Patrice Courtaud

Where are the Caribs? Ancient DNA from ceramic period human remains in the Lesser Antilles.

The identity and history of the indigenous groups who occupied the Lesser Antilles during the ceramic periods remain highly controversial. Although recent archaeological evidence has challenged hypotheses concerning the organization of human groups in this region, more biological data are needed to fully inform the discussion. Our study provides, to our knowledge, the first palaeogenetic data for Late Ceramic groups of the Guadeloupe archipelago, yielding crucial information concerning the identities of these groups. Despite the generally poor DNA preservation in the tested remains, we were able to retrieve Hypervariable Region 1 sequences from 11 individuals and mitochondrial single-nucleotide polymorphisms from 13 individuals. These novel data provide interesting preliminary results in favour of a common origin for all Saladoid Caribbean communities, i.e. the first ceramic groups of the region, as well as for a local continuity between the Saladoid and post-Saladoid groups. A combination of the genetic data obtained and several pieces of cultural evidence allows us to propose that two different groups inhabited the Guadeloupe archipelago during the Late Ceramic period, with the possible occupation of the La Désirade and Marie-Galante islands by groups affiliated with the Taíno communities. The working hypotheses proposed here appear consistent with recent archaeological evidence.

In situ study of the Gravettian individual from Cussac cave, locus 2 (Dordogne, France)

OBJECTIVES Cussac cave, discovered in 2000, is characterized by the exceptional presence of monumental engravings and human remains deposited in bear nests. Both the style of the art and a direct radiocarbon date indicate a Gravettian age. As the cave is protected as a national heritage site, only very limited access to and restricted direct interventions involving the human remains are possible. Here, we present the results of observations and measurements of Cussac L2A, represented by a virtually complete skeleton covered with a layer of clay. MATERIALS AND METHODS A portion of the clay that covered some bones was removed in order to undertake a study of the skeleton in situ. The age-at-death was assessed using several indicators, especially changes on the auricular surface of the ilium. The sex was assessed using the morphology and morphometrics of the coxal bones. Cussac L2A stature, humero-femoral index, and crural index were also estimated. The dimensions of the Cussac L2A skeletal remains are compared with the other European Gravettian and Late Upper Paleolithic human remains using adjusted Z-Scores. RESULTS The analysis indicates that Cussac L2A is probably a male who died aged between 20 and 50 years. If the sex assessment is correct, with an averaged estimated stature of 1.64 m, Cussac L2A would be one of the shorter Gravettian males. DISCUSSION These results raise the importance of the new discoveries to better understand the variability of Upper Paleolithic skeletal morphology and stress the difficulties in marrying heritage preservation and scientific investigations.

The Maglemosian skeleton from Koelbjerg, Denmark revisited: identifying sex and provenance

ABSTRACT The Koelbjerg individual, dated c. 8500 cal BC, represents the earliest human skeletal remains described from Scandinavia. Based on ancient DNA, strontium isotope and statistical anthropological analyses the individual’s sex, haplogroup and geographical provenance are here analysed and discussed. In contrast to previous claims, our genetic and anthropological analyses show that this individual was a male. Additionally, the strontium isotope ratio of one of his first molars indicates that he most likely grew up locally.

La sépulture multiple laténienne du site de Gondole (Le Cendre, Puy-de-Dôme)

RésuméLa sépulture multiple du site de Gondole, découverte en 2002, est localisée sur la commune du Cendre, dans le Puy-de-Dôme, en Auvergne. Datée de la Tène D2, elle s’inscrit pleinement dans le contexte de la guerre des Gaules. Située au coeur du lieu de pouvoir arverne constitué par les oppidums de Corent, Gergovie et Gondole, la structure réunit huit chevaux dans sa partie ouest et huit hommes dans sa partie est. Il s’agit de sept adultes (dont un jeune adulte) et d’un sujet immature. Parmi les adultes, quatre hommes sont identifiés avec certitude. Les données biologiques fournissent des indices en faveur d’une unité cohérente et rend compte de nombreux traumatismes. L’ambiguïté du contexte de découverte de cette sépulture fait de cette pratique « en marge du funéraire et du religieux », le témoin d’un événement unique que nous ne pouvons totalement appréhender.AbstractThe mass burial at Gondole, discovered in 2002, is located in the town of Le Cendre in the Puy-de-Dôme in Auvergne (France). It is dated to La Tène D2 period, in the middle of the Gallic Wars, and lies in the heart of the centre of Arverni power, among the oppida of Corent, Gergovie and Gondole. The burial contained eight horses in its western part and eight human individuals in its eastern part. It comprises seven adults (including one young adult) and one child. Four of the adults are men. The biological data show evidence of a coherent unit and of numerous traumatic injuries. Because of the ambiguity of the context in which this burial was discovered, “in the margins of funerary and religious practice”, it may be considered as evidence of a unique event that we cannot fully understand at present.

Evidence for tuberculosis in 18th/19th century slaves in Anse Sainte-Marguerite (Guadeloupe – French Western Indies)

During the American colonization in the 18th and 19th century, Africans were captured and shipped to America. Harsh living and working conditions often led to chronic diseases and high mortality rates. Slaves in the Caribbean were forced to work mainly on sugar plantations. They were buried in cemeteries like Anse Sainte-Marguerite on the isle of Grande-Terre (Guadeloupe) which was examined by archaeologists and physical anthropologists. Morphological studies on osseous remains of 148 individuals revealed 15 cases with signs for bone tuberculosis and a high frequency of periosteal reactions which indicates early stages of the disease. 11 bone samples from these cemeteries were analysed for ancient DNA. The samples were extracted with established procedures and examined for the cytoplasmic multicopy β-actin gene and Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA (IS 6110) by PCR. An amplification product for M. tuberculosis with the size of 123 bp was obtained. Sequencing confirmed the result. This study shows evidence of M. tuberculosis complex DNA in a Caribbean slave population.