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The Iron Age is characterized by an extended interweaving of movements by Celts in Europe. Several waves of Celts from Western and Central Europe migrated southeast and west from the core area of the La Téne culture (between Bourgogne and Bohemia). Through the analysis of non-metric dental traits, this work aims to understand the biological relationship among Celtic groups arrived in Italy and the Carpathian Basin, as well as between local populations and Celtic newcomers. A total of 10 non-metric dental traits were analyzed to evaluate biological affinities among Celts (Sopron-Krautacker and Pilismarót-Basaharc) and Scythians-related populations from Hungary (Tápiószele), Celts from continental Europe (Switzerland and Austria), two Iron Age Etruscan-Celtic sites from northern Italy (Monterenzio Vecchio and Monte Bibele), 13 Iron Age central-southern Italic necropolises, and the northern Italian Bronze Age necropolis of Scalvinetto. Strontium isotopes were measured on individuals from the necropolis of Monte Bibele to infer their local or non-local origin. Results highlight the existence of statistically significant differences between Celts and autochthonous Italian groups. Celtic groups from Hungary and Italy (i.e., non-local individuals of Monterenzio Vecchio and Monte Bibele) share a similar biological background, supporting the historical records mentioning a common origin for Celts migrated to the eastern and southern borders of today’s Europe. The presence of a supposed Steppean ancestry both in Celts from Hungary and Celts from northern Italy corroborates the hypothesis of the existence of a westward migration of individuals and genes from the Steppe towards northern Italy during the Bronze and Iron Age, which contributed to the biological variability of pre-Celtic and later Celtic populations, respectively. Conversely, individuals from central-southern Italy show an autochthonous pre-Iron Age background. Lastly, this work supports the existence of Celtic mi

The original version of this Article contained errors in the author list where Marjolein D. Bosch was omitted from the author list, and Mikołaj Urbanowski was incorrectly listed as an author of the original Article, and has subsequently been removed. The Author contributions section now reads: “S.T. W.N. and A.N. conceived the project; S.T., W.N., A.P., M.B., S.C., M.D., H.F., A.M., M.D. B., D.P., M.P.R., C.M.R., V.S-M., G.M.S., P.S., M.S., K.S., A.V., F.W., H.W., A.W., M.Z., S.B., A.N., J-J. H., performed research; S.T., A.P., W.N., M.B., M.D.B., S.C., M.D., H.F., A.M., D.P., M.P.R., C.M.R., V.S-M., G.M.S., P.S., M.S., K.S., A.V., F.W., H.W., A.W., M.Z., S.B., A.N., J-J. H. analysed all archaeological data; S.T. and A.P. wrote the paper with the collaboration of all the co-authors.” The original Article and its accompanying Supplementary Information file have been corrected.

We present the results of a multi-disciplinary investigation on a deciduous human tooth (Pradis 1), recently recovered from the Epigravettian layers of the Grotte di Pradis archaeological site (Northeastern Italian Prealps). Pradis 1 is an exfoliated deciduous molar (Rdm2), lost during life by an 11—12-year-old child. A direct radiocarbon date provided an age of 13,088—12,897 cal BP (95% probability, IntCal20). Amelogenin peptides extracted from tooth enamel and analysed through LC¿MS/MS indicate that Pradis 1 likely belonged to a male. Time-resolved 87Sr/86Sr analyses by laser ablation mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS), combined with dental histology, were able to resolve his movements during the first year of life (i.e. the enamel mineralization interval). Specifically, the Sr isotope ratio of the tooth enamel differs from the local baseline value, suggesting that the child likely spent his first year of life far from Grotte di Pradis. Sr isotopes are also suggestive of a cyclical/seasonal mobility pattern exploited by the Epigravettian human group. The exploitation of Grotte di Pradis on a seasonal, i.e. summer, basis is also indicated by the faunal spectra. Indeed, the nearly 100% occurrence of marmot remains in the entire archaeozoological collection indicates the use of Pradis as a specialized marmot hunting or butchering site. This work represents the first direct assessment of sub-annual movements observed in an Epigravettian hunter-gatherer group from Northern Italy.

[Objectives] During the middle-to-upper Paleolithic transition (50,000 and 40,000¿years ago), interaction between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens varied across Europe. In southern Italy, the association between Homo sapiens fossils and non-Mousterian material culture, as well as the mode and tempo of Neanderthal demise, are still vividly debated. In this research, we focus on the study of two human teeth by using 3D geometric morphometric approaches for a reliable taxonomical attribution as well as obtaining new radiometric dates on the archeological sequence., [Material and Methods] This work presents two lower deciduous molars uncovered at Roccia San Sebastiano (Mondragone-Caserta, Italy), stratigraphically associated with Mousterian (RSS1) and Uluzzian (RSS2) artifacts. To obtain a probabilistic attribution of the two RSS teeth to each reference taxa group composed of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, we performed and compared the performance of three supervised learning algorithms (flexible discriminant analysis, multiadaptive regression splines, and random forest) on both crown and cervical outlines obtained by virtual morphometric methods. [Discussion] This site yields the most recent direct evidence for a Neanderthal presence in southern Italy and confirms a later shift to upper Paleolithic technology in southwestern Italy compared to the earliest Uluzzian evidence at Grotta del Cavallo (Puglia, Italy).

