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Geoarchaeology: Where Geosciences Meet the Humanities to Reconstruct Past Human–Environment Interactions. An Application to the Coastal Areas of the Largest Mediterranean Islands. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/app11104480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The study of past Human–Environment interactions has long been seen at a very local scale, that of sites of human occupation. Geoarchaeology differs from the traditional concepts of Environmental Archaeology and Landscape Archaeology in this respect since it adopts a different spatial resolution based on the development of multidisciplinary research at the scale of geographical, geological or geomorphological features. In this paper, we aim to contribute to the definition of coastal geoarchaeology where environmental holistic studies can be developed, thus integrating both continental and marine dynamics. A specific application is realized here for the largest Mediterranean islands where heterogeneity can be observed in research over the last decades. For this reason, we divide the Mediterranean Basin into four areas in order to review the main works conducted. In general, investigating coastal environments represents an exciting opportunity to reconstruct past landscapes and to evidence the long-term history of human occupation and land use by employing a wide range of proxies. We focus in particular on the coastal wetlands of Corsica, where a large number of lagoons have been cored since the early 2010s. Multiproxy laboratory analyses reveal a history of the complex relationships between past human societies and their environments which is complementary to existing archaeological studies.
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Middle eastern genetic legacy in the paternal and maternal gene pools of Chuetas. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21428. [PMID: 33293675 PMCID: PMC7722846 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78487-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Chuetas are a group of descendants of Majorcan Crypto-Jews (Balearic Islands, Spain) who were socially stigmatized and segregated by their Majorcan neighbours until recently; generating a community that, although after the seventeenth century no longer contained Judaic religious elements, maintained strong group cohesion, Jewishness consciousness, and endogamy. Collective memory fixed 15 surnames as a most important defining element of Chueta families. Previous studies demonstrated Chuetas were a differentiated population, with a considerable proportion of their original genetic make-up. Genetic data of Y-chromosome polymorphism and mtDNA control region showed, in Chuetas’ paternal lineages, high prevalence of haplogroups J2-M172 (33%) and J1-M267 (18%). In maternal lineages, the Chuetas hallmark is the presence of a new sub-branching of the rare haplogroup R0a2m as their modal haplogroup (21%). Genetic diversity in both Y-chromosome and mtDNA indicates the Chueta community has managed to avoid the expected heterogeneity decrease in their gene pool after centuries of isolation and inbreeding. Moreover, the composition of their uniparentally transmitted lineages demonstrates a remarkable signature of Middle Eastern ancestry—despite some degree of host admixture—confirming Chuetas have retained over the centuries a considerable degree of ancestral genetic signature along with the cultural memory of their Jewish origin.
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Zalloua P, Collins CJ, Gosling A, Biagini SA, Costa B, Kardailsky O, Nigro L, Khalil W, Calafell F, Matisoo-Smith E. Ancient DNA of Phoenician remains indicates discontinuity in the settlement history of Ibiza. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17567. [PMID: 30514893 PMCID: PMC6279797 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35667-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Ibiza was permanently settled around the 7th century BCE by founders arriving from west Phoenicia. The founding population grew significantly and reached its height during the 4th century BCE. We obtained nine complete mitochondrial genomes from skeletal remains from two Punic necropoli in Ibiza and a Bronze Age site from Formentara. We also obtained low coverage (0.47X average depth) of the genome of one individual, directly dated to 361-178 cal BCE, from the Cas Molí site on Ibiza. We analysed and compared ancient DNA results with 18 new mitochondrial genomes from modern Ibizans to determine the ancestry of the founders of Ibiza. The mitochondrial results indicate a predominantly recent European maternal ancestry for the current Ibizan population while the whole genome data suggest a significant Eastern Mediterranean component. Our mitochondrial results suggest a genetic discontinuity between the early Phoenician settlers and the island's modern inhabitants. Our data, while limited, suggest that the Eastern or North African influence in the Punic population of Ibiza was primarily male dominated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Zalloua
- School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon.
| | - Catherine J Collins
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Anna Gosling
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Simone Andrea Biagini
- Department de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Benjamí Costa
- Museu Arqueològic d'Eivissa i Formentera, Universitat de Barcelona, Illes Balears, Spain
| | - Olga Kardailsky
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Lorenzo Nigro
- Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Roma, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - Wissam Khalil
- Department of Arts and Archaeology, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Francesc Calafell
- Department de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
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Serventi P, Panicucci C, Bodega R, De Fanti S, Sarno S, Fondevila Alvarez M, Brisighelli F, Trombetta B, Anagnostou P, Ferri G, Vazzana A, Delpino C, Gruppioni G, Luiselli D, Cilli E. Iron Age Italic population genetics: the Piceni from Novilara (8th-7th century BC). Ann Hum Biol 2018; 45:34-43. [PMID: 29216758 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2017.1414876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Archaeological data provide evidence that Italy, during the Iron Age, witnessed the appearance of the first communities with well defined cultural identities. To date, only a few studies report genetic data about these populations and, in particular, the Piceni have never been analysed. AIMS To provide new data about mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variability of an Iron Age Italic population, to understand the contribution of the Piceni in shaping the modern Italian gene pool and to ascertain the kinship between some individuals buried in the same grave within the Novilara necropolis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In a first set of 10 individuals from Novilara, we performed deep sequencing of the HVS-I region of the mtDNA, combined with the genotyping of 22 SNPs in the coding region and the analysis of several autosomal markers. RESULTS The results show a low nucleotide diversity for the inhabitants of Novilara and highlight a genetic affinity of this ancient population with the current inhabitants of central Italy. No family relationship was observed between the individuals analysed here. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a preliminary characterisation of the mtDNA variability of the Piceni of Novilara, as well as a kinship assessment of two peculiar burials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Serventi
- a Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy.,b Department of Cultural Heritage , University of Bologna , Ravenna , Italy
| | - Chiara Panicucci
- b Department of Cultural Heritage , University of Bologna , Ravenna , Italy
| | - Roberta Bodega
- a Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy
| | - Sara De Fanti
- a Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy
| | - Stefania Sarno
- a Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy
| | - Manuel Fondevila Alvarez
- c Instituto de Ciencias Forenses 'Luis Concheiro' , University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela , Galicia , Spain
| | - Francesca Brisighelli
- d Sezione di Medicina Legale-Istituto di Sanità Pubblica , Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore , Roma , Italy
| | - Beniamino Trombetta
- e Department of Biology and Biotechnology 'Charles Darwin' , Sapienza University , Rome , Italy
| | - Paolo Anagnostou
- f Department of Environmental Biology , University of Rome 'La Sapienza' , Rome , Italy.,g ISItA, Istituto Italiano di Antropologia , Rome , Italy
| | - Gianmarco Ferri
- h Department of Diagnostic and Clinical Medicine and Public Health , University of Modena and Reggio Emilia , Modena , Italy
| | - Antonino Vazzana
- b Department of Cultural Heritage , University of Bologna , Ravenna , Italy
| | - Chiara Delpino
- i Superintendence of Archaeological Heritage of Marche Region , Ancona , Italy
| | - Giorgio Gruppioni
- b Department of Cultural Heritage , University of Bologna , Ravenna , Italy
| | - Donata Luiselli
- a Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences , University of Bologna , Bologna , Italy
| | - Elisabetta Cilli
- b Department of Cultural Heritage , University of Bologna , Ravenna , Italy
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Comparison of two Neolithic mtDNA haplotypes from a Czech excavation site with the results of mitochondrial DNA studies on European Neolithic and Mesolithic individuals. FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL GENETICS SUPPLEMENT SERIES 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigss.2017.09.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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