Ancient Similarities
Rapoport’s rule and the biogeography of cultural diversity across North America over 13,000 years
Marcus Hamilton, Briggs Buchanan & Robert Walker
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, June 2025
Abstract:
A central goal of anthropology is to understand the drivers of human cultural diversity, and the archaeological record offers our most direct empirical window into the dynamics of that diversity through time. In this study, we investigate cultural diversity across North America over the past 13,000 years by analyzing spatiotemporal variation in the geographic ranges of bifacial point types. We demonstrate that much of this variation is structured by latitudinal gradients, and that the sensitivity of these gradients increases over time. We argue that the geographic ranges of point types represent the accumulated archaeological signature of cultural technological deposition by human populations adapting to latitudinally structured environmental conditions from the late Pleistocene through the late Holocene. These findings are consistent with Rapoport’s Rule, a widely observed -- but still debated -- biogeographic pattern in which species’ range sizes tend to increase with latitude. Our results also align with a growing body of research showing that various dimensions of human biological and cultural diversity -- such as linguistic richness, economic development, and health disparities -- exhibit similar latitudinal gradients at global scales. We explore how planetary-scale variation in temperature, energy availability, and environmental productivity -- filtered through regional Earth systems -- has shaped broad patterns in North America’s cultural evolutionary history, reflecting at least 13,000 years of dynamic human adaptation to shifting biophysical landscapes.
Pre-European contact leprosy in the Americas and its current persistence
Maria Lopopolo et al.
Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Leprosy, primarily caused by Mycobacterium leprae, is considered a disease introduced into the Americas during European colonization. However, the recent discovery of a second pathogen causing leprosy, M. lepromatosis, mainly found in the Americas, challenges this view. Here, we show that M. lepromatosis infected humans in the Americas before European contact. By screening 389 ancient and 408 contemporary samples, we have expanded the genetic data available for the species. Phylogenetic analyses revealed distinct human-infecting clades of M. lepromatosis, with one dominating North America since colonial times. The presence of millennia-old strains in North and South America indicates M. lepromatosis may have been widespread during the Late Holocene, demonstrating M. lepromatosis leprosy has a long-standing history in the Americas before European arrival.
Pit without finds = worthless pit? Investigating a Roman military camp from Caesar’s Gallic Wars (58 – 51 BC) near Hermeskeil (Germany)
Sabine Fiedler et al.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, June 2025
Abstract:
The Roman military camp at Hermeskeil (Germany) is the only securely dated temporary camp from the time of the Gallic Wars (58 – 51 BC). Two distinct phases of use have been identified, each lasting between two and six weeks. Despite the short period of use, the up to 15,000 soldiers who occupied the camp left behind some waste, which would most likely have been deposited in pits. So far, however, only one pit has been discovered. The excavated pit was almost devoid of identifiable archaeological materials. Given the shape and stratigraphy, with alternating dark organic layers and overlying soil material, we hypothesised that the pit was used as a latrine. Using multi-element analysis, we were able to distinguish between the geological background and the anthropogenic pit fill. High concentrations of organic carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen, as well as zinc, calcium and lead, show that the pit was used for waste disposal. Following Δ5-sterol, stanol and bile acid analyses, we found signatures related to the presence of herbivore (horse, ruminant) and omnivore (pig, human) faeces. The exclusive use of the pit as a latrine could be ruled out, as human faecal indicators were only found in one pit layer. We also found evidence of coinjection of faeces and undigested animal and plant tissues. The plant material recovered may have been used to cover the faeces. The presence of animal tissues was indicative of the disposal of slaughterhouse waste (stuffed intestines) generated during food preparation. Our study points the way for future investigations, as archaeological information can be found even in pits without macroscopic finds.
The origins and spread of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) revealed by genomics and seed morphometrics
Rui Machado et al.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 15 May 2025
Abstract:
The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is one of the most important plants in human history. It is the main source of opiates used as analgesic medicines or psychotropic drugs, the latter related to addiction problems, illegal trafficking and geopolitical issues. Poppyseed is also used in cooking. The prehistoric origins, domestication and cultivation spread of the opium poppy remain unresolved. Traditionally, Papaver setigerum has been considered the wild ancestor with early cultivation presumed to have occurred in the Western Mediterranean region, where setigerum is autochthonous. Other theories suggest that somniferum may have been introduced by Southwest Asian early farmers as a weed. To investigate these hypotheses, we analysed 190 accessions from 15 Papaver species using genotype-by-sequencing and geometric morphometric (GMM) techniques. Our analysis revealed that setigerum is the only taxa genetically close to somniferum and can be better described as a subspecies. The domesticated plants are, however, distinct from setigerum. Additionally, GMM analysis of seeds also revealed morphological differences between setigerum and somniferum. Some phenotypically wild setigerum accessions exhibited intermediate genetic features, suggesting introgression events. Two major populations were found in somniferum and, to some extent, these correspond to differences in seed form. These two populations may reflect recent attempts to breed varieties rich in opiates, as opposed to varieties used for poppyseed production. This study supports the idea that opium poppy cultivation began in the Western Mediterranean, with setigerum as the wild progenitor, although some wild varieties are likely to be feral forms, which can confound domestication studies.
