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
More filters
••
TL;DR: This paper investigated grave monuments found in the private cemeteries attached to Methodist chapels and compared them with the gravestones found in a contemporary planned Victorian cemetery that was divided into Anglican and Nonconformist areas.
Abstract: Until recently British Nonconformist communities have received little attention from archaeologists; however, their monuments and buildings provide a good opportunity to study one of the most important religious identity groups in early modern history. In the 19th century, Methodism was practiced by 25% of the English churchgoing