News

Conceptualising (More-Than-) Human Communities in Archaeology with Oliver Harris

The Institute of Classical Archaeology are hosting two events with Oliver Harris in January 2023. 1. Conceptualising (More-Than-) Human Communities in Archaeology Workshop with Oliver Harris 9 January 2023, 13.15–14.45 | Institute of Classical Archaeology.   Discussion OJT Harris_IKA Vienna 2023_poster 2. Evening panel discussion, Monday, January 9th, 2023 05:00–06:30 p.m. with Oliver Harris, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury and Uroš Matić. ! More information here <https://klass-archaeologie.univie.ac.at/news-events/einzelansicht/news/panel-discussion-what-is-the-future-of-archaeological-theory/?tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&cHash=93de03e957a4d495bc0bca2d1c4335f1>                                                

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Team Leaders

Thomas EINWÖGERER

Since 2017 I have been the head of the research group “Quaternary Archaeology” at the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and group leader of the Krems branch. I am an expert for the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments, I am involved in extended international research networks and pursue the promotion of young scholars by teaching at the Institute for Prehistory and Historical Archaeology at the University of Vienna. I also maintain public relations and was curator for several exhibitions in museums in Lower Austria. As the principal investigator of the excavation sites Krems-Wachtberg (2005-2015), Gösing am Wagram (2014) and Kammern-Grubgraben (since 2015) my research focusses on the Upper Palaeolithic in the Danube Region. My interest is to get as much information as possible about past human behaviour, settlement structures and settlement patterns, art and jewellery and stone tool inventories. For this purpose, I also focus on the prospecting of Palaeolithic find layers by means of pile-driven probing and experimental archaeology (reconstructions and models).

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Einladung: Pan-Archaeology Lecture: Kerstin P. Hofmann “Archäologie und Übersetzen. Grenzen überqueren und Verbindungen herstellen”

Die archäologischen Institute der Universität Wien sind führend in verschiedenen Feldern der archäologischen Forschung und Praxis – ob nun bei der Erforschung der menschlichen Evolution oder der Untersuchung antiker Bildwerke, ob bei Methoden der archäologischen Prospektion oder der Digitalisierung historischer Sammlungen. Die „Pan-Archaeology Lecture“ soll diese Vielfalt der archäologischen Institute in Wien hochleben lassen. Wir laden Sie herzlich dazu ein, mit uns zu feiern! From investigating human evolution to discovering new works of ancient art, and from high-tech archaeological prospection to innovative work digitalising historic collections, the various archaeological institutes of the University of Vienna are at the cutting edge of archaeological research and practice. The Pan-Archaeology lecture celebrates the diversity of the University of Vienna’s archaeological institutes. We invite you to celebrate with us! Donnerstag, 26. Januar 2023 18:00–19:30 Uhr 1090 Wien, Oscar-Morgenstern-Platz 1, SkyLounge Archäologie und Übersetzen. Grenzen überqueren und Verbindungen herstellen Kerstin P. HOFMANN (Römisch-Germanische Kommission, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut) Archäologie setzt sich mit unterschiedlichen Arten von Grenzen und deren Überquerungen auseinander, dabei kann sie immer wieder Verbindungen aufzeigen oder auch herstellen. Sie profitiert von konstruktiver Zusammenarbeit und agiert auf vielerlei Gebieten als Übersetzerin. Anhand verschiedener aktueller Themen und Forschungen der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission zu sozio-kulturellen Interaktionen, sozial-ökologischen Prozessen sowie der digitalen Transformation sollen damit verknüpfte Fragen nach (Dis-)Konnektivitäten und (Dis-)Kontinuitäten aufgegriffen werden. Als Fallstudien dienen hierfür u. a.…

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Blog Posts

Ancient Textile Production from an Interdisciplinary Approach: Humanities and Natural Sciences Interwoven for our Understanding of Textiles. By Karina Grömer