Prehistoric genomes from Yunnan reveal ancestry related to Tibetans and Austroasiatic speakers
Tianyi Wang et al.
Science, 29 May 2025
Abstract:
The human landscape in East and Southeast Asia is vastly complex, and successful retrieval of genome-wide data from prehistoric humans of southern East Asia is sparse. We successfully sampled 127 ancient human genomes from southwestern China. A 7100-year-old female individual from central Yunnan shows a previously unsampled Basal Asian ancestry related to a ghost population that contributed to Tibetan Plateau populations. Central Yunnan populations dating to 5500 to 1400 years before present show an East Asian ancestry distinct from northern or southern East Asian ancestries that contributed to present-day East and Southeast Asians, particularly Austroasiatic speakers, and emphasizes the importance of the Red River valley for proto-Austroasiatic population history. Diverse Asian ancestries are represented in humans sampled from Yunnan, clarifying past population dynamics related to both Tibetan and Austroasiatic origins.
Resolution of the High versus Low debate for Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt
Pınar Erdil et al.
PLoS ONE, May 2025
Abstract:
The unrivaled millennia-long historical chronology of ancient Egypt forms the backbone for archaeological synchronization across the entire Eastern Mediterranean region c. 3000-1000 BCE. However, for more than a century, scholars have wrangled over the correct calendrical positioning of this record, with older scenarios being referred to as ‘High’, and younger ones, ‘Low’ chronologies. Offsets between the two can be as great as a century, substantially confusing connections with other civilizations of the time. Here, we settle this debate for two major periods of political unity in ancient Egypt, the Old Kingdom (the Pyramid Age), and the Middle Kingdom. We introduce 48 high-precision radiocarbon dates obtained through rare access to museum collections as well as freshly excavated samples. By combining these new results with legacy radiocarbon data and with text records for reign lengths of kings within a Bayesian statistical framework, we show that the Low Chronology is no longer empirically supported for the Old and Middle Kingdoms, and resolve a long-standing historical schism.
Demographic history of early centralized societies: A biodistance study on prehistoric Anatolia
Demet Delibaş et al.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, June 2025
Abstract:
The emergence of urbanization and centralized authority in the Early Bronze Age marks the most significant transformation in Southwest Asia since the Neolithic transition. Political centralization and social stratification, which originated in Southern Mesopotamia, spread to surrounding regions through long-distance interactions, especially trading relations. Anatolia experienced these shifts dynamically during both the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. While the archaeological aspects of these changes have long been well-documented, their biological impact through ancient DNA analysis has gained more interest in recent years. This study investigates whether patterns of increased genetic diversity and homogenization observed in archaeogenomic data are consistent with biodistance analyses based on dental morphological data, and assesses the impact of lifestyle changes during the Late Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age on biocultural interactions in Anatolia and its surroundings. Biodistance analysis was conducted on human skeletal remains from six archaeological sites in Anatolia, spanning the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age, using crown and cervical mesiodistal and buccolingual measurements alongside 36 dental nonmetric traits defined in ASUDAS. Heterogeneity and evenness analyses, Mean Measure of Divergence, Gower’s Coefficient, and Mahalanobis Distances for Multivariate Mixed Data analyses were applied to dental morphological data. The results reveal increased genetic diversity and phenotypic similarity following the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. These findings align with patterns seen in archaeogenomic studies which indicate gene flow occurred before cultural diffusion associated with urbanization.
South Arabia’s prehistoric monument landscape shows social resilience to climate change
Joy McCorriston et al.
PLoS ONE, May 2025
Abstract:
In arid regions across northern Africa, Asia and Arabia, ancient pastoralists constructed small-scale stone monuments of varying form, construction, placement, age, and function. Classification studies of each type have inhibited a broader model of their collective and enduring role within desert socio-ecosystems. Our multivariate analysis of 371 archaeological monuments in the arid Dhofar region of Oman identifies environmental and cultural factors that influenced variable placement and construction across a 7000-year history. Our results show that earlier monuments were built by larger, concurrent groups during the Holocene Humid Period (10,000–6000 cal BP). With increasing aridification, smaller groups constructed monuments and eventually switched to building them in repetitive visits. Our model emphasizes the core role of monuments as a flexible technology in social resilience among desert pastoralists.