Author
Duncan Sayer
Other affiliations: University of Bath
Bio: Duncan Sayer is an academic researcher from University of Central Lancashire. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Mortuary Practice. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 30 publications receiving 456 citations. Previous affiliations of Duncan Sayer include University of Bath.
Papers
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TL;DR: Today’s British are more similar to the Iron Age individuals than to most of the Anglo-Saxon individuals, and it is estimated that the contemporary East English population derives 30% of its ancestry from Anglo- Saxon migrations, with a lower fraction in Wales and Scotland.
Abstract: British population history has been shaped by a series of immigrations and internal movements, including the early Anglo-Saxon migrations following the breakdown of the Roman administration after 410CE. It remains an open question how these events affected the genetic composition of the current British population. Here, we present whole-genome sequences generated from ten ancient individuals found in archaeological excavations close to Cambridge in the East of England, ranging from 2,300 until 1,200 years before present (Iron Age to Anglo-Saxon period). We use present-day genetic data to characterize the relationship of these ancient individuals to contemporary British and other European populations. By analyzing the distribution of shared rare variants across ancient and modern individuals, we find that today’s British are more similar to the Iron Age individuals than to most of the Anglo-Saxon individuals, and estimate that the contemporary East English population derives 30% of its ancestry from Anglo-Saxon migrations, with a lower fraction in Wales and Scotland. We gain further insight with a new method, rarecoal, which fits a demographic model to the distribution of shared rare variants across a large number of samples, enabling fine scale analysis of subtle genetic differences and yielding explicit estimates of population sizes and split times. Using rarecoal we find that the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxon samples are closest to modern Danish and Dutch populations, while the Iron Age samples share ancestors with multiple Northern European populations including Britain.
27 citations
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TL;DR: For example, the Science Museum returned the remains of Tasmanian Aborigines to their cultural home (Henderson 2007) and the legal system governing the excavation of human remains was reinterpreted as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: 2007 was an eventful year for the ethics of burial in Britain: the Science Museum returned the remains of Tasmanian Aborigines to their cultural home (Henderson 2007), the legal system governing the excavation of human remains was reinterpreted (Small 2008), The Guardian reported on the desire of neo-pagans to take ownership of human remains (Randerson 2007) and there was a debate in the museum literature on just this topic (see Restall Orr & Bienkowski 2006 and Smith & Mays 2007). In light of these changes and debates it may be unsurprising to learn that many British archaeologists feel that it is ' getting more difficult to work with human remains '.
26 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a detailed study of three Anglo-Saxon cemeteries was conducted to investigate notions of social time, using generational information in conjunction with other mortuary differentiations such as spatial location, age, life course, gender and grave-good wealth.
Abstract: Who buried the dead? Cemeteries contain the graves of people from local communities but the individual dead were buried by only a few members of that community, those that survived them. This article seeks to use detailed chronological information to analyse funerary data and proposes a system for establishing a generation-based dating scheme. Such a scheme advances studies of archaeological cemeteries by the discussion of life-time rather than end-of-life chronologies. This will enhance studies of social relationships, memory and the transmission of specific social identities by moving towards a more experiential archaeology. Specifically, I use a detailed study of three Anglo-Saxon cemeteries to investigate notions of social time. This article uses generational information in conjunction with other mortuary differentiations such as spatial location, age, life course, gender and grave-good wealth to show that Anglo-Saxon social status was determined by who was alive at any one time, and that the status o...
25 citations
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24 Jun 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors set a new agenda for ethical studies in mortuary investigation, adducing a series of case studies which can be used to understand the questions facing burial archaeology.
Abstract: The investigation of human remains has always been central to archaeological, but archaeologists are not the only ones with an interest in their treatment. Political groups, religious organisations, descendant communities and disenfranchised interest groups are all becoming more vocal in expressing their opinions on this subject on a world stage.
This book sets a new agenda for ethical studies in mortuary investigation, adducing a series of case studies which can be used to understand the questions facing burial archaeology. Who owns the dead – not just their bodies but also their stories? Do the remains themselves matter or are there other political agendas which influence interest groups? The author encourages archaeologists to be more open and inclusive when conducting mortuary projects, as it is often the perception of secrecy or interference with the dead that raises concern about the treatment of historical and scientifically important skeletal remains.
20 citations
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01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: Mortuary Practices and Social Identities in the Middle Ages (MPSI) as discussed by the authors is a case study based on a range of European sites (from Scandinavia to Britain, Southern France to the Black Sea).
Abstract: This book sets a new agenda for mortuary archaeology. Applying explicit theoretical perspectives to case studies based on a range of European sites (from Scandinavia to Britain, Southern France to the Black Sea), Mortuary Practices and Social Identities in the Middle Ages fulfils the need for a volume that provides accessible material to students and engages with current debates in mortuary archaeology’s methods and theories
16 citations
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TL;DR: This chapter discusses Traditional, Modern and Neo-Modern Death, as well as Stories and Meta-stories, and Systems for Listening, which addresses expectations and Assumptions of the listening community.