For decades, textile remains from archaeological contexts have come more and more into the focus of archaeological research. Recently, the book Ancient Textile Production from an Interdisciplinary Approach: Humanities and Natural Sciences Interwoven for our Understanding of Textiles, edited by Agata Ulanowska, Karina Grömer, Ina Vanden Berghe and Magdalena Öhrmann was published in the Springer’s series “Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology” (2022). It derived from a session held at the European Archaeologists Association Conference in Bern 2019. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-92170-5 The motivation of the book is to improve the understanding of the role of textile production and textile products in the history of humankind. Embedding finds and their context information into socio-economical and cultural discourse contributes to a cultural anthropology of textile use. For the pre- and protohistory periods of Central Europe, it is a challenge that textiles are among those organic materials that are rarely preserved due to the prevailing climatic conditions. A wider goal was to present a comprehensive overview of the latest approaches and aims in archaeological textile research. In the last decades, standards have been set in studies on textile fibres, textile structures, dyes and textile tools. New methods for examining textile artefacts and tools have led to new ways of understanding textile craft in prehistoric and historic times – as well as their impact on economy, trade, social…

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Call for Papers – “Interdisciplinary Research into Cultural and Biological Transformations in the Paleolithic Period”

Ran Barkai will be guest editing a special issue of the open access journal Quaternary entitled "Interdisciplinary Research into Cultural and Biological Transformations in the Paleolithic Period". Hewill  be more than happy to advance bold, innovative and outside of the box analyses, hypothesis, data analysis and interpretations. However, any relevant perspective, thought, data presentation or model will be welcomed. All papers will be of course peer reviewed. In some cases he can assist in negotiating the costs of open access publishing, so please do not let that be a major obstacle.   The incredibly long Paleolithic period is still considered by some as a stagnant phase in human cultural and biological evolution prior to the appearance of our direct ancestors. However, extensive interdisciplinary research in recent years has clearly demonstrated that this is not the case. Starting from the earliest stages of human presence on the planet some three million years ago, an impressive series of transformations, innovations, modifications and adaptations characterise our lineage. These changes in behaviour and culture took place alongside biological adaptations in human physical properties; faunal turnovers and extinctions as well as climatic fluctuations. This makes the Old Stone Age a hectic, dynamic and lively epoch worthy of investigation both in the diachronic and synchronic levels, in order to decipher the nature of transformations that characterize…

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BAG-Förderpreis awaded to HEAS Members Magdalena Blanz and Doris Jetzinger

HEAS Members Magdalena Blanz and Doris Jetzinger have been awarded the BAG-Förderpreis, the promotional award of the Bioarchäologische Gesellschaft Österreich, for their PhD thesis and Master thesis, respectively. In the course of the award ceremony they will both give online talks about their thesis topics on Tuesday, December 13th, starting at 18:30. All information on the talks can be found on the BAG events homepage here          

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Publications

Genetic insights into the social organization of Neanderthals

Skov, L., Peyrégne, S., Popli, D., Iasi, L.N.M., Devièse, T., Slon, V., Zavala, E.I., Hajdinjak, M., Sümer, A.P., Grote, S., Bossoms Mesa, A., López Herráez, D., Nickel, B., Nagel, S., Richter, J., Essel, E., Gansauge, M., Schmidt, A., Korlević, P., Comeskey, D., Derevianko, A.P., Kharevich, A., Markin, S.V., Talamo, S., Douka, K., Krajcarz, M.T., Roberts, R.G., Higham, T., Viola, B., Krivoshapkin, A.I., Kolobova, K.A., Kelso, J., Meyer, M., Pääbo, S., Peter, B.M., 2022. Genetic insights into the social organization of Neanderthals. Nature 610, 519-525. read more

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HEAS in the News : HEAS Head Gerhard Weber honoured with Niederösterreich Wissenschaftspreis, the Science Prize from Lower Austria

HEAS Head Gerhard Weber was honored with the Niederösterreich Wissenschaftspreis (Science Prize from Lower Austria) for his research and in particular his research into the origin of the "Venus von Willendorf", a female fugure which was found in 1908 in Willendorf in the Wachau. Weber and his team examined the figurine's material and their research suggests that Venus may have come from a location near Lake Garda in Italy.    The ceremony took place on the 18th October 2022.   Read the press reports (in German) https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20221019_OTS0035/wissenschaftspreise-2022-hoehepunkt-im-forschungsherbst https://www.noen.at/niederoesterreich/wirtschaft/top-wissenschaft-aus-niederoesterreich-wurde-ausgezeichnet-niederoesterreich-redaktionsfeed-wissenschaftsgala-wissenschaft-johanna-mikl-leitner-redaktion-340206811   More about Gerhard Weber's research here: https://www.heas.at/research/publications/the-microstructure-and-the-origin-of-the-venus-from-willendorf/  

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Publications

Multi-isotopic study of the earliest mediaeval inhabitants of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain)

Pérez-Ramallo, P., Grandal-d´Anglade, A., Organista, E., Santos, E., Chivall, D., Rodríguez-Varela, Götherstrom, A., Etxeberria, F., Ilgner, J., Fernandez, R., Arsuaga, J-L., Le Roux, P., Higham, T., Beaumont, J., Koon, H. and Roberts, P. 2022. Multi-isotopic study of the earliest mediaeval inhabitants of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain). Archaeol Anthropol Sci 14, 214. read more

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Publications

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes identify nuanced dietary changes from the Bronze and Iron Ages on the Great Hungarian Plain.

