Rich medieval Danes bought graves ‘closer to God’ despite leprosy stigma, archaeologists find

Medieval Christians in Denmark showed off their wealth in death by buying prestigious graves: the closer to the church, the higher the price. Researchers used these gravesites to investigate social exclusion based on illness, by studying whether people with leprosy — a highly stigmatized disease culturally associated with sin — or tuberculosis were kept out of the higher-status areas. Unexpectedly, they found that people who were ill with stigmatized diseases were buried just as prominently as their peers. 

“When we started this work, I was immediately reminded of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, specifically the scene with the plague cart,” said Dr Saige Kelmelis of the University of South Dakota, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology. “I think this image depicts our ideas of how people in the past — and in some cases today — respond to debilitating diseases. However, our study reveals that medieval communities were variable in their responses and in their makeup. For several communities, those who were sick were buried alongside their neighbors and given the same treatment as anyone else.” 

Beyond the graves 

The lead researchers, Kelmelis and Vicki Kristensen and Dr Dorthe Pedersen of the University of Southern Denmark, examined 939 adult skeletons from five Danish medieval cemeteries: three urban and two rural, to capture possible differences between towns and the countryside. Higher population density makes it easier for both leprosy and tuberculosis to be transmitted, and unhealthy conditions traditionally associated with medieval towns increase vulnerability to both diseases. 

However, the two diseases impacted patients’ lives differently. Leprosy patients’ facial lesions would have marked them out as different, unlike the less-specific symptoms of tuberculosis.  

“Tuberculosis is one of those chronic infections that people can live with for a very long time without symptoms,” said Kelmelis. “Also, tuberculosis is not as visibly disabling as leprosy, and in a time when the cause of infection and route of transmission were unknown, tuberculosis patients were likely not met with the same stigmatization as the more obvious leprosy patients. Perhaps medieval folks were so busy dealing with one disease that the other was just the cherry on top of the disease sundae.” 

The scientists assessed disease status for each skeleton, as well as how long each person had lived. Leprosy leaves behind evidence of facial lesions and damage to the hands and feet caused by secondary infections, while tuberculosis affects the joints and bones near the lungs.  

Scientists then mapped out the cemeteries, looking for any demarcations that would indicate status differences, like burials within religious buildings. They plotted each skeleton on these maps, looking for differences between higher- and lower-status areas.  

“There is documentation of individuals being able to pay a fee to have a more privileged place of burial,” explained Kelmelis. “In life, these folks — benefactors, knights, and clergy — were also likely able to use their wealth to secure closer proximity to divinity, such as having a pew closer to the front of the church.” 

Bring out your dead 

The scientists found no overall link between disease and burial status. Only at the urban cemetery of Ribe were there any differences that correlated with health: roughly a third of people buried in the lower-status cemetery had tuberculosis, compared to 12% of the people buried in the monastery or the church. As people with leprosy or tuberculosis were not excluded from higher-status areas, the researchers think this reflected different levels of exposure to tuberculosis, not stigma.  

However, all cemeteries contained many tuberculosis patients — especially the urban cemetery of Drotten, where nearly half the burials were in high-status areas and 51% had tuberculosis. People who could afford prestigious graves could also have paid for better living conditions, which helped them survive tuberculosis long enough for the disease to mark their bones.  

These results suggest that medieval people were less likely to exclude the visibly sick from society than stereotypes indicate. However, the researchers caution that more excavations are needed to get a more complete picture of some cemeteries, and that their stringent diagnostic criteria may not have identified every patient.  

“Individuals may have been carrying the bacteria but died before it could show up in the skeleton,” cautioned Kelmelis. “Unless we can include genomic methods, we may not know the full extent of how these diseases affected past communities.” 

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Journal

Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology

DOI

10.3389/fearc.2025.1699370 

Bison hunters abandoned long-used site 1,100 years ago to adapt to changing climate

 

As drought and rising organizational demands for larger hunting operations hit at the same time, ancient hunters adapted to severe droughts by shifting the way and where they hunted, study shows

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Frontiers

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Bison bones are scattered across the site. 

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Credit: John Wendt

On the Great Plains of North America, bison were hunted for thousands of years before populations collapsed to near extinction due to overexploitation in the late 1800s. But long before then, bison hunters used various strategies and different types of sites, sometimes switching between sites.

Now, researchers sought to understand why hunting stopped when bison continued to be present at the Bergstrom site in central Montana, where bison were hunted intermittently for around 700 years before the site fell into disuse. The results were published in Frontiers in Conservation Science.

