Prehistoric Migrations

According to recent researches bearers of H2a1 MtDNA suddenly appeared between Araxes, Don and Volga Rivers during Chalcolithic and spread in Eurasia until Late Bronze Age during what is commonly called Indo-European Migrations. We demonstrate in this paper that this sudden and fast expansion is in fact the last step of a prior and longer ethnogenesis's process for the H2a MtDNA bearers rooted to Levantine Pastoralism for Milk that expanded before and after Late Glacial Maximum (LGM). It also demonstrates that women were a key element in the Neolithic Revolution and proposes the theory according to which their strong political position was linked to a solid oral transmission of knowledge that has been weakened by the new 'way of like' that shortened their life's expectancy due to the convergence of an increased birth rate and the apparition of new diseases (Yersinia Pestis/ Tuberculosis). Then the H2a MtDNA weak demic diffusion of Agriculture/ Pastoralism was accompanied by a strong cultural diffusion that also blurred cultural epicentres. However, this balance reversed in Lesser Caucasus during Chalcolithic, particularly in Hal (Vorotan River, Lesser Caucasus) where favourable political and geoclimatic conditions promoted this 'women's caste' specialized in domestication and dairying products (Cheese) to became major building block of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic expansions in Europe. In the aftermath of a first migration towards Balkans/ Calabria, a second expansion of H2a1 MtDNA towards the Eurasian steppe (Bronze Age) was the result of a successful political adaptation to rapid and radical political changes in Transcaucasia due to the emergence of a nomadic military/ merchant's caste specialized in equitation and warfare. In other words, both Neolithic and Chalcolithic expansions diffused the scarce H2a MtDNA and the omnipresent H2a1 MtDNA lineages who enriched a single common cultural background that reveals the whole history of populations since the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to Eneolithic.

The paper aims at demonstrating a southeast European origin of the Gundestrup cauldron and at giving its origin and way to Denmark a context. It is argued that the cauldron was brought to its final resting place along routes that have long traditions - ie. the route that connected the Baltic with the Black Sea.

Once considered a backwater of New World prehistory, the Caribbean has now emerged from the archaeological shadows as a critical region for answering a host of questions related to human population dispersal, Neotropical island adaptations, maritime subsistence, seafaring, island interaction networks, and the rise of social complexity, among many others. In this paper, I provide a review of: (1) what is currently known about the antiquity of Pre-Columbian colonization of the Caribbean using archaeological, biological, and oceanographic data; (2) how these data inform on the dispersal of what appear to be many different population movements through time; and (3) the subsequent adaptations (e.g., technological, subsistence, and economic) that took place across the islands after initial contact. Results of more than a century of research demonstrate that the Antilles were settled much earlier than once thought (ca. 7000 cal yr BP), in multiple waves that show strong linkages to South America, but possibly originated from more than one source location. Dispersal was patchy, with several intriguing chronological and spatial disparities that scholars are now investigating in more detail. Beginning ca. 2500 cal yr BP, and accelerating around 1500 cal yr BP, the frequent transport and exchange of goods, services, animals,
plants, knowledge, and spiritual ideologies between the islands as well as mainland areas — particularly South America — testify to the interconnected nature of Pre-Columbian societies in the region. The use of more advanced analytical techniques, including ancient DNA, archaeobotany, stable isotopes, and
various approaches to geochemical and mineralogical sourcing of artifacts, which until recently have been largely underused in the Caribbean, is opening new avenues of research that are creating exciting opportunities for examining ancient Amerindian lifeways.

Blackfoot people claim they have always resided in their defined traditional territory on the Northwestern Plains of North America since time began. Today their treaty reserves and reservation remain as fragments within that defined territory. When the primary Blackfoot subsistence economy of buffalo hunting vanished in the late 19th century, various efforts were made by Blackfoot chiefs and White recorders to document Blackfoot culture and oral stories, many of which described the creation of the Blackfoot people and their traditional landscape. Various academic opinions subsequently emerged about these traditional stories to interpret how the Blackfoot came to be where they are. This essay reexamines those recorded traditional oral stories, subsequent academic opinions and collateral research.

