The historicity of the Trojan War

The truth about an epic tale of love, war and greed (The Telegraph 24/03/2004)

...

In 1988 work at Troy resumed under the leadership of Professor Manfred Korfmann of Tübingen University. He assembled a large, international team, drawing on a wide range of scientific disciplines.

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When Korfmann arrived at Troy he was puzzled to discover that the city's great gateways appeared to have no means of being secured shut. "The gate is open, inviting everyone to come in. We walked up and down a hundred times and wondered how it was closed, how it was blocked. How could they defend themselves?"

...

He uncovered part of a wide ditch cut into the rock and has traced its path for 700 metres. It's from the late Bronze Age, the time of the legend. He believes it was designed to stop enemy chariots, and so marked the outer limit of the lower city.

He estimates the population of the city that lay behind the outer defences in the late Bronze Age as between 4,000 and 8,000. Troy was more than just a citadel of a few hundred people. "People who think there was a Homeric Troy - a city of substantial size and population - will be happy with this result," he says.

Dr Cline comments: "Korfmann may have just put the nail in the coffin of the doubters."

In the myth, Troy is razed by the army of Agamemnon. The early archaeologists believed the city might have been destroyed between 1200 and 1300 BC either by fighting or by an earthquake. Now, with access to the lost lower city, Prof Korfmann has discovered evidence that it suffered a catastrophe at around 1200 BC.

"There are skeletons. We found for example a girl, I think 16 years old, half buried. The feet were burnt by fire and half of the corpse was buried underground. This is strange, so rapid a burial within a public space within the city."

He also found arrowheads, which suggested close-quarter fighting. But a key clue to the fate of Troy came from collections of slingshots that he discovered. These were an important weapon of the time, used to keep enemy archers at bay. Korfmann believes that finding them in piles is significant. If the defenders had won the battle they would have taken the slingshots to be used elsewhere, for example by shepherds in the fields.

Hence, Korfmann believes, the Trojans must have lost the battle. "It was a city that was besieged. It was a city that defended itself. They lost the war and were obviously defeated."

In this way the archaeological record backs the claim of the legend that Troy was destroyed by an enemy army at the end of the Bronze Age. But was it a Greek army as the legend says?

"We do not know, because the attacker rarely leaves any remains if he's successful."

And what of the Trojan horse? In the 130 years that archaeologists have been working at Troy, no evidence has been uncovered for its existence. Perhaps that just shows that Homer was, above all, an amazing storyteller.

GM haplotype diversity of 82 populations

GM haplotype diversity of 82 populations over the world suggests a centrifugal model of human migrations

Jean-Michel Dugoujon et al.

Abstract

This study investigates the GM genetic relationships of 82 human populations, among which 10 represent original data, within and among the main broad geographic areas of the world. Different approaches are used: multidimensional scaling analysis and test for isolation by distance, to assess the correlation between genetic variation and spatial distributions; analysis of variance, to investigate the genetic structure at different hierarchical levels of population subdivision; genetic similarity map (geographic map distorted by available genetic information), to identify regions of high and low genetic variation; and minimal spanning network, to point out possible migration routes across continental areas. The results show that the GM polymorphism is characterized by one of the highest amounts of genetic variation observed so far among populations of different continents (Fct = 0.3915, P < 0.0001). GM diversity can be explained by a model of isolation by distance (IBD) at most continental levels, with a particularly significant fit to IBD for the Middle East and Europe. Five peripheral regions of the world (Europe, west and south sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and America) exhibit a low level of genetic diversity both within and among populations. By contrast, East and North African, Southwest Asian, and Northeast Asian populations are highly diverse and interconnected genetically by large genetic distances. Therefore, the observed GM variation can be explained by a centrifugal model of modern humans peopling history, involving ancient dispersals across a large intercontinental area spanning from East Africa to Northeast Asia, followed by recent migrations in peripheral geographic regions. Am J Phys Anthropol 123:000-000, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Link

Multivariate apportionment of global human craniometric diversity

Charles C. Roseman et al.

