Jan Storå
Publications
A selection from Stockholm University publication database
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Early Holocene human population events on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea (9200-3800 cal. BP)
2018. Jan Apel (et al.). Quaternary International 465, 276-286
ArticleRead more about Early Holocene human population events on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea (9200-3800 cal. BP)The summed probability distribution of 162 radiocarbon dates from Gotland was analysed with reference to archaeological and environmental data in order to evaluate possible variations in settlement intensity on the island. The data indicated variations in demographic development on the island, with probably several different colonization events and external influences; the pioneer settlement reached the island around 9200 cal. BP. After the initial colonization, the radiocarbon dates were rather evenly distributed until around 7700–7600 cal. BP, then there was a drop in the number of dates between 8300 and 8000 cal. BP that may be associated with the 8200 cold event. A marked decline in the number of dates between 7600 and 6000 cal. BP may be associated initially with the Littorina I transgression, but this transgression cannot explain why the Late Mesolithic period is not well represented on Gotland: the climatic development was favourable but did not result in increased human activity. The number of radiocarbon dates indicated that the population size remained low until around 6000 cal. BP, after which there was a gradual increase that reached a first ‘threshold’ after 5600 cal. BP and a second ‘threshold’ after 4500 cal. BP. The first apparent population increase was associated with the appearance of the Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) and the second with Pitted Ware Culture (PWC) complexes. A decline in the number of dates occurred after 4300 cal. BP, i.e. towards the Late Neolithic. There was an association between the frequency distributions of the radiocarbon dates and the number of stray finds from different time periods but any correlation was not straightforward.
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Read more about Genetic revolutions and northern survival during the last glacial maximum in European brown bears
Genetic revolutions and northern survival during the last glacial maximum in European brown bears
Erik Ersmark (et al.).
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Ancient genomes suggest the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe as the source of western Iron Age nomads
2018. Maja Krzewińska (et al.). Science Advances 4 (10)
ArticleRead more about Ancient genomes suggest the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe as the source of western Iron Age nomadsFor millennia, the Pontic-Caspian steppe was a connector between the Eurasian steppe and Europe. In this scene, multidirectional and sequential movements of different populations may have occurred, including those of the Eurasian steppe nomads. We sequenced 35 genomes (low to medium coverage) of Bronze Age individuals (Srubnaya-Alakulskaya) and Iron Age nomads (Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians) that represent four distinct cultural entities corresponding to the chronological sequence of cultural complexes in the region. Our results suggest that, despite genetic links among these peoples, no group can be considered a direct ancestor of the subsequent group. The nomadic populations were heterogeneous and carried genetic affinities with populations from several other regions including the Far East and the southern Urals. We found evidence of a stable shared genetic signature, making the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe a likely source of western nomadic groups.
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Genomic Evidence Establishes Anatolia as the Source of the European Neolithic Gene Pool
2016. Ayca Omrak (et al.). Current Biology 26 (2), 270-275
ArticleRead more about Genomic Evidence Establishes Anatolia as the Source of the European Neolithic Gene PoolAnatolia and the Near East have long been recognized as the epicenter of the Neolithic expansion through archaeological evidence. Recent archaeogenetic studies on Neolithic European human remains have shown that the Neolithic expansion in Europe was driven westward and northward by migration from a supposed Near Eastern origin [1-5]. However, this expansion and the establishment of numerous culture complexes in the Aegean and Balkans did not occur until 8,500 before present (BP), over 2,000 years after the initial settlements in the Neolithic core area [6-9]. We present ancient genome-wide sequence data from 6,700-year-old human remains excavated from a Neolithic context in Kumtepe, located in northwestern Anatolia near the well-known (and younger) site Troy [10]. Kumtepe is one of the settlements that emerged around 7,000 BP, after the initial expansion wave brought Neolithic practices to Europe. We show that this individual displays genetic similarities to the early European Neolithic gene pool and modern-day Sardinians, as well as a genetic affinity to modern-day populations from the Near East and the Caucasus. Furthermore, modern-day Anatolians carry signatures of several admixture events from different populations that have diluted this early Neolithic farmer component, explaining why modern-day Sardinian populations, instead of modern-day Anatolian populations, are genetically more similar to the people that drove the Neolithic expansion into Europe. Anatolia's central geographic location appears to have served as a connecting point, allowing a complex contact network with other areas of the Near East and Europe throughout, and after, the Neolithic.
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Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques
2015. Torsten Gunther (et al.). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112 (38), 11917-11922
ArticleRead more about Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day BasquesThe consequences of the Neolithic transition in Europe-one of the most important cultural changes in human prehistory-is a subject of great interest. However, its effect on prehistoric and modern-day people in Iberia, the westernmost frontier of the European continent, remains unresolved. We present, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide sequence data from eight human remains, dated to between 5,500 and 3,500 years before present, excavated in the El Portalon cave at Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain. We show that these individuals emerged from the same ancestral gene pool as early farmers in other parts of Europe, suggesting that migration was the dominant mode of transferring farming practices throughout western Eurasia. In contrast to central and northern early European farmers, the Chalcolithic El Portalon individuals additionally mixed with local southwestern hunter-gatherers. The proportion of hunter-gatherer-related admixture into early farmers also increased over the course of two millennia. The Chalcolithic El Portalon individuals showed greatest genetic affinity to modern-day Basques, who have long been considered linguistic and genetic isolates linked to the Mesolithic whereas all other European early farmers show greater genetic similarity to modern-day Sardinians. These genetic links suggest that Basques and their language may be linked with the spread of agriculture during the Neolithic. Furthermore, all modern-day Iberian groups except the Basques display distinct admixture with Caucasus/Central Asian and North African groups, possibly related to historical migration events. The El Portalon genomes uncover important pieces of the demographic history of Iberia and Europe and reveal how prehistoric groups relate to modern-day people.