McCall, A.,  Gamarra, B., Duffett Carlson, K.S., Bernert, Z., Cséki, A., Csengeri, P., Domboróczki, L., Endrődi, A., Hellebrandt, M., Horváth, A., Király, Krisztián Kiss., Judit Koós, A., Péter Kovács, P., Köhler, K.,  Szolnoki, L.,  K. Zoffmann, Z., Sirak, K.,  Szeniczey, T., Dani, J.,  Hajdu T., &  Pinhasi R.,  (2022). "Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes identify nuanced dietary changes from the Bronze and Iron Ages on the Great Hungarian Plain." Scientific Reports 12(1): 16982. read more

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Publications

History and Archaeology in Discourse on the Dernberg–Reconstructing the Historical Landscape of a Medieval Motte-and-Bailey Castle and Deserted Village

Filzwieser, R., Ruß, D., Kucera, M., Doneus, M., Hasenhündl, G., Verhoeven, G.J., Zotti, G., Lenzhofer, A., Stüttler, G., Pisz, M., Neubauer, W., 2022. History and Archaeology in Discourse on the Dernberg–Reconstructing the Historical Landscape of a Medieval Motte-and-Bailey Castle and Deserted Village. Heritage 5 (3), 2123–2141. doi:10.3390/heritage5030111. read more

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News Allgemein

HEAS in the News: HEAS reacts to Colleague’s Nobel Prize

HEAS member Robin Golster has offered his congratulations to his colleague Prof. Anton Zeilinger upon the announcement of his Nobel Prize win. "The Faculty of Physics is very happy about this well-deserved award for Anton Zeilinger, who has significantly shaped our research and promotion of young talent since 1999 - as a top researcher, scientific mentor and also as Dean of our faculty. That in Austria as a whole there is a flourishing landscape for the Quantum research is also a great achievement of Anton Zeilinger. With his scientific curiosity and energy, he is an inspiration for all faculty members," congratulates Robin Golser, Dean of the Faculty of Physics at the University of Vienna. Read more here (in German): https://science.apa.at/power-search/3565881263135562463

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HEAS in the News: Pinhasi Paper on ORF

Austria's national broadcaster covers the latest publication by HEAS Deputy Head Ron Pinhasi and HEAS members Olivia Cheronet and Daniel Fernandes et al.   https://science.orf.at/stories/3215387/   Have a look at the article on our publications page: https://www.heas.at/research/publications/the-diverse-genetic-origins-of-a-classical-period-greek-army/

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HEAS in the News: HEAS Members react to Svante Pääbo’s Nobel Prize

We at HEAS are cordially congratulating our dear colleague Svante Pääbo for this extraordinary recognition of his work which shines a light on the importance of human evolution research. Media: Kurier (paywalled) https://kurier.at/wissen/gesundheit/medizin-nobelpreis-die-hauptbotschaft-ist-wir-alle-sind-verwandt/402168681 Salzburger Nachrichten https://www.sn.at/panorama/wissen/medizin-nobelpreis-fuer-erforschung-von-neandertaler-erbgut-127838470 APA https://science.apa.at/power-search/5134024229287990666

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Publications

The diverse genetic origins of a Classical period Greek army

Reitsema, L.J., Mittnik, A., Kyle, B., Catalano, G., Fabbri, P.F., Kazmi, A.C.S., Reinberger, K.L., Sineo, L., Vassallo, S., Bernardos, R., Broomandkhoshbacht, N., Callan, K., Candilio, F., Cheronet, O., Curtis, E., Fernandes, D., Lari, M., Lawson, A.M., Mah, M., Mallick, S., Mandl, K., Micco, A., Modi, A., Oppenheimer, J., Özdogan, K.T., Rohland, N., Stewardson, K., Vai, S., Vergata, C., Workman, J.N., Zalzala, F., Zaro, V., Achilli, A., Anagnostopoulos, A., Capelli, C., Constantinou, V., Lancioni, H., Olivieri, A., Papadopoulou, A., Psatha, N., Semino, O., Stamatoyannopoulos, J., Valliannou, I., Yannaki, E., Lazaridis, I., Patterson, N., Ringbauer, H., Caramelli, D., Pinhasi, R., Reich, D., 2022. The diverse genetic origins of a Classical period Greek army. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119, e2205272119. read more

