Ancient Realities
A large mass grave from the Early Iron Age indicates selective violence towards women and children in the Carpathian Basin
Linda Fibiger et al.
Nature Human Behaviour, forthcoming
Abstract:
Narratives about the motivations and conditions for mass violence as a persistent feature of conflict throughout human history have evolved in complexity and materiality. Victims of these events are key for understanding the evolution and transformative power of violent behaviour as it developed from simple intergroup conflict to more strategic mass violence. Here we present the results of a bioarchaeological study of 77 and biomolecular analysis of 25 individuals from a ninth-century BCE mass grave from Gomolava in the Carpathian Basin, Southeast Europe. The site is located at the interface of complex sociospatial relations, divergent cultural traditions and values, and competing ideologies of landscape use. We show that excessive lethal violence enacted mostly on women and children suggests a selective demographic bias. The people buried together shared few, even distant, genetic relationships, and so their killing presents striking evidence for an episode of cross-regional conflict and an underlying aggressive shift in power, violence and gender relations in the region. Gomolava provides evidence consistent with deliberate annihilation of select sections of a regional population as a motivation for mass violence behaviour in later prehistoric Europe. It also shines new light on the socioeconomic agency and importance of women and young individuals in later European prehistory.
A high-coverage Neandertal genome from the Altai Mountains reveals population structure among Neandertals
Diyendo Massilani et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 31 March 2026
Abstract:
We present a genome sequenced to ~37-fold genomic coverage from an approximately 110,000-y-old male Neandertal from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains and analyze it together with previously published Neandertal genomes of high quality. We show that he belonged to a population more closely related to a ~120,000-y-old Neandertal from Denisova Cave than to Neandertals in Europe or to a ~80,000-y-old Neandertal from Chagyrskaya Cave in the Altai Mountains. Both Neandertals from Denisova Cave show evidence of gene flow from Denisovans, a pattern not seen in later Neandertals from the Altai region or from Western Europe. The extent of chromosomal regions of homozygosity in Neandertals from the Altai region between 120,000 and 80,000 y ago indicates that they lived in smaller and more isolated groups than later Neandertals in Europe (54,000 to 40,000 y ago). We estimate the extent of allele frequency differentiation among Neandertal populations and find that the older Eastern Neandertals in the Altai region and younger Western Neandertals in Europe were as differentiated as the most differentiated present-day human populations worldwide.
Archaeometric analysis of Early Bronze Age bread from Küllüoba Höyük
Salih Kavak et al.
PLoS ONE, March 2026
Abstract:
Bread is a fundamental foodstuff that has driven social and technological development for millennia, with the earliest evidence dating to pre-agricultural societies. While archaeological sites from the Neolithic period show systematic grain processing, well-preserved bread from the subsequent Early Bronze Age, particularly in a clear ritual context, is exceedingly rare. Here we report the discovery and comprehensive archaeometric analysis; employing Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, Vibrational Spectroscopy (FTIR and Raman), and Thermal Analysis (TGA-DSC) of a 5,000-year-old carbonized bread from the Küllüoba settlement in Anatolia, dated 3200−3000 BC. Microscopic examinations reveal that it is made from coarsely ground emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) and a small amount of lentils (Lens culinaris). The presence of air voids suggests kneaded dough, possibly leavened. The detection of rachis fragments indicates the use of unsieved flour. Intentionally deposited and subsequently carbonized, the bread was sealed beneath a layer of sterile soil and appears to have been an offering connected with the ritual abandonment of the structure. This finding offers unique evidence of advanced food technology and highlights the symbolic importance of bread in Early Bronze Age societies, directly linking food production to cultural and ritual practices.
Mortuary practices and social organisation of the Meroitic State: Kedurma, Third Cataract region of the Nile
Mohamed Bashir
Antiquity, forthcoming
Abstract:
Discussions of social organisation in early complex societies often rely on traditional narratives of a linear progression to hierarchy, but archaeological evidence is increasingly showcasing a spectrum of social structures. Here, examination of burial practices in 50 tombs from Kedurma, Sudan, helps illustrate social stratification and identity negotiation beyond the binary rendering of elite/non-elite during the Meroitic period (third century BC to fourth century AD). The diversity of architectural forms and grave goods highlights the importance of inter-regional exchange networks and a more fluid social dynamic, contributing to our understanding of early African state formation.
Voyage to Kitsissut: A new perspective on Early Paleo-Inuit watercraft and maritime lifeways at a High Arctic polynya
Matthew Walls, Mari Kleist & Pauline Knudsen
Antiquity, forthcoming
Abstract:
An archaeological survey of Kitsissut, a remote island cluster in the High Arctic of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), has revealed a human presence almost 4500 years ago, during the formation of a vital marine environment -- Pikialasorsuaq polynya. Kitsissut is accessible only by a difficult open-water journey, and repeated occupation thus permits inferences on the sophistication of watercraft technology and navigational skill. Here, the authors argue that this demonstrable reach of Early Paleo-Inuit communities across marine and terrestrial ecosystems enhances our understanding of their lifeways and environmental legacy, raising critical new questions about Indigenous agency in shaping emerging Arctic ecosystems.