Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence

Tara Ingman,K Aslıhan Yener,Guido Alberto Gnecchi Ruscone,Cäcilia Freund,Gunnar U Neumann,Jana Ilgner,Sara Marzo,Mary Lucas,Stefanie Eisenmann,Eirini Skourtanioti,Murat Akar,Marcel Keller,Philipp W Stockhammer,Patrick Roberts,Johannes Krause,Rula Shafiq,Petrus Le Roux,Mario Novak

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0241883

Abstract

The Middle and Late Bronze Age, a period roughly spanning the 2nd millennium BC (ca. 2000–1200 BC) in the Near East, is frequently referred to as the first ‘international age’, characterized by intense and far-reaching contacts between different entities from the eastern Mediterranean to the Near East and beyond. In a large-scale tandem study of stable isotopes and ancient DNA of individuals excavated at Tell Atchana (Alalakh, located in Hatay, Turkey), we explored the role of mobility at the capital of a regional kingdom, named Mukish during the Late Bronze Age, which spanned the Amuq Valley and some areas beyond. We generated strontium and oxygen isotope data from dental enamel for 53 individuals and 77 individuals, respectively, and added ancient DNA data of 10 newly sequenced individuals to a dataset of 27 individuals published in 2020. Additionally, we improved the DNA coverage of one individual from this 2020 dataset. The DNA data revealed a very homogeneous gene pool. This picture of an overwhelmingly local ancestry was consistent with the evidence of local upbringing in most of the individuals indicated by the isotopic data, where only five were found to be non-local. High levels of contact, trade, and exchange of ideas and goods in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, therefore, seem not to have translated into high levels of individual mobility detectable at Tell Atchana.

Highlights

The identification of human mobility, both of groups and of individuals, has long been a topic of much discussion within archaeology
This restricts the degree to which hypotheses regarding mobility can be effectively tested, isotopic work done in 2nd millennium BC Middle and Late Bronze Age contexts in Egypt [27], modern Sudan [28, 29], Crete [30, 31], Greece [32, 33], Anatolia [34, 35], and Arabia [36] have indicated differing levels of individual mobility ranging from populations composed primarily of local individuals to those with very high levels of non-locals
We used a mixed approach between ancient and modern faunal samples to establish (1) a local range for Alalakh and (2) a local range for the Amuq Valley in general, in order to be able to distinguish between those human individuals that grew up at Alalakh, those who came to the site from within the Amuq, Fig 6

Summary

Introduction

The identification of human mobility, both of groups and of individuals, has long been a topic of much discussion within archaeology. The textual record is matched by an archaeological record, for the LBA, rich in imports (or objects imitating foreign styles) and architecture bearing foreign influences, including particular building methods, imported ceramic styles and small finds, and artistic motifs, such as Aegean-style bull-leaping scenes [54,55,56,57, 71, 81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99] It is unclear how strongly this evidence was connected with the actual presence of people from abroad in permanent residence at Alalakh, . It is unclear whether these migrants were buried in the 342 graves which have been excavated to date, making the site a perfect candidate for targeted mobility studies

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion