Papers Roman–‘Barbarian’ Blending on the German Frontier, 400–700 CE Demographic Upheaval around 470 CE: When Northerners Met the Roman Provincials The article plunges the reader into the thick of one of the most dramatic demographic moments in late Roman and early medieval Europe: a sweeping population shift, centred roughly on the year 470 CE, when people with roots in By Sara V • 6 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Reveals Cave-Burial Ancestry in the Formation of Kra–Dai and Hmong–Mien Peoples of Southwest China Cave Burial Traditions in Guangxi: Ancient DNA and the Origins of Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien Peoples Cave Burial Traditions in Guangxi: Ancient DNA and the Origins of Kra-Dai and Hmong-Mien Peoples Introduction: Doorways into the Deep Past This comprehensive study takes readers into the dramatic limestone landscapes of Guangxi in southwest By Sara V • 7 min read
Papers Cosmopolitan Goths: Archaeogenomic Evidence for a Genetically Diverse Masłomęcz Community in Late Iron Age Barbaricum Goths on the Move: The Masłomęcz Group and Gothic Origins Goths on the Move: The Masłomęcz Group and Gothic Origins Introduction: A Gothic Community Revealed Through DNA The migration route of the Goths sweeps from the chilly shores of the Baltic Sea down towards the Black Sea, but pauses for By Caterina • 8 min read
Papers Genetic Links Between Ancient Corinth and Its Colony Amvrakia Revealed by Ancient DNA Ancient Greek Colonisation and the Corinth-Amvrakia Network: A Genetic Study Ancient Greek Colonisation and the Corinth-Amvrakia Network: A Genetic Study Introduction: From Trading Routes to Planned Colonies This comprehensive study examines the genetic relationships between the Corinthian settlement of Tenea and its colony Amvrakia (later the Roman Ambracia) within the By Sara V • 6 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Shows Social Hierarchy in Late Shang Xisima Was Not Based on Genetic Differences Late Shang Social Hierarchy at the Xisima Cemetery The Xisima cemetery, near today's Xingyang City in Henan Province, offers a vivid snapshot of life and death in the waning centuries of the Shang dynasty, roughly 1300–1046 BCE. Excavated in 2005, the site preserves the burials of people By Sara V • 7 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Shows Papuan–East Asian Mixing Before First Settlement of Palau Ancient DNA and the Peopling of Palau: A Comprehensive Study Ancient DNA and the Peopling of Palau: A Comprehensive Archaeological and Genetic Investigation Introduction: Papuan–East Asian Mixing Before the First People Reached Palau This comprehensive investigation takes readers deep into the limestone caves and rock islands of Palau, revealing By Sara V • 12 min read
Papers Neolithic Population Turnover and the End of Megalith Building in the Paris Basin Neolithic Decline and Demographic Collapse in North-Western Europe Neolithic Decline and Demographic Collapse in North-Western Europe: Evidence from the Bury Megalithic Tomb Introduction: A Crisis at the End of the Fourth Millennium BC The flourishing Neolithic world of north-western Europe began to unravel at the very end of the fourth By Caterina • 10 min read
Papers Ancient Y Chromosomes Reveal Coastal and Inland Migrations that Shaped East Asian Paternal History Paleolithic Peopling and Agricultural Transitions in East Asia: Y-Chromosome Evidence Paleolithic Peopling and Agricultural Transitions in East Asia: Y-Chromosome Evidence from Ancient DNA and Archaeological Sites Introduction: Tracing Ancient Migrations Through Paternal Lineages The peopling of East Asia represents one of the most complex chapters in human prehistory, involving multiple By Caterina • 10 min read
Papers µCT Scanning and Ancient DNA: A Safer Workflow for Archaeological Petrous Bones This methodological study tests whether µCT scanning measurably harms ancient DNA preservation in archaeological human petrous portions. Across 93 samples, the authors do not find strong evidence that routine scanning systematically degrades key aDNA quality metrics. They also propose a more sustain By Caterina • 1 min read
Papers Ancient Regulatory Evolution Shapes Individual Language Abilities in Present-Day Humans Ancient regulatory regions in the human genome may still influence language-related abilities in people today. By Caterina • 1 min read
Papers Ancient Genomes Reveal Three Waves of Settlement and Deep Genetic Diversity in Indigenous Americas By Sara V • 5 min read
Papers Genetic Evidence for a 1348 Pogrom: Medieval Jewish Community in Tà rrega, Catalonia The Medieval Jewish Community of Tà rrega and the 1348 Black Death Pogrom The medieval Jewish community of Tà rrega emerges from the shadows of history through an extraordinary archaeological discovery that reveals the tragic intersection of plague, prejudice, and persecution in 14th-century Catalonia. The Roquetes necropolis, excavated in 2007, offers an By Sven • 5 min read
