Past Human Migration Research Articles

Strontium isotope geochemistry of archaeological human tooth enamel excavated from Jeonju, southwestern Korea

Strontium isotopes of archaeological skeletal tissues have provided useful information to trace past human migration. This study presents strontium isotope data of human tooth enamel excavated from a group of medieval Joseon tombs in Jeonju, southwestern Korea. The enamel samples are divided into two isotopic populations yielding average 87Sr/86Sr of 0.71077 ± 0.00031 (group I) and 0.71233 ± 0.00032 (group II). Considering the gender distribution, 87Sr/86Sr ratios of group I may better represent the local value of biologically available strontium. Contrasting 87Sr/86Sr patterns of acetic acid extracts and residues of enamel fragments from a male of group I and a female of group II suggest their different residential mobility during childhood. The 87Sr/86Sr range of group I enamel is considerably lower than that reported from basement granites in the Jeonju area. Strontium in this group may have been conveyed from rainfall, and soluble soil fractions composed mainly of low-Rb/Sr minerals such as plagioclase.

The genetics of human migrations

When our human ancestors began to migrate from the African savannahs across the Alps into Northern Europe and Asia between 200,000 and 60,000 years ago, they encountered a colder climate, different food sources and new predators. Inevitably, evolution began to work on those wandering tribes: their skin became lighter, their metabolism adapted to new food sources, and their immune system had to handle different pathogens. Modern Homo sapiens began to evolve into slightly different subspecies or, as they are referred to in the common vernacular, different races. This shallow notion of race—that differences in our appearance have deep‐seated consequences for who and what we are as human beings—is the root of racism, which has led to slavery, discrimination, murder and genocide throughout the millennia. With the emergence of modern genetics and genomics, scientists had hoped that a better understanding of genetic differences and similarities among humans would eventually help to overcome the controversial and toxic notion of race as having anything to do with a person's ability, intelligence or humanity. As J. Craig Venter, then head of the Celera Genomics Corporation in Rockville, MD, USA, put it in 2000, when the first draft of the human genome was published: “Race is a social concept, not a scientific one”. Since the publication of the human genome, further advances in genomic sequencing and statistical analysis are now yielding new insights into the link between past human migrations and today's variety of genetic differences that govern disease resistance, skin pigmentation, tolerance to cold, and ability to digest or metabolize various nutrients. Such findings are contributing to discussions around the delicate issues of race, ethnicity and identity, but they are also having a significant impact on biomedical research and personalized health care. Furthermore, genetic analysis is shedding light on the migrations themselves, along with …

Using HSV-1 Genome Phylogenetics to Track Past Human Migrations

We compared 31 complete and nearly complete globally derived HSV-1 genomic sequences using HSV-2 HG52 as an outgroup to investigate their phylogenetic relationships and look for evidence of recombination. The sequences were retrieved from NCBI and were then aligned using Clustal W. The generation of a maximum likelihood tree resulted in a six clade structure that corresponded with the timing and routes of past human migration. The East African derived viruses contained the greatest amount of genetic diversity and formed four of the six clades. The East Asian and European/North American derived viruses formed separate clades. HSV-1 strains E07, E22 and E03 were highly divergent and may each represent an individual clade. Possible recombination was analyzed by partitioning the alignment into 5 kb segments, performing individual phylogenetic analysis on each partition and generating a.phylogenetic network from the results. However most evidence for recombination spread at the base of the tree suggesting that recombination did not significantly disrupt the clade structure. Examination of previous estimates of HSV-1 mutation rates in conjunction with the phylogenetic data presented here, suggests that the substitution rate for HSV-1 is approximately 1.38 × 10(-7) subs/site/year. In conclusion, this study expands the previously described HSV-1 three clade phylogenetic structures to a minimum of six and shows that the clade structure also mirrors global human migrations. Given that HSV-1 has co-evolved with its host, sequencing HSV-1 isolated from various populations could serve as a surrogate biomarker to study human population structure and migration patterns.

Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in different environmental samples — Effects of anthropogenic contamination and implications for isoscapes in past migration studies

