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The bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis gave rise to devastating outbreaks throughout human history, and ancient DNA evidence has shown it afflicted human populations as far back as the Neolithic. Y. pestis genomes recovered from the Eurasian Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (LNBA) period have uncovered key evolutionary steps that led to its emergence from a Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-like progenitor; however, the number of reconstructed LNBA genomes are too few to explore its diversity during this critical period of development. Here, we present 17 Y. pestis genomes dating to 5,000 to 2,500 y BP from a wide geographic expanse across Eurasia. This increased dataset enabled us to explore correlations between temporal, geographical, and genetic distance. Our results suggest a nonflea-adapted and potentially extinct single lineage that persisted over millennia without significant parallel diversification, accompanied by rapid dispersal across continents throughout this period, a trend not observed in other pathogens for which ancient genomes are available. A stepwise pattern of gene loss provides further clues on its early evolution and potential adaptation. We also discover the presence of the flea-adapted form of Y. pestis in Bronze Age Iberia, previously only identified in in the Caucasus and the Volga regions, suggesting a much wider geographic spread of this form of Y. pestis. Together, these data reveal the dynamic nature of plague’s formative years in terms of its early evolution and ecology.

[Significance] The bacterium Yersinia pestis has caused numerous historically documented outbreaks of plague and research using ancient DNA could demonstrate that it already affected human populations during the Neolithic. However, the pathogen’s genetic diversity, geographic spread, and transmission dynamics during this early period of Y. pestis evolution are largely unexplored. Here, we describe a set of ancient plague genomes up to 5,000 y old from across Eurasia. Our data demonstrate that two genetically distinct forms of Y. pestis evolved in parallel and were both distributed across vast geographic distances, potentially occupying different ecological niches. Interpreted within the archeological context, our results suggest that the spread of plague during this period was linked to increased human mobility and intensification of animal husbandry., The bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis gave rise to devastating outbreaks throughout human history, and ancient DNA evidence has shown it afflicted human populations as far back as the Neolithic. Y. pestis genomes recovered from the Eurasian Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age (LNBA) period have uncovered key evolutionary steps that led to its emergence from a Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-like progenitor; however, the number of reconstructed LNBA genomes are too few to explore its diversity during this critical period of development. Here, we present 17 Y. pestis genomes dating to 5,000 to 2,500 y BP from a wide geographic expanse across Eurasia. This increased dataset enabled us to explore correlations between temporal, geographical, and genetic distance. Our results suggest a nonflea-adapted and potentially extinct single lineage that persisted over millennia without significant parallel diversification, accompanied by rapid dispersal across continents throughout this period, a trend not observed in other pathogens for which ancient genomes are available. A stepwise pattern of gene loss provides further clues on its early evolution and potential adaptation. We also discover the presence of the flea-adapted form of Y. pestis in Bronze Age Iberia, previously only identified in in the Caucasus and the Volga regions, suggesting a much wider geographic spread of this form of Y. pestis. Together, these data reveal the dynamic nature of plague’s formative years in terms of its early evolution and ecology., This study was funded by the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean and the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement 771234 – PALEoRIDER (to W.H.), 856453 – HistoGenes (to J.K.), and 834616 – ARCHCAUCASUS (to S.H.). The Heidelberg Academy of Science financed the genetic and archeological research on human individuals from the Augsburg region within the project WIN Kolleg: “Times of Upheaval: Changes of Society and Landscape at the Beginning of the Bronze Age. M.E. was supported by the award “Praemium Academiae” of the Czech Academy of Sciences. M.D. was supported by the project RVO 67985912 of the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague. I.O. was supported by the Ramón y Cajal grant from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spanish Government (RYC2019-027909-I). A. H€ubner was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Germany’s Excellence Strategy (EXC 2051 – Project-ID 390713860). J.F.-E. and J.A.M.-A. were supported by the Diputación Foral de Alava, IT 1223-19, Gobierno Vasco. A. Buzhilova was supported by the Center of Information Technologies and Systems (CITIS), Moscow, Russia 121041500329-0. L. M., L.B.D., and E. Khussainova were supported by the Grant AP08856654, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A. Beisenov was supported by the Grant AP08857177, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Objectives Dental calculus is among the richest known sources of ancient DNA in the archaeological record. Although most DNA within calculus is microbial, it has been shown to contain sufficient human DNA for the targeted retrieval of whole mitochondrial genomes. Here, we explore whether calculus is also a viable substrate for whole human genome recovery using targeted enrichment techniques. Materials and methods Total DNA extracted from 24 paired archaeological human dentin and calculus samples was subjected to whole human genome enrichment using in-solution hybridization capture and high-throughput sequencing. Results Total DNA from calculus exceeded that of dentin in all cases, and although the proportion of human DNA was generally lower in calculus, the absolute human DNA content of calculus and dentin was not significantly different. Whole genome enrichment resulted in up to four-fold enrichment of the human endogenous DNA content for both dentin and dental calculus libraries, albeit with some loss in complexity. Recovering more on-target reads for the same sequencing effort generally improved the quality of downstream analyses, such as sex and ancestry estimation. For nonhuman DNA, comparison of phylum-level microbial community structure revealed few differences between precapture and postcapture libraries, indicating that off-target sequences in human genome-enriched calculus libraries may still be useful for oral microbiome reconstruction. Discussion While ancient human dental calculus does contain endogenous human DNA sequences, their relative proportion is low when compared with other skeletal tissues. Whole genome enrichment can help increase the proportion of recovered human reads, but in this instance enrichment efficiency was relatively low when compared with other forms of capture. We conclude that further optimization is necessary before the method can be routinely applied to archaeological samples. H2020 European Research Council, Grant/Award Number: 319209; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Grant/Award Number: 649307DK-TAF 5662; National Science Foundation, Grant/Award Number: BCS 1516633, BCS-1528698

The Museo Egizio in Turin holds a unique collection of 116 mummified or skeletal human bodies or body parts. This collection is currently under study by the "Mummy Conservation Project", a collaborative venture of the Museo Egizio, the Institute for Mummy Studies of Eurac Research, the Soprintendenza Archeologia del Piemonte, and the Horus Group, whose aim is to improve mummy conservation techniques. In the context of this project, an assessment of the state of preservation of the mummified human remains was carried out by monitoring basic physical parameters (temperature, relative humidity and water activity) and by performing a fungal survey. The latter revealed the presence on the mummified material of fungal spores and mycelia that could possibly pose a biodegradative threat. However, all the current physical parameters show that the mummies are stored under optimal environmental conditions, which will suppress any microbial up-growth. ملخص البحث: يحتوي المتحف المصري في تورينو على مجموعة فريدة تضمّ 116 قطعة ما بين مومياوات بشرية محنطة أو هياكل عظمية أو أجزاء بشرية محنطة. حالياً هذه المجموعة قيد الدراسة من قبل "مشروع الحفاظ على المومياوات"، هو مشروع تعاوني ما بين المتحف المصري ومعهد دراسات المومياء لأبحاث يوراك ومكتب الحفاظ على التراث الأثري في مقاطعة بييمونتي ومجموعة حورس، التي تهدف إلى تحسين تقنيات الحفاظ على المومياوات. في نطاق هذا المشروع، تم تقييم حالة الحفظ للبقايا البشرية المحنطة من خلال مراقبة العوامل الفيزيائية الأساسية (درجة الحرارة والرطوبة النسبية ونشاط الجزيئات المائية) وإجراء مسح للفطور. كشفت هذه الأخيرة عن وجود فطور وبكتريات فطرية على المواد المحنطة والتي يمكن أن تشكل تهديداً بالتحلل الحيوي. ومع ذلك تظهر جميع المقاييس الفيزيائية الحالية أن المومياوات يتم تخزينها في ظل ظروف بيئية مثالية، والتي سوف تثبط أي نمو للميكروبات.

Recent advances in the recovery and analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) and application of isotopic analysis of tissue obtained from mummified human remains has been accompanied by continued advances in non-invasive imaging using X-ray computed tomography (CT) and use of minimally invasive surgical techniques employing small fibre-optic endoscopes. We used these state-of-the-art techniques to examine ancient Egyptian mummies in the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection of Berlin, obtaining bone samples for aDNA, stable isotope analyses and radiocarbon dating. CT and endoscopic guidance were applied to locate and biopsy bones using pre-existing access points in order to avoid any further damage to the precious specimens. Here we provide guidelines to obtain bone samples of fully wrapped mummies in a minimally invasive way, by using a combination of computed tomography and endoscopic guided biopsy.

Radiographic imaging has always been a cornerstone for paleopathologic diagnostics. We here provide a brief history of its use and we discuss the basic technical principles and terminology. Specifically, we illustrate how several diseases appear on X-rays and CT, including taphonomic alterations as distinguished from vital changes. We also address certain borderline pathologic conditions, which are often considered when compiling a general health profile from a skeleton and which rely on radiography. Finally, the chapter will also address the use of certain other imaging modalities.

Since the Bronze Age, pastoralism has been a dominant subsistence mode on the Western steppe, but the origins of this tradition on the Eastern steppe are poorly understood. Here we investigate a putative early pastoralist population in northern Mongolia and find that dairy production was established on the Eastern steppe by 1300 BCE. Milk proteins preserved in dental calculus indicate an early focus on Western domesticated ruminants rather than local species, but genetic ancestry analysis indicates minimal admixture with Western steppe herders, suggesting that dairy pastoralism was introduced through adoption by local hunter-gatherers rather than population replacement.Recent paleogenomic studies have shown that migrations of Western steppe herders (WSH) beginning in the Eneolithic (ca. 3300–}2700 BCE) profoundly transformed the genes and cultures of Europe and central Asia. Compared with Europe, however, the eastern extent of this WSH expansion is not well defined. Here we present genomic and proteomic data from 22 directly dated Late Bronze Age burials putatively associated with early pastoralism in northern Mongolia (ca. 1380{–975 BCE). Genome-wide analysis reveals that they are largely descended from a population represented by Early Bronze Age hunter-gatherers in the Baikal region, with only a limited contribution (˜7%) of WSH ancestry. At the same time, however, mass spectrometry analysis of dental calculus provides direct protein evidence of bovine, sheep, and goat milk consumption in seven of nine individuals. No individuals showed molecular evidence of lactase persistence, and only one individual exhibited evidence of gt;10% WSH ancestry, despite the presence of WSH populations in the nearby Altai-Sayan region for more than a millennium. Unlike the spread of Neolithic farming in Europe and the expansion of Bronze Age pastoralism on the Western steppe, our results indicate that ruminant dairy pastoralism was adopted on the Eastern steppe by local hunter-gatherers through a process of cultural transmission and minimal genetic exchange with outside groups.

Dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) is prevalent in archaeological skeletal collections and is a rich source of oral microbiome and host-derived ancient biomolecules. Recently, it has been proposed that dental calculus may provide a more robust environment for DNA preservation than other skeletal remains, but this has not been systematically tested. In this study, shotgun-sequenced data from paired dental calculus and dentin samples from 48 globally distributed individuals are compared using a metagenomic approach. Overall, we find DNA from dental calculus is consistently more abundant and less contaminated than DNA from dentin. The majority of DNA in dental calculus is microbial and originates from the oral microbiome; however, a small but consistent proportion of DNA (mean 0.08 ± 0.08%, range 0.007–0.47%) derives from the host genome. Host DNA content within dentin is variable (mean 13.70 ± 18.62%, range 0.003–70.14%), and for a subset of dentin samples (15.21%), oral bacteria contribute > 20% of total DNA. Human DNA in dental calculus is highly fragmented, and is consistently shorter than both microbial DNA in dental calculus and human DNA in paired dentin samples. Finally, we find that microbial DNA fragmentation patterns are associated with guanine-cytosine (GC) content, but not aspects of cellular structure.

Age estimation methods are often based on the age-related morphological changes of the auricular surface and the pubic bone. In this study, a mathematical approach to quantify these changes has been tested analyzing the curvature variation on 3D models from CT and laser scans. The sample consisted of the 24 Suchey–Brooks (SB) pubic bone casts, 19 auricular surfaces from the Buckberry and Chamberlain (BC) “recording kit” and 98 pelvic bones from the Terry Collection (Smithsonian Institution). Strong and moderate correlations between phases and curvature were found in SB casts (q 0.60–0.93) and BC “recording kit” (q 0.47–0.75), moderate and weak correlations in the Terry Collection bones (pubic bones: q 0.29–0.51, auricular surfaces: q 0.33– 0.50) but associated with large individual variability and overlap of curvature values between adjacent decades. The new procedure, requiring no expert judgment from the operator, achieved similar correlations that can be found in the classic methods.

Paleogenetics offers a unique opportunity to study human evolution, population dynamics, and disease evolution in situ. Although histologic and computed x-ray tomographic investigations of ancient mummies have clearly shown that atherosclerosis has been present in humans for more than 5,000 years, limited data are available on the presence of genetic predisposition for cardiovascular disease in ancient human populations. In a previous whole-genome study of the Tyrolean Iceman, a 5,300-year-old glacier mummy from the Alps, an increased risk for coronary heart disease was detected. The Iceman's genome revealed several single nucleotide polymorphisms that are linked with cardiovascular disease in genome-wide association studies. Future genetic studies of ancient humans from various geographic origins and time periods have the potential to provide more insights into the presence and possible changes of genetic risk factors in our ancestors. The study of ancient humans and a better understanding of the interaction between environmental and genetic influences on the development of heart diseases may lead to a more effective prevention and treatment of the most common cause of death in the modern world.HighlightsOldest evidence on the presence of genetic predisposition for cardiovascular disease in the 5,300-year-old Tyrolean Iceman.Future genetic studies of ancient humans have the potential to provide more insights into the presence and possible changes of genetic risk factors in our ancestors.The study of ancient humans and a better understanding of the interaction between environmental and genetic influences on the development of heart diseases may lead to more effective prevention and treatment.

Metabolic disorders, such as scurvy, manifested in human skeletal remains provide insight into health, nutrition, and environmental quality in past populations. Porous cranial vault lesions are often used to diagnose metabolic conditions in subadult remains, but overlapping gross lesion expressions have led to over-diagnosis of anemia and under-diagnosis of scurvy. Studies by Ortner and colleagues have suggested that specific porous cranial lesions are pathognomonic of scurvy, but additional diagnostic tools are necessary. In this technical report, we offer a preliminary assessment of cranial vault thickness (CVT) at the site of porous lesions (sensu lato porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia) as a method for distinguishing between scurvy and anemia in subadult crania. Computed Tomography (CT) was used to measure CVT at various landmarks associated with porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia, complemented by lesion scores, from scorbutic (N=11), anemic (N=3), and non-pathological (N=28) subadult crania used as a control group. Results indicate that CVT consistently distinguishes scorbutic from non-pathological individuals, while anemic individuals overlap with both - likely a function of small sample size in this study. Despite current limitations, CVT has the potential to be an objective diagnostic tool for distinguishing scurvy and expanding reconstructions of nutritional adequacy over the life course in past populations.