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Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS) Members

Emily J. KATE

Emily J. Kate is bioarchaeologist specializing in radiocarbon dating, isotopic studies of paleodiet and migration, human osteology and paleodemography, and has worked with projects from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and in Europe. Her interests include the manner in which paleodietary variation and changing trends can be used to assess shifts in social structure, political organization, and resilience, the effects of long-distance migration on the social and political landscape of societies, and the refinement of regional chronologies through targeted radiocarbon programs and Bayesian modeling. Emily is currently the Project Coordinator for the ERC funded SUSTAIN project at the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science and is also an editor for the Cambridge University Press book series, Elements in Ancient and Premodern Economies.

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Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Members

Tom MALTAS

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in Environmental Archaeology on the 'Migration and the Making of the Ancient Greek World' (MIGMAG) project at the Institute for Classical Archaeology, University of Vienna. My research uses archaeobotany and stable isotope analysis to understand the roles of farming in societal change in the prehistoric Mediterranean. For MIGMAG, I am investigating changes in land use and agricultural production strategies that may have accompanied mobility, demographic change and urbanisation in the Iron Age Mediterranean. I recently completed a DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford, where I analysed archaeobotanical assemblages from Chalcolithic and Bronze Age western Anatolia.

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Lumila Paula MENÉNDEZ

I am a biological anthropologist specialized in human evolution and biocultural diversity in the Americas. I was born in Argentina, where I also conducted my studies and most of my training. Currently, I am leading two projects, one funded by the German Foundation for Scientific Research (DFG), aims to study cranial variation in individuals from South America, for evaluating the role of evolutionary and ecological factors during the human diversification across the whole Holocene; and the other, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), points to validate virtual anthropology protocols for contributing in the forensic human identification in Mexico. To tackle these issues, I apply imagining techniques, geometric morphometrics methods, as well as multivariate statistics, and I work interdisciplinary collaborating with archaeologists, geneticists, forensic experts, biologists, linguists, and philosophers of science.

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News

Invitation to Exhibition Opening at the ÖAW

BALKAN-ARCHÄOLOGIE IM FOKUS Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, das Österreichische  Archäologische  Institut der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften  lädt  Sie  sehr  herzlich  ein  zur: Ausstellungseröffnung     Balkan-Archäologie im Fokus. Visualisierung neuer Forschungen« 13.Oktober 2022, um 15:00 Uhr Festsaal und Aula Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Wien Die Visualisierung des archäologischen Erbes auf dem Balkan stellt eine Region ins Rampenlicht, die für die Geschichte auf dem europäischen Kontinent in vielerlei Hinsicht grundlegend ist. Südosteuropa ist eine Schlüsselregion für die Menschheitsgeschichte, in der fundamentale kulturelle, soziale und technologische Entwicklungen erstmals auftreten und einen nachhaltigen Einfluss auf Europa und seine Gesellschaften haben. Damit zählt der Balkanraum zu einem der aufregendsten und auch herausforderndsten Gebiete für die archäologische Grundlagenforschung. Die Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften kann auf eine lange Forschungstradition  in  Südosteuropa  zurückblicken,  die  das  Österreichische Archäologische Institut in enger Zusammenarbeit mit Kooperationspartner*innen aus verschiedenen Ländern des Balkans fortführt. Daher freuen wir uns, Sie zur Ausstellungseröffnung gemeinsam mit dem Präsidenten der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Heinz Faßmann und diplomatischen Vertretungen begrüßen zu dürfen, welche den Beginn unserer archäologischen Wanderausstellung markiert. In diesem Rahmen wird auch die Premiere unseres 3D-Animationsfilms "Visualising the Unknown Balkans" stattfinden.   Die Eröffnung beginnt um 15:00 Uhr mit anschließendem Empfang im Hauptgebäude der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Wien. Ein detailliertes Programm entnehmen Sie bitte dem Anhang. Um Antwort…