87Sr/86Sr reference maps (isoscapes) are a key tool for investigating past human and animal migrations. However, there is little understanding of which biosphere samples are best proxies for local bioavailable Sr when dealing with movements of past populations. In this study, biological and geological samples (ground vegetation, tree leaves, rock leachates, water, soil extracts, as well as modern and archeological animal teeth and snail shells) were collected in the vicinity of two early medieval cemeteries (“Thuringians”, 5–6th century AD) in central Germany, in order to characterize 87Sr/86Sr of the local biosphere. Animal tooth enamel is not appropriate in this specific context to provide a reliable 87Sr/86Sr baseline for investigating past human migration. Archeological faunal teeth data (pig, sheep/goat, and cattle) indicates a different feeding area compared to that of the human population and modern deer teeth 87Sr/86Sr suggest the influence of chemical fertilizers. Soil leachates do not yield consistent 87Sr/86Sr, and 87Sr/86Sr of snail shells are biased towards values for soil carbonates. In contrast, water and vegetation samples seem to provide the most accurate estimates of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr to generate Sr isoscapes in the study area. Long-term environmental archives of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr such as freshwater bivalve shells and tree cores were examined in order to track potential historic anthropogenic contamination of the water and the vegetation. The data obtained from the archeological bivalve shells show that the modern rivers yield 87Sr/86Sr ratios which are similar to those of the past. However, the tree cores registered decreasing 87Sr/86Sr values over time towards present day likely mirroring anthropogenic activities such as forest liming, coal mining and/or soil acidification. The comparison of 87Sr/86Sr of the Thuringian skeletons excavated in the same area also shows that the vegetation samples are very likely anthropogenically influenced to some extent, affecting especially 87Sr/86Sr of the shallow rooted plants.

A Genetic Focus on the Peopling History of East Asia: Critical Views

Population genetic studies may provide crucial information for our knowledge on human peopling history and have been extensively applied to reconstruct East Asian prehistory in the last 10 years. However, different genetic investigations are not always consistent with each other and some results are conflicting or misinterpreted. This represents a main obstacle for scholars of other disciplines like archaeologists and linguists who try to relate the genetic information on past human migrations to their own results on the spread of domesticated crops or animals or on the dispersal of the main language families. In this paper, we review the current genetic evidence related to the peopling history of East Asia with a critical view on some interpretations. In this way, we hope to provide a useful reference for further interdisciplinary studies on our past.

Thalassaemia: Its diagnosis and interpretation in past skeletal populations

ABSTRACTThe diagnosis of thalassaemia in archaeological populations has long been hindered by a lack of pathogonomic features, and the non‐specific nature of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. In fact, clinical research has highlighted more specific diagnostic criteria for thalassaemia major and intermedia based on changes to the thorax (‘rib‐within‐a‐rib’ and costal osteomas). A recent re‐examination of 364 child skeletons from Romano‐British Poundbury Camp, Dorset revealed children with general ‘wasting’ of the bones and three children who demonstrated a variety of severe lesions (e.g. zygomatic bone and rib hypertrophy, porotic hyperostosis, rib lesions, osteopenia and pitted diaphyseal shafts) that are inconsistent with dietary deficiency alone, and more consistent with a diagnosis of genetic anaemia. Two of these children displayed rib lesions typical of those seen in modern cases of thalassaemia. The children of Poundbury Camp represent the first cases of genetic anaemia identified in a British archaeological population. As thalassaemia is a condition strongly linked to Mediterranean communities, the presence of this condition in a child from England, found within a mausoleum, suggests that they were born to wealthy immigrant parents living in this small Roman settlement in Dorset. This paper explores the diagnostic criteria for genetic anaemia in the archaeological literature and what its presence in ancient populations can contribute to our knowledge of past human migration. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High prevalence of hepatitis B virus genotype E in Northern Madagascar indicates a West‐African lineage

The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers was investigated in 563 inhabitants aged 15-55 years from a sugar cane region, Sirama, and from a village, Mataipako, in Northern Madagascar. Serological markers of past or present infection were significantly higher in Sirama, 74% versus 45%. There was no difference in the prevalence of chronic HBsAg carriers, 8.7% versus 8.5% between the two regions. Sequencing the S gene in 45 strains revealed a predominance of genotype E, in 53%, followed by subgenotype A1 in 22%, and genotype D in 18%. Phylogenetic analyses of the genotype E strains showed homology with West African strains. All A1 isolates were similar to Malawi strains. Most genotype D strains were subgenotype D7 and related to strains from Somalia and Tunisia. One genotype D strain formed a branch between Pacific D4 and African D7 strains at neighbor-joining analysis. The pre-core stop mutant was found in 33% of the genotype D strains, 17% of E but not in any A1 strain. The high prevalence and low variability of genotype E strains in only two villages, indicates a rather recent introduction of this genotype into Madagascar from West Africa, possibly through migration or slave trade. The wider spread and genetic relationship of genotype D with East African and Austronesian strains indicate an earlier introduction of this genotype. Molecular epidemiology of HBV may thus be used to complement linguistic and genetic studies on past human migrations in Africa.

