its cumbersome appearance at first sight, that it is not only flexible enough to permit almost every movement of a warrior on foot but also resilient enough to protect the wearer from most blows.”

The findings add much-needed detail to contemporary historical records of armour found in Greece and Egypt – records such as numerous sketches of armour on Linear B tablets (syllabic script used for writing Mycenaean Greek) found at Knossos in Crete, as well as illustrations of Mycenaean warriors on Egyptian papyrus.

The researchers argue that findings from these experiments show that the Mycenaeans had such a powerful impact in the Eastern Mediterranean in part because of their armour technology.

Dr Ken Wardle, Senior Lecturer in Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Birmingham who collaborated on the study, explained: “Hittite records of military interactions with the Ahhiyawa, another name for the Mycenaeans, show that they had a substantial presence in western Asia Minor in the second half of the 2nd Millennium BC. Given that the Hittite kingdom dominated most of Anatolia and, at times, the northern parts of Syria and Mesopotamia we must understand that only a significant military force could oppose them or gain such respect as recorded in the Hittite archives.

“Descriptions of bronze armour used in the Iliad were thought to be later interpolations or poetic license, but this research suggests otherwise. Viewing the armour in light of these historical records, knowing that it is possible it was used in battle, helps to shed much-needed light on one of history’s most momentous turning points: the collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age civilisations towards the end of the 2nd Millennium BC; a time of destruction and upheaval that marked the beginning of the Age of Iron.”

The first homo sapiens facilitated the establishment of the Bonelli's eagle in the Mediterranean 50,000 years ago

 

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UNIVERSIDAD MIGUEL HERNANDEZ DE ELCHE

 

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BONELLI’S EAGLES (AQUILA FASCIATA) TOLERATE HUMAN PRESENCE BETTER THAN LARGER COMPETITORS SUCH AS GOLDEN EAGLES (A. CHRYSAETOS), ENABLING THE FORMER TO INHABIT RELATIVELY HUMANIZED AREAS. THIS COULD EXPLAIN WHY BONELLI’S EAGLES SEEMED TO ESTABLISH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN ONLY AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST EUROPEANS.

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CREDIT: TONY PERAL.

Spanish and Portuguese scientists have unraveled the ancestral history of one of the most iconic birds of prey in the current Iberian fauna, the Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata). The work, published in the scientific journal People and Nature, integrates evidence from various disciplines, such as paleontology, genetics, and ecology, to answer questions about when and why the Bonelli's eagle, a species primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions, colonized the Mediterranean basin. The study is led by the University of Granada with participation from researchers in the Ecology area of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH).

As Professor Marcos Moleón Paiz, from the Department of Zoology at UGR and the article's lead author, explains, "The Bonelli's eagle is a 'newcomer' to Europe. This species probably began establishing itself in the Mediterranean basin around 50,000 years ago. In contrast, others, like the golden eagle (A. chrysaetos), have been present here much longer, as fossil records attest."

Spatial analyses conducted in the study show that Bonelli's eagle is significantly disadvantaged during cold climatic periods, unlike the golden eagle. "During the last glacial period, the Bonelli's eagle could only find refuge in warm coastal areas, precisely where its oldest fossils have been found." Eva Graciá, a professor of Ecology at UMH, notes that "genetic analyses confirmed that around the last glacial maximum, the Mediterranean population of Bonelli's eagles must have been formed by few individuals." This ancestral population thrived as the temperature in the Mediterranean basin rose, and the human population grew and became sedentary.

Once the 'when' was resolved, the team sought to understand why Bonelli's eagle began to establish itself in the Mediterranean during such a climatically challenging period and why it settled there during the last glacial cycle and not before.

The Role of Our Ancestors

According to Moleón, "After testing several alternative hypotheses, all pieces of the puzzle indicated that the early European settlers of our species (Homo sapiens) played a fundamental role."

This study collected and analyzed the most comprehensive information on the competitive interactions between Bonelli's eagles and golden eagles today. This allowed them to confirm that in this relationship, the golden eagle is the 'dominant' species and the Bonelli's eagle the 'subordinate' species. The results showed that Bonelli's eagles can only survive where golden eagles are scarce, mainly in highly humanized areas.

"Our mathematical models indicated that if we were able to eliminate all golden eagle pairs in climatically favorable areas, we would expect a strong increase in the number of Bonelli's eagle pairs, but not vice versa," the researchers explain. The study also states that golden eagles can kill Bonelli's eagles and usurp their territories, which does not happen the other way around.