“We found that bison hunters ceased using a kill site in central Montana around 1,100 years ago,” said first author Dr John Wendt, a paleoecologist and assistant professor of rangeland ecosystem management at New Mexico State University. “It appears that hunters stopped using it because severe, recurring droughts reduced the water available for processing animals at a small nearby creek. Site abandonment was a response to environmental stressors and changing social and economic pressures.”

More than bison

To understand what shaped choice of hunting sites and organization, the team combined archaeological excavation, sediment coring, and laboratory analyses. “The Bergstrom site presented a puzzle because it was used intermittently and abandoned when bison were common throughout the region and hunting was intense,” Wendt explained. “Why would hunters stop using a site that had worked for so long?”

To get to the mystery’s core, the researchers dug nine 1×1m excavation pits in the spring of 2019. Excavated materials were documented and photographed and charcoal fragments were sent off for radiocarbon analysis. Two sediment cores were collected directly next to the excavation area. The team analyzed these for pollen and charcoal fragments. They also tracked the presence of large herbivores and analyzed climate reconstructions. Based on this, the team was able to see if ecological changes explained why Bergstrom was abandoned, or if something else had driven hunters away.

“Abandonment wasn’t because the site became ecologically unsuitable in any absolute sense. Bison were still around, vegetation hadn’t changed, and there was no substantive shift in fire activities,” Wendt pointed out. “Bison hunting activity was not simply following prey populations.”

Levelling up hunting sites

Instead, severe droughts stretching decades hit the region before and after final abandonment of the site. Such droughts limited how much water was available, but also made locations where water wasn’t a given less attractive to hunter groups. At the same time, many hunters reorganized themselves from small mobile groups working opportunistically to more coordinated, larger groups who used constructed infrastructure and occupied sites for longer time periods.

“These larger operations were based on large kills and could produce surplus for trade and winter storage, but they also meant more dependence on specific resources like water, forage for larger herds, and fuel for processing fires,” said Wendt.

Sites meeting these characteristics were more scarce, as they also needed topographic features suited to large bison drives, such as cliffs for jumps and features to contain herds. If these characteristics were given, however, such sites often saw repeated, large-scale use over centuries.

Sophisticated climate adaptation

Favoring larger sites, however, meant greater dependency on everything going right, as these sites were harder to replace. Hunters worked at these sites over generations and could reorganize as conditions changed. Maintaining cultural knowledge and flexibility is most likely what allowed this type of hunting organization to persist through climate variability, the team said. This flexibility is also relevant to modern bison management systems, which can increase their odds of persisting through climate variability by retaining the capacity to reorganize how and where animals are managed.

The team pointed out that their conclusions may not hold true for other bison hunting sites in the region, which may have been abandoned for other reasons. In addition, while the study shows use for around 700 years, it could not determine how long each use period lasted or how frequently the site was used during this time. It also is possible that after abandonment, the Bergstrom site saw infrequent, low-impact use that left minimal traces that could not be detected, the team said.

“While people have been adapting to the climate for much longer, Bergstrom’s abandonment shows that people reorganized in response to recurring droughts in the last 2,000 years,” concluded Wendt.

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Journal

Frontiers in Conservation Science

DOI

10.3389/fcosc.2025.1688950 

A rare inherited growth disorder in two prehistoric individuals who lived more than 12,000 years ago

 Researchers led by the University of Vienna and Liège University Hospital Centre have identified genetic variants associated with a rare inherited growth disorder in two prehistoric individuals who lived more than 12,000 years ago. Using ancient DNA analysis and modern clinical genetics, they diagnosed the condition in a mother and daughter buried together in southern Italy. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study shows that paleogenomics can now reconstruct ancient population history and diagnose rare genetic diseases in prehistoric individuals.

The discovery builds on a reanalysis of a well-known Upper Paleolithic burial discovered in 1963 at Grotta del Romito in southern Italy, which has long puzzled researchers. Unusual skeletal features and the circumstances of the burial raised longstanding questions about the relationship between the individuals and the medical reasons for their short stature.

A remarkable double burial raises questions

The two were interred together in an embrace. "Romito 2", an adolescent with pronounced limb shortening, previously assumed to be male, lay in the arms of "Romito 1", thought to be an adult female. No signs of trauma were observed. Romito 2 had an estimated height of about 110 cm, consistent with a rare skeletal growth disorder known as acromesomelic dysplasia, though this could not be confirmed solely from bones. Romito 1 was also shorter – about 145 cm –than average for the period. For decades, researchers debated their gender, relationship, and the possibility of a common cause of their short stature.