Migrations are of all times

Migrations are of all times

Journeys of a Pathogen

Microbiology Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae , which infects the neurons and mucosa of humans. Strikingly, its genome has decayed extensively, which probably accounts for its slow rate of growth; global variation between strains is limited to four SNP clusters, each having a distinctive geographical prevalence that reflects past human migrations. Monot et al. have sequenced M. leprae strains from Brazil, Thailand, and the United States, and made comparisons with archaeological samples. Genotyping the pathogen can be used to pinpoint a person's origins quite precisely. For example, samples from an Egyptian burial revealed that the corpse had been infected with a European strain of leprosy and was more probably a Roman legionary than an African. Their updated map of leprosy strains supports the out-of-Africa theory for modern humans and indicates that leprosy crossed to Asia twice: once via a southern route into India and through Indonesia to the Philippines, and also via a northern route along the Silk Road in countercurrent fashion to the Black Death. Subsequently, leprosy arrived in South America via European immigrants rather than by pre-Columbian colonization via the Bering Strait. Nat. Genet. 41 , 10.1038/ng.477 (2009).

Strontium Isotopes from the Earth to the Archaeological Skeleton: A Review

Strontium isotope analysis of archaeological skeletons has provided useful and exciting results in archaeology in the last 20 years, particularly by characterizing past human migration and mobility. This review covers the biogeochemical background, including the origin of strontium isotope compositions in rocks, weathering and hydrologic cycles that transport strontium, and biopurification of strontium from to soils, to plants, to animals and finally into the human skeleton, which is subject to diagenesis after burial. Spatial heterogeneity and mixing relations must often be accounted for, rather than simply ``matching'' a measured strontium isotope value to a presumed single-valued geologic source. The successes, limitations and future potential of the strontium isotope technique are illustrated through case studies from geochemistry, biogeochemistry, ecology and archaeology.

Genetic Residues of Prehistoric Migrations: An End to Biological Essentialism and the Reification of Race

Recent advances in molecular genetics allow tracing of past human migrations by markers on human mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosome DNA. The results show that humanity is very young compared to other species and that as a result there is very little intr-specific variation (about .1%). Further only a small portion of that .1% about 10% is distributed geographically. This means that traditional racial divisions mean almost nothing. They are confined to differences in population frequencies of certain external traits (skin color, hair texture) and susceptibility to certain diseases. Searching for racial differences on in basic human capabilities or dispositions is, therefore a fool's errand.

Epidemiological aspects of retrovirus (HTLV) infection among Indian populations in the Amazon Region of Brazil.

HTLV was initially described in association with a form of leukemia in Japan and a neurological disease in the Caribbean. It was soon shown that HTLV-II was endemic among Amerindians and particularly among Brazilian Indians. The Amazon Region of Brazil is presently the largest endemic area for this virus and has allowed several studies concerning virus biology, the search for overt disease, epidemiological data including detailed demographic data on infected individuals, clear-cut geographic distribution, definition of modes of transmission and maintenance within small, epidemiologically-closed groups, and advances in laboratory diagnosis of the infection. A new molecular subtype named HTLV-IIc was further described on the basis of genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. This subtype is present in other areas of Brazil, indicating that the virus is additionally both a valuable marker for tracing past human migration routes in the Americas and a probable marker for social habits of the present human population. HIV, the other human retrovirus, is still not prevalent among indigenous communities in the Brazilian Amazon, but these groups are also easy targets for the virus.

Oxygen isotope variation in bone phosphate

Temperature dependent fractionation of O isotopes occurs between water and phosphate of fish bones, mammal bones and the phosphatic fraction of mollusc skeletons. In all these cases the fractionation follows the paleotemperature equation of Longinelli and Nuti. In molluscs and in fish the δ 18O of the skeleton (δ p) depends on the δ 18O of the environmental water (δ w) and on ambient temperature. Thus, as in other isotopic paleothermometers, estimation of δ w is necessary for temperature calculation. Mammal δ p, which is not affected by changes in ambient temperature, is useful for estimating δ w. Simple linear relations exist between δ p of experimental rats, their body water isotopic compositions (δ BW) and δ w of their drinking water. Body water composition depends on δ w of intake water as well as on the rate of metabolism. When the metabolic rate is high compared to the rate of drinking, bone phosphate will not be very sensitive to changes in δ w of the environmental water. In free ranging deer a significant amount of the intake water is water contained in leaves that the deer eat. In arid environments leaf water becomes highly enriched in δ 18O due to isotopic effects of evaporation. This enrichment is reflected in the bone phosphate. Modern people consume significant amounts of water from sources other than those in their immediate living environment. Consequently, their bone phosphate is not useful for estimating the isotopic composition of environmental water. However, this was not true for ancestral and more recent man, and therefore the δ p of skeletons might be useful for tracing past human migrations.