Latest news with #EarlyNeolithic
Irish Independent
05-07-2025
- Science
- Irish Independent
Nature Trail: Is the Badger native to Ireland?
While it is a simple question, there is no simple answer. The jury is still out, and debate continues about the origin of one of our most common wild animals. A native animal is defined as a species that originated naturally in a particular place. The situation in Ireland is made more complex by the last ice age. Some authorities believe that ice sheets swept across the entire island wiping out all, or nearly all, traces of wildlife and that plants and animals quickly colonised the empty land when the ice finally melted. Native animals like the Irish Hare arrived here under their own steam once the ice melted and a flush of green vegetation spread across the barren soils basking in a warming climate. It is believed that all of the ice had melted by about 12,000 years ago. Evidence shows that while the Irish Hare was resident in Ireland at that time, there is no evidence of Badgers. The earliest record of Badgers in Ireland dates from about 6,000 years ago when Early Neolithic farmers started cultivating the land. So, could the Badger be native like the Irish Hare and its presence have gone undetected for 6,000 years, or did Early Neolithic farmers introduce it? Early Neolithic farmers had a distinct genetic signature that can be traced back to the Near East. They spread across Europe introducing farming skills, and it is believed that they probably colonised Ireland from Scotland. But, if they did introduce Badgers to Ireland, why would they bring these wild animals with them? Badger meat is edible and while it is not a common food source today it was eaten in the past in many countries. The flesh is coarse-grained and dark, but it is reported to be good to eat and to have a flavour like that of venison. So, Irish Badgers may have come from Scotland. However, the water is muddied by DNA evidence suggesting that Irish Badgers are more closely related to Spanish and Scandinavian populations than to British. The debate continues with the weight of evidence favouring the possibility of the species having been introduced rather than having arrived under its own steam. And, if the Badger was introduced, it appears that there may have been a number of introductions rather than just a single event. Research continues on several fronts to answer the original question.
Miami Herald
09-06-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Massive pits may actually be ‘rare' 4,200-year-old ritual holes in UK. See them
Ancient gold, weapons or ruins help archaeologists learn about the elite of the past. The glamorous finds, while spectacular, are part of a small section of society. To learn more about common people, archaeologists have to examine the simpler things. Researchers excavating the site of a future nuclear project in the United Kingdom, Sizewell C, discovered hundreds of 'seemingly unassuming' pits spread across the landscape, according to a June 4 news release from Oxford Cotswold Archaeology. They may just seem like dirt holes, but they actually 'hold invaluable clues about the ancient communities that once thrived in this area,' archaeologists said. The pits were dated to the Neolithic period, between 4,200 and 6,000 years ago, according to the release. The 300 pits were filled with items like pottery, flint pieces, charcoal, animal bones and hazelnut shells, researchers said. The pits are primarily circular and 'bowl-shaped,' ranging in size from 3 feet across to nearly 10 feet across, according to the release. 'Some are hot-tub sized, others — rare in the UK — are large enough to hold a whole cow,' according to a June 4 Facebook post from Cotswold Archaeology. The items inside the pit suggest they were used for domestic activities, but archaeologists say it may be more complicated than that. 'While they contain objects that were clearly produced by normal day-to-day activities, there isn't enough material to identify them as prehistoric rubbish bins,' according to the release. 'Therefore, as there is no clear strictly practical explanation for their use, the archaeologists think they may have had special, ritual meaning. It is not very common for the Early Neolithic, but some of the finds seem to have been carefully 'placed' in the pits.' Similar pits have been found at Neolithic landmarks like Durrington Walls, a site near Stonehenge, archaeologists said. The pits might be used to mark a significant moment in a settlement's life on the landscape. Researchers found 'unusually' well-preserved houses built on top of the pits at Durrington Walls, according to the release. When the house was done being used, ancient people cut a hole through the floor and dug the pit, then filled it with domestic rubbish. The same might have been done at the Sizewell C site, archaeologists said, but the 1,000 years between the two sites raises questions on their connection. 'A much simpler possibility is that these pits were latrines (toilets) that were filled with the surrounding rubbish when the settlement was abandoned,' according to the release. 'As the pits often appear in pairs or small groups, it is possible that a new latrine pit may have been dug in the same area (being careful not to dig into the old one!) when settlements were seasonally reoccupied.' About six significantly larger pits found at the site may have been used for storage, as pits of their size are rare across the country, possibly for grain, archaeologists said. A quern stone, or tool used to grind grain into flour, and an upside-down pot were found in two of the pits, respectively, according to the release. 'At Sizewell the pits occur singularly, in pairs, as small groups, or as larger concentrations. It is likely that this also has significance,' archaeologists said. Sizewell C is on the East Suffolk coast, on the southeastern coast of England.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Scientists Studied DNA From 7,100-Year-Old Remains—and Found a Mysterious Ghost Lineage
