Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-hgkh8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T07:22:42.927Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Kinship in Aegean Prehistory? Ancient DNA in Human Bones from Mainland Greece and Crete1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2011

Abigail S. Bouwman
Affiliation:
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester
Keri A. Brown
Affiliation:
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester
Terence A. Brown
Affiliation:
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester
Elizabeth R. Chilvers
Affiliation:
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester
Robert Arnott
Affiliation:
College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham
A.J.N.W. Prag
Affiliation:
The Manchester Museum, University of Manchester

Abstract

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 89 human skeletons from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nicomedia, Lerna, Kato Zakro: Karaviádena, and Mycenae Grave Circle A. For each of three skeletons sampled from Antron Grave Circle B, polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) gave products for nuclear but not mitochondrial DNA, but the yield of DNA was low and inconsistent, with replicate PCRs failing to give reproducible results. At Kouphovouno evidence for mitochondrial and/or nuclear aDNA was obtained from eight of the 20 skeletons that were examined, while at Mycenae Grave Circle B evidence for mitochondrial aDNA was obtained for four of the 22 skeletons that were studied, and in two cases confirmed the evidence of close kinship that had already been suggested by facial reconstruction: this in turn raises interesting questions of social relationships and the role of high-status women in MBA/LBA society. We conclude that, although aDNA might be present in some Eastern Mediterranean skeletons from later centuries of the Bronze Age, it is not commonly found in material from this period and is likely to be absent from older material.

Στη μελέτη αυτή έγιναν προσπάθειες να αναγνωριστεί αρχαίο DNA (aDNA) σε δείγματα ογδόντα εννέα ανθρώπινων σκελετών προερχομένων από θέσεις της Νεολιθικής περιόδου και της Εποχής του Χαλκού στην Ελλάδα και την Κρήτη. Αρχαίο DNA δεν εντοπίστηκε σε δείγματα από τη Νέα Νικομήδεια, τη Λέρνα, την Κάτω Ζάκρο (Καραβιάδενα) και τον Ταφικό Κύκλο Α των Μυκηνών. Για κάθε έναν από τους τρεις σκελετούς, οι οποίοι εξετάστηκαν από τον Ταφικό Κύκλο Β της Αντρώνας, οι αλυσιδωτές αντιδράσεις πολυμεράσης (PCRs) απέφεραν αποτελέσματα για πυρηνικό αλλά όχι μιτοχονδριακό DNA. Η παραγωγή DNA ήταν χαμηλή και αντιφατική, με τα αντίγραφα πολυμεράσης να αποτυγχάνουν να αποφέρουν αναπαραγώγιμα αποτελέσματα. Στο Κουφόβουνο οκτώ από τους είκοσι σκελετούς, που εξετάστηκαν, έδωσαν στοιχεία για μιτοχονδρνακό ή/και πυρηνικό DNA, ενώ στον Ταφικό Κύκλο Β των Μυκηνών ενδείξεις για μιτοχονδριακό DNA έδωσαν τέσσερεις από τους είκοσι δύο σκελετούς, που μελετήθηκαν. Σε δύο περιπτώσεις επιβεβαιώθηκε η ένδειξη στενής συγγένειας, κάτι το οποίο είχε ήδη προταθεί με την αποκατάσταση των προσώπων: το γεγονός αυτό εγείρει ενδιαφέροντα ερωτήματα σχετικά με τις κοινωνικές σχέσεις και το ρόλο γυναικών υψηλής κοινωνικής στάθμης στην κοινωνία της Μέσης και της Ύστερης Εποχής του Χαλκού. Συμπεραίνουμε ότι, αν και μπορεί να αναγνωριστεί DNA σε ορισμένους σκελετούς της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου των τελευταίων αιώνων της Εποχής του Χαλκού, δεν εντοπίζεται συχνά σε υλικό αυτής της εποχής και ενδεχομένως απουσιάζει από παλαιότερο υλνκό.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Angel, J.L. 1966. ‘Porotic hyperostosis, anaemias, malarias, and marshes in the prehistoric Eastern Mediterranean’, Science, 153, 760–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Angel, J.L. 1971. Lerna II: The People (American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Princeton).Google Scholar