The reconstruction of the original morphology of bones and teeth after sampling for physicochemical (e.g., radiocarbon and uranium series dating, stable isotope analysis, paleohistology, trace element analysis) and biomolecular analyses (e.g., ancient DNA, paleoproteomics) is appropriate in many contexts and compulsory when dealing with fossil human remains. The reconstruction protocols available to date are mostly based on manual re-integration of removed portions and can lead to an imprecise recovery of the original morphology. In this work, to restore the original external morphology of sampled teeth we used computed microtomography (microCT), reverse engineering (RE), computer-aided design (CAD) and rapid prototyping (RP) techniques to fabricate customized missing parts. The protocol was tested by performing the reconstruction of two Upper Palaeolithic human teeth from the archaeological excavations of Roccia San Sebastiano (Mondragone, Caserta, southern Italy) and Riparo I of Grotte Verdi di Pradis (Clauzetto, Pordenone, north-eastern Italy) (RSS2 and Pradis 1, respectively), which were sampled for physicochemical and biomolecular analyses. It involved a composite procedure consisting in: a) the microCT scanning of the original specimens; b) sampling; c) the microCT scanning of the specimens after sampling; d) the reconstruction of the digital 3D surfaces of the specimens before and after sampling; e) the creation of digital models of the missing/sampled portions by subtracting the 3D images of the preserved portions (after the sampling) from the images of the intact specimens (before the sampling) by using reverse engineering techniques; f) the prototyping of the missing/sampled portions to be integrated; g) the painting and application of the prototypes through the use of compatible and reversible adhesives. By following the proposed protocol, in addition to the fabrication of a physical element which is faithful to the original, it was possible to obtain a r

Nel periodo compreso tra IV e VI secolo d.C., l'Europa centrale ha subito profondi cambiamenti sociali, sia nei confini dell'Impero Romano, sia lungo le sue frontiere "barbariche". Un elemento determinante è stato lo spostamento di popoli da Oriente a Occidente. Lo studio delle migrazioni tardoantiche riveste da sempre un ruolo rilevante per spiegare la trasformazione storica e la nascita della società europea contemporanea, ma nonostante secoli di ricerca, molti quesiti relativi a questo periodo sono tutt’ora senza risposta. In passato, per distinguere le diverse etnie, la tradizionale archeologia "barbarica", incentrata perlopiù sullo studio di attributi stilistici e tecnologici della cultura materiale ritrovata nei contesti di necropoli, difficilmente ha sondato il contesto sociale, i rapporti interpersonali tra individui ed in generale gli aspetti che caratterizzano la biologia umana. Alla luce di queste criticità e per cercare di rispondere ad alcuni di questi quesiti si è deciso di intraprendere un’indagine multidisciplinare che integra l’analisi morfologica della mandibola effettuata utilizzando tecniche di morfometria geometrica (GM), con l’analisi dei caratteri non metrici dentali e l’analisi chimica degli isotopi stabili dello stronzio, coadiuvati da una scrupolosa indagine antropologica iniziale. A tale scopo sono state considerate tredici aree sepolcrali, con cronologia compresa tra il IV e il IX secolo d.C., provenienti da tre distinte regioni d’Europa (Italia, Croazia e Ungheria), per un totale di 733 scheletri. I risultati ottenuti, confrontati con i dati storici e archeologici, hanno permesso di avanzare alcune ipotesi circa le distanze biologiche tra gli individui, il loro stile di vita e la loro mobilità, in un periodo complesso, tanto dal punto biologico quanto da quello politico-sociale e culturale., Between the IV and VI century A.D., Central Europe underwent profound social changes, both in the borders of the Roman Empire and along its "barbaric" frontiers. A decisive element was the displacement of peoples from east to west. The study of late-antique migrations has always played an important role in explaining the historical transformation and the birth of contemporary European society, but many questions about this period are still unanswered, despite centuries of research. In the past, in order to distinguish the different ethnicities, the traditional "Barbaric" archaeology, mainly focused on the study of stylistic and technological attributes of the material culture found in the contexts of Necropolis, has scarcely explored the social aspects, interpersonal relationships between individuals and in general, the defining aspects of human biology. In the light of these critical issues and in order to try to answer some of these questions it was decided to undertake a multidisciplinary investigation integrating the mandible’s morphological analysis, by using geometric morphometric techniques (GM), with the analysis of non-metric dental characters and chemical analysis of strontium stable isotopes, assisted by a scrupulous initial anthropological investigation. For this purpose, thirteen burial areas from three distinct regions of Europe (Italy, Croatia and Hungary were considered, with chronology ranging between the fourth and ninth centuries A.D., for a total of 733 skeletons. The results of the previous described analysis have been compared with historical and archaeological data, by making it possible to speculate about the biological distances between the individuals, their lifestyle and mobility, during a complex time in terms of biology and socio-politics and culture.

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.