Для реконструкции последовательности появления представлений о мире и человеке проанализировано ареальное распределение мотивов, выделенных из традиционных нарративов (примерно 25 тыс. текстов). Статистическая обработка позволила выявить комплексы мотивов, соответствующие путям древнейших миграций. Оценки базируются на результатах сопоставления комплексов одинаковых мотивов в Старом и в Новом Свете. Использованная методика впервые позволила проследить эпохальную динамику развития мифологии на основе анализа данных. Наиболее древний комплекс, отражающий южный путь расселения человека из Африки, связан с объяснением происхождения смерти. Мотивы этой группы хорошо представлены в Африке к югу от Сахары, в Южной Евразии, Океании и Америке (особенно в Южной), но редки на севере Евразии, в Американской Арктике и Субарктике. Мотивы, относящиеся к теме появления человека, его анатомии, отношений полов, характерны для циркумтихоокеанского мира. Эта тема стала развиваться у вышедших из Африки популяций после освоения Юго-Восточной Азии, но до начала заселения Нового Света. С учетом географии распространения мотивов, посвященных космогонии и этиологии природных явлений, можно предположить, что некоторые из них возникли на юге Евразии, были принесены в Сибирь и уже оттуда проникли в Америку. Представления, которые являлись основой интерпретации небесных объектов, развились позже всего. Эти мотивы обильны только в Северной Евразии, откуда многие были принесены в Северную, но не в Южную Америку

Archaeological sites on the Delmarva Peninsula dating between 1,500 and 1,100 years ago (500 calAD and 900 calAD) have long been recognized as having strong cultural ties to both the Kipp Island phase and the Intrusive Mound complex. Recent excavations and radiometric dating at two large fishing-related encampment sites along Delmarva’s lower Atlantic seacoast suggest an early (circa 500 calAD) appearance of Jack’s Reef cultural manifestations. At least three Jack’s Reef-related cemeteries are currently documented on the Delmarva Peninsula. These sites along with many others on Delmarva are associated with what has been defined as the Webb phase. A background historical overview is presented along with a summary of the local Jack’s Reef technologies. Subsistence, trade, and exchange patterns are also outlined. It would seem that there is a distinct “coastal” Jack’s Reef adaptation that extends from the Virginia coast north towards the Gulf of Maine. The similarity of certain burial practices, the movement of certain lithic materials, and the presence of specific subsistence remains supports the coastal “Jacks Reef” hypothesis.

abstract Fox/jackal/coyote, raven (crow), and hare/rabbit are three zoomorphic tricksters that are the most widespread in the world folklore. Everyone of these occupies a vast but clearly delineated area. The fox/jackal has no rivals across Europe, Eastern and Southern Siberia, Central, Southwestern and South Asia, Northern and Northeastern Africa. In the New World the trickster-coyote is widespread in western North America and the trickster-fox in the Central-South Andes, Chaco and Patagonia. The hare/rabbit is the predominant trickster in sub-Saharan Africa and in Southeastern, East Asia, and is widespread in Eastern North America. An isolated enclave of fox/coyote in Southwestern Africa seems to be related to the southward movement of cattle-breeders from present day Kenya – Tanzania ca. 200 B.C. – A.D. 200. The trickster-raven is peculiar for the northern Pacific on both Asiatic and American sides with a vague trace along the Pacific belt of Asia down to southeastern Australia. Both trickster-raven and trickster-fox were brought to American Arctic by the Eskimo. Areas of the predominant spread of the major animal tricksters do not coincide with the areas of the spread of particular types of animal tales. The zoomorphic characteristics of the tricksters across particular areas seem to be extraordinary stable while the particular tale-types easily cross the regional borders with zoomorphic identity of protagonists changed accordingly to regional norms. The world distribution of the most popular zoomorphic tricksters can have its roots in the remote epoch of the initial spread of modern man from Africa and emergence of major cultural areas. The spread of particular tale-types was a much later phenomenon.

