Papers Millet Farmers on the Steppe: Ancient DNA and Isotopes Reveal Mixed Farming–Herding at Bronze Age Erdaojingzi Yellow River Farmers on the West Liao Steppe: A Bronze Age Frontier Settlement The Erdaojingzi settlement in Inner Mongolia represents a remarkable Bronze Age frontier town where people, animals, and ideas from the Yellow River heartland met the open grasslands of the West Liao River Basin. Here, in what archaeologists By Caterina • 7 min read
Papers The genetic legacy of the 17th-century colonial capital of St. Mary's City Archaeological Discoveries: Stories from Ancient Burial Grounds Archaeological Discoveries: Stories from Ancient Burial Grounds The world of archaeology opens windows onto long-lost civilizations, using ancient skeletons, burial mounds, and forgotten artifacts to tell stories that written records never preserved. At its heart lies a series of archaeological dig sites where By Caterina • 7 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Unlocks Mammoth Ivory and Human Behavior at Hohle Fels Ancient DNA in Mammoth Ivory from Hohle Fels Ancient DNA in Mammoth Ivory from Hohle Fels: Unlocking the Genetic Secrets of Ice Age Craft Introduction: A Cave Workshop of the Ice Age The research takes readers deep into Hohle Fels, a remarkable cave in the Ach Valley of southwestern Germany, By Jamie L • 6 min read
Papers Early Horse Riding Before Full Domestication: Insights from Ancient DNA and Archaeology Riders Before Domestication: Early Horse Taming on the Eurasian Steppe Riders Before Domestication: Early Horse Taming on the Eurasian Steppe This comprehensive examination sweeps readers back to a time when humans first dared to climb onto the backs of wild horses, long before the fully domesticated animals known from later By Caterina • 5 min read
Papers Bronze Age Calabria DNA Reveals Inbred Community and a Rare Father–Daughter Incest Case Bronze Age People on the Edge of Italy: Demography and Mobility in Calabria The article plunges the reader into the rugged mountains of northern Calabria during the Middle Bronze Age (around 1780–1380 BCE), using ancient DNA to put flesh – quite literally – back on the scattered bones from one extraordinary By Caterina • 7 min read
Papers Kinship and Violence in a Rare Viking-Age Multiple Burial from Semigallia, Latvia Viking Age Semigallian Burial Customs and a Rare Multiple Grave Viking Age Semigallian Burial Customs and a Rare Multiple Grave The article opens in the river valleys of southern Latvia, in the lands once held by the Semigallians – a Baltic people who lived along the Lielupe river system during the By Sara V • 6 min read
Papers Genomic History and Natural Selection in Roman and Early Medieval Britain Ancient Britain: DNA, Burials, and the Story of Population Change Ancient Britain: DNA, Burials, and the Story of Population Change Iron Age Kinship, Matrilineal Burials, and the Shock of the Roman Conquest The genetic analysis of over a thousand ancient British individuals reveals a striking pattern in Iron Age Britain: By Jamie L • 9 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Reveals Long‑Term Maternal Continuity and Shifting Paternal Lineages in Croatia Croatia at the Genetic Crossroads of Continents Croatia at the Genetic Crossroads of Continents: A Comprehensive Analysis of Ancient DNA from the Eastern Adriatic This comprehensive study takes readers deep into the stone and soil of coastal Croatia to reveal how a narrow strip of the eastern Adriatic has served By Sven • 9 min read
Papers Ancient Oral Microbiome Database: A 102,000‑Year Relational Record of Dental Calculus DNA Ancient Mouths, Lost Worlds: Oral Microbiomes Across 102,000 Years Ancient Mouths, Lost Worlds: Oral Microbiomes Across 102,000 Years The study presents SMILE (Systematic Microbiome Intelligence for Lost Ecosystems), a comprehensive database examining oral microbiomes across approximately 102,000 years of human and Neanderthal history. This groundbreaking research utilizes By Sven • 5 min read
