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With origins in Late Palaeolithic, intentional cranial deformation is a well-known custom throughout humankind history. In this article, we discuss the most ancient find of this type known north of the Lower Danube, yielded by a burial mound investigated at Smeeni (Buzău County, southern Romania). The find, dated to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, is assigned to the Yamnaya communities of Eurasian steppe origin. The overview assessment of the general context is followed by the presentation of the case study, research methods, tools, and obtained results. We address both chronological and geographic dynamics aspects of this human behaviour, present on all continents across history. We analyse the custom in correlation with the impact of the north-Pontic steppe populations on Europe, which involved the continent in fundamental transformations. The Old Europe of the Neolithic civilisations had reached its end, as the Bronze Age emerged. Other social landmarks, burial standards, traditions, and customs become prevalent. Concurrently, the backflow of these steppe populations eastwards turns the custom of intentional cranial deformation marginal among local communities. With other migratory episodes with origins in the same geographical area, the custom is found in this region in other populations such as the Scythians, the Sarmatians, the Huns/Gepids (the Hunnic-Gepid elite), and the Avars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this article, the three Early Bronze Age graves from Devnya (Northeast Bulgaria) known from a 1972 publication are reviewed. A possible date in the range 3100-2900 BC for the graves is argued, with the necropolis being related to an EBA submerged site located south of it. Three more possible relationships Early Bronze Age settlements - flat necropolis from the area (Ezerovo, Topoli and Varna) are also discussed herein. Some other finds related to flat EBA graves from Balchik, Durankulak and Malak Preslavets, are also presented. Questions about the relationships between the flat and Yamnaya EBA graves in Northeast Bulgaria and North Dobruja are set within the frame of the last discoveries.

This article brings to the attention of historians the recent discoveries by palaeogeneticists of a pandemic of plague in Europe during the fourth and third millennia BCE that contributed to the decline of the once-thriving Neolithic farming population of Anatolian origin and opened the way to the migration of nomadic herders equipped with bronze weapons who came from the steppes of southern Russia. As the geneticists' sequencing of ancient DNA has revealed, the ancestry of central, northern and western Europeans changed from predominantly Anatolian to largely (or, in some areas, predominantly) the steppe nomads. Besides the change in ancestry, the genetic sequencing of Bronze Age European populations also provides evidence that the arrival of the Yamnaya changed their social structures and gender relations and contributed to the spread of the Indo-European languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kurgans are the custodians of outstanding archaeological, natural and environmental-historical value in the lowland landscape of Eastern Europe, which has been continuously transformed over millennia by agricultural activity. Their protection and study are, therefore, essential. By comparative soil and sedimentological analysis of the soil levels buried during the kurgans' construction, the levels of buried soil, and the recent surface soil, we can gain information on the environmental changes of the second half of the Holocene; we can also gain information about how the activity of humans, even in the case of prehistoric cultures, can cause changes in the soil and environment on a local scale, beyond the regional scale. The aim of our research was to conduct a geoarchaeological examination of the Császárné Mound, which is one of the kurgans in the Hungarian Great Plain. For this purpose, sedimentological analyses (grain size distribution, magnetic susceptibility measurements), a pollen analysis, and a malacological analysis were carried out on the samples from the Császárné Mound. The complex geoarchaeological investigation of the mound allowed us to distinguish three different construction layers in the kurgan's soil material. Besides the archaeological results, we were able to reconstruct steppe-like environmental conditions before and during construction in the local surroundings of the kurgan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background During the early 3rd millennium BCE migration from Pontic Steppe, mainly related to Yamnaya culture, has affected European populations both culturally and genetically, however, it has long been debated to what extent this migration was male-driven, and how this replacement process took place which eliminated partially/largely Neolithic male lines over time. Aim This paper aims to evaluate the influence of the Steppe migration on European Bronze Age populations by calculating both male and female genetic contributions of the Steppe-related ancestry to the European Bronze Age populations. With this approach, we will be able to clarify the hypotheses on whether it was male-biased migration or not. Subjects and methods To evaluate the genetic impact and the proportion of the Steppe-related ancestry to the European Bronze Age populations, we performed PCA and qpAdm analyses by using published genome-wide data. In addition, we quantified male and female genetic contribution into Europe by using the analysis of uniparental markers and the X-chromosome. Results The Steppe migration had a considerable impact on the genetic makeup of the Bronze Age European populations. The data suggest that the Steppe-related ancestry arriving into Central Europe was male-driven, dominantly in the Corded Ware culture populations and lesser in the Bell Beaker populations. In fact, there is no evidence that this migration had a significant input on the mitochondrial genetic pool of all European Bronze Age populations. Conclusions Our analyses suggest that the Steppe-related ancestry had genetic impact on mainly Central-Eastern Europe. Moreover, this migration was male-driven for most of the Central European populations belonging to the Corded Ware groups, and to a lesser extent for the Bell Beaker groups.