Abstract: Talking about death is now fashionable, but how should we talk? Who should we listen to - priests, doctors, cousellors, or ourselves? Has psychology replaced religion in telling us how to die? This provocative book takes a sociological look at the revival of interest in death, focusing on the hospice movement and bereavement counselling. It will be required reading for anyone interested in the sociology of death and caring for the dying, the dead or bereaved.
456 citations
Harvard University1, Broad Institute2, University of Tübingen3, Max Planck Society4, University of Mainz5, University of Washington6, University of California, Berkeley7, Massachusetts Institute of Technology8, Stockholm University9, University of Adelaide10, The Heritage Foundation11, National Museum of Natural History12, Sultan Qaboos University13, University of Edinburgh14, University of Costa Rica15, University of Antioquia16, Rambam Health Care Campus17, University of Pécs18, Al Akhawayn University19, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart20, University of Oxford21, Belgorod State University22, University of Toronto23, University of Buenos Aires24, University of Bern25, Russian Academy of Sciences26, Paul Sabatier University27, North-Eastern Federal University28, University of Chicago29, University of Arizona30, Stony Brook University31, University of Bergen32, Illumina33, Sofia Medical University34, Bashkir State University35, University of Cambridge36, Vilnius University37, Estonian Biocentre38, University of Strasbourg39, University College London40, Amgen41, Gladstone Institutes42, University of Tartu43, University of Oulu44, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences45, University of Palermo46, University of Chile47, University of Tarapacá48, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan49, Armenian National Academy of Sciences50, University of North Texas51, University of Santiago de Compostela52, University of Kharkiv53, Higher University of San Andrés54, Novosibirsk State University55, Leidos56, Lebanese American University57, University of Split58, University of Pennsylvania59, Banaras Hindu University60, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology61, Estonian Academy of Sciences62, Pompeu Fabra University63, Howard Hughes Medical Institute64
TL;DR: The authors showed that most present-day Europeans derive from at least three highly differentiated populations: west European hunter-gatherers, ancient north Eurasians related to Upper Palaeolithic Siberians, who contributed to both Europeans and Near Easterners; and early European farmers, who were mainly of Near Eastern origin but also harboured west European hunters-gatherer related ancestry.
Abstract: We sequenced the genomes of a ∼7,000-year-old farmer from Germany and eight ∼8,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Luxembourg and Sweden. We analysed these and other ancient genomes with 2,345 contemporary humans to show that most present-day Europeans derive from at least three highly differentiated populations: west European hunter-gatherers, who contributed ancestry to all Europeans but not to Near Easterners; ancient north Eurasians related to Upper Palaeolithic Siberians, who contributed to both Europeans and Near Easterners; and early European farmers, who were mainly of Near Eastern origin but also harboured west European hunter-gatherer related ancestry. We model these populations' deep relationships and show that early European farmers had ∼44% ancestry from a 'basal Eurasian' population that split before the diversification of other non-African lineages.
442 citations
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Harvard University1, Howard Hughes Medical Institute2, Broad Institute3, University of Zaragoza4, Max Planck Society5, University of Huddersfield6, University of Minho7, Pompeu Fabra University8, University of Vienna9, Pennsylvania State University10, University of Coimbra11, University of Granada12, University of Zurich13, University of the Basque Country14, Rovira i Virgili University15, National University of Distance Education16, University of Málaga17, University of Barcelona18, University of Valencia19, Autonomous University of Barcelona20, University of Lisbon21, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras22, University of Almería23, University of Cádiz24, University of Salamanca25, University of Iowa26, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria27, Mount Mercy University28, Autonomous University of Madrid29, Complutense University of Madrid30, University of Cantabria31, Gibraltar Hardware32, Liverpool John Moores University33, Anglia Ruskin University34, Spanish National Research Council35, University of California, Santa Barbara36, Danube Private University37, University of Basel38, University of Adelaide39
TL;DR: It is revealed that present-day Basques are best described as a typical Iron Age population without the admixture events that later affected the rest of Iberia, and how the ancestry of the peninsula was transformed by gene flow from North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean is document.