Angel, J.L. 1973 a. ‘Early Neolithic people of Nea Nikomedia’, in Schwidetzky, I. (ed.), Die Anfänge des Neolithikums vom Orient bis Nord Europa (Cologne), 103–12.Google Scholar
Angel, J.L. 1973 b. ‘Human skeletons from grave circles at Mycenae’, in Mylonas 1973, i (Athens), 379–97.Google Scholar
Arnott, R. and Morgan-Forster, A. in press. ‘Malaria and the Prehistory of the Aegean’, Oxford (BARIS).Google Scholar
Arnott, R. and Stuckey, E. 2003. ‘Finding the Hydra: the search for malaria in the Prehistoric Aegean’, in Polinger, Foster K. and Laffineur, R. (eds), Metron: Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age. Proceedings of the gth International Aegean Conference (Aegeum, 24; Liège and Austin, TX), 209–15.Google Scholar
Bouwman, A.S. and Brown, T.A. 2005. ‘The limits of biomolecular palaeopathology: ancient DNA cannot be used to study venereal syphilis’, Journal of Archaeological Science, 32, 691702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouwman, A.S., Chilvers, E.R., Brown, K.A. and Brown, T.A. 2006. ‘Identification of the authentic ancient DNA sequence in a human bone contaminated with modern DNA’, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 131, 428–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouwman, A.S., Brown, K.A., Prag, A.J.N.W. and Brown, T.A. 2008. ‘Kinship between burials from Grave Circle B at Mycenae revealed by ancient DNA typing’, Journal of Archaeological Science, 35, 2580–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, T.A. 2001. ‘Ancient DNA’, in Brothwell, D.R., Pollard, A.M. (eds), Handbook of Archaeological Sciences (Chichester), 301–11.Google Scholar
Brown, T.A., Brown, K.A., Flaherty, C.F., Little, L.M. and Prag, A.J.N.W. 2000. ‘DNA analysis of bones from Grave Circle B at Mycenae: a first report’, BSA 95, 115–19.Google Scholar
Cavanagh, W. and Lagia, A., forthcoming. ‘Burials from Kouphovouno, Sparta, Lakonia’, in Philippa-Touchais, A., Touchais, G., Voutsaki, S., and Wright, J. (eds) Mesohelladika (Athens).Google Scholar
Cavanagh, W., Mee, C., Renard, J. 2007. ‘Excavations at Kouphovouno, Laconia: Results from the 2001 and 2002 Seasons’, BSA 102, 11101.Google Scholar
Chilvers, E.R. 2004. ‘Ancient DNA and palaeopathology: malaria and Ancient Greece’ (PhD thesis, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology).Google Scholar
Chilvers, E.R., Bouwman, A.S., Brown, K.A., Arnott, R.G., Prag, A.J.N.W. and Brown, T.A. 2008. ‘Ancient DNA in human bones from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete’, Journal of Archaeological Science, 35, 2707–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A. and Poinar, H. 2000. ‘Ancient DNA: do it right or not at all’, Science, 289, 1139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evison, M.P. 2001. ‘Ancient DNA in Greece: problems and prospects’, Journal of Radioanalytical Chemistry, 247, 673–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evison, M.P., Fieller, N.J., and Smillie, D.M. 1999. ‘Ancient HLA: a preliminary survey’, Ancient Biomolecules, 3, 128.Google Scholar
Gilbert, M.T.P., Bandelt, H.–J., Hofreiter, M. and Barnes, I. 2005. ‘Assessing ancient DNA studies’, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 20, 541–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lagia, A. 1993. ‘Differential diagnosis of the three main types of anaemia (thalassaemia, sickle cell anaemia, iron deficiency anaemia) based on macroscopic and radiographie skeletal characteristics’ (MSc dissertation, University of Bradford).Google Scholar