During the Pre-Roman Iron Age The European continent can be divided into several cultural zones - one including the Medeterranean and the southern and western shores of the Black Sea, another the highlands of Central Europe, a third the lowlands of Northern Central and Northern Europe. These zones seem to be developing along separate lines, but during the middle part of the period something happens - in every zone changes are marked. And more over the Northern Zone seems to expand  to the southeast towards the Black Sea and for the first time getting in direct contact with the Mediterranean-Pontic zone.

Two co-authored articles in Nature (Haak et al., 2015; Allentoft et al., 2015) caused a sensation. They revealed genetically the mass migration of steppe Yamnaya culture people in the Early Bronze Age to central and northern Europe. The authors considered this event as the basis of the spread of Indo-European languages. In response, the Russian archaeologist, Leo S. Klejn, expresses critical remarks on the genetic inference, and in particular its implications for the problem of the origins of Indo-European languages. These remarks were shown to the authors and they present their objections. Klejn, however, has come to the conclusion that the authors’ objections do not assuage his doubts. He analyses these objections in a further response.

Among the early burial mounds in the northwest of the Black Sea, a special place is occupied by a series of grave containing the bone pins with the curved head. The same discoveries were also documented eastwards in the basin of the Dnieper and the North Azov Sea. However, their mapping denotes a clear concentration of them in the north-west of the Black Sea (6 out of 10 findings are identified here). All of the pins are masterfully executed, the surface is well polished, in the section being circular, and some artefacts have a square-sectioned end. The opening is usually made closer to the curved part of the pin and its diameter does not exceed few millimetres.
The stratigraphic position in the mounds, the burial rite and ritual elements of the funeral assemblages with the bent pins, the associated inventory, denotes their belonging to the Jivotilovka group spread over large areas of the northern Black Sea. It is not excluded that the prototype of the pins were the silver curved pins known in the Maykop-Novosvobodnaya cultural milieu. Moving west through transfer or diffusion, Northwest Caucasian cultural traditions found in the north and northwest of the Black Sea region conducive to their further development, by taking elements of the material culture of local communities. Hence the impression of the composite model of the Jivotilovka cultural phenomenon noted by several researchers. At the same time, a big part of the elements of the funeral traditions of this group is later found in a slightly different form in the burials of the middle phase of Yamnaya culture.

Recent ‘new materialist’ readings of evolution by such feminists as Elizabeth Grosz, Claire Colebrook, Luciana Parisi, Susan Oyama and Myra Hird have provided important insights on the openness of evolutionary processes and the emergence of difference by focusing on evolution as a temporal dynamic. Building on Darwin's observations on geographical variation, this article highlights the importance of viewing evolution as not only temporal but also spatial. For this purpose, the article turns to population genetics and its practice of mapping the early human diaspora. The article identifies a spatiotemporal dynamic of evolutionary emergence that posits gender, sexuality and race as ontologically mutually constitutive, as well as shows that such ontology is inseparable from the techniques and technologies that study it. The article argues that this mutual embeddedness of ontology and epistemology provides a site where both the limits and potential of evolutionary emergence may be examined and negotiated.

Was the spread of agropastoralism from the Eurasian founder regions dominated by demic or by cultural diffusion? This study employs a mathematical model of regional sociocultural development that includes different diffusion processes, local innovation and societal adaptation.  This simulation hindcasts the emergence and expansion of agropastoral life style in 294 regions of Eurasia and North Africa.  Different scenarios for demic and diffusive exchange processes between adjacent regions are contrasted and the spatiotemporal pattern of diffusive events is evaluated.  This study shows that there is no simple or exclusive demic or cultural answer, but that in most regions of Eurasia both demic and cultural processes are active, sometimes concurrently, sometimes alternating.  Only few, possibly environmentally marginal, areas show a dominance of demic diffusion.  I  argue to investigate diffusion processes in a diachronic fashion and not from a time-integrated perspective:  the complexity of diffusion processes that this deterministic model shows should be expected to have been surpassed by past people who made choices and pursued interests.

