Jane E. Buikstra

Complete mitochondrial genomes of ancient canids suggest a European origin of domestic dogs

Dog Domestication The precise details of the domestication and origins of domestic dogs are unclear. Thalmann et al. (p. 871; see the cover) analyzed complete mitochondrial genomes from present-day dogs and wolves, as well as 18 fossil canids dating from 1000 to 36,000 years ago from the Old and New Worlds. The data suggest that an ancient, now extinct, central European population of wolves was directly ancestral to domestic dogs. Furthermore, several ancient dogs may represent failed domestication events. Ancient DNA suggests that dog domestication was complex and likely originated in Europe. The geographic and temporal origins of the domestic dog remain controversial, as genetic data suggest a domestication process in East Asia beginning 15,000 years ago, whereas the oldest doglike fossils are found in Europe and Siberia and date to >30,000 years ago. We analyzed the mitochondrial genomes of 18 prehistoric canids from Eurasia and the New World, along with a comprehensive panel of modern dogs and wolves. The mitochondrial genomes of all modern dogs are phylogenetically most closely related to either ancient or modern canids of Europe. Molecular dating suggests an onset of domestication there 18,800 to 32,100 years ago. These findings imply that domestic dogs are the culmination of a process that initiated with European hunter-gatherers and the canids with whom they interacted.

Status and gender differences in diet at Mound 72, Cahokia, revealed by isotopic analysis of bone

Abstract Cahokia Mound 72 contains 272 human burials dating to the Lohmann and early Stirling phases (ca. 1050–1150 AD) of the Mississippian period. Substantial status- and gender-related differences in burial style are apparent. Some burials are associated with large quantities of prestigious grave goods, suggesting high status. Mass graves of young adult females with skeletal indicators of poor health suggest low status and nutritional stress. Nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen show that high status individuals ate much more animal protein, but carbon isotope ratios of collagen suggest these individuals ate only ca. 10% less maize than lower status individuals. Apatite carbon isotopes show low status females ate ca. 60% more maize than high status individuals, which confirms the large nitrogen isotope difference of females in mass graves. These results indicate high and low status individuals had significantly different diet compositions and nutritional qualities. The stable isotope evidence supports paleopathological data for status-related differences in health, and dental morphological data for presumed genetic differences in origin. These data also provide insights into the nutrition- and health-related dimension of regional hierarchical organization of settlements and social inequality of this complex chiefdom in the greater Cahokia region.

Pre-Columbian mycobacterial genomes reveal seals as a source of New World human tuberculosis

Modern strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the Americas are closely related to those from Europe, supporting the assumption that human tuberculosis was introduced post-contact. This notion, however, is incompatible with archaeological evidence of pre-contact tuberculosis in the New World. Comparative genomics of modern isolates suggests that M. tuberculosis attained its worldwide distribution following human dispersals out of Africa during the Pleistocene epoch, although this has yet to be confirmed with ancient calibration points. Here we present three 1,000-year-old mycobacterial genomes from Peruvian human skeletons, revealing that a member of the M. tuberculosis complex caused human disease before contact. The ancient strains are distinct from known human-adapted forms and are most closely related to those adapted to seals and sea lions. Two independent dating approaches suggest a most recent common ancestor for the M. tuberculosis complex less than 6,000 years ago, which supports a Holocene dispersal of the disease. Our results implicate sea mammals as having played a role in transmitting the disease to humans across the ocean.

Soil PH, Bone Preservation, and Sampling Bias at Mortuary Sites

Prediction of human skeletal preservation at mortuary sites is important in archaeological research and in cultural resources management. In this study, correlations between osseous deterioration and soil acidity, as measured by pH, were found to be significant. Age-associated preservation biases were also evident. The use of multiple regression is suggested as a technique for estimating recovery of human osteological remains in archaeological context.

Fertility and the Development of Agriculture in the Prehistoric Midwest

In this article we develop and apply a method for estimatingfertility in paleodemographic study. The proportion D30+/D5+, generated from standard life table calculations, is used to estimate relative fertility rates for eight Woodland and Mississippian populations represented by skeletal series from west-central Illinois. The inferred pattern of fertility increase through time is then considered in the context of key variables that define diet, technology, and sedentism. We conclude that changes in diet or food preparation techniques are implicated in this demographic change. The absence of a significant increment in juvenile mortality in association with the elevatedfertility rates suggests that these changes infertility explin the regional population increase previously inferred from mortuary and habitation site densities.