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Ancient DNA—from the bones of an individual found at an archaeological site in southern China—reveals the presence of a 'ghost lineage' connected to the peoples of Tibet. This ghost lineage remained uncharacterized until now, and after further analysis, it was determined to be unrelated to other lineages from the region. More sampling from ancient and modern people living in the region where this skeleton was found could reveal more about its origins and the origins of Tibetan groups in general. The Xingyi archaeological site in Central Yunnan, China, was the final resting place for many deceased, but paleoanthropologist Tianyi Wang was haunted by the skeletal remains of one Early Neolithic individual in particular. The remains, which once belonged to a woman who had been buried with her knees to her chin, had a secret—her 7,100-year-old bones deepened the mystery of a ghost lineage in Tibet's past. Ancient DNA is usually fragmented, with parts having degraded over hundreds (and often thousands) of years. But there was enough information in the genes of this particular individual to identify a lineage that had previously gone uncharacterized. When exactly this lineage diverged from other East Asian lineages is unknown, but it diverged deeply, and is ancestral to Tibet. Yunnan is located at the crossroads of southern China, southeast Asia, and the Tibetan plateau, making it an ideal place to research the genetic diversity of ancient peoples that now only live on in the ancestry of modern humans. Many questions have gone unanswered about the origins of existing East Asian populations—which include groups from the Tibetan Plateau and speakers of Austroasiatic languages predominantly spoken in Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Cambodia. The phantom lineage in Tibetan DNA is unrelated to any other. 'Some have suggested an archaic origin due to high frequencies of a Denisovan [lineage] in Tibetan populations and the physical presence of Denisovans on the plateau,' Wang and her team said in a study recently published in Science Advances. 'Others have proposed a modern origin related to Paleolithic Eurasians, including an early Asian lineage.' So far, no source population of the ghost lineage has been found, which makes it difficult to figure out from whom Tibetans originated. Ancient DNA from the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan arc between Tibet and the north of India was previously found to have East Asian ancestry from both the Yellow River Valley in lowland East Asia and the Amur River Valley in inner Mongolia. However, this ancestry are unrelated to the ghost lineage. It is unclear how populations in East and Southeast Asia shifted as hunting and foraging made way for the rise of agriculture. In mainland Southeast Asia, the ancestors of Australasian speakers are linked to agriculture and rice farming, since rice paddies thrive in the humid, tropical climate. The descendants of these ancient people now live in Southeast Asia, southern China, and India. Not enough genetic sampling has been done on the ancient populations of southern China, which may be part of the reason why the origins of the ghost lineage are so elusive. Radiocarbon dating on the bones of the Xingyi individual told researchers that she had lived 1,500 years earlier than others buried at the site. Genomic sequencing and DNA analysis revealed more about where, and who, she came from. Her ancestry was compared to many ancient human groups, and unsurprisingly, she has the closest links to both ancient and modern East and Southeast Asian populations. Her DNA was significantly different from ancient individuals from northern and southern China, who are related to modern East and Southeast Asians. Wang and her team think the ghost lineage she carries diverged from other populations in Asia some 40,000 years ago. During the Pleistocene epoch, when much of Earth froze over, people with this lineage must have survived in southern regions with a more stable climate. The Xiaodong rock shelter in Yunnan has a 43,500-year history of human occupation that they think could be linked with Asian ancestries that diverged deeply—possibly including the Tibetan ghost lineage. '[The Xingyi specimen] shows the existence of a second deeply diverged Asian population that lived in southern latitudes during the mid-Holocene and reveals […] ancestry that affected ancient and present-day Tibetan populations,' the team said. The ghost lineage took its secrets to the grave, and for now—even after the excavations—it seems to be keeping them there. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Newly discovered 'ghost' lineage linked to ancient mystery population in Tibet, DNA study finds
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A 7,100-year-old skeleton from China has revealed a "ghost" lineage that scientists had only theorized about until now, a new study finds. Researchers made the discovery while studying ancient skeletons that could help them map the diverse genetics of central China. The DNA of this ghost lineage individual, an Early Neolithic woman who was buried at the Xingyi archaeological site in southwestern China's Yunnan province, also holds clues to the origins of Tibetan people. "There likely were more of her kind, but they just haven't been sampled yet," study co-author Qiaomei Fu, a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, told Live Science in an email. Fu and colleagues detailed their analysis of 127 human genomes from southwestern China in a study published May 29 in the journal Science. Most of the skeletons that they sampled were dated between 1,400 and 7,150 years ago and came from Yunnan province, which today has the highest ethnic and linguistic diversity in all of China. "Ancient humans that lived in this region may be key to addressing several remaining questions on the prehistoric populations of East and Southeast Asia," the researchers wrote in the study. Those unanswered questions include the origins of people who live on the Tibetan Plateau, as previous studies have shown that Tibetans have northern East Asian ancestry along with a unique ghost ancestry that has mystified