About the study

The team analysed ancient DNA extracted from the petrous part of the temporal bone of both individuals, a region known for preserving genetic material well. Genetic analysis established a first-degree relationship. The researchers then screened genes associated with skeletal growth and compared the identified variants with modern clinical data. This interdisciplinary approach, combining paleogenomics, clinical genetics, and physical anthropology, involved an international team from the University of Vienna and collaborators in Italy, Portugal, and Belgium.

Earliest genetic diagnosis in humans

The analysis showed that both individuals were female and first-degree relatives, most likely a mother and daughter. In Romito 2, researchers identified a homozygous variant in the NPR2 gene, which is essential for bone growth. This confirmed a diagnosis of acromesomelic dysplasia, Maroteaux type — a very rare inherited disorder characterized by severe short stature and marked shortening of the limbs. Genetic data from Romito 1 indicate that she carried one altered copy of the same gene, a condition associated with milder short stature.

Rare diseases in human history

Ron Pinhasi, University of Vienna, who co-led the study says: "By applying ancient DNA analysis, we can now identify specific mutations in prehistoric individuals. This helps establish how far back rare genetic conditions existed and may also uncover previously unknown variants." Daniel Fernandes of the University of Coimbra, first author of the study, adds: "Identifying both individuals as female and closely related turns this burial into a familial genetic case. The older woman's milder short stature likely reflects a heterozygous mutation, showing how the same gene affected members of a prehistoric family differently." Clinically, the results highlight the deep history of rare diseases. Adrian Daly of Liège University Hospital Centre, a co-leader of the study, notes: "Rare genetic diseases are not a modern phenomenon but have been present throughout human history. Understanding their history may help recognising such conditions today."

Evidence of social care

Despite severe physical limitations, Romito 2 survived into adolescence or adulthood, suggesting sustained care within her community. Alfredo Coppa of Sapienza University of Rome, who also co-led the study, says: "We believe her survival would have required sustained support from her group, including help with food and mobility in a challenging environment."

Summary

• Ancient DNA analysis revealed that two individuals buried together in southern Italy were closely related — most likely mother and daughter.
• In the younger individual, two altered copies of the NPR2 gene confirmed acromesomelic dysplasia (Maroteaux type), a condition marked by severe short stature and pronounced limb shortening; the older individual carried one altered copy linked to milder short stature.
• The findings show that rare genetic diseases were already present in prehistoric populations and can now be studied using paleogenomics.
• The younger individual's survival despite severe physical limitations suggests sustained care and social support within her community.

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Journal

New England Journal of Medicine

DOI

10.1056/NEJMc2513616 

Xigou site discovery challenges long-held views on early human technology in East Asia

 

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Location of the Xigou site.

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Credit: Image by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS.

An international research team has uncovered evidence of advanced stone tool technologies in East Asia dating back 160,000 to 72,000 years, with the findings recently published in Nature Communications.

Led by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the team—which included researchers from China, Australia, Spain, and the United States—conducted multidisciplinary archaeological investigations at the Xigou site in the Danjiangkou Reservoir region of central China. Their work yielded evidence of sophisticated stone tool technologies dating from 160,000 to 72,000 years ago, revealing that hominins in the region were far more innovative and adaptable than previously thought. This period coincided with the coexistence of multiple large-brained hominin species in China, including Homo longi, Homo juluensis, and potentially Homo sapiens.

To establish the site's age, the researchers applied multiple luminescence dating methods to six samples for cross-validation. Results indicated that quartz recuperated optically stimulated luminescence (ReOSL) ages provide a reliable benchmark for the depositional age of the site's stratigraphic profile. Consequently, the cultural layer at Xigou has been dated to roughly 160,000–72,000 years ago, creating a well-defined chronological framework for studying hominin activity during this interval.

Detailed analysis of 2,601 lithic artifacts recovered from the site shows that ancient inhabitants employed refined stone tool-making techniques to produce small flakes and formal tools. Small-sized flakes were generated using core reduction strategies ranging from expedient to highly systematic—including core-on-flake and discoid technologies. The standardized retouching patterns of the dominant small tools are indicative of a high degree of technological complexity and uniformity.

