The destruction of many of the great Near Eastern and Aegean states at the hands of the sea peoples during the 12th century B.C.E. has long been a contentious topic subject to controversy and...Show moreThe destruction of many of the great Near Eastern and Aegean states at the hands of the sea peoples during the 12th century B.C.E. has long been a contentious topic subject to controversy and speculation. Due to the absence of decisive archaeological evidence as to the identity of the sea peoples, countless researcher has speculated about the sea peoples’ identity on the basis of the archaeological and historical evidence that was thus far available. These sources of evidence are, however, far from decisive as evidenced from the countless competing theories regarding the identity of the sea peoples and the part they played in the destruction of the great states that defined the Near East and the Aegean during the 12th century B.C.E. In this thesis, I will investigate how the application of ancient DNA studies may help us to broaden our insight into the sea peoples’ identity and origin. The limitations and opportunities of ancient DNA analysis will be outlined and the prospects it provides will be highlighted. The available DNA studies of interest will be examined and studied to shed new light on the identity of the sea peoples the role thy played in the wide dynamics of the 12th century Aegean.Show less
The research in this thesis is part of an archaeological study about the excavation of the old graveyard around the St. Plechelmus Basilica in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2013,...Show moreThe research in this thesis is part of an archaeological study about the excavation of the old graveyard around the St. Plechelmus Basilica in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2013, 2750 individuals were exhumed from this graveyard, and two atypical mass graves were encountered. A selection of 200 skeletons divided over five matrices , including the individuals from the mass graves, has been studied with advanced scientific methods, including ancient DNA by Forensic Laboratory for DNA Research, Leiden University Medical Center. The meticulously conducted DNA research has resulted in generally very good quality DNA with no indications of contamination and with genetic profiles suitable for genetic kinship testing. Statistical analyses were carried out on the autosomal, Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA data to test for kinship relationships, which resulted in indications of various genetic relationships. This thesis focuses on skeletons from matrix D, including one of the mass graves, consisting of 48 individuals. The DNA research demonstrates no genetic kinship for the six individuals in the mass grave. There were clear indications for kinship for five pairs of individuals from the non-mass grave area of matrix D. This thesis demonstrates the successful use of ancient DNA analyses for reconstructing kinship relationships in an archaeological context.Show less
Population genetics during the medieval to modern period of Europe remain underresearched by bioarchaeologists, as do issues of social identity such as gender and ethnicity in this historical...Show morePopulation genetics during the medieval to modern period of Europe remain underresearched by bioarchaeologists, as do issues of social identity such as gender and ethnicity in this historical context. This thesis investigates changes in female population structure and continuity between the 14th century AD and the modern era at two Dutch sites, Vlissingen and Oldenzaal, using ancient mitochondrial DNA. Ancient DNA samples extracted from human teeth taken from excavations spanning two main periods, the late medieval and the early modern period, were compared with modern population samples from the same areas. Population continuity modelling and statistics were used to explore patterns of population structure, migration, and population replacement, that have occurred over these periods. Mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down exclusively through the female line, has the unique advantage of allowing archaeologists to examine the movement of just the females in the study population. This thesis therefore builds on previous work on Y chromosomal DNA used to study the male line at these sites, to examine gender-specific differences in historical population movements. The two sites chosen have a very different historical character, which also allowed questions to be raised about European genetic histories in more urban or rural environments. Since Vlissingen was a key centre of international trade over the study period, particularly the Atlantic slave trade, the presence of ‘exotic’ or non-European haplogroups also formed an interesting line of enquiry. The results of this study concluded that population continuity could be confirmed in all cases except at Vlissingen between the medieval and modern period, where replacement of the original female population has occurred gradually over the entire period of study. It is hypothesized that this may represent the increasing movement of women into urban centres due to the greater opportunities for them in these areas. Surprisingly, the presence of African haplogroups could not be confirmed at Vlissingen, raising questions about the extent of non-European and slave integration in European societies from the medieval period onwards. However, there appears to have been migration at both sites from other areas of Europe, and possibly the Near East at Vlissingen. It is concluded that urbanization in western Europe between the medieval and modern period may have had a significant effect on female population structure, in the form of migrations by women into these areas in search of opportunities, whilst in more rural areas population structure may have remained more stable.Show less
During the excavation at the St. Plechelmus church in Oldenzaal between 2011 and 2013, six skeletons were found in a single burial context and were interpreted to be family members buried in a ...Show moreDuring the excavation at the St. Plechelmus church in Oldenzaal between 2011 and 2013, six skeletons were found in a single burial context and were interpreted to be family members buried in a ‘family grave’. Ancient DNA recovered from these individuals yielded information that is used to determine if there are genetic indications which can prove or disprove this interpretation. Furthermore, 81 surrounding skeletons were incorporated in this research for the determination of possible additional family relationships from a larger area of the cemetery. Short tandem repeat amplifications for 16 autosomal markers and 22 y-chromosomal markers provided reliable polymerase chain reaction products with no contamination. With allele frequency data from present-day Dutch people, and allele frequencies from all the Oldenzaal samples, statistical analyses were performed with the programs Relpair and Familias to reconstruct kinship relations. The results found no genetic indications for possible kinship relations between the six individuals from the ‘family grave’. However, this cannot exclude that these individuals were biologically related to each other. For the surrounding 81 skeletons, the results indicate eight possible kinship relations. A Harris matrix showing all the excavated skeletons revealed that three out of the eight possible kinship relation pairs were spatially linked to each other; an aspect upon which the interpretation of the ‘family grave’ was based in the first place. This thesis demonstrates the successful use of aDNA from the Oldenzaal cemetery to reconstruct family relationships.Show less
Humans colonized the Balearic Islands between roughly 3000 and 2000 BC. They arrived there in a uniquely adapted ecosystem with Myotragus balearicus as a very important species. This animal went...Show moreHumans colonized the Balearic Islands between roughly 3000 and 2000 BC. They arrived there in a uniquely adapted ecosystem with Myotragus balearicus as a very important species. This animal went extinct rapidly after human arrival on the islands. During the same time period a marked vegetation change occurred. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the extinction of Myotragus balearicus and its relation to human arrival. For the present study ancient DNA analysis was performed on preserved coprolites from Myotragus balearicus, providing information on its diet and palaeo-environment. DNA barcodes (rbcL, trnL and nrITS1) were used for the identification of ancient plant DNA. Targeted amplification of part of the 12S mitochondrial DNA of Myotragus balearicus was performed as well. The Sanger based approach allowed the retrieval of numerous DNA sequences, despite the unfavourable thermal age of the coprolites. The information acquired showed, in combination with pollen analysis performed on the same coprolites, that Myotragus balearicus was heavily dependent on Buxus balearica during part of the year and that it was most probably a browser. This suggests that the extinction of Myotragus balearicus can be related to the drastic decline and regional extinction of Buxus balearica that occurred on the Balearic Islands during the same time humans arrived. The vegetation change is thought to be caused by increased aridity occurring throughout the Mediterranean during this period. No evidence for direct human influence on its extinction could be found, and previous hypotheses relating the extinction of Myotragus balearicus directly to the arrival of humans on the island must be rejected.Show less