Summary Background Conventional coronary artery disease risk factors might potentially explain at least 90% of the attributable risk of coronary artery disease. To better understand the association between the pre-industrial lifestyle and low prevalence of coronary artery disease risk factors, we examined the Tsimane, a Bolivian population living a subsistence lifestyle of hunting, gathering, fishing, and farming with few cardiovascular risk factors, but high infectious inflammatory burden. Methods We did a cross-sectional cohort study including all individuals who self-identified as Tsimane and who were aged 40 years or older. Coronary atherosclerosis was assessed by coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring done with non-contrast CT in Tsimane adults. We assessed the difference between the Tsimane and 6814 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). CAC scores higher than 100 were considered representative of significant atherosclerotic disease. Tsimane blood lipid and inflammatory biomarkers were obtained at the time of scanning, and in some patients, longitudinally. Findings Between July 2, 2014, and Sept 10, 2015, 705 individuals, who had data available for analysis, were included in this study. 596 (85%) of 705 Tsimane had no CAC, 89 (13%) had CAC scores of 1–100, and 20 (3%) had CAC scores higher than 100. For individuals older than age 75 years, 31 (65%) Tsimane presented with a CAC score of 0, and only four (8%) had CAC scores of 100 or more, a five-fold lower prevalence than industrialised populations (p≤0·0001 for all age categories of MESA). Mean LDL and HDL cholesterol concentrations were 2·35 mmol/L (91 mg/dL) and 1·0 mmol/L (39·5 mg/dL), respectively; obesity, hypertension, high blood sugar, and regular cigarette smoking were rare. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein was elevated beyond the clinical cutoff of 3·0 mg/dL in 360 (51%) Tsimane participants. Interpretation Despite a high infectious inflammatory burden, the Tsimane, a forager-horticulturalist population of the Bolivian Amazon with few coronary artery disease risk factors, have the lowest reported levels of coronary artery disease of any population recorded to date. These findings suggest that coronary atherosclerosis can be avoided in most people by achieving a lifetime with very low LDL, low blood pressure, low glucose, normal body-mass index, no smoking, and plenty of physical activity. The relative contributions of each are still to be determined. Funding National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health; St Luke's Hospital of Kansas City; and Paleocardiology Foundation.

Patients with normal myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) have a good prognosis. However, pre-clinical coronary and extracoronary atherosclerosis may exist in the absence of myocardial ischemia. 154 Egyptian patients (mean age 53 years) underwent whole-body non-contrast CT following normal MPI. Atherosclerosis in the form of calcification was observed in ≥1 vascular bed in 115 of 154 (75%) patients. This included the iliofemoral (62%), abdominal aorta (53%), thoracic aorta (47%), coronary (47%), and carotid (25%) vascular beds. Mean total body calcium score was 3172 ± 530 AU. Extracoronary atherosclerosis in patients with a zero coronary artery calcium (CAC) score was common, occurring in the above-listed beds 42%, 36%, 29%, and 7% of the time, respectively. CAC was rarely present without iliofemoral or abdominal aortic calcification. Quantitative assessment of calcification in different vascular beds demonstrates that extracoronary atherosclerosis is common in patients who have normal MPI. Atherosclerotic calcifications are most common in the iliofemoral arteries and abdominal aorta, which typically predate coronary calcifications. An imaging strategy to detect extracoronary atherosclerosis could lead to greater understanding of the natural history of atherosclerosis in its long pre-clinical phase and possibly to earlier preventive strategies.

Two Portuguese naus from Vasco da Gama's second voyage to India, left behind to disrupt maritime trade between India and the Red Sea, were wrecked in May 1503 off the north-eastern coast of Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman. The ships, Esmeralda and Sao Pedro, had been commanded by da Gama's maternal uncles, Vicente and Bras Sodre, respectively. A detailed study and scientific analysis of an artefact assemblage recovered during archaeological excavations conducted in Al Hallaniyah in 2013 and 2014 confirms the location of an early 16th-century Portuguese wreck-site, initially discovered in 1998. Esmeralda is proposed as the probable source of the remaining, un-salved wreckage.

The role of the distinctive Mongolian Bronze Age mounds (khirigsuurs) has been debated for many years with authors divided over their funerary role. Interpretation of the presence or absence of human bone has been central to this debate. In this paper, we undertake a systematic analysis of human taphonomy at the Khovsgol site to explain why mounds appear “empty”. In doing so we demonstrate a strong statistical relationship between the preservation of human bone and intrinsic circumstances related to the mound locations and the age of the deceased. In contrast, patterns of disarticulation are strongly correlated with human disturbance of graves post-mortem. We argue that statistical analysis of burials, recognising the continuity of potential preservation from nil to complete serves to explain the relative importance of taphonomic agents but allows for predictive analysis of where remains are most likely to be preserved. Such approaches are important in shifting studies of human taphonomy from a descriptive to analytical endeavour.