Abstract

Extensive research in human genetics on presumably neutral loci has shown that the overwhelming majority of human diversity is found among individuals within local populations. Previous apportionments of craniometric diversity are similar to these genetic apportionments, implying that interregionally differing selection pressures have played a limited role in producing contemporary human cranial diversity. Here we show that when cranial variation is independently partitioned using principal components analysis of Mosimann shape variables, some estimates of interregional craniometric differentiation are larger than those for most genetic loci. These estimates are similar to estimates for genetic loci where interregionally differing selection pressures are implicated in producing the observed patterns of variation within and among regions. These results suggest that differences among regions in at least some cranial features, particularly in the nasal region, are in part the product of interregionally differing selection pressures. Moreover, these results have implications for assessing the biological affinities of prehistoric samples that are temporally separated from contemporary human reference populations. Am J Phys Anthropol 124:000-000, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Link

Y chromosomes of Eastern Ukrainians

Russian Journal of Genetics
40 (3): 326-331, March 2004

Gene Pool Structure of Eastern Ukrainians as Inferred from the Y-Chromosome Haplogroups

V. N. Kharkov et al.

Abstract

Y chromosomes from representative sample of Eastern Ukrainians (94 individuals) were analyzed for composition and frequencies of haplogroups, defined by 11 biallelic loci located in non-recombining part of the chromosome (SRY1532, YAP, 92R7, DYF155S2, 12f2, Tat, M9, M17, M25, M89, and M56). In the Ukrainian gene, pool six haplogroups were revealed: E, F (including G and I), J, N3, P, and R1a1. These haplogroups were earlier detected in a study of Y-chromosome diversity on the territory of Europe as a whole. The major haplogroup in the Ukrainian gene pool, haplogroup R1a1 (earlier designated HG3), accounted for about 44% of all Y chromosomes in the sample examined. This haplogroup is thought to mark the migration patterns of the early Indo-Europeans and is associated with the distribution of the Kurgan archaeological culture. The second major haplogroup is haplogroup F (21.3%), which is a combination of the lineages differing by the time of appearance. Haplogroup P found with the frequency of 9.6%, represents the genetic contribution of the population originating from the ancient autochthonous population of Europe. Haplogroups J and E (11.7 and 4.2%, respectively) mark the migration patterns of the Middle-Eastern agriculturists during the Neolithic. The presence of the N3 lineage (9.6%) is likely explained by a contribution of the assimilated Finno–Ugric tribes. The data on the composition and frequencies of Y-chromosome haplogroups in the sample studied substantially supplement the existing picture of the male lineage distribution in the Eastern Slav population.

Origin of the Ainu

A quick note on this paper: haplogroup D is a phylogenetic sibling of haplogroup E of Western Eurafrasia. The ancestral haplogroup DE is defined by the YAP+ Alu insertion. Haplogroup D is not however found anywhere in East Asia except in Japan and Okinawa and may represent an important link between the West and the East before the expansion of the Mongoloids.

J Hum Genet. 2004 Mar 2 [Epub ahead of print] Related Articles, Links

Genetic origins of the Ainu inferred from combined DNA analyses of maternal and paternal lineages.

Tajima A et al.

The Ainu, a minority ethnic group from the northernmost island of Japan, was investigated for DNA polymorphisms both from maternal (mitochondrial DNA) and paternal (Y chromosome) lineages extensively. Other Asian populations inhabiting North, East, and Southeast Asia were also examined for detailed phylogeographic analyses at the mtDNA sequence type as well as Y-haplogroup levels. The maternal and paternal gene pools of the Ainu contained 25 mtDNA sequence types and three Y-haplogroups, respectively. Eleven of the 25 mtDNA sequence types were unique to the Ainu and accounted for over 50% of the population, whereas 14 were widely distributed among other Asian populations. Of the 14 shared types, the most frequently shared type was found in common among the Ainu, Nivkhi in northern Sakhalin, and Koryaks in the Kamchatka Peninsula. Moreover, analysis of genetic distances calculated from the mtDNA data revealed that the Ainu seemed to be related to both the Nivkhi and other Japanese populations (such as mainland Japanese and Okinawans) at the population level. On the paternal side, the vast majority (87.5%) of the Ainu exhibited the Asian-specific YAP+ lineages (Y-haplogroups D-M55* and D-M125), which were distributed only in the Japanese Archipelago in this analysis. On the other hand, the Ainu exhibited no other Y-haplogroups (C-M8, O-M175*, and O-M122*) common in mainland Japanese and Okinawans. It is noteworthy that the rest of the Ainu gene pool was occupied by the paternal lineage (Y-haplogroup C-M217*) from North Asia including Sakhalin. Thus, the present findings suggest that the Ainu retain a certain degree of their own genetic uniqueness, while having higher genetic affinities with other regional populations in Japan and the Nivkhi among Asian populations.