Objectives: The analysis of ancient mitochondrial DNA from osteological remains has challenged previous conclusions drawn from the analysis of mitochondrial DNA from present populations, notably by revealing an absence of genetic continuity between the Neolithic and modern populations in Central Europe. Our study investigates how to reconcile these contradictions at the mitochondrial level using a modeling approach. Materials and Methods: We used a spatially explicit computational framework to simulate ancient and modern DNA sequences under various evolutionary scenarios of post Neolithic demographic events and compared the genetic diversity of the simulated and observed mitochondrial sequences. We investigated which—if any—scenarios were able to reproduce statistics of genetic diversity similar to those observed, with a focus on the haplogroup N1a, associated with the spread of early Neolithic farmers. Results: Demographic fluctuations during the Neolithic transition or subsequent demographic collapses after this period, that is, due to epidemics such as plague, are not sufficient to explain the signal of population discontinuity detected on the mitochondrial DNA in Central Europe. Only a scenario involving a substantial genetic input due to the arrival of migrants after the Neolithic transition, possibly during the Bronze Age, is compatible with observed patterns of genetic diversity. Discussion: Our results corroborate paleogenomic studies, since out of the alternative hypotheses tested, the best one that was able to recover observed patterns of mitochondrial diversity in modern and ancient Central European populations was one were immigration of populations from the Pontic steppes during the Bronze Age was explicitly simulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to provide extensive information regarding the results of the archaeological research carried out during the autumn of 2017 in Coada Izvorului locality, Măneşti commune (Prahova County). Within less than two weeks, the Prahova County Museum of History and Archaeology excavated using mechanised equipment an earth mound with a height of 1.2 m and a diameter of 35 m. It contained a total number of three graves, two of which were prehistoric, dating from the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, while the third was assigned to the Turkic nomad populations from the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. No grave goods were found in the prehistoric burials, however the later one had two iron items, respectively an arrowhead and a ring, both of which were poorly preserved

In various prehistoric periods, the territory of Vojvodina became the target of the migration of steppe communities with eastern origins. The oldest of these movements are dated to the late Eneolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. There are at least two stages among them: I – dated to the end of the fourth millennium BC / beginning of the third millennium BC and II – dated from 3000 to 2600 BC and combined with the communities of the classical phase of the Yamnaya culture. The data documenting these processes have been relatively poor so far – in comparison with the neighboring regions of Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. A big drawback was the small number of systematically excavated mounds, providing comprehensive data on the funeral ritual of steppe communities. This poor database has been slightly enriched as a result of the design of the National Science Centre (Cracow, Poland) entitled "Danubian route of the Yamnaya culture". Its effect was to examine the first two barrows located on the territory of Bačka – the western region of Vojvodina. Currently, these burial mounds are the westernmost points on the map of the cemeteries of the Yamnaya culture complex. Radiocarbon dates obtained for new finds, as well as for archival materials, allow specifying two stages of use of cemeteries of Yamnaya culture: I – around 3000–2900 BC and II – around 2800–2600 BC. Among the finds from Banat, there were also few materials coming probably from the older period, corresponding to the classical phase of Baden – Coţofeni I–II. The enigmatic nature of these discoveries, however, does not allow to specify their dating as well as cultural dependencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A geophysical investigation was carried across the M3 burial mound from Silvașu de Jos —Dealu Țapului, a tumuli necropolis in western Romania, where the presence of the Yamnaya people was certified archaeologically. For characterizing the inner structure of the mound, two conventional geophysical methods have been used: a geomagnetic survey and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The results allowed the mapping of the central features of the mound and the establishment of the relative stratigraphy of the mantle, which indicated at least two chronological phases. Archaeological excavations performed in the central part of the mound accurately validated the non-invasive geophysical survey and offered a valuable chronological record of the long-forgotten archaeological monument. Geophysical approaches proved to be an invaluable instrument for the exploration of the monument and suggest a fast constructive tool for the investigation of the entire necropolis which currently has a number of distinct mounds.