Among the most notable discoveries is the earliest known evidence of hafted stone tools in East Asia—representing the region's earliest confirmed composite tools. Traceological analysis identified two distinct handle types: juxtaposed and male. These composite tools, which integrated stone components with handles or shafts, reflect advanced planning, skilled craftsmanship, and a sophisticated understanding of how to optimize tool performance.

The archaeological discoveries at Xigou challenge the long-held narrative that early hominins in China exhibited technological conservatism over time. The site's robust stratigraphic sequence, spanning nearly 90,000 years, aligns with mounting evidence of increasing hominin diversity across China during this period. The presence of large-brained hominins at sites such as Xujiayao and Lingjing—some classified as Homo juluensis—provides a plausible biological basis for the behavioral complexity evident in Xigou's stone tool assemblages.

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-67601-y 

Unlocking the sacred landscape of Roman Nida

 

International research team secures over €1 million to study newly uncovered Roman cult district

Grant and Award Announcement

Goethe University Frankfurt

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Excavated remains of a stone building with an apse – possibly a chapel. In the modern period, the walls were dismantled down to their foundations; only the extraction trenches remain visible. This pattern is characteristic of archaeological finds in Nida.

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Credit: Photo: Frankfurt City Monument Office

FRANKFURT. This marks another milestone for Roman-period archaeology in Hesse: The German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) have jointly approved more than €1 million to support the analysis of excavations at the large Roman sanctuary in the ancient city of Nida (Frankfurt-Heddernheim). Over the next three years, the funding will enable researchers to conduct a comprehensive investigation of one of the most significant recent archaeological discoveries in Roman Germania.

Grant application spanning Frankfurt and Basel
Applicants for the project “Exploring the dynamics of a Roman sanctuary – Interdisciplinary studies on spatial organisation and depositions at the central sanctuary in Nida-Heddernheim”  include the Archaeological Museum Frankfurt (Dr. Carsten Wenzel); the Institute for Archaeological Sciences at Goethe University Frankfurt (Prof. Anja Klöckner, Classical Archaeology; Prof. Markus Scholz, Archaeology and History of the Roman Provinces; Prof. Astrid Stobbe, Archaeobotany); and the Institute for Integrative Prehistoric and Scientific Archaeology (IPNA) at the University of Basel (Prof. Sabine Deschler-Erb (ⴕ), Dr. Barbara Stopp). Additional cooperation partners include Frankfurt’s City Monument Office [Denkmalamt] and the Roman-Germanic Commission (RGK) of the German Archaeological Institute, also based in Frankfurt. The approved research project was officially presented today at a press conference held at the Archaeological Museum of the City of Frankfurt.

Dr. Ina Hartwig, Frankfurt’s City Commissioner for Culture and Science, commented on the project: “The central cult district of Nida represents an archaeological discovery of almost unparalleled significance in Europe. Its comprehensive scholarly investigation will further establish Frankfurt as a hub of international cutting-edge research. The project demonstrates the strength of our research landscape when museums, universities, non-university research institutions, and heritage conservation work hand in hand to make research visible within the city.”

School construction uncovers Roman cult complex
The cult district of Nida was uncovered during excavations conducted by the Monument Office between 2016 and 2018, and again in 2022, in Frankfurt’s Nordweststadt district. In the course of constructing the new “Römerstadtschule,” an area of more than 4,500 square meters in the center of the Roman city was excavated, revealing a walled complex. The site was almost completely excavated and documented using modern archaeological methods. The findings have been preserved in a coherent state, with only minimal post-Roman disturbance.

Marcus Gwechenberger, Frankfurt’s City Councilor for Planning and Housing, emphasized the discovery’s broader significance: “The newly uncovered cult district of the Roman city of Nida is among the most important archaeological finds in Frankfurt in recent years. The funding now makes it possible to scientifically analyze this exceptional discovery in depth. At the same time, it recognizes the continuous and highly professional work of our municipal heritage office. This project also illustrates how urban development and research go hand in hand in Frankfurt. The fact that the discovery was made during construction of the new Römerstadtschule vividly demonstrates how past and future intersect in our city.”

Archaeological Evidence of Roman Cult Practices
The cult site comprises eleven stone buildings constructed in several phases, as well as around 70 shafts and ten pits used for (ritual) depositions. The building layouts are highly unusual and have no known parallels in the Germanic or Gallic provinces of the Roman Empire. More than 5,000 fragments of painted wall plaster, together with bronze fittings from doors and windows, attest to the elaborate architectural design of the structures.