Lagia, A., Petroutsa, E. and Manolis, S. 2007. ‘Health and diet during the Middle Bronze Age: the site of Kouphovouno’, in Mee, C. and Renard, J. (eds), Cooking up the Past: food and culinary practices in the Neolithic and Bronze Age Aegean (Oxford), 313–28.Google Scholar
Myers, J.W., Myers, E.E. and Cadogan, G. (eds) 1992. The Aerial Atlas of Ancient Crete (London).Google Scholar
Mylonas, G.E. 1957. Ancient Mycenae: The Capital City of Agamemnon (London).Google Scholar
Mylonas, G.E. (ed.) 1973. ´O Tαφικός Kύκλος B τῶν Mυκηνῶν, 2 vols. (Athens).Google Scholar
Nafplioti, A. 2009. ‘Mycenae Revisited, Part 2: strontium isotope ratio analysis of the human remains from Grave Circle A’, BSA 104, 279–91.Google Scholar
O'Donoghue, K., Clapham, A., Evershed, R.P. and Brown, T.A. 1996. ‘Remarkable preservation of biomolecules in ancient radish seeds’, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, series B, 263, 541–7.Google ScholarPubMed
Papakonstantinou, M.Ph. 1999 a. ‘The Grave Circle B of Antron: preliminary report’, in Betancourt, P.P., Karageorghis, V., Laffineur, R. and Niemeyer, W.-D. (eds), Meletemata, Studies in Aegean Archaeology Presented to Malcolm H. Wiener as he Enters his 65th Year (Aegaeum, 20; Liège and Austin, TX), 626–31.Google Scholar
Papakonstantinou, M.Ph. 1999 b. ‘O Tαφικός Kύκλος A της Aντρώνας’, in Πεπραγμένα του A Διεπιστημονικοό Συμποσίου: H Περιφέρεια του Mυκηναïκού Kόσμου (Λαμία 1994) (Lamia), 171–80.Google Scholar
Papazoglou-Manioudaki, L., Nafplioti, A., Musgrave, J.H., Neave, R.A.H., and Prag, A.J.N.W. 2009. ‘Mycenae Revisited, Part 1: Stamatakis, Schliemann, and two new faces from Shaft Grave VI’, BSA 104, 233–77.Google Scholar
Perles, C. 2001. The Early Neolithic in Greece (Cambridge).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prag, A.J.N.W. and Neave, R. 1999. Making Faces: Using Archaeological and Forensic Evidence, corr. repr. of 1997 edn. (London).Google Scholar
Prag, A.J.N.W., Musgrave, J.H., Neave, R.A.H. and Thimme, D.I. 1995. ‘Seven Faces from Grave Circle B at Mycenae’, BSA 90, 107–36.Google Scholar
Price, T.D. (ed.) 1989. The Chemistry of Prehistoric Bone (New York).Google Scholar
Pruvost, M., Schwarz, R., Bessa, Correia V., Champlot, S., Braguier, S., Morel, N., Fernandez-Jalvo, Y., Grange, T. and Geigl, E.-M. 2007. ‘Freshly excavated fossil bones are best for amplification of ancient DNA’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104, 739–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodden, R.J. 1962. ‘Excavations at the Early Neolithic Site of Nea Nikomedeia, Greek Macedonia (1961 Season)’, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 28, 267–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sallares, R. and Gomzi, S. 2001. ‘Biomolecular archaeology of malaria’, Ancient Biomolecules, 3, 195213.Google Scholar
Sampietro, M.L., Gilbert, M.T.P., Lao, O., Caralelli, D., Lari, M., Bertranpetit, J. and Lalueza-Fox, C. 2006. ‘Tracking down human contamination in ancient human teeth’, Molecular and Biological Evolution, 23, 1801–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, C.I., Chamberlain, A.T., Riley, M.S., Stringer, C. and Collins, M.J. 2003. ‘The thermal history of human fossils and the likelihood of successful DNA amplification’, Journal of Human Evolution, 45, 203–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wardle, K.A. (ed.) 1996. Nea Ntkomedia I: The Excavation of an Early Neolithic Village in Northern Greece 1961–1964 (BSA supp. vol. 25; London).Google Scholar
Zangger, E. 1991. ‘Prehistoric coastal environments in Greece: the vanished landscapes of Dimini Bay and Lake Lerna’, JFA 18, 115.Google Scholar