This study presents the results of an isotopic analysis of nine naturally mummified individuals—three adults, two adolescents, one juvenile, and three infants—recovered from the Hets Mountain Cave site in southern Mongolia, where they had been secondarily deposited. All of the individuals show evidence of violent perimortem trauma, but no skeletal indicators of nutritional or disease-related stress. Multi-isotopic data (δ 13 C, δ 15 N, δ 18 O, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, and 20 n Pb/ 204 Pb) were characterized in multiple tissues from each individual when possible, in order to reconstruct diet composition and residential origin at different points in life. Specifically, δ 13 C and δ 15 N in bone carbonate and collagen ( N = 8) and hair keratin ( N = 4) were coupled with enamel carbonate δ 18 O and δ 13 C ( N = 3) and enamel 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, and 20 n Pb/ 204 Pb ( N = 3) to assess diet and residential mobility in relation to skeletal indicators of health and trauma. Results are consistent with a persistence of mixed C 3 /C 4 pastoral subsistence and general stability of diet composition over the life course, in contrast to contemporary accounts of widespread famine and a dependence on grains imported from China throughout the region. However, results also suggest that at least some individuals may have migrated to this region of southern Mongolia from elsewhere during life, meaning that their dietary isotopic profiles may not represent local subsistence patterns near the Hets Mountain Cave site. Overall, these results speak to the utility of life course oriented multi-isotopic analysis in complementing more top-down historical analyses in understanding variation in subsistence, nutrition, and migration in regions undergoing significant political and economic turmoil.

Several intracranial pathological conditions can affect the bones of the skull. The most common cause of these conditions is tumor, but infection and other diseases are also known to affect the bones of the skull. Distinguishing between the various causes of intracranial skeletal pathology in archaeological human remains is usually a challenging exercise, and a specific diagnosis will often be impossible. Meningiomas are tumors that arise in arachnoid tissues embedded in the outer layer of the dura. Because of this association, they occur almost exclusively in the skull and vertebral column. Usually meningiomas are slow-growing tumors that do not metastasize to other organs and tissues of the body. However, rare cases can be malignant and, even when meningiomas are benign, their presence and growth can adversely affect the nervous and vascular supply to other tissues in the skull and vertebral column. Their effect on adjacent bone tissue varies from stimulating bone-forming lesions to causing highly destructive lesions. A few examples of meningioma have been described in the paleopathological literature. Most of these cases are bone-stimulating meningiomas. The case presented here is a probable example of a highly destructive meningioma of the skull base, with unilateral extension into the left side of the cranium. This case is compared with a modern clinical case of destructive intracranial meningioma that was documented both radiographically and pathologically. Destructive meningiomas can be confused with other pathological conditions, including benign and malignant tumors. Criteria for differentiating the diagnostic options are reviewed.

Thoracic aortic calcium (TAC) is thought to be a manifestation of atherosclerosis with risk factors similar to those for CAD. To better understand TAC, we examined the Tsimane, a remote Bolivian Amazonian population with few CV factors and the lowest recorded levels of coronary artery calcium (CAC

Background Evidence of atherosclerotic plaques in ancient populations has led to the reconsideration of risk factors for heart disease and of the common belief that it is a disease of modern times. Methods Fifty-one wrapped mummy bundles excavated from the sites of Huallamarca, Pedreros, and Rinconada La Molina from the Puruchuco Museum collection in Lima, Peru, were scanned using computed tomography to investigate the presence of atherosclerosis. Funerary artifacts contained within the undisturbed mummy bundles were analyzed as an attempt to infer the social status of the individuals to correlate social status with evidence of heart disease in this ancient Peruvian group. This work also provides an inventory of the museum mummy collection to guide and facilitate future research. Results Statistical analysis concluded that there is little association between the types of grave goods contained within the bundles when the groups are pooled together. However, some patterns of artifact type, material, atherosclerosis, and sex emerge when the 3 excavation sites are analyzed separately. Conclusions From the current sample, it would seem that social class is difficult to discern, but those from Huallamarca have the most markers of elite status. We had hypothesized that higher-status individuals may have had lifestyles that would place them at a higher risk for atherogenesis. There seems to be some indication of this within the site of Huallamarca, but it is inconclusive in the other 2 archeological sites. It is possible that a larger sample size in the future could reveal more statistically significant results.

The large brain of modern cetaceans has engendered much hypothesizing about both the intelligence of cetaceans (dolphins, whales, and porpoises) and the factors related to the evolution of such large brains. Despite much interest in cetacean brain evolution, until recently there have been few estimates of brain mass and/or brain–body weight ratios in fossil cetaceans. In the present study, computed tomography (CT) was used to visualize and estimate endocranial volume, as well as to calculate level of encephalization, for two fully aquatic mid-late Eocene archaeocete species, Dorudon atrox and Zygorhiza kochii. The specific objective was to address more accurately and more conclusively the question of whether relative brain size in fully aquatic archaeocetes was greater than that of their hypothesized sister taxon Mesonychia. The findings suggest that there was no increase in encephalization between Mesonychia and these archaeocete species.