The shafts and pits yielded numerous ceramic vessels and large quantities of plant and animal remains, including fish and birds. These finds are interpreted as remains of ritual meals and offerings made to the gods. To facilitate detailed analysis, 150 samples were collected for archaeozoological and archaeobotanical study.

The analysis of 254 Roman coins and more than 70 silver and bronze garment clasps (fibulae), some of them fully preserved, is central to reconstructing the ritual and sacrificial practices carried out at the site. Such objects are widely attested as offerings and votive gifts in Roman sanctuaries throughout the empire. By contrast, the evidence pointing to possible human sacrifice at the cult district of Nida is entirely exceptional. Despite the excellent state of preservation and the richness of the material record, conclusions regarding the specific deities worshipped at the site remain limited. Inscriptions and iconographic evidence attest to the veneration of several gods, including Jupiter, the chief Roman deity; Jupiter Dolichenus, particularly revered by soldiers; Mercurius Alatheus, god of trade and commerce; Diana, goddess of nature; Apollo, god of healing; and Epona, the Celtic-Roman goddess of fertility. This constellation suggests that the site functioned as a sanctuary of regional importance in which multiple deities were worshipped side by side.
Based on current evidence, the cult district was established at the beginning of the 2nd century CE. A dedicatory inscription from a soldier to Mercurius Alatheus, dated 9 September 246 CE, confirms that the sanctuary remained in use at least until the mid-3rd century CE.

Interdisciplinary Research Team Enables Comprehensive Study
The approval of this large-scale research project underscores the importance of archaeological research in the Frankfurt region. It also serves as a strong example of the close networking of academic institutions within the Rhine-Main area, both among themselves and in collaboration with international partner institutions.

The funding provides a unique opportunity to investigate this regionally significant complex through an interdisciplinary approach. Focusing on the analysis of interior design and depositional practices, the project aims to reconstruct the ritual activities carried out at the site. In doing so, the cult district of Nida will be embedded within the broader cultural and historical context of the sacred landscapes of the Roman north-western provinces. The project will involve five early-career researchers in doctoral and postdoctoral positions across the participating institutions.

One year after the presentation of the “Frankfurt Silver Inscription”: Research on Nida enters the next phase 
In addition to the cult district, other excavations conducted by the Monument Office over the past decades have yielded important insights into the settlement history and topography of Nida. Just over a year after the presentation of the “Frankfurt Silver Inscription” – the oldest known Christian written testimony north of the Alps – the Roman city on Frankfurt soil is once again the focus of public attention. The research team now has the unique opportunity to collaboratively explore Roman religions in Frankfurt and investigate temples, sacrifices, and rituals. The high-quality, exceptionally well-preserved findings underscore the exceptional importance of Nida for Roman-period archaeology in Germany. Founded as a military base in the 70s of the 1st century CE, the settlement developed into the economic and cultural center of the Limes region by the early 2nd century. Characterized by remarkable cultural diversity, Nida remained one of the most important urban centers in Roman Germania until its abandonment around 275/280 CE.

The earliest Indo-European speakers

For centuries, linguists noticed something strange. Words for family, numbers, tools, and the sky echoed across languages spoken thousands of miles apart. English, Spanish, Greek, Hindi, Farsi, and hundreds more all seemed to point back to a single vanished tongue. But who spoke it, and where, remained one of history’s most heated debates.

In the early 2020s, large-scale DNA studies finally added flesh to the linguistic skeleton. By analyzing ancient genomes from across Eurasia, researchers traced the earliest Indo-European speakers to a small population living about 6,400 years ago on the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

These people were not city builders. They were mobile pastoralists and farmers, moving with herds across open grasslands. Archaeology links them to early steppe cultures that used wagons, practiced animal husbandry, and buried their dead beneath earthen mounds. Their mobility mattered. As their descendants migrated west into Europe and east into Central and South Asia, their language traveled with them, adapting, splitting, and evolving.

DNA shows these migrations were not just cultural. Steppe ancestry appears suddenly in ancient skeletons from regions thousands of kilometers apart, matching the timing when Indo-European languages begin to diverge. Linguistic clues align with the genetics, shared words for wheels, horses, and livestock reflect a world already shaped by pastoral life and early transport.

What makes this story remarkable is scale. A few thousand people, speaking a language never written down, ended up shaping how nearly half of humanity speaks today. Their words survived where their names did not.

Language, it turns out, can outlive nations, empires, and even memory.

Soorce: Facebook Know Your Planet ·

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