It is noteworthy that golden eagles are less tolerant of humans than Bonelli's eagles. The authors hypothesize that with the arrival of the first anatomically modern humans in Europe, some of the golden eagle territories closest to human settlements were abandoned, and these 'vacant' territories began to be occupied by Bonelli's eagles from the Middle East. In short, Bonelli's eagles could not have established themselves in the Mediterranean before the arrival of the first Homo sapiens because the competitive pressure exerted by golden eagles and other species would have been too overwhelming.

Living Near or Far from Humans?

The researchers point out that humans can modify species distributions is nothing new. The novelty of this study lies in revealing a mechanism called 'human-mediated competitive release' by which our species, including our ancestors, could indirectly modify the distribution of other species, including long-lived ones. However, the advantage that living near humans once provided for the Bonelli's eagle has turned against it today. "Ironically, the future of the Bonelli's eagle in the Mediterranean is currently threatened by the relentless intensification of human activities in the environment, leading to mortality from power lines, prey scarcity, and disturbances in nesting areas, among other threats," the authors conclude. "The conservation of threatened species like large eagles will undoubtedly benefit from knowledge derived from large-scale spatial and temporal ecological processes," notes UMH Professor Toni Sánchez Zapata.

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Pagan-Christian trade networks supplied horses from overseas for horse sacrifices in Europe

 

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RECONSTRUCTION OF THE RITUAL SACRIFICE OF A HORSE AT PAPROTKI KOLONIA, MODERN POLAND.

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CREDIT: MIROSŁAW KUZMA.

Horses crossed the Baltic Sea in ships during the Late Viking Age and were sacrificed for funeral rituals, according to research from Cardiff University.

Published in the journal Science Advances, studies on the remains of horses found at ancient burial sites in Russia and Lithuania show that they were brought overseas from Scandinavia utilising expansive trade networks connecting the Viking world with the Byzantine and Arab Empires.

Up to now, researchers had believed sacrificial horses were always locally-sourced stallions. But these results reveal horses from modern Sweden or Finland travelled up to 1,500 km across the Baltic Sea. The findings also show that the sex of the horse was not necessarily a factor in them being chosen for sacrifice, with genetic analysis showing one in three were mares.

A scientific technique called strontium isotope analysis was used on horse teeth from 74 animals to identify where they had originated. Soil, water and plants have a chemical make-up reflecting their underlying geology. The chemical signature is absorbed by animals on consumption and remains locked in the hard enamel of their teeth, allowing archaeologists to trace their life journeys hundreds of years later.

Horse sacrifices were highly visible and symbolic public rites across pagan prehistoric Europe, persisting the latest among the Baltic tribes, up to the 14th century AD. Offering pits might include multiple horses, single complete horses, or partial animals. In many Baltic cemeteries horses were buried separately from humans, but there are numerous examples of horses with overlain human cremations.

Lead author Dr Katherine French, formerly of Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology and Religion, now based at Washington State University, said: “This research dismantles previous theories that locally-procured stallions were exclusively selected for sacrifice. Given the unexpected prevalence of mares, we believe the prestige of the animal, coming from afar, was a more important factor in why they were chosen for this rite.

“Viking Age trade routes stretched from modern Iceland, Britain, and Ireland in the West all the way to the Byzantine and Arab Empires in the East. The presence of a trader’s weight in one horse grave points to the key role of horses in these vibrant trade networks.”

Co-author Dr Richard Madgwick, also based at Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology and Religion, said: “Pagan Baltic tribes were clearly sourcing horses overseas from their Christian neighbours while simultaneously resisting converting to their religion. This revised understanding of horse sacrifice highlights the dynamic, complex relationship between Pagan and Christian communities at that time.”

Egyptian pyramids built along long-lost Ahramat branch of the Nile

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THE WATER COURSE OF THE ANCIENT AHRAMAT BRANCH BORDERS A LARGE NUMBER OF PYRAMIDS DATING FROM THE OLD KINGDOM TO THE SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, SPANNING BETWEEN THE THIRD DYNASTY AND THE THIRTEENTH DYNASTY.

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CREDIT: EMAN GHONEIM

31 pyramids in Egypt, including the Giza pyramid complex, may originally have been built along a 64-km-long branch of the river Nile which has long since been buried beneath farmland and desert. The findings, reported in a paper in Communications Earth & Environment, could explain why these pyramids are concentrated in what is now a narrow, inhospitable desert strip.

