Browsing by Author "Silva, Ana Maria"
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- The genetic history of Portugal over the past 5,000 years.Publication . Roca-Rada, Xavier; Davidson, Roberta; Williams, Matthew P.; Villalba-Mouco, Vanessa; Carvalho, António Manuel Faustino de; Ravishankar, Shyamsundar; Collen, Evelyn; Haarkötter, Christian; Taufik, Leonard; Cuesta-Aguirre, Daniel R.; Tente, Catarina; Calleja, Álvaro M Monge; MacRoberts, Rebecca Anne; Melo, Linda; Purnomo, Gludhug A.; Souilmi, Yassine; Tobler, Raymond; Cunha, Eugénia; Tereso, Sofia; Matos, Vítor M. J.; Fernandes, Teresa Matos; Maurer, Anne-France; Silva, Ana Maria; Carvalho, Pedro C.; Llamas, Bastien; Teixeira, João C.Recent ancient DNA studies uncovering large-scale demographic events in Iberia have presented very limited data for Portugal, a country located at the westernmost edge of continental Eurasia. Here, we present the most comprehensive collection of Portuguese ancient genome-wide data, from 67 individuals spanning 5000 years of human history, from the Neolithic to the nineteenth century. We identify early admixture between local hunter-gatherers and Anatolian-related farmers in Neolithic Portugal, with a northeastern-southwestern gradient of increasing Magdalenian-associated ancestry persistence in Iberia. This profile continues into the Chalcolithic, though Bell Beaker-associated sites reveal Portugal's first evidence of Steppe-related ancestry. Such ancestry has a broader demographic impact during the Bronze Age, despite continuity of local Chalcolithic genetic ancestry and limited Mediterranean connections. The village of Idanha-a-Velha emerges in the Roman period as a site of significant migration and interaction, presenting a notably diverse genetic profile that includes North African and Eastern Mediterranean ancestries. The Early Medieval period is marked by the arrival of Central European genetic diversity, likely linked to migrations of Germanic tribes, adding to coeval local, African, and Mediterranean influences. The Islamic and Christian Conquest periods show strong genetic continuity in northern Portugal and significant additional African admixture in the south. The latter remains stable during the post-Islamic period, suggesting enduring African influences. We reveal dynamic patterns of migration in line with cultural exchange across millennia, but also the persistence of local ancestries. Our findings integrate genetic information with historical and archeological data, enhancing our understanding of Iberia's biological and cultural heritage.
- Mercury in archaeological human bone: biogenic or diagenetic?Publication . Emslie, Steven D.; Alderman, Audrey; McKenzie, Ashley; Brasso, Rebecka; Taylor, Alison R.; Molina Moreno, Maria; Cambra-Moo, Oscar; Gonzalez Martin, Armando; Silva, Ana Maria; Valera, António Carlos; Garcia Sanjuan, Leonardo; Vijande Vila, EduardoWe investigated mercury (Hg) in human bone from archaeological sites in the Iberian Peninsula where the cultural use of cinnabar (HgS) as a pigment, offering or preservative in burial practices has been documented from the 4th to 2nd millennia cal B.C. (Late Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age). Previous analyses have shown high levels of total mercury (THg) in human bone at numerous Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in this region, but the question remains if this mercury entered the bones via diagenetic processes in the soil, especially where cinnabar powder and paint was found associated with the burials, or if it entered the bone via biogenic pathways from exposure to mercury from using cinnabar in life. We analyzed the humerus, femur, and tibia from a total of 30 individual burials from four Neolithic to Bronze Age sites in Iberia and found low to high values of THg in these bones, with the humerus showing significantly more THg concentrations than other skeletal elements when the THg was greater than 1 ppm. This pattern of Hg deposition in skeletal material from different sites and ages strongly suggests a biogenic origin for the mercury. In addition, absence of detectable Hg in bones with high to low values of THg using SEM EDS analysis further discounts diagenetic intrusion of Hg or cinnabar particles into the bone from the soil. It is likely that greater stress and bone remodeling rates from use of heavy tools and other activities in life are responsible for higher THg in the humerus than other skeletal elements, but additional research is needed to verify this.