Case reports from Johan Czermak, Marc Ruffer, and others a century or more ago demonstrated ancient Egyptians had atherosclerosis three millennia ago. The Horus study team extended their findings, demonstrating that atherosclerosis was prevalent among 76 ancient Egyptian mummies and among 61 mummies from each of the ancient cultures of Peru, the American Southwest, and the Aleutian Islands. These findings challenge the assumption that atherosclerosis is a modern disease caused by present day risk factors. An extensive autopsy of an ancient Egyptian teenage male weaver named Nakht found that he was infected with four parasites: Schistosoma haematobium, Taenia species, Trichinella spiralis, and Plasmodium falciparum. Modern day patients with chronic inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and human immunodeficiency virus experience premature atherosclerosis. Could the burden of chronic inflammatory disease have been a risk factor for atherosclerosis in these ancient cultures? The prevalence of atherosclerosis in four diverse ancient cultures is consistent with atherosclerosis being fundamental to aging. The impact of risk factors in modern times, and potentially in ancient times, suggests a strong gene-environmental interplay: human genes provide a vulnerability to atherosclerosis, the environment determines when and if atherosclerosis becomes manifest clinically.

Although atherosclerosis is widely thought to be a disease of modernity, computed tomographic evidence of atherosclerosis has been found in the bodies of a large number of mummies. This article reviews the findings of atherosclerotic calcifications in the remains of ancient people—humans who lived across a very wide span of human history and over most of the inhabited globe. These people had a wide range of diets and lifestyles and traditional modern risk factors do not thoroughly explain the presence and easy detectability of this disease. Nontraditional risk factors such as the inhalation of cooking fire smoke and chronic infection or inflammation might have been important atherogenic factors in ancient times. Study of the genetic and environmental risk factors for atherosclerosis in ancient people may offer insights into this common modern disease.

Twelve skeletal samples, previously published, from the Arabian Gulf have been used to trace differences in diet and subsistence patterns through an analysis of dental pathology. The skeletons date from 3,000 BC to AD 1,500 and cover a variety of geographical locations: off-shore islands, Eastern Arabia, and Oman. The dental conditions analyzed are attrition, caries, calculus, abscessing, and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL). Results indicate four basic patterns of dental disease which, while not mutually exclusive, correspond to four basic subsistence patterns. Marine dependency, represented by the Ras el-Hamra population, is indicated by severe attrition, low caries rates, wear-caused abscessing, and a lack of AMTL. The second group of dental diseases--moderate attrition and calculus, low rates of caries, wear-caused abscessing, and low-moderate rates of AMTL--affects populations subsisting on a mixture of pastoralism or fishing and agriculture (Failaka, Umm an-Nar, Bronze Age Maysar, Bronze Age Shimal, and Iron Age Galilah). Mixed farming populations (Iron Age Maysar and Islamic Bahrain) experienced low-moderate attrition, high rates of caries and calculus, abscessing due to caries, and severe AMTL. The final group of dental diseases affects populations practicing intensive gardening (Bronze and Iron Age Bahrain, and Sites 3 and 5, Ras al-Khaimah). These groups experienced slight attrition, high rates of caries, low rates of calculus deposition, and severe AMTL.

Gorillas are more closely related to each other than to any other extant primate and are all terrestrial knuckle-walkers, but taxa differ along a gradient of dietary strategies and the frequency of arboreality in their behavioral repertoire. In this study, we test the hypothesis that medial cuneiform morphology falls on a morphocline in gorillas that tracks function related to hallucial abduction ability and relative frequency of arboreality. This morphocline predicts that western gorillas, being the most arboreal, should display a medial cuneiform anatomy that reflects the greatest hallucial abduction ability, followed by grauer gorillas, and then by mountain gorillas. Using a three-dimensional methodology to measure angles between articular surfaces, relative articular and nonarticular areas, and the curvatures of the hallucial articular surface, the functional predictions are partially confirmed in separating western gorillas from both eastern gorillas. Western gorillas are characterized by a more medially oriented, proportionately larger, and more mediolaterally curved hallucial facet than are eastern gorillas. These characteristics follow the predictions for a more prehensile hallux in western gorillas relative to a more stable, plantigrade hallux in eastern gorillas. The characteristics that distinguish eastern gorilla taxa from one another appear unrelated to hallucial abduction ability or frequency of arboreality. In total, this reexamination of medial cuneiform morphology suggests differentiation between eastern and western gorillas due to a longstanding ecological divergence and more recent and possibly non-adaptive differences between eastern taxa.

We present a new international project to develop temporally and spatially calibrated agent-based models of the rise and fall of polities in Inner Asia (Central Eurasia) in the past 5,000 years. Gaps in theory, data, and computational models for explaining long-term sociopolitical change—both growth and decay—motivate this project. We expect three contributions: (1) new theoreticallygrounded simulation models validated and calibrated by the best available data; (2) a new long-term cross-cultural database with several data sets; and (3) new conceptual, theoretical, and methodological contributions for understanding social complexity and long-term change and adaptation in real and artificial societies. Our theoretical framework is based on explaining sociopolitical evolution by the process of “canonical variation”.