researchers. The oldest person the researchers tested was found to be the missing link between Tibetans and the ghost' lineage. Related: 'Mystery population' of human ancestors gave us 20% of our genes and may have boosted our brain function At the Xingyi archaeological site in central Yunnan, dozens of burials were discovered that dated from the Neolithic period (7000 to 2000 B.C.) to the Bronze Age (2000 to 770 B.C.). Beneath all the other burials, archaeologists found a female skeleton with no grave goods. Carbon dating revealed she lived about 7,100 years ago, and isotope analysis of her diet showed she was probably a hunter-gatherer. But genomic analysis of the woman, who has been named Xingyi_EN, was a surprise: her ancestry was not very similar to East and South Asians but was closer to a "deeply diverged" Asian population whose genes contributed to the ghost population only seen in modern Tibetans. A "ghost population" refers to a group of people who were not previously known from skeletal remains but whose existence has been inferred through statistical analysis of ancient and modern DNA. The mystery ancestry seen in Xingyi_EN does not match Neanderthals or Denisovans, both well-known ancient populations that did contribute some "ghost" DNA to humans. Rather, Xingyi_EN is evidence of a previously unknown lineage that diverged from other humans at least 40,000 years ago, according to the researchers, and has been named the Basal Asian Xingyi lineage. RELATED STORIES —Ancient jawbone dredged off Taiwan seafloor belongs to mysterious Denisovan, study finds —DNA from mysterious 'Denisovans' helped modern humans survive —Now-extinct relative had sex with humans far and wide For thousands of years, the lineage was separated from other human groups, meaning there was no admixture — interbreeding that would mix their DNA. "The possible isolation allowed this ancestry to persist without apparent admixture with other populations," Fu said. But at some point, Xingyi_EN's relatives did interbreed with other groups of East Asian ancestry, mixing DNA. "The mixed population has lasted for quite a long time and contributed genes to some Tibetans today," Fu explained. However, these results should be taken with caution, the researchers noted in the study. Given the genetic evidence comes from just a single person, further research is needed to fully understand the relationship between Xingyi_EN and the Tibetan ghost lineage.
Miami Herald
05-02-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Ancient Roman kiln — one of the ‘best-preserved' in UK — unearthed. Take a look inside
Three years ago, archaeologists were called to a 24-acre plot of land in central England. They were there on behalf of Bloor Homes, a housing development company, to search the land and make sure there wasn't anything in need of preservation. Then they made exciting discoveries. 'The large-scale nature of this excavation offered a rare opportunity to look into not only (an) Iron Age settlement and land-use of the site but the entire past landscape, from the early prehistoric to the medieval period,' according to a Feb. 3 news release from Cotswold Archaeology. There were only a few artifacts from the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods, including flint pieces and flakes leftover from toolmaking, archaeologists said. They did, however, find a leaf-shaped flint arrowhead, a curved oblique flint arrowhead and a Bronze Age copper alloy barbed and tanged arrowhead, a rare discovery. 'While a very rare artifact to find, it tells us little of the pre-Iron Age activity within our area of focus,' archaeologists said. Pits dating from the Iron Age, between 700 and 400 B.C., were mostly devoid of artifacts, suggesting that they were used more as boundaries than as storage or waste management, according to the release. The boundaries they provided may have been symbolic because they separated a nearby river from the settlement, providing a barrier between a representation of the divine — water — from people and animals. A cremation cemetery with at least 11 human burials was also found and dated to the Middle Bronze Age, archaeologists said. These graves were on the south side of the brook that divides the site, and on the north side archaeologists found three more sets of remains that had been dispersed, begging the question of why there would be two different kinds of burials from the same time periods in different areas of the site. Archaeologists said as time went on a larger settlement was built, including the construction of a roundhouse and multiple enclosures, according to the release. The areas had large pieces of Middle and Late Iron Age pottery, as well as other cooking vessels and a spindle whorl. 'The people who lived here were most likely farmers keeping sheep and cattle, with the small enclosures probably used for crops,' archaeologists said. 'The livestock enclosures were created gradually, maintained, and shaped to suit the function.' Parts of the site were repurposed as time went on and new groups moved onto the land, archaeologists said. For example, an enclosure from the Iron Age was later used by the Romans to build a large lime kiln, according to the release. It was built strategically on the western slope of a hill to catch westerly winds. 'The characteristics conform well with a type of kiln known as a 'flare kiln,'' archaeologists said. 'It did not contain any artefacts but radiocarbon dating has produced a mid to late Roman date (circa 230-360 A.D.) for the kiln, making it one of the best preserved examples in the country.' Flare kilns were shaped like the top and neck of a bottle and used to burn chalk and limestone into quicklime, which would then be used for construction. 'Since completing the fieldwork in 2023, we have been working on a programme of post-excavation assessment and analysis, where our specialists have been teasing out further insights into the settlement, landscape character and people who lived there in the past,' archaeologists said. The site is located in Harpole, a village outside Northampton and a 70-mile drive northwest from London.