- Metacarpal cortical bone loss and osteoporotic fractures in the Coimbra Identified Skeletal CollectionPublication . Curate, Francisco; Perinha, Andreia; Silva, Ana Maria; Cunha, Eugenia; Umbelino, Cláudia; Nogueira, CatarinaThere has been considerable progress in recent years in our understanding of the patterns of cortical bone loss in the second metacarpal in archeological skeletal samples. Nevertheless, cortical data from reference skeletal collections are insufficient, and the possible connection of metacarpal cortical parameters with osteoporotic fractures has not been thoroughly addressed. As such, this article aims to identify and explain sex-specific and age-associated metacarpal cortical bone loss in a large sample (N = 302
- The embodiment of craft production in Bronze Age Portugal: exceptional dental wear grooves in an individual from Monte do Vale do Ouro 2 (Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal)Publication . Willman, John Charles; Valera, António Carlos; Silva, Ana MariaTwo human lateral mandibular incisors exhibiting exceptional dental wear in the form of lingual surface grooves along the cementoenamel junction were recovered from the superficial levels of a pit grave attributed to the Bronze Age at the archaeological site of Monte do Vale do Ouro 2 (Ferreira do Alentejo, Beja, Portugal). Although a number of analyses of dental wear features acknowledge the relatively common use of the dentition for nondietary purposes (using the 'teeth as tools') during the Early/Middle Bronze Age (2200-1200 BC) of southwest Iberia, the form of dental wear documented at Monte do Vale do Ouro 2 is not only a novel finding in this region but also has seldom been described in any bioarchaeological context. the present study provides a macroscopic and low-magnification description of the atypical dental wear for this individual. Results indicate that the incisors are likely antimeres. In addition to the deep lingual grooves, asymmetrical wear removed a substantial portion of the laterolingual crown volume of each tooth. Occlusal and lingual surface wear accumulated slowly enough for tertiary dentin to form. An occlusal groove is also present on the right I-2. A review of ethnohistoric and bioarchaeological literature suggests that some form of craft production involving the manipulation of cordage or fibre with the mouth and teeth can account for the unique wear patterns from Monte do Vale do Ouro 2. the hand-spinning of flax requires wetting which can be accomplished by passing flax fibres through the mouth in a mediolateral direction while using a hand spindle. Similar habitual behaviours were probably practiced by the Bronze Age individual from Monte do Vale do Ouro 2. the wear grooves represent the embodiment of aspects of craft production and maintenance activities that occurred during this individual's lifecourse.
- The use and abuse of cinnabar in Late Neolithic and Copper Age IberiaPublication . Emslie, Steven D.; Silva, Ana Maria; Valera, António Carlos; Vijande Vila, Eduardo; Melo, Linda; Curate, Francisco; Fidalgo, Daniel; Inácio, Nuno; Molina Moreno, María; Cambra‐Moo, Oscar; González Martín, Armando; Barroso‐Bermejo, Rosa; Montero Artús, Raquel; García Sanjuán, LeonardoIn this study, total mercury (THg) was analyzed in archaeological human bone from 23 sites dating to between the Middle Neolithic and the Antiquity. A total of 370 individuals from individual or collective burials was sampled, mostly using cortical bone from the humerus. These individuals were recovered from over 50 different funerary structures ranging from tholoi, pits, caves, and hypogea. Although cinnabar (HgS) is a likely cause of mercury poisoning and toxicity for people exposed to this mineral from mining or use as a paint or pigment, not all sites investigated here had cinnabar associated with the burials or other excavated areas. We found unusual levels of THg in many of the sampled individuals that we assume were caused by exposure to cinnabar in life, and not by diagenetic processes or other exposures to mercury such as through diet, which would only cause negligible accumulation of THg in bone. Our data, based on the largest sampling ever undertaken on contamination of human bone through archaeological evidence, provide a baseline for additional research on cinnabar and its use in Prehistory. Moderate to high levels of THg in human bone are mainly associated with societies dating from the second half of the 4th to late 3rd millennia B.C. (Late Neolithic to Middle Chalcolithic) in southern Iberia. By the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, the use of cinnabar decreased significantly and became minimal or absent. The use and abuse of cinnabar appears to have been pervasive throughout the above-mentioned period and particularly between c. 2900-2300 B.C. This occurred in connection with the high symbolic and probably sacred value of the substance, which was sought after, traded, and extensively used in a variety of rituals and social practices.