The Egyptian pyramid fields between Giza and Lisht, built over a nearly 1,000-year period starting approximately 4,700 years ago, now sit on the edge of the inhospitable Western Desert, part of the Sahara. Sedimentary evidence suggests that the Nile used to have a much higher discharge, with the river splitting into several branches in places. Researchers have previously speculated that one of these branches may have flown by the pyramid fields, but this has not been confirmed.

Eman Ghoneim and colleagues studied satellite imagery to find the possible location of a former river branch running along the foothills of the Western Desert Plateau, very near to the pyramid fields. They then used geophysical surveys and sediment cores to confirm the presence of river sediments and former channels beneath the modern land surface, indicating the presence of a former branch, which they propose naming ‘Ahramat’ (meaning ‘pyramids’ in Arabic). The authors suggest that an increased build-up of windblown sand, linked to a major drought which began approximately 4,200 years ago, could be one of the reasons for the branch’s migration east and eventual silting up.

The discovery may explain why these pyramid fields were concentrated along this particular strip of desert near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, as they would have been easily accessible via the river branch at the time they were built. Additionally, the authors found that many of the pyramids had causeways which ended at the proposed riverbanks of the Ahramat branch, which they suggest is evidence the river was used for transporting construction materials.

The findings reiterate the importance of the Nile as a highway and cultural artery for ancient Egyptians, and also highlight how human society has historically been affected by environmental change, according to the authors. Future research to find more extinct Nile branches could help prioritise archaeological excavations along their banks and protect Egyptian cultural heritage, they add.

Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Cyprus

 

Patterns of dispersal of early humans across continents and islands are hotly debated, but researchers have found that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

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DROUSEIA SKLOINIKIA, THE NEWEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE ON THE AKAMAS PENINSULA IN WESTERN CYPRUS. IMAGE CREDIT: MICHALAKIS CHRISTOFOROU.

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CREDIT: MICHALAKIS CHRISTOFOROU.

The patterns of dispersal of early humans across continents and islands are hotly debated, but researchers have found that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

In examining the timing of the first human occupation of Cyprus, research led by Flinders University’s Professor Corey Bradshaw found that large islands in the Mediterranean Sea were attractive and favourable destinations for palaeolithic peoples.

These findings refute previous studies that suggested Mediterranean islands would have been unreachable and inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies.

Professor Bradshaw, with Dr Theodora Moutsiou, Dr Christian Reepmeyer and others, used archaeological data, climate estimates, and demographic modelling to reveal the early peopling of Cyprus.

Analysis of archaeological dating from the 10 oldest sites across Cyprus suggested first human occupation between 14,257 and 13,182 years ago, which is much earlier than previously thought.

The researchers say the island was then rapidly settled. Climate modelling indicated that this early peopling coincided with increases in temperature, precipitation, and environmental productivity sufficient to sustain large hunter-gatherer populations.

Based on demographic modelling, the authors suggest that large groups of hundreds to thousands of people arrived on Cyprus in two to three main migration events in less than 100 years.

“This settlement pattern implies organised planning and the use of advanced watercraft,” says Professor Bradshaw.

Within 300 years, or 11 generations, the population of Cyprus had expanded to a median of 4,000–5,000 people.

Dr Moutsiou says the results demonstrate that, rather than being inhospitable, Cyprus and perhaps other Mediterranean islands would have been attractive destinations for palaeolithic hunter-gatherer societies.

“It has been argued that human dispersal to and settlement of Cyprus and other eastern Mediterranean islands is attributed to demographic pressures on the mainland after abrupt climatic change saw coastal areas inundated by post-glacial sea-level rise, forcing farming populations to move to new areas out of necessity rather than choice,” he says.

Dr Reepmeyer adds that this interpretation came as a consequence of major gaps in the archaeological record of Cyprus, deriving from differential preservation of archaeological material, preservation biases, uncertainties associated with dating, and limited DNA evidence. “Our research, based on more archaeological evidence and advanced modelling techniques, changes that”, he says.

Professor Bradshaw says the new research results highlight a need to revisit questions of early human migration in the Mediterranean and test the validity of perceived early settlement dates in light of new technologies, field methods, and data.

The research – “Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expansion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus” by Corey Bradshaw, Christian Reepmeyer, Frédérik Saltré, Athos Agapiou, Vasiliki Kassianidou, Stella Demesticha, Zomenia Zomeni, Miltiadis Polidorou and Theodora Moutsiou – has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.