Tiwanaku 'colonization' : bioarchaeological implications for migration in the Moquegua Valley, Peru

Abstract Nothing is more central to theories of prehispanic Andean state formation than the relationship between highland core areas and ecologically‐distinct peripheral regions. Various models, ranging from direct colonization to trade relations have been proposed and are usually grounded in architectural and material cultural patterning. We examine the human biological implications of colonization from the perspective of Tiwanaku, primarily during the expansive Tiwanaku IV and V periods (c. AD 500–1000). Using inherited skeletal features and artificial cranial deformation, we explore community patterning within the Titicaca Basin in comparison to that for the Moquegua (Middle Osmore) Valley, a region known to have strong cultural ties with the highland altiplano. Based in a sample of over 500 individuals, we test archaeologically‐derived models that posit mass migration into the Moquegua region. Our results are not inconsistent with a migration model.

Isotopic and archaeological interpretations of diet in the central mississippi valley

Abstract This study will compare archaeological and isotopic characterizations of diet, specifically the role of maize, for Woodland, Mississippian, and Oneota populations from the North American midcontinent. Archaeological interpretations have tended to associate maize dependence with the rise of major centres, such as Cahokia. These models, based upon volume and ubiquity of maize in village site middens and features, frequently contrast the key role of maize in regional centres with the situation in smaller, remote communities. Mississippian inhabitants of frontier villages, for instances, are assumed to be less maize-dependent than their counterparts in larger and more complex communities. Recent analyses of stable carbon isotope ratios have, however, called into question standard archaeological interpretations. A series of δ 13 C values that characterize the period of agricultural intensification in the central Mississippi and Illinois river valleys identifies significant maize dependence at locations some distance from Cahokia during its period of major regional influence. Time transgressive trends apparent in maize ubiquity for the Cahokia region also stand in contrast to those seen in diachronic sequences of δ 13 C values. In this paper, we present newly generated δ 13 C values for five sites from the central Mississippi and Illinois river regions. Archaeological and isotopic evidence for maize-dependence is evaluated for biases that may underlie the seeming contradictory diachronic and synchronic patterning evident in the two data sets.

Tuberculosis and Leprosy in Perspective

Two of humankinds most socially and psychologically devastating diseases, tuberculosis and leprosy, have been the subject of intensive paleopathological research due to their antiquity, a presumed association with human settlement and subsistence patterns, and their propensity to leave characteristic lesions on skeletal and mummified remains. Despite a long history of medical research and the development of effective chemotherapy, these diseases remain global health threats even in the 21st century, and as such, their causative agents Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae, respectively, have recently been the subject of molecular genetics research. The new genome-level data for several mycobacterial species have informed extensive phylogenetic analyses that call into question previously accepted theories concerning the origins and antiquity of these diseases. Of special note is the fact that all new models are in broad agreement that human TB predated that in other animals, including cattle and other domesticates, and that this disease originated at least 35,000 years ago and probably closer to 2.6 million years ago. In this work, we review current phylogenetic and biogeographic models derived from molecular biology and explore their implications for the global development of TB and leprosy, past and present. In so doing, we also briefly review the skeletal evidence for TB and leprosy, explore the current status of these pathogens, critically consider current methods for identifying ancient mycobacterial DNA, and evaluate coevolutionary models.

Bone diagenesis and dietary analysis

Alteration of buried bone through natural diagenesis can vitiate any analysis of ancient diet based on concentrations of inorganic elements. Consequently, several methods have been developed to assess the presence and extent of diagenetic effects. These include comparison of modern with excavated bone, comparison of different skeletal components such as rib with femur, examination of elemental content as a function of the age of the individual at death, elemental distribution across the bone cross section, analysis opf archeological soils, comparison of herbivores and carnivores, and analysis of isotope ratios. Strontium and zinc appear to be the least sensitive elements to diagenesis. Calcium and sodium may be lost through leaching but may still be useful in the dietary context. Magnesium and lead give mixed results by these tests and might be useful under certain circumstances. Iron, manganese, aluminium, potassium, copper, barium, vanadium, and uranium are particularly sensitive to diagnetic effects.

Cocaine and metabolites in the hair of ancient Peruvian coca leaf chewers.

Cocaine and its metabolites, benzoylecgonine (BZE) and ecgonine methylester (EME), were found in hair samples from ancient Peruvian coca-leaf chewers dating back to AD 1000. Hair was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to quantitate the concentrations. The two metabolites were found in higher concentration than the parent drug. The metabolite levels appear to be below that of modern cocaine abusers. Gender does not appear to be a factor in the incorporation of drug into hair.