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Annette OERTLE

I am a postdoctoral fellow with the Douka Palaeoproteomics and ZooMS laboratory in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna. As an archaeological scientist (zooarchaeologist) I specialise in collagen peptide fingerprinting (ZooMS) and archaeomalacology. My research interests lie in tropical, coastal and island archaeology with particular focus on Australia, the Pacific Islands and Island South East Asia (ISEA). I am interested in questions regarding human evolution, changes in subsistence behaviours, and site formation processes. I completed my PhD in 2019 from the University of Sydney, Australia, and was a postdoctoral researcher on the ERC FINDER project based at the Max Planck Institute SHH Jena, Germany. I am currently a Marie-Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellow leading project DENI-CESTOR (DENIsovan anCESTORs in Sahul: deciphering human evolution through molecular techniques) and PI on a Leaking Foundation Grant (Using ZooMS to identify new human fossils in archaeological deposits in Papua New Guinea). Marie-Skłodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellow (2022-2024) Principal Investigator: Leakey Foundation Grant (2022-2023)

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Network Associates

Richard KIMBER

I am a postdoctoral researcher within the Department of Environmental Geosciences (EDGE).  I am primarily interested in studying DNA-mineral interactions with the goal of elucidating mineralogical and geochemical controls on the preservation of (ancient) DNA. I co-supervise several projects within the MINERVA (Mineralogical Preservation of the Human Biome) research platform that focus on DNA interactions at mineral surfaces and their role in promoting (or inhibiting) DNA preservation in the presence of common degradation agents. By addressing these questions, we aim to improve our ability to find and extract ancient DNA from sediments.

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News

HEAS member Maria Ivanova-Bieg appointed member of EAA Scientific Advisory Committee.

HEAS member Maria Ivanova-Bieg was appointed as a member of the EAA Scientific Advisory Committee. The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) is the most important professional association of archaeologists in Europe with over 15.000 members from 60 countries worldwide, working in prehistory, classical, medieval and historical archaeology. The Scientific Advisory Committee serves as a think-tank, assisting the Executive Board and the Statutory Committees of the EAA in strategic decision-making.

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News

HEAS in the News: Mathias Mehofer’s research on the metallurgy at the Cukurici Höyük profiled in ‘Der Standard’

Austria's Der Standard published an article on HEAS's own Mathias Mehofer's research on the metallurgy at the Cukurici Höyük. Full Story, in German, below: https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000138691196/das-grosse-netzwerk-der-metallurgen-vom-cukurici-hoeyuek Check out the original research in the Open Access book Çukuriçi Höyük 3 For general information on Mathias Mehofer´s work see: https://vias.univie.ac.at/en/research/archaeometallurgy-and-archaeometry/projects/  

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Natural History Museum Vienna (NHM) Members

Konstantina SALIARI

Konstantina Saliari is the curator of the Archeological Zoological Collection at the Natural History Museum Vienna. She took her Master´s degree in archaeology with the specialization in archaeozoology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2012 and her PhD in archaeozoology from the University of Vienna in 2017. Konstantina Saliari has carried out archaeozoological analysis of animal remains from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as from the Roman, Early Medieval and Medieval periods. Her main research topics include husbandry strategies, socio-economic and environmental aspects, aiming at connecting different research fields and the dissemination of archaeozoological methods and results to academic and public audience.

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News Allgemein

Exciting new publications from HEAS Deputy Head Ron Pinhasi

The Southern Arc and its lively genetic History Vast paleogenetic study reveals insights on migration patterns, the expansion of farming and language development from the Caucasus over western Asia and Southern Europe from the early Copper Age until the late middle ages   In a trio of papers, published simultaneously in the journal Science, Ron Pinhasi from the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology and Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS) at the University of Vienna and Songül Alpaslan-Roodenberg from the University of Vienna and Harvard University, Iosif Lazaridis and David Reich at Harvard University—together with 202 co-authors—report a massive effort of genome-wide sequencing from 727 distinct ancient individuals with which it was possible to test longstanding archaeological, genetic and linguistic hypotheses. They present a systematic picture of the interlinked histories of peoples across the Southern Arc Region from the origins of agriculture, to late medieval times. Read in full here The Southern Arc and its lively genetic History Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia. A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia. The genetic history of the Southern Arc: A bridge between West Asia and Europe

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