Larson Ancient Genomes Reveal How Longshan-Era Peoples Shaped the Genetic Ancestry of the Han Chinese Genetic Formation of Han Chinese from Ancient Genomes Introduction: The Yellow River and the Missing Chapter The study of Han Chinese origins represents one of the most compelling questions in Chinese archaeology and genetics. How did the Han Chinese, today comprising nearly one-fifth of the world's population, come By Jamie L • 7 min read
Papers Life and Mobility in Late Bronze Age Central Europe Revealed by Ancient DNA, Isotopes and Burials Late Bronze Age Mobility and Population Continuity in Central Germany The Late Bronze Age communities of central Germany offer a fascinating window into a world balanced between continuity and change. In the Weida valley of today's Saxony-Anhalt, two remarkable sites—Kuckenburg and Esperstedt—reveal the complex lives of By Sara V • 8 min read
Papers Climate-Driven Population Replacement and Expansion in Late European Neanderthals Neanderthals on the Move: A Population Upheaval Around 65,000 Years Ago Neanderthals on the Move: A Population Upheaval Around 65,000 Years Ago The story of Neanderthal Europe reveals a dynamic population far from static. Around 65,000 years ago, their world underwent dramatic transformation driven by climate and By Sara V • 6 min read
Papers Sex‑Biased Genetic Mixing on Rome’s Dacian Frontier Roman Dacia: A Frontier Contact Zone at the Edge of Empire The province of Roman Dacia, perched north of the Danube River, represents one of the most fascinating examples of imperial frontier dynamics in the ancient world. Here, where the Roman Empire pushed into landscapes already shaped by local Dacians, By Caterina • 7 min read
Papers Roman Military Border Community as a Biomolecular Melting Pot on the Lower Rhine Roman Military Life as a Social "Melting Pot" on the Lower Rhine The archaeological site at Praetorium Agrippinae, located at modern Valkenburg in South Holland, reveals the Roman Empire's northwestern frontier as far more than an isolated military outpost. This extensive excavation has uncovered one of By Jamie L • 5 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Uncovers 4,000 Years of French Grapevine Diversity and Early Clonal Viticulture Grapevines, Graves, and Global Trade: 4000 Years of Wine History in France Grapevines, Graves, and Global Trade: 4000 Years of Wine History in France This comprehensive study follows 49 tiny grape pips – waterlogged seeds, dark and shrivelled but miraculously preserved – to tell a sweeping story of how grapevines were domesticated, By Sven • 8 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Reveals Three Millennia of Mixed Tibetan, South Asian, and Central Asian Ancestry in Ladakh Ancient Tibetan-Related Ancestry in Ladakh Ancient Tibetan-Related Ancestry in Ladakh: Caves, Mounds, and Mountain Empires This comprehensive study examines two remarkable high-altitude burial sites in western Ladakh – the Old Lady Spider Cave (Gachu Lhabrog) and burial mounds at Hanu – revealing how people with diverse ancestral backgrounds lived, died, and were By Caterina • 5 min read
Papers Ancient DNA from Ladakh reveals a 2,800‑year‑old Tibetan–South Asian mixed population By Sara V • 6 min read
Larson Genetic Diversity and Early Admixture in Gothic-Associated Communities of Late Antique Bulgaria Gothic Communities in Late Roman Bulgaria: A Genetic and Archaeological Study Gothic Communities in Late Roman Bulgaria: A Genetic and Archaeological Study Introduction: Goths as Cultural Communities, Not Single Bloodlines This comprehensive study examines two late Roman cemeteries in modern Bulgaria through the lens of ancient DNA analysis, revealing that By Jamie L • 6 min read
Papers Kinship, Tomb-Building and Community Connections in Neolithic Northern Scotland Neolithic Chambered Tombs and the Stalled Cairn Tradition in Caithness and Orkney The stone-built world of Early Neolithic northern Scotland reveals a remarkable tradition where the dead were laid to rest in long, low cairns that functioned almost like ancestral houses. These stalled cairns of Caithness and Orkney represent chambered By Sven • 6 min read
Papers Genomic Confirmation of the Ottonian Emperors: Authenticating the Remains of Otto I and Henry II through Ancient DNA Ottonian Emperors in the Lab: DNA, Cathedrals, and a Thousand Years of History Ottonian Emperors in the Lab: DNA, Cathedrals, and a Thousand Years of History This comprehensive study follows two of the most powerful men of the 10th and early 11th centuries – Emperor Otto I "the Great" By Jamie L • 7 min read
Papers Ancient Genomes Reveal East–West Genetic Mixing Along the Eastern Tianshan Corridor Eastern Tianshan: Mountain Gateway Between China and the Steppe Eastern Tianshan: Mountain Gateway Between China and the Steppe The eastern Tianshan mountains emerge from ancient DNA studies as one of the great crossroads of the ancient world. This rugged range in today's Xinjiang sat precisely where three civilizations By Caterina • 8 min read