Link

Y chromosome haplogroup E3b

A very important new paper [1] on the phylogeography of haplogroup E3b gives tantalizing new insights into ancient population movements. I had posted before on the subject, but this newer study offers a very detailed view of the geographical structure of this particular haplogroup. Here, I will summarize the findings of this study.

Haplogroup E is found in Africa, Asia and Europe and is divided into three clades:

E1 and E2 are found exclusively in Africa, while E3 is also observed in Europe and western Asia.

E3 is further divided into E3a and E3b, but only E3b is observed in significant frequency in Europe and western Asia in addition to Africa. E3b is an old haplogroup, estimated in [1] to be 25.6 ky old. E3b is defined by the M35 mutation.

E3b can be divided into three subclades E-M78, E-M81 and E-M34 as well as the paragroup E-M34*. All lineages which don't belong in the three subclades are grouped in E-M34*. If two chromosomes belong in the same paragroup, they are not necessarily related to each other: it is possible that the discovery of new mutations will resolve their phylogenetic relationships.

E-M81 is found in NW Africa, not found in sub-Saharan Africa and its frequency sharply decreases eastwards. E-M81 is a "Berber" marker. It is also found in all Iberian populations, signifying Berber admixture, ranging from 1.5% in Northern Italians, 2.2% in Central Italians, 1.6% in southern Spaniards, 3.5% in the French, 4% in the Northern Portuguese, 12.2% in the southern Portuguese and 41.2% in the genetic isolate of the Pasiegos from Cantabria. It is found in only 0.7% of Sicilians and in no southern Italians. It is also not found in the Balkans.

E-M34 is found at low frequencies in Ethiopia, the Near East, Europe and northern Africa. According to the authors, it was introduced into Ethiopia from the Near East. Their justification is that it is found in several populations of the Near East, whereas in eastern Africa it is limited to Ethiopia and not found in Somalia or Kenya. The authors suggest that E-M34 was introduced into Europe in the Neolithic from the Near East, but they caution against this hypothesis, because E-M34 is absent in the Balkans, while it is present in southern-central Europe (6.6% of Sicilians, 2.3% of southern Italians, 3.5% of Sardinians). So, it is either of African origin, or of Neolithic origin in southern-central Europe.

The most important clade is E-M78 and it has an age of 23.2ky very close to the age of the entire E3b haplogroup. It is found in eastern and northern Africa, the NEar East and Europe, where it is most common. E-M78 is divided into four clusters which show a very striking geographical distribution:

Cluster α is found at the highest frequencies in Albania, Rumania and Bulgaria (>20%) and in Greece (according to unpublished data which they cite), and its frequency decreases sharply in all other populations. Surprisingly, it is found outside Europe in frequencies <5%, even in Turkey (3.4%). Thus, the authors conclude that it represents "an important range expansion from the Balkans to western and southern-central Europe". What should be noted is that cluster α Y chromosomes make up almost the entirety of Balkan Y chromosome, are almost entirely absent outside Europe and represent an expansion from the Balkans.

Cluster β is common in northwestern Africa and in Europe it was found in 0.7% of Sicilians and in 1.1% of Sardinians. It has an age of 5.2ky

Cluster γ was found in Cushitic speaking groups of eastern Africa. Its wide distribution as far east as Pakistan suggest that it was involved in the first dispersal of E-M78 chromosomes. It is entirely absent in Europe and the Near East.

Finally, cluster δ is present in all regions at low frequencies. The authors conclude that there was a "relatively great antiquity (14.7+/-2.7ky) for the separation of eastern Africans from the other populations. This cluster is however not found in the Balkans.

Here are the main conclusions of the study:

"In conclusion, we detected the signatures of several distinct processes of migration and/or recurrent gene flow associated with the dispersal of haplogroup E3b lineages. Early events involved the dispersal of E-M78δ chromosomes from eastern Africa into and out of Africa, as well as the introduction of the E-M34 subclade into Africa from the Near East. Later events involved short-range migrations within Africa (E-M78γ and E-V6) and from northern Africa into Europe (E-M81 and E-M78β), as well as an important range expansion from the Balkans to western and southern-central Europe (E-M78α). This latter expansion was the main contributor to the present distribution of E3b chromosomes in Europe."

PS: The study also allows us to quantify sub-Saharan African admixture outside Africa. Most Sub-Saharan Africans belong to E(xE3b), while most non-Africans belong to the E3b clade of the E haplogroup. In Europe, E(xE3b) is found in 4% of the northern Portuguese, 2% of the southern Portuguese and 1.6% of Sardinians. In northern Africa it ranges from 0% in Egyptians to 10% in Mozabite Berbers. In Turkey, it is found only in the Istanbul Turkish sample at 2.9%. In the Near East it is found in 3.6% of Bedouins, 7.3% of the UAE, and 10.3% of Palestinians.

[1] Fulvio Cruciani et al, Phylogeographic Analysis of Haplogroup E3b (E-M215) Y Chromosomes Reveals Multiple Migratory Events Within and Out Of Africa, Am. J. Hum. Genet 74 Link

Tibeto-Burman Origins

Am. J. Hum. Genet., 74:000, 2004

Analyses of Genetic Structure of Tibeto-Burman Populations Reveals Sex-Biased Admixture in Southern Tibeto-Burmans

Bo Wen et al.

An unequal contribution of male and female lineages from parental populations to admixed ones is not uncommon in the American continents, as a consequence of directional gene flow from European men into African and Hispanic Americans in the past several centuries. However, little is known about sex-biased admixture in East Asia, where substantial migrations are recorded. Tibeto-Burman (TB) populations were historically derived from ancient tribes of northwestern China and subsequently moved to the south, where they admixed with the southern natives during the past 2,600 years. They are currently extensively distributed in China and Southeast Asia. In this study, we analyze the variations of 965 Y chromosomes and 754 mtDNAs in >20 TB populations from China. By examining the haplotype group distributions of Y-chromosome and mtDNA markers and their principal components, we show that the genetic structure of the extant southern Tibeto-Burman (STB) populations were primarily formed by two parental groups: northern immigrants and native southerners. Furthermore, the admixture has a bias between male and female lineages, with a stronger influence of northern immigrants on the male lineages (62%) and with the southern natives contributing more extensively to the female lineages (56%) in the extant STBs. This is the first genetic evidence revealing sex-biased admixture in STB populations, which has genetic, historical, and anthropological implications.

Link

Chin Up: Ape-Human Split Was a Jaw-Breaker

The evolutionary split between early humans and ancestral apes may have begun with a tiny mutation in a gene for jaw muscles -- a lucky break that allowed the skull to grow and make room for the enormous brain that would eventually become the hallmark of Homo sapiens.

That's the controversial conclusion of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, whose discovery of the mutation, announced today, has reignited the long- smoldering debate over how modern humans evolved.

The Penn team's work suggests that early primate skulls -- much like the skulls of modern gorillas and chimpanzees -- were literally muscle-bound by powerful jaw muscles and cramped by the big bony spurs that anchored them. Only when a quirk of nature produced mutants with radically smaller jaw muscles was the skull free to expand from one generation to the next.

Rest of the story via Washington Post

Nature 428, 415 - 418 (25 March 2004); doi:10.1038/nature02358

Myosin gene mutation correlates with anatomical changes in the human lineage

HANSELL H. STEDMAN et al.

Powerful masticatory muscles are found in most primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas, and were part of a prominent adaptation of Australopithecus and Paranthropus, extinct genera of the family Hominidae1, 2. In contrast, masticatory muscles are considerably smaller in both modern and fossil members of Homo. The evolving hominid masticatory apparatus—traceable to a Late Miocene, chimpanzee-like morphology3—shifted towards a pattern of gracilization nearly simultaneously with accelerated encephalization in early Homo4. Here, we show that the gene encoding the predominant myosin heavy chain (MYH) expressed in these muscles was inactivated by a frameshifting mutation after the lineages leading to humans and chimpanzees diverged. Loss of this protein isoform is associated with marked size reductions in individual muscle fibres and entire masticatory muscles. Using the coding sequence for the myosin rod domains as a molecular clock, we estimate that this mutation appeared approximately 2.4 million years ago, predating the appearance of modern human body size5 and emigration of Homo from Africa6. This represents the first proteomic distinction between humans and chimpanzees that can be correlated with a traceable anatomic imprint in the fossil record.

Link

mtDNA of Scytho-Siberian skeleton

Human Biology 76.1 (2004) 109-125

Genetic Analysis of a Scytho-Siberian Skeleton and Its Implications for Ancient Central Asian Migrations

François-X. Ricaut et al.