Papers Malaria as a Long‑Term Driver of Human Settlement Patterns in Africa Malaria and the Archaeology of African Journeys Malaria and the Archaeology of African Journeys The article by Colucci and colleagues invites the reader to look again at some of Africa's most famous archaeological sites and ancient burials, but this time with a rather unexpected travelling companion in mind: By Caterina • 9 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Reveals HLA Genes Linked to Leprosy Risk in Medieval Europe Leprosy in Medieval Europe: Archaeological and Genetic Evidence Leprosy Epidemics and Social Responses in Medieval Europe This comprehensive study plunges readers into a medieval Europe where leprosy was not a rare misfortune but an ever-present fear. From the 10th to the 16th century, communities across Denmark and Germany grappled with By Sven • 4 min read
Papers Ancient DNA reveals Yakut origins and resilience under Russian conquest Yakut Origins and Long-Term Continuity in Eastern Siberia Yakut Origins and Long-Term Continuity The article opens in the vast, frozen landscapes of Yakutia, where winter can plunge below –60°C and rivers like the Lena, Yana and Indigirka carve through the permafrost. In this setting, archaeologists working with the French– By Caterina • 7 min read
Papers Ancient Zoonotic Pathogens in Animal Bones: Integrating Zooarchaeology, Palaeopathology and DNA Across 6,000 Years Ancient Animal Pathogens: Hunting Disease in Archaeological Bones Ancient Animal Pathogens: Hunting Disease in Archaeological Bones Introduction: From Barnyard to Laboratory This comprehensive study examines animal bone collections from 34 archaeological sites across Eurasia, spanning roughly 6,000 years of human-animal cohabitation. The research addresses a fundamental question in archaeological By Caterina • 9 min read
Papers Ancient DNA and kinship analysis in Bronze Age and Iron Age European populations Ancient DNA and the People Behind the Bones: A Comprehensive Study Ancient DNA and the People Behind the Bones: A Comprehensive Study of Past Lives, Kinship Networks, and Population Movements Introduction: Voices from the Graves This comprehensive study plunges deep into the world of ancient DNA recovered from human skeletons, By Caterina • 8 min read
Papers Ancient Genomic History of the Oral Pathogen Streptococcus mutans Over 8,000 Years Ancient Streptococcus mutans across 8,000 years of Eurasian history Ancient Streptococcus mutans across 8,000 years of Eurasian history This comprehensive study follows a single bacterial companion of humanity – Streptococcus mutans, a key player in tooth decay – through some 8,000 years of Eurasian history. By extracting DNA from By Caterina • 5 min read
Papers Kin, Empire, and DNA: How Roman Rule Reshaped (and Failed to Reshape) Family Mating Practices Roman Imperial Impact on Kinship and Consanguinity Across Regions Roman Imperial Impact on Kinship and Consanguinity: A Comprehensive Genomic Analysis Introduction: The Genomic Revolution in Roman Studies This comprehensive study explores how the Roman Empire fundamentally reshaped family life and marriage practices across its vast territories, while simultaneously revealing where By Sara V • 8 min read
Papers Ancient Roman Sculptures as Early Depictions of Occult Spinal Dysraphism Occult Spinal Dysraphism and Its Cutaneous Stigmata in Clinical Neurosurgery Occult Spinal Dysraphism and Its Cutaneous Stigmata in Clinical Neurosurgery This comprehensive study takes readers on an extraordinary journey from modern neurosurgical clinics to the marble halls of ancient Roman museums, examining how subtle cutaneous markers of spinal anomalies may By Sara V • 6 min read
Papers Histological Study of Cremated Human Remains from the Imperial Roman Necropolis of La Cona Roman Cremation Rituals at La Cona: Fire, Bones, and Changing Ways of Death The article follows the story of cremation in Italy from its Bronze Age rise to its Roman heyday, before examining the Imperial Roman necropolis of La Cona at Teramo, in central Italy. Here, archaeologists have traced how By Sara V • 8 min read
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