Several intracranial pathological conditions can affect the bones of the skull. The most common cause of these conditions is tumor, but infection and other diseases are also known to affect the bones of the skull. Distinguishing between the various causes of intracranial skeletal pathology in archaeological human remains is usually a challenging exercise, and a specific diagnosis will often be impossible. Meningiomas are tumors that arise in arachnoid tissues embedded in the outer layer of the dura. Because of this association, they occur almost exclusively in the skull and vertebral column. Usually meningiomas are slow-growing tumors that do not metastasize to other organs and tissues of the body. However, rare cases can be malignant and, even when meningiomas are benign, their presence and growth can adversely affect the nervous and vascular supply to other tissues in the skull and vertebral column. Their effect on adjacent bone tissue varies from stimulating bone-forming lesions to causing highly destructive lesions. A few examples of meningioma have been described in the paleopathological literature. Most of these cases are bone-stimulating meningiomas. The case presented here is a probable example of a highly destructive meningioma of the skull base, with unilateral extension into the left side of the cranium. This case is compared with a modern clinical case of destructive intracranial meningioma that was documented both radiographically and pathologically. Destructive meningiomas can be confused with other pathological conditions, including benign and malignant tumors. Criteria for differentiating the diagnostic options are reviewed.

Until recently, there have been relatively few studies of brain mass and morphology in fossil cetaceans (dolphins, whales, and porpoises) because of difficulty accessing the matrix that fills the endocranial cavity of fossil cetacean skulls. As a result, our knowledge about cetacean brain evolution has been quite limited. By applying the noninvasive technique of computed tomography (CT) to visualize, measure, and reconstruct the endocranial morphology of fossil cetacean skulls, we can gain vastly more information at an unprecedented rate about cetacean brain evolution. Here, we discuss our method and demonstrate it with several examples from our fossil cetacean database. This approach will provide new insights into the little-known evolutionary history of cetacean brain evolution.

Skeletal remains of four Dorset Palaeo-Eskimo individuals were found at Alarnerk (NhHd-1), Melville Peninsula, in 1954 by the joint Danish National Museum-University of Pennsylvania Expedition, which was excavating Dorset and pre-Dorset sites. These remains included one complete mandible, two fragmentary mandibles, and a cranial fragment. One of the mandibular fragments, found in a grave, was from a child approximately nine months old. The other remains were found in middens at the site. These remains add to the otherwise very sparse Dorset human material. Analysis of the dental morphology, as well as morphometric analysis of the complete mandible, shows Eskimoid characters and resemblance with later period Greenlandic human skeletal remains.

˜ ˜ ˜ ® n the summer of 2003, while Smithsonian physical anthropologist Bruno Frohlich was surveying burial mounds in the Hovsgol aimag (province), he was informed by Naran Bazarsad of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences that mass burials had been discovered earlier that year at Hambiin Ovoo outside Ulaanbaatar. The mass burials had been excavated by monks, but there were many concerns that the mass graves had not been documented adequately for historic and forensic purposes. A few miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, construction workers removing fill for housing construction had found the remains of many individuals with Buddhist monks’ clothing and religious objects. They notified the lamas at Ulaanbaatar’s Gandan Monastery, whose leader Lama Purevbat decided to have the monastery lamas retrieve as many bodies as possible and render Buddhist ceremonies and burial practices for the dead. The number of crania and femora (thigh bones) uncovered in their work suggested that the grave site contained more than 600 individuals. Following the removal of the bodies with large construction equipment, the lamas performed rituals for the dead and cremated the remains at the mass grave site. Subsequent negotiations between the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and Lama Purevbat and his associates from the Gandan Monastary resulted in a plan for continued excavation of the burial site at a later time through the application of modern forensic techniques and evidence collection. As part of this negotiation, Bruno Frohlich visited the Gandan Monastery where Lama Purevbat gave him a fascinating introduction to Buddhist mortuary practices, Buddhist anatomical learning, and the traditional treatment of human remains. The Mongolian Academy of Sciences agreed to coordinate with the Gandan Monastery and notify the Smithsonian Institution when the scientists could proceed with further study. A few months later, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences approved the continued documentation and investigation. Frohlich and Naran were to organize survey and excavation at the Hambiin Ovoo site with the assistance of Smithsonian physical anthropologist David Hunt and Erdene Batshatar, Tsend Amgalantugs, Enkhtur Altangerel, Batsukh Dunburee, and Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan from the Institute of Archeology and the National Museum of Mongolian History.

Computed tomographic findings of atherosclerosis in the ancient cultures of Egypt, Peru, the American Southwest and the Aleutian Islands challenge our understanding of the fundamental causes of atherosclerosis. Could these findings be true? Is so, what traditional risk factors might be present in these cultures that could explain this apparent paradox? The recent computed tomographic findings are consistent with multiple autopsy studies dating as far back as 1852 that demonstrate calcific atherosclerosis in ancient Egyptians and Peruvians. A nontraditional cause of atherosclerosis that could explain this burden of atherosclerosis is the microbial and parasitic inflammatory burden likely to be present in ancient cultures inherently lacking modern hygiene and antimicrobials. Patients with chronic systemic inflammatory diseases of today, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and human immunodeficiency virus infection, experience premature atherosclerosis and coronary events. Might the chronic inflammatory load of ancient times secondary to infection have resulted in atherosclerosis? Smoke inhalation from the use of open fires for daily cooking and illumination represents another potential cause. Undiscovered risk factors could also have been present, potential causes that technologically cannot currently be measured in our serum or other tissue. A synthesis of these findings suggests that a gene-environmental interplay is causal for atherosclerosis. That is, humans have an inherent genetic susceptibility to atherosclerosis, whereas the speed and severity of its development are secondary to known and potentially unknown environmental factors.