Abstract
The excavation of a frozen grave on the Kizil site (dated to be 2500 years old) in the Altai Republic (Central Asia) revealed a skeleton belonging to the Scytho-Siberian population. DNA was extracted from a bone sample and analyzed by autosomal STRs (short tandem repeats) and by sequencing the hypervariable region I (HV1) of the mitochondrial DNA. The resulting STR profile, mitochondrial haplotype, and haplogroup were compared with data from modern Eurasian and northern native American populations and were found only in European populations historically influenced by ancient nomadic tribes of Central Asia.

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The mutations at nucleotide position 16147 C→A, 16172 T→C, 16223 C→T, 16248 C→T, and 16355 C→T correspond to substitutions characteristic of the Eurasian haplogroup N1a (Richards et al. 2000). The haplotype comparison with the mtDNA sequences of 8534 individuals showed that this sequence was not found in any other population.

...

The N1a haplogroup was not observed among the native American, east Asian, Siberian, Central Asian, and western European populations. The geographic distribution of haplogroup N1a is restricted to regions neighboring the Eurasian steppe zone. Its frequency is very low, less than 1.5% (Table 6), in the populations located in the western and southwestern areas of the Eurasian steppe. Haplogroup N1a is, however, more frequent in the populations of the southeastern region of the Eurasian steppe, as in Iran (but only 12 individuals were studied) and southeastern India (Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh territories). More precisely, in India haplogroup N1a is absent from the Dravidic-speaking population and is present in only five Indo-Aryan-speaking individuals, four of whom belonged to the Havik group, an upper Brahman caste (Mountain et al. 1995).

...

The absence of the Eurasian haplogroup N1a in the 490 modern individuals of Central Asia (Shields et al. 1993; Kolman et al. 1996; Comas et al. 1998; Derenko et al. 2000; Yao et al. 2000; Yao, Nie et al. 2002) suggests changes in the genetic structure of Central Asian populations, probably as a result of Asian population movements to the west during the past 2500 years.

Link

Heterogeneity of Afro-Brazilian Y chromosomes

Human Biology 76.1 (2004) 77-86

Heterogeneity of the Y Chromosome in Afro-Brazilian Populations

Kiyoko Abe-Sandes et al.

Abstract
Sixteen biallelic markers (SRY10831a, SRY10831b, SRY4064, SRY2627, 92R7, P2, P3, M34, M9, M3, M2, YAP, M60, M89, M213, M216) located in the nonrecombinant region of the Y chromosome were analyzed in 209 individuals belonging to six Brazilian populations: four Afro-Brazilian populations, one population of white European descendants, and one population of Japanese descendants. The results showed that most of the Y chromosomes of the Afro-Brazilians were from sub-Saharan Africa and that the proportion of Y chromosomes of European origin was greater than that of Y chromosomes of Amerindian origin. No typical African or Amerindian haplogroup was detected among Japanese individuals, and only one white individual showed a typical African haplogroup. Haplogroup P-92R7, which is highly frequent in the Portuguese and Italian populations, was the most frequent among whites (54%), and haplogroup K-M9, which shows wide geographic distribution and is absent in Africa, was the most frequent among Japanese individuals (65.6%). The two semi-isolated Afro-Brazilian populations showed the highest and the lowest genetic diversity, respectively. These differences probably reflect the effect of greater or smaller gene flow between a small isolated group and other populations. These findings show that the process of admixture does not occur homogeneously, with a tendency toward preferential marriages within the ethnic group and a clear direction in unions between European men and Amerindian or African women in the past. The results agree with historical and social data about the formation of the Brazilian population and reveal some of the factors that contribute to its heterogeneity.

Link

Native Migrations on the Western Edge of North America

Human Biology 76.1 (2004) 55-75

Mitochondrial DNA and Prehistoric Settlements:
Native Migrations on the Western Edge of North America

Jason A. Eshleman et al.

Abstract
We analyzed previously reported mtDNA haplogroup frequencies of 577 individuals and hypervariable segment 1 (HVS1) sequences of 265 individuals from Native American tribes in western North America to test hypotheses regarding the settlement of this region. These data were analyzed to determine whether Hokan and Penutian, two hypothesized ancient linguistic stocks, represent biological units as a result of shared ancestry within these respective groups. Although the pattern of mtDNA variation suggests regional continuity and although gene flow between populations has contributed much to the genetic landscape of western North America, some evidence supports the existence of both the Hokan and Penutian phyla. In addition, a comparison between coastal and inland populations along the west coast of North America suggests an ancient coastal migration to the New World. Similarly high levels of haplogroup A among coastal populations in the Northwest and along the California coast as well as shared HVS1 sequences indicate that early migrants to the New World settled along the coast with little gene flow into the interior valleys.

