In 2012, bones and tusks of mammoths and remains of other large mammals scattered in a line 130 m long have been discovered in the loess deposits at the Nosak mound in the Kostolac Basin ...(Northeastern Serbia). Preliminary analyses indicate that remains come from Mammuthus trogontherii, Equus ferus mosbachensis and Cervidae indet. Steppe mammoth remains originate from at least four individuals, three adults, and one juvenile. They include the largest steppe mammoth tusks ever reported. The mammalian remains were mostly found disarticulated, except for few articulated skeleton elements. Individual bones and teeth were encased within thick carbonate concretions. From their composition, morphology, and manner of formation, these carbonate concretions resemble the characteristic “loess dolls” that form in loess. Bones were exposed to subaerial weathering for some time before burial. Some damage on the bones indicates biogenic agents of their fragmentation and dispersal. Animals were probably attracted to the spot by a water source in the vicinity, such as a spring or intermittent stream. The bones and teeth accumulated at a single level within the loess likely deposited in MIS 6, just above the upper of two paleosols formed during MIS 7. A sample from a mammoth molar plate has been ESR dated at 192 ± 5 ka, correlating with the very early MIS 6, near the MIS 6/7 boundary. This makes the Nosak mammoth the most recent occurrence of steppe mammoths in Europe, and the sole find dated to MIS 6.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire was a socio-political process with enormous ramifications for human history. The Middle Danube was a crucial frontier and a crossroads for population and ...cultural movement. Here, we present genome-wide data from 136 Balkan individuals dated to the 1st millennium CE. Despite extensive militarization and cultural influence, we find little ancestry contribution from peoples of Italic descent. However, we trace a large-scale influx of people of Anatolian ancestry during the Imperial period. Between ∼250 and 550 CE, we detect migrants with ancestry from Central/Northern Europe and the Steppe, confirming that “barbarian” migrations were propelled by ethnically diverse confederations. Following the end of Roman control, we detect the large-scale arrival of individuals who were genetically similar to modern Eastern European Slavic-speaking populations, who contributed 30%–60% of the ancestry of Balkan people, representing one of the largest permanent demographic changes anywhere in Europe during the Migration Period.
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•A frontier region of ancient Rome was as cosmopolitan as the imperial center•Genetic proof that migrants identified as Goths were ethnically diverse confederations•Slavic-speaking migrants account for 30%–60% of the ancestry of Balkan peoples today•A model for integrating archaeology with genetics
Genome-wide data from 146 ancient Balkan individuals dating to the 1st millennium CE, together with detailed archaeological information, reveals internal migratory patterns during the Roman Empire and documents the demographic impact of Early Medieval Slavic migrations that significantly contributed to the present-day Balkan gene pool.
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