New human aDNA studies have once again brought to the forefront the role of mobility and migration in shaping social phenomena in European prehistory, processes that recent theoretical frameworks in archaeology have downplayed as an outdated explanatory notion linked to traditional culture history. While these new genetic data have provided new insights into the population history of prehistoric Europe, they are frequently interpreted and presented in a manner that recalls aspects of traditional culture-historical archaeology that were rightly criticized through the 1970s to the 1990s. They include the idea that shared material culture indicates shared participation in the same social group, or culture, and that these cultures constitute one-dimensional, homogeneous, and clearly bounded social entities. Since the new aDNA data are used to create vivid narratives describing 'massive migrations', the socalled cultural groups are once again likened to human populations and in turn revitalized as external drivers for socio-cultural change. Here, I argue for a more nuanced consideration of molecular data that more explicitly incorporates anthropologically informed mobility and migration models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several recent high-profile aDNA studies have claimed to have identified major migrations during the third millennium BC in Europe. This contribution offers a brief review of these studies, and especially their role in understanding the genetic make-up of modern European populations. Although the technical sophistication of aDNA studies is beyond doubt, the underlying archaeological assumptions prove relatively naive and the findings at odd with more 'traditional' archaeological data. Although the existence of past migrations needs to be acknowledged and fully considered by archaeologists, it does not offer either a robust explanatory factor or an enduring platform for interdisciplinary dialogue between archaeology and genetics. Alternative hypotheses are briefly explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zusammenfassung: Die Autoren untersuchen im Beitrag Grubengräber unter Grabhügeln (Kurgane) von der gesamten Unteren Donau auf ihre Bestattungssitte, Grabausstattung, Stratigraphie und 14C Datierungen. Letztere beinhalten 17 neue 14C AMS Datierungen aus dem nördlichen Muntenien, von denen die meisten noch unpubliziert sind. Zwei klare Bestattungsgruppen können unterschieden werden: Eine erste besteht aus Gräbern mit mehr ovaler als rechteckiger Grabgrube, vorherrschender Körperposition der Verstorbenen als Seitenhocker, nur wenig Ocker sowie zwar selten mitgegebene aber scheinbar lokale Keramikgefässe. Gräber dieser Gruppe sind zumeist die Primärgräber in ihren Hügeln. Bringt man bereits publizierte mit unseren neuen 14C Datierungen aus den Gräbern 3B und 5B von Aricești IV (und teilweise das Grab 2/3 von Păuleşti II), alle jud. Prahova, zusammen, können wir belegen, dass diese Gruppe vor ca. 3050/3000 (kalibriert) v. Chr. datiert, wahrscheinlich das gesamte letzte Drittel des 4. Jahrtausends v. Chr. abdeckend. Die zweite Gruppe repräsentiert alle Charakteristika des klassischen 'Yamnaya', d. h. Primär- und Sekundärgräber, vorherrschend rechteckige Grabgruben abgedeckt mit hölzernen Balken, Rückenhocker-Bestattungen mit angezogenen Beinen, Ockerflecken und/oder Ockerklumpen und eine geringe Ausstattungsneigung bei der, wenn überhaupt, nur gelegentliche Edelmetall-Haarringe herausragen. Keramikgefäße sind weiterhin selten; sind solche jedoch mitgegeben, dann finden sich mitunter schnurverzierte Becher die den typischen Bechern der Schnurkeramik Mittel- und Nordeuropas stark ähneln. Gräber dieser Gruppe haben typischerweise 14C Datierungen nach ca. 3050/3000 v. Chr. Ferner ergibt sich die vorsichtige Möglichkeit, sie weiter entlang den flachen und steilen Bereichen der Kalibrierungskurve zu unterteilen, d. h. zunächst von ca. 3050/3000 bis 2880 v. Chr. und dann von 2880 bis 2580 v. Chr. Das eröffnet vielleicht die Aussicht, später ein frühes und ein spätes 'Yamnaya' westlich des Schwarzen Meeres zu definieren. Insgesamt, und nach der Beurteilung von mehr als 500 14C und/oder