Fernand Braudel popularized the longue durée approach to scholarly investigation in the mid-20th century…

The microscopic method of age at death determination was introduced by Kerley in 1965. The method, which relies on the quantification of selected elements in cortical bone tissue, has been widely used, and several other researchers have modified or added to the method. Yet, very few studies have been carried out dealing with the intra- and inter-observer error. Furthermore, when such studies have been completed, the statistical tools for assessing variability have not been adequate. This study presents the results of applying simple quantitative statistics on several counts of microscopic elements as observed on photographic images of cortical bone, in order to assess intra- and inter-observer error. Overall, substantial error was present at the level of identifying and counting secondary osteons, osteon fragments and Haversian canals. Only secondary osteons can be reliably identified, precluding the use of osteon fragments and Haversian canals. The observers in this study included experienced and inexperienced users of the microscopic method, yet the variability was uniformly large for all observers, suggesting fundamental problems in definition and identification of the structural elements. Until more rigorous definitions of such elements have been agreed upon, the use of microscopical methods must be discouraged as a sole or uncontrolled method of evaluating age at death.

A prospective and comprehensive investigation was done on 73 medico-legal autopsies in alcoholics. The results of the toxicology analyses are described. Alcohol intoxication was the cause of death in 8%, combined alcohol/drug intoxication in 15% and drugs alone in 19%. Alcoholic ketoacidosis was found to be the cause of death in 7%. Altogether toxicology analyses were necessary for determining the cause of death in 51% of the cases. In four cases the cause of death would not have been found, had this investigation not been made. It is concluded that toxicology analyses should be the rule rather than the exception in deaths in alcoholics.

The frequency of drug, alcohol and combined alcohol/drug intoxication in forensic autopsy material is described. Alcoholics had frequently abused drugs; the cause of death was drug intoxication in 12%, combined alcohol/drug intoxication in 13%, and alcohol intoxication only in 4%. The manner of death was different in the various groups as it was almost equally stated as accident, suicide and unascertainable, respectively, with only drugs involved, whereas accidents were the predominant features in the combined alcohol/drug intoxication among alcoholics. In controls, accidents predominated on both types of intoxication. The alcoholics seemed to be more 'deliberately' choosing suicide with drugs, while both alcoholics and controls need more information with regard to the dangers of mixing alcohol and drugs. The frequency of combined alcohol and drug intoxication was much higher in alcoholics.

Since 1977, the Smithsonian Institution has had a major research program on the human biological history of the Near East. As part of this program, electromagnetic (EM) surveying methods have been extensively used to identify anomalies of potential archaeological significance below the surface. An EM-31 noncontacting terrain conductivity meter was used in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Egypt with excellent results. In addition to the successful application of EM equipment to archaeological problems, we investigated the equipment’s response to changing environmental and climatic conditions. We have developed efficient methods for recording EM data. The following results were obtained. Recording accuracy is better than previously reported (0.97 percent repeatability error between two observers); the degree of accuracy is primarily a function of operator error and less a function of equipment reliability; and the EM-31 produces helpful, highly reproducible results in the arid and semiarid environment of the Middle East.

Three human skeletal collections from Bahrain, dating to the Middle Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Middle Islamic Period, are used to trace differences in diet and subsistence patterns through an analysis of dental pathology. The dental conditions recorded are attrition, caries, calculus, periodontal disease, antemortem tooth loss and dental fluorosis. Results indicate few changes in the diet between the Middle Bronze and Iron Ages, suggesting an agricultural based diet of non-abrasive food and a high intake of fermentable carbohydrates. In contrast, the diet of the Middle Islamic Period was more varied and abrasive, probably with higher intakes of meat, fish and grain products. The results compare favorably with a model of land use patterns already proposed for the island., Trois collections de squelettes humains, datant du Bronze Moyen, du Fer et de l'Islamique Moyen, sont utilisées pour établir les différences dans l'alimentation et les moyens de subsistance qui peuvent apparaître à l'analyse de la pathologie dentaire. L'examen dentaire laisse apparaître usure, caries, calculs, gengivite, perte de dents antemortem, et imprégnation de fluor au niveau dentaire. Les résultats révèlent peu de changement dans les habitudes alimentaires entre le Bronze Moyen et le Fer, ce qui laisse supposer un régime basé sur la culture de plantes alimentaires non abrasives et une consommation importante d'hydrates de carbone fermentables. Par opposition, le régime durant l'Islamique Moyen semble avoir été plus varié et abrasif, dû probablement à une consommation plus importante de viande, poisson et céréales. Les résultats obtenus soutiennent la comparaison avec un modèle de schémas d'utilisation des sols déjà proposés pour l'île., Littleton Judith, Frohlich Bruno. An Analysis of dental pathology and diet on historic Bahrain. In: Paléorient, 1989, vol. 15, n°2. pp. 59-75.