Link

mtDNA in modern and ancient Native Americans

Human Biology 76.1 (2004) 33-54

Patterns of mtDNA Diversity in Northwestern North America

Ripan S. Malhi et al.

Abstract
The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups of 54 full-blooded modern and 64 ancient Native Americans from northwestern North America were determined. The control regions of 10 modern and 30 ancient individuals were sequenced and compared. Within the Northwest, the frequency distribution for haplogroup A is geographically structured, with haplogroup A decreasing with distance from the Pacific Coast. The haplogroup A distribution suggests that a prehistoric population intrusion from the subarctic and coastal region occurred on the Columbia Plateau in prehistoric times. Overall, the mtDNA pattern in the Northwest suggests significant amounts of gene flow among Northwest Coast, Columbia Plateau, and Great Basin populations.

Link

Y chromosomes in Volga-Ural region

Genetika. 2001 Jul;37(7):1002-7

Analysis of Y-chromosomal diallelic loci polymorphism in populations of the Volga-Ural region

Bermisheva MA et al.

Three diallelic polymorphisms of human Y chromosome, DYS287 (Y Alu polymorphism, YAP), T/C transition at the RBF5 locus (Tat), and G/A transition at the LLY22 locus, were studied in eight ethnic populations of the Volga-Ural region, representing Turkic (Bashkirs, Tatars, and Chuvashes) and Finno-Ugric (Maris, Mordovians, Udmurts, Komi-Zyryans, and Komi-Permyaks) branches of the Uralic linguistic family, and in the group of Slavic migrants, belonging to the Indo-European linguistic family (Russians). Ethnic populations of the Volga-Ural region were characterized by a low frequency of the Y chromosome Alu insertion. Examination of an association between the Alu polymorphism and Tat mutation revealed absolute C/YAP linkage. Analysis of the haplotype frequency distribution patterns constructed from the data on the DYS287 and RBF5 polymorphisms revealed substantial differences between Udmurts and the other ethnic populations. The differences were also observed between Komi-Zyryans and the populations of Bashkirs, Mordovians, Komi-Permyaks, and Russians. Analysis of the degree of genetic differentiation pointed to high level of genetic differentiation of the male lineages of the Finno-Ugric ethnic groups. The data on the linkage between mutations of the RBF5 and the LLY22 loci indicated the common origin of the Tat mutation in Bashkirs, Mordovians, Udmurts, and Komi-Zyryans, and of a number of ancestral C allele-bearing chromosomes in Tatars, Maris, and Chuvashes.

Relationship between Y chromosome haplogroups N and O

Haplogroup N, defined by the LLY22g marker and haplogroup O, defined by M175 share a common newly discovered polymorphism, M214 on a K background (defined by M9). N, and in particular its N3 subclade, defined by the Tat-C polymorphism is frequent in northern Eurasia, whereas haplogroup O is found frequently in East Asia, being the most frequent haplogroup among the Han Chinese.

[1] cf. Nature Reviews Genetics 4, 598-612 (2003); doi:10.1038/nrg1124 Link, Figure 3.

mtDNA of Ancient Etruscans

This study on the Ancient Etruscans is a very exciting application of what will most likely take place increasingly in the future: large-scale genetic analysis of ancient DNA samples. See also similar studies on the Guanches and on Ancient Mongolians.

Am. J. Hum. Genet., 74:000, 2004

The Etruscans: A Population-Genetic Study

Cristiano Vernesi et al.

The origins of the Etruscans, a non-Indo-European population of preclassical Italy, are unclear. There is broad agreement that their culture developed locally, but the Etruscans' evolutionary and migrational relationships are largely unknown. In this study, we determined mitochondrial DNA sequences in multiple clones derived from bone samples of 80 Etruscans who lived between the 7th and the 3rd centuries B.C. In the first phase of the study, we eliminated all specimens for which any of nine tests for validation of ancient DNA data raised the suspicion that either degradation or contamination by modern DNA might have occurred. On the basis of data from the remaining 30 individuals, the Etruscans appeared as genetically variable as modern populations. No significant heterogeneity emerged among archaeological sites or time periods, suggesting that different Etruscan communities shared not only a culture but also a mitochondrial gene pool. Genetic distances and sequence comparisons show closer evolutionary relationships with the eastern Mediterranean shores for the Etruscans than for modern Italian populations. All mitochondrial lineages observed among the Etruscans appear typically European or West Asian, but only a few haplotypes were found to have an exact match in a modern mitochondrial database, raising new questions about the Etruscans' fate after their assimilation into the Roman state.