dendrochronologischen Datierungen zwischen Ural und Theiss, gehört das Grubengrab-Kulturphänomen in die Zeit zwischen ca. 3500 und 2400 v. Chr. Nimmt man auch die davor liegenden Gräber des Suvorovo-Novodanilovka (5. Jahrtausend v. Chr.) hinzu, sowie einige Kurgan/Steppengräber, die dem Cernavoda I und Verwandtem (1. Hälfte des 4. Jahrtausends v. Chr.) zugewiesen werden, dann wird ein 2000 Jahre dauerndes Austauschkontinuum zwischen den nordost-, nord- und westpontischen Räumen ersichtlich. Während wir für 'Yamnaya' eine intensive Migrationswelle von Menschen aus dem Osten in einer neuartigen sozio-ökonomisch-ideologischen Umgebung annehmen, ist abzuwarten ob auch die frühesten Grubengräber unter Kurganen an der unteren Donau ab ca. 3300 v. Chr. von Steppenleuten, verwandt den nordponischen Nizhne-Mikhailovka und Kvityana Bestattungstraditionen, getragen werden. Möglich sind aber auch lokale Populationen, die diese neuen östlichen Bestattungssitten in ihr eigenes Ritual übernehmen. Vielleicht ist gar eine Kombination von beiden das wahrscheinlichste Szenario. Résumé: Les sépultures à fosses ou à puits sous tumulus (kourgane) de la culture Yamna dans la vallée inférieure du Danube font l'objet de notre article. Nous nous penchons sur les questions concernant les rites funéraires, le mobilier des sépultures, la stratigraphie et les datations radiocarbone. Ces dernières comprennent 17 dates AMS récemment obtenues en Munténie du nord, la plupart inédites. On peut distinguer deux groups de sépultures. Un premier groupe consiste en sépultures à fosses plus ovales que rectangulaires; les corps sont fléchis sur le côté, il y a peu d'ocre et les récipients (en céramique de production apparemment locale) sont rares. Les sépultures de ce groupe sont pour la plupart les sépultures primaires à l'intérieur des tumuli. En utilisant des datations radiocarbone obtenues récemment pour les sépultures 3B et 5 B à Ariceşti IV (et en partie celles de la sépulture 2/3 de Păuleşti II), comté Prahova, nous démontrons que the groupe date d'avant environ 3050/3000 cal BC, probablement recouvrant tout le dernier tiers du IVe millénaire BC. Le second groupe présente toutes les caractéristiques de la culture classique 'Yamna': sépultures primaires et secondaires, fosses surtout rectangulaires et couvertes de poutres, corps en décubitus avec jambes fléchies, taches ou morceaux d'ocre, mobilier rare où on remarque quelques anneaux de chevelure en métal précieux. La céramique est à nouveau rare, mais quand elle est présente il s'agit souvent de gobelets décorés au cordon, très semblables aux gobelets de la culture de la céramique cordée de l'Europe du centre et du nord. Les datations radiocarbone de ces sépultures de ce groupe datent d'après environ 3050/3000 cal BC, et il est peut-être même possible de les subdiviser le long des parties plates et raides de la courbe de calibration, c'est-à-dire allant d'environ 3050/3000 à 2880 cal BC, et ensuite depuis environ 2880 à 2580 cal BC. Ceci pourra en fin de compte nous permettre de distinguer uns phase 'Yamna' ancienne d'une phase plus récente. En bref, et après avoir examiné plus de 500 datations radiocarbone et/ou dendrochronologiques provenant d'une zone allant de l'Oural à la Tisza, le phénomène des sépultures à puits ou fosses couvre une période allant d'environ 3500 cal BC à 2400 cal BC. En incluant les sépultures plus anciennes de Suvorovo-Novodanilovka (Ve millénaire BC.) et certaines sépultures (ou kourganes) de la culture des steppes attribuées à Cernavoda I et cultures associées (première moitié du IVe millénaire BC), il devient évident qu'un courant d'échange existait de façon continue durant 2000 ans entre le nord-est, le nord et l'ouest du Pont-Euxin. Quoique nous supposons que la culture 'Yamna' a surtout vu une vague intense de migrants venants de l'est au sein d'un milieu social, économique et idéologique nouveau, il reste à établir si les premières sépultures à fosses sous tumulus du Danube inférieur datant d'à partir de 3300 cal BC étaient un apport de peuples des steppes apparentés à des peuplades du nord du Pont-Euxin avec traditions funéraires de type Nizhne-Mikhailovka et Kvityana, ou s'il s'agit plutôt