This talk was presented at the 10th Anniversary of the Roots of Europe research centre at the NorS institute, University of Copenhagen. The talk looked into the correlation of ancient DNA studies of human migration in relation to the subdvision of the Indo-European language branches and the question of the Indo-European homeland.
Furthermore, the project I have been working on since September 2017 was launched: an online interactive time map of prehistoric migrations through ancient DNA data, with additional data on early wheels and wool production. The map's timeline spans from 8200-1 BCE and features 1769 ancient individuals, 33 entries of the earliest wheels, and 666 entries on early wool finds (many from the CinBA database), and other indications of early wool production. As an experimental feature, also archaeological culture areas are added, as well as SNP highlights of steppe-derived R1 lineages along with a haplogroup tree of ancient R1 lineages.
The map can be viewed at http://homeland.ku.dk

The inland site of Sujala in northern Finnish Lapland and the coastal sites of Fállegoahtesajeguolbba and Ovenfor Lossoa's hus in eastern Norwegian Finnmark bear witness to an early migration of people with a "Post-Swiderian" pressure blade technology that is native to northern Russia and the eastern Baltic. The two latter sites and at least three other related sites in the Varangerfjord prove that the immigrants -- though originally from the taiga zone -- were able to adapted themselves successfully to a sea coast environment.

The Sujala site in Utsjoki, Finnish Lapland, is the first Post-Swiderian site discovered in northern Scandinavia. Located on an inland lake, the site appears to have been a reindeer-hunting camp dating to the late Preboreal Period. The lithic finds from Sujala exhibit numerous technological and stylistic features that are characteristic of the Post-Swiderian cultures of Russia and the East Baltic and differ clearly from those of the contemporaneous Ahrensburgian-related Phase 1 or early "Komsa" culture of the North Norwegian coast. However, the lithic raw material at Sujala apparently derives specifically from the "Komsa" area, raising the question of coast-inland trade vs. a dualistic coastal-inland adaptation. In the summer of 2009, the authors identified a site on the coast of the Varangerfjord in Norway, some 65 km northeast of Sujala, that produced lithics which were very similar to the Sujala finds and exhibited the same characteristic Post-Swiderian featur...

There were four same types of point geometry between The İstanbul PaleoCulture and The Culture of Paleoindians of Americas  in the first version of this article.     
          After I published the first version of this article,  I determined two more same point geometries between İstanbul PaleoCulture and The Culture of the first Paleoindians of Americas. Then the total number of same geometries became six.
            Moreover, I determined  some new points from İstanbul Paleoculture which have similar geometries with the first four point geometries that I published in the first version of this article. And then I decided to revise  this article to make the information stronger and more comprehensive for academicians and peoples.         
            Now, There are 10 points and 6 point types from İstanbul PaleoCulture in this second version of this article.
            As I said before, The letters had helped me to solve and determine the relations between cultures in my research about ancient  alphabets and inscriptions and in my two books about that researchs. Besides, the keys were point geometries in the research of  this paleolithic culture and its descendents,  .
        When we look the samenesses and similarities of point geometries,  The most close culture which is the descendent of Istanbul PaleoCulture  is the culture of the first paleoindians of Americas.  . The second similar culture in terms of similar arrowhead geometries is Solutrean Culture which is associated with Cro-Magnons, and also Gravittean Culture in the same region, in France and  Spain. 
        The third similarity in terms of point geometries is  Çatalhöyük and  Göbeklitepe cultures, and continued cultures of Göbeklitepe that reached to Byblos(Lebanon) and  Egypt. This third branch is less similar than the culture of paleoindians of Americas and Cro-Magnons Culture. But the presence of this similarity  could be seen.
          Against previous beliefs about that Istanbul was a crossroad of paleolithic human migrations, It seems that İstanbul PaleoCulture is the root of the paleolithic human migrations.

In this paper the observations regarding two genes from Spencer Wells’s DNA research are interpreted by means of the Hidden Goals theory. The Y Haplo genes found in mtDNA have been linked to agricultural activities. Unlike the earlier theories
suggested by Spencer Wells and others, this paper makes clear that agricultural activities had not been adopted from immigrants —from the Middle East or elsewhere —but were carried out by descendants of female immigrants in forced labor.
Recommendations are made regarding definitions of the used (agricultural) terms and with respect to further research into possible relationships between economic activities (according to the Hidden Goals theory) and any DNA combinations, as well as with respect to relevant research questions and hypotheses.