...

To better compare the Etruscan gene pool with those of contemporary Italy, we treated these populations as hybrids among four potential parental populations, from the four corners of the area considered in this study (table 2). The likely contributions of each parental population, or admixture coefficients, are similar for the three modern Italian populations, but Etruscans differ in two aspects: they show closer relationships both to North Africans and to Turks than any contemporary population. In particular, the Turkish component in their gene pool appears three times as large as in the other populations. These admixture estimates are not to be taken at their face value, for numerous assumptions underlie their estimation. Here they only serve to show that, with respect to modern Italian gene pools, the Etruscan one contains an excess of haplotypes suggesting evolutionary ties with the populations of the southern and eastern Mediterranean shores.

...

Social structure may have affected these results. All skeletons we typed were found in tombs containing artifacts that could be attributed with confidence to the Etruscan culture. Those tombs typically belong the social elites (Barker and Rasmussen 1998), and so the individuals we studied may represent a specific social group, the upper classes.

Link

match.com Physical Attraction Test

Quite a thorough test which tries to assess many independent dimensions of attractiveness.

My Results:

Are You Picky -- Very Picky: It's official: You're "picky." The fact is you are drawn to the most beautiful of the beautiful. You know what you like in women and are more selective than most men your age. Your tastes seem instinctual. You'd make a great casting agent, because you have a good eye for women who have "star quality." In real life, your high standards may be an obstacle for you. It's hard to find a woman with the strong features you like, who's also well-rounded in other ways. Still, you know the importance of a real physical "spark" in a relationship, and aren't willing (or able) to settle for less. The challenge is finding a woman who really wows you physically, even if she's not the most attractive woman in the room.

Face Types --

Your Favorite Body Types -- One type of body you seemed to like is scientifically called an "Ectomorph," which is a fancy way of saying you like "skinny" women. Since these women don't get as much attention as the cheerleaders, she'd probably be surprised to know that for you skinny is sexy. Women with this body type are long, lean, and lanky, with a small, delicate bone structure, narrow hips, and a flat stomach. She doesn't have as many curves as some of the other body types, but these women tend to stay thin throughout their lives. Ectomorphs are built for endurance activities like running and fitness walking rather than sports that require bursts of speed and strength. They make up around 3% of the single population. Keep your eyes out for signs like long necks, pointed chins, prominent noses, and long arms and legs.

Faces -- According to the photos you selected, you like women with so-called "oval" faces. The oval face has a gently rounded hairline and is slightly wider at the temples than the jawline and has an oval chin. This face shape is considered the ideal for women. Most women with other face shapes use makeup and hair style to try to make their faces look oval. Julia Roberts and Uma Thurman have oval faces.

Eyes -- You seemed especially interested in women with brown eyes. In the test, you may not have even noticed eye color on a conscious level. However, those smoldering brown eyes apparently stood out to you on an unconscious level. Supposedly, brown eyes give the impression of softness and mystery.

Nose Type -- You liked women with beautiful average noses. The "average" nose "fits" a woman's face. Length is shorter than the ears and from a profile, the nose line is straight or slightly curved. Your interest in these noses may be a "side effect" of your more general preference for "All-American," mainstream, nice looking women.

Lips -- You preferred women to have nice average-sized lips; not too thin and not too full. Even though thicker lips are more popular, you were not especially drawn to them. Perhaps it's because you like very natural-looking women, without a lot of makeup.

Smiles -- Women with a soft smile or grin seemed more appealing to you than women with big "toothy" smiles. Although you probably didn't notice this tendency, the preference for soft smiles fits your overall interest in women who appear genuine, warm, and approachable. [This one is very accurate]

Hair Style -- Although you liked women with a variety of hair styles, you seemed to have a special interest in women with full, wavy hair. Although straight hair has been in fashion recently, wavy hair has historically been the "ideal" and most desired hair type for women. Thick, wavy hair tends to give women a very feminine and stylish look. And it's by far the best hair to run your fingers through!