de rites appartenant à une population locale qui aurait intégré de nouvelles coutumes 'orientales' dans ses propres rites funéraires. Il est fort probable que nous avons affaire à une combinaison des deux possibilités. Abstract: The Pit-Graves under burial mounds (Kurgans) of the Lower Danube region are being assessed in terms of their burial customs, funeral equipment, stratigraphy and radiocarbon dates. The latter comprise 17 recently performed AMS dates from Northern Muntenia, most of them yet unpublished. Two distinct burial groups can be separated: A first consists of graves with more oval than rectangular grave-pits, predominantly side-crouched body positions of the deceased, few ochre, and rare but seemingly local pots. Graves of this group are mostly the primary graves in their mounds. By using some already published and the newly obtained 14C dates from the graves 3B and 5B of Ariceşti IV (and partly grave 2/3 of Păuleşti II), all Prahova District, we demonstrate this group to date to before c. 3050/3000 cal BC, probably covering the whole last third of the IVth millennium BC. The second group presents all characteristics of the classical 'Yamnaya', i.e. primary and secondary graves, predominantly rectangular grave-pits covered by wooden beams, and supine body positions with flexed legs, ochre patches and/or lumps, and sparse equipment of those occasional precious-metal hair rings stand out. Pottery is again rare; but when vessels are given they often represent cord-decorated beakers, resembling very much the typical Corded Ware beakers of Central and Northern Europe. Graves of this group have normally 14C dates after c. 3050/3000 cal BC with a tentative possibility to further divide them along the flat and steep parts of the calibration curve, i.e. firstly from c. 3050/3000 to 2880 cal BC and then from c. 2880 to 2580 cal BC. This perhaps opens the possibility to eventually define an earlier and later 'Yamnaya'. Overall, and after examining more than 500 radiocarbon and/ or dendrochronological dates from the Ural to the Tisza river, the pit-grave cultural phenomenon ranges from c. 3500 to 2400 cal BC. By including the preceding Suvorovo-Novodanilovka graves (Vth mill. BC) and some Kurgan/steppe burials attributed to Cernavoda I and its relatives (1st half of IVth mill. BC), a 2,000 years lasting continuum of exchange between the northeast, north and west-Pontic regions becomes evident. While we assume the 'Yamnaya' being mostly covered by an intense wave of migrant people from the east, in a novel socio-economic-ideological athmosphere, it remains to be seen whether the first Pit-Graves under Kurgans at the Lower Danube from c. 3300 cal BC are also carried by steppe people related to those using the north-Pontic Nizhne-Mikhailovka and Kvityana burial traditions, or by local populations integrating new 'eastern' burial customs into their own rituals. Perhaps a combination of both is the most likely scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na području općine Rahman (okrug Tulcea) 2011. godine izvršena su zaštitna istraživanja jednoga tumula. U njemu su otkrivena dva ukopa koji se mogu pripisati Yamnaya kulturi. Elementi pogrebnog običaja nedvojbeno upućuju na rano brončano doba. Jedan drveni fragment, koji je izvorno prekrivao raku groba 2, datiran je metodom 14C, te je i tako potvrđen kronološki okvir (Poz-46583: 4220 ± 35 BP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En 2011, sur le territoire de la commune de Rahman (dép. de Tulcea) une fouille de sauvetage a été réalisée à l'emplacement d'un tumulus. Ce dernier a livré deux inhumations qui peuvent être attribuées à la culture Yamnaya. Les éléments de rituel funéraire se rapportent sans conteste à la période de début de l'Age du Bronze. Une datation 14C, réalisée sur un fragment de bois recouvrant la fosse de la tombe 2 confirme l'attribution chronologique (Poz-46583 : 4220 ± 35 BP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the preponderance of the scholarly judgement that pertains to the creators of Sredniy Stoh and Yamnaya cultures of which origins have subjected to many debates hitherto, considered to be proto-type of the culture known