Abstract: J.M.F., F.J.L.-C., J.I.M., F.X.O., J.D., and M.S.B. were supported by HAR2017-86509-P, HAR2017-87695-P, and SGR2017-11 from the Generalitat de Catalunya, AGAUR agency. C.L.-F. was supported by Obra Social La Caixa and by FEDER-MINECO (BFU2015- 64699-P). L.B.d.L.E. was supported by REDISCO-HAR2017-88035-P (Plan Nacional I+D+I, MINECO). C.L., P.R., and C.Bl. were supported by MINECO (HAR2016-77600-P). A.Esp., J.V.-V., G.D., and D.C.S.-G. were supported by MINECO (HAR2009-10105 and HAR2013-43851-P). D.J.K. and B.J.C. were supported by NSF BCS-1460367. K.T.L., A.W., and J.M. were supported by NSF BCS-1153568. J.F.-E. and J.A.M.-A. were supported by IT622-13 Gobierno Vasco, Diputacion Foral de Alava, and Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa. We acknowledge support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/EPH-ARQ/4164/2014) and the FEDER-COMPETE 2020 project 016899. P.S. was supported by the FCT Investigator Program (IF/01641/2013), FCT IP, and ERDF (COMPETE2020 – POCI). M.Si. and K.D. were supported by a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarship awarded to M.B.R. and M.P. D.R. was supported by an Allen Discovery Center grant from the Paul Allen Foundation, NIH grant GM100233, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. V.V.-M. and W.H. were supported by the Max Planck Society.
287 citations
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University of Copenhagen1, Technical University of Denmark2, University of Greenland3, American Museum of Natural History4, Spanish National Research Council5, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences6, University of Tübingen7, North-Eastern Federal University8, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies9, Norwegian University of Science and Technology10, Curtin University11
TL;DR: The observations suggest that the BGISEQ-500 holds the potential to represent a valid and potentially valuable alternative platform for palaeogenomic data generation that is worthy of future exploration by those interested in the sequencing and analysis of degraded DNA.
Abstract: Ancient DNA research has been revolutionized following development of next-generation sequencing platforms. Although a number of such platforms have been applied to ancient DNA samples, the Illumina series are the dominant choice today, mainly because of high production capacities and short read production. Recently a potentially attractive alternative platform for palaeogenomic data generation has been developed, the BGISEQ-500, whose sequence output are comparable with the Illumina series. In this study, we modified the standard BGISEQ-500 library preparation specifically for use on degraded DNA, then directly compared the sequencing performance and data quality of the BGISEQ-500 to the Illumina HiSeq2500 platform on DNA extracted from 8 historic and ancient dog and wolf samples. The data generated were largely comparable between sequencing platforms, with no statistically significant difference observed for parameters including level (P = 0.371) and average sequence length (P = 0718) of endogenous nuclear DNA, sequence GC content (P = 0.311), double-stranded DNA damage rate (v. 0.309), and sequence clonality (P = 0.093). Small significant differences were found in single-strand DNA damage rate (δS; slightly lower for the BGISEQ-500, P = 0.011) and the background rate of difference from the reference genome (θ; slightly higher for BGISEQ-500, P = 0.012). This may result from the differences in amplification cycles used to polymerase chain reaction-amplify the libraries. A significant difference was also observed in the mitochondrial DNA percentages recovered (P = 0.018), although we believe this is likely a stochastic effect relating to the extremely low levels of mitochondria that were sequenced from 3 of the samples with overall very low levels of endogenous DNA. Although we acknowledge that our analyses were limited to animal material, our observations suggest that the BGISEQ-500 holds the potential to represent a valid and potentially valuable alternative platform for palaeogenomic data generation that is worthy of future exploration by those interested in the sequencing and analysis of degraded DNA.
282 citations
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University of Copenhagen1, University of Cambridge2, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute3, Leiden University4, Harvard University5, Technical University of Denmark6, Al-Farabi University7, University of Chicago8, Karagandy State University9, University of Alaska Fairbanks10, Istanbul University11, Hazara University12, University of Gothenburg13, Russian Academy of Sciences14, Gazi University15, Islamia College University16, University of Exeter17, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa18, Irkutsk State University19, University of Alberta20, Paul Sabatier University21, University of California, Berkeley22
TL;DR: Analysis of ancient whole-genome sequences from across Inner Asia and Anatolia shows that the Botai people associated with the earliest horse husbandry derived from a hunter-gatherer population deeply diverged from the Yamnaya, and suggests distinct migrations bringing West Eurasian ancestry into South Asia before and after, but not at the time of, YamNaya culture.
Abstract: The Yamnaya expansions from the western steppe into Europe and Asia during the Early Bronze Age (~3000 BCE) are believed to have brought with them Indo-European languages and possibly horse husbandry. We analyze 74 ancient whole-genome sequences from across Inner Asia and Anatolia and show that the Botai people associated with the earliest horse husbandry derived from a hunter-gatherer population deeply diverged from the Yamnaya. Our results also suggest distinct migrations bringing West Eurasian ancestry into South Asia before and after but not at the time of Yamnaya culture. We find no evidence of steppe ancestry in Bronze Age Anatolia from when Indo-European languages are attested there. Thus, in contrast to Europe, Early Bronze Age Yamnaya-related migrations had limited direct genetic impact in Asia.
273 citations