How did farming reach the Southern Andes? Through migration or cultural transmission? Our new paper in @nature.com combines ancient DNA, isotopes, archaeology & paleoclimate to reconstruct 2,000+ years of history in Uspallata, Mendoza.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A Thread🧵 (1/25+)
Free online aDNA summer school🧬🌎
Learn new methods, train with amazing instructors, and meet students from around the world!
#HAAM-community #aDNA #SummerSchool
When archaeologists found the bodies of 77 women and children in an Iron Age grave, they pinned it on a prehistoric plague outbreak. A new analysis reveals it was actually a mass execution. Most bizarre? @mireniraorb.bsky.social's look at their genes shows the victims weren't related. @science.org
Taken together, the evidence points to gender- and age-biased mass violence; potentially aimed at fragmenting social networks and reshaping power structures in the Early Iron Age Carpathian Basin.
Grateful to everyone involved, this was truly interdisciplinary collaboration at its best 👩🔬📚🥰
🧬 Genetics ( @jazminrm.bsky.social, @bitesizedna.bsky.social, @hringbauer.bsky.social gbauer.bsky.social, D. Mylopotamitaki, myself & team): Ancient DNA revealed almost no close genetic relatedness among the individuals. IBD sharing shows that most were unrelated even beyond the second-cousin level.
🌍 Isotopes (Jason Laffoon, Cheryl Makarewicz & team):
Sr, C, and N isotopes revealed diverse childhood origins and foodways. 50–100 animals were also deposited in the grave. Analyses showed they grazed across different landscapes, reinforcing the idea of regional connections and diverse lifeways.
⌛ Radiocarbon dating (Christopher Bronk Ramsey & colleagues):
AMS dating placed the event in the mid-to-late 9th century BCE, aligning with broader archaeological evidence for regional upheaval and renewed settlement dynamics.
🔬 Histotaphonomy & bioerosion (
@boothicus.bsky.social ): CT-based analysis of bone microstructure showed high levels of bioerosion consistent with rapid burial after death. This suggests the killing occurred nearby and bodies were collected and interred shortly afterwards.
🦴 Osteology (Linda Fibiger):
Skeletal analysis showed extensive peri-mortem trauma, mostly blunt-force injuries to the head. Women and children were heavily overrepresented, pointing to selective demographic targeting rather than battlefield casualties or disease.
🏺 Archaeological context (Barry Molloy & Jovan Koledin):
Gomolava sits in the Carpathian Basin during a period of social change, mobility, and competing lifeways. The site reflects tensions between communities and ideologies of land use, explaining how large-scale targeted violence could emerge.
We investigated one of Europe’s largest prehistoric single-event mass graves, combining osteology, isotopes, archaeogenetics, chronology, and archaeological context to understand who these people were and what happened to them. Illustrations by Sara Nylund.
Really excited to share our new paper on the Early Iron Age mass grave at Gomolava (9th c. BCE), a study I had the pleasure to work on during my PhD with an amazing group of co-authors across multiple disciplines. Open access link: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵👇
Taken together, the evidence points to gender- and age-biased mass violence; potentially aimed at fragmenting social networks and reshaping power structures in the Early Iron Age Carpathian Basin.
Grateful to everyone involved, this was truly interdisciplinary collaboration at its best 👩🔬📚🥰
IBD-based comparative analyses indicate the assemblage likely represents a broader population sample, similar to mass graves like Potočani (Croatia)&Asparn-Schletz (Austria), in contrast to the extended family structure observed at Koszyce. The demographic profile, however, is unique to Gomolava.
🧬 Genetics (@jazminrm.bsky.social, @bitesizedna.bsky.social, @hringbauer.bsky.social, D. Mylopotamitaki, myself & team): Ancient DNA revealed almost no close genetic relatedness among the individuals. IBD sharing shows that most were unrelated even beyond the second-cousin level.
🌍 Isotopes (Jason Laffoon, Cheryl Makarewicz & team):
Sr, C, and N isotopes revealed diverse childhood origins and foodways. 50–100 animals were also deposited in the grave. Analyses showed they grazed across different landscapes, reinforcing the idea of regional connections and diverse lifeways.
⌛ Radiocarbon dating (Christopher Bronk Ramsey & colleagues):
AMS dating placed the event in the mid-to-late 9th century BCE, aligning with broader archaeological evidence for regional upheaval and renewed settlement dynamics.
🔬 Histotaphonomy & bioerosion (@boothicus.bsky.social): CT-based analysis of bone microstructure showed high levels of bioerosion consistent with rapid burial after death. This suggests the killing occurred nearby and bodies were collected and interred shortly afterwards.
🦴 Osteology (Linda Fibiger):
Skeletal analysis showed extensive peri-mortem trauma, mostly blunt-force injuries to the head. Women and children were heavily overrepresented, pointing to selective demographic targeting rather than battlefield casualties or disease.
🏺 Archaeological context (Barry Molloy & Jovan Koledin):
Gomolava sits in the Carpathian Basin during a period of social change, mobility, and competing lifeways. The site reflects tensions between communities and ideologies of land use, explaining how large-scale targeted violence could emerge.
We investigated one of Europe’s largest prehistoric single-event mass graves, combining osteology, isotopes, archaeogenetics, chronology, and archaeological context to understand who these people were and what happened to them.
Is this going to be recorded? Or is there going to be an option to join online? Thanks!
Plazer bat da gure lana akademiatik kanpo, honelako giro politean aurkezteko aukera izatea. Eta holako mahaikidekin gainera! Eskerrik asko #feministaldia
🚨 The first HAAM elections are now open!
👥 Meet the candidates: haam-community.github.io/election2025/
🗳️ Cast your vote: forms.gle/6PKTRkqKn57J...
🔒 Voting closes 10 Oct, 23:59 CET!
@haam-community.bsky.social
✨ Hello hello! ✨
We’re working to make the HAAM Steering Committee more diverse 🌍 and we’d love for you to apply in the upcoming elections 📩
📝 Apply here (it’s quick!);https://shorturl.at/un2eR
And please share with others in your circles who might be interested 💌
Thank you!
#HAAM #aDNA
Thanks @smbe-idea.bsky.social for giving us the space to present the work we do at #HAAM. If anybody is interested in joining the steering committee, elections are open now! @haam-community.bsky.social