as Kurgan in historiography, sides with the notion that they had an ı ndo-European stock their ethnic identities are intrinsically far away from being solved. Stetsiuk who had evaluated this crux subject from an another perspective arrived at the conclusion that the main owners of the before-said cultures were people with Turkish language at the consequence of his respective researches. ı n this article, the author touches upon the most salient features of the mentioned cultures in the sketchy form without going into much detail and places Turkic urheimat in the northern Black sea steppes in the light of both cultures he categorically attributes to the Turks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age has witnessed important population and societal changes in western Europe. 1 These include massive genomic contributions of pastoralist herders originating from the Pontic-Caspian steppes 2,3 into local populations, resulting from complex interactions between collapsing hunter-gatherers and expanding farmers of Anatolian ancestry. 4–8 This transition is documented through extensive ancient genomic data from present-day Britain, 9,10 Ireland, 11,12 Iberia, 13 Mediterranean islands, 14,15 and Germany. 8 It remains, however, largely overlooked in France, where most focus has been on the Middle Neolithic (n = 63), 8,9,16 with the exception of one Late Neolithic genome sequenced at 0.05× coverage. 16 This leaves the key transitional period covering ∼3,400–2,700 cal. years (calibrated years) BCE genetically unsampled and thus the exact time frame of hunter-gatherer persistence and arrival of steppe migrations unknown. To remediate this, we sequenced 24 ancient human genomes from France spanning ∼3,400–1,600 cal. years BCE. This reveals Late Neolithic populations that are genetically diverse and include individuals with dark skin, hair, and eyes. We detect heterogeneous hunter-gatherer ancestries within Late Neolithic communities, reaching up to ∼63.3% in some individuals, and variable genetic contributions of steppe herders in Bell Beaker populations. We provide an estimate as late as ∼3,800 years BCE for the admixture between Neolithic and Mesolithic populations and as early as ∼2,650 years BCE for the arrival of steppe-related ancestry. The genomic heterogeneity characterized underlines the complex history of human interactions even at the local scale. • Sequencing of 24 human genomes from France dated to ∼3,400–1,600 cal. years BCE • These genomes show heterogeneous hunter-gatherer and steppe-related ancestries • Paris Basin Neolithic and Mesolithic groups admixed as recently as ∼3,800 years BCE • Admixture with steppe herders in southern France dated as early as ∼2,650 years BCE The Late Neolithic to Bronze Age transition was marked by major genetic changes in Europeans but is poorly documented at the genomic level in France. With new extensive whole-genome time series for this period, Seguin-Orlando et al. extend the time frame during which steppe-related and hunter-gatherer ancestries entered and vanished in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A geophysical investigation was carried across the M3 burial mound from Silvașu de Jos —Dealu Țapului, a tumuli necropolis in western Romania, where the presence of the Yamnaya people was certified archaeologically. For characterizing the inner structure of the mound, two conventional geophysical methods have been used: a geomagnetic survey and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The results allowed the mapping of the central features of the mound and the establishment of the relative stratigraphy of the mantle, which indicated at least two chronological phases. Archaeological excavations performed in the central part of the mound accurately validated the non-invasive geophysical survey and offered a valuable chronological record of the long-forgotten archaeological monument. Geophysical approaches proved to be an invaluable instrument for the exploration of the monument and suggest a fast constructive tool for the investigation of the entire necropolis which currently has a number of distinct mounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]