Hair Length -- You liked women with a variety of hair cuts, but you gave special attention to women with long hair. You seem to really appreciate women with beautiful hair. It's one of the qualities that seemed to grab your attention during the test. The good news is that long hair is coming back in style. So, there will be more and more who'll catch your eye. There will be lots of women whose long hair gives them a "feminine" and "girlish" quality you appear to be drawn to.

Genes, language, and culture: an example from the tarim basin

Christopher P. Thornton and Theodore G. Schurr

Oxford Journal of Archaeology
Volume 23 Issue 1 Page 83 - February 2004

Summary.

The Tarim Basin 'mummies' of western China continue to fascinate scholars and the general public alike due to their 'Caucasoid' features, well-preserved material culture, and putative 'European' origins. However, there have been some uncritical efforts to link these archaeological cultures to those of other ancient Eurasian groups (e.g. the Celts) by applying syllogistic reasoning to multi-disciplinary evidence. In an attempt to provide a more cautious synthesis of the prehistory of the Tarim Basin, this paper will briefly summarize the archaeological, physical, and linguistic evidence that has been used to model human settlement of this region. These data will then be related to recent molecular anthropology research on modern populations of Central Asia, focusing especially on the Uighur in relation to their neighbours. While the genetic history of the modern peoples of a particular region is not necessarily related to their prehistoric antecedents, it is argued that the Tarim Basin experienced a surprising cultural and biological continuity despite immigration from both east and west into Xinjiang Province. This conclusion has a number of possible political ramifications in the present day that must be addressed in future literature on the subject.

Link

Archbishop Christodoulos on the Passion

ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS WATCHED MEL GIBSON'S "THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST"

Athens, 26 February 2004 (16:41 UTC+2)

Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece watched a private screening of Mel Gibson's picture “The Passion of the Christ” organized by the film distributor in an Athens cinema theater yesterday.

Archbishop Christodoulos stated afterwards that the picture is characterized by extreme and shocking realism, mainly the violent scenes, but it is in conflict with the controlled narration on the Holy Passion included in the gospels.

The goal of the Holy Passion is not to provoke the faithful or to excite their imagination and feelings, neither to cause feelings of hatred and indignation toward people who collaborated in the passion and crucifixion, given the fact that the passion of Christ was voluntary. The goal of the Holy Passion is for people to come face-to-face with their own selves and their own sins, stated the Archbishop.

Assisted Reproductive Technology May Cause Epigenetic Errors

Am. J. Hum. Genet.
Epigenetics and Assisted Reproductive Technology: A Call for Investigation

Emily L. Niemitz et al.

Abstract

A surprising set of recent observations suggests a link between assisted reproductive technology (ART) and epigenetic errors—that is, errors involving information other than DNA sequence that is heritable during cell division. An apparent association with ART was found in registries of children with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, Angelman syndrome, and retinoblastoma. Here, we review the epidemiology and molecular biology behind these studies and those of relevant model systems, and we highlight the need for investigation of two major questions: (1) large-scale case-control studies of ART outcomes, including long-term assessment of the incidence of birth defects and cancer, and (2) investigation of the relationship between epigenetic errors in both offspring and parents, the specific methods of ART used, and the underlying infertility diagnoses. In addition, the components of proprietary commercial media used in ART procedures must be fully and publicly disclosed, so that factors such as methionine content can be assessed, given the relationship in animal studies between methionine exposure and epigenetic changes.

...

Indeed, the practice of ART has evolved largely outside the walls of academic medical research institutions, although there are certainly outstanding exceptions to this rule. Nevertheless, this largely extra-academic setting has consequences for ART research. For example, although outcomes affecting the success of pregnancy are closely studied, there has been a general lack of measures of long-term outcomes affecting the offspring themselves, related to the fact that ART and obstetrics care are performed by different people, often in different hospitals or cities. This history has important implications for understanding the consequences of this technology, and it is most important in any discussion of reproduction and disease to be clear about how little is known about these consequences.

Link

"His blood"

Some readers commented in one of my previous entries about the Passion regarding the implausibility of the controversial line of Matthew 27:25: "All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" ". I have since made an inquiry whether or not such an expression has any precedents in Hebrew literature and it turns out that it does. In Joshua 2: 17, during the story of two spies sent by Joshua [1] to Rahab, the spies are negotiating with Rahab:

"If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him.

So, I think that the expression "his blood be on us" can be said to have a biblical precedent. This would seem to support the case that it could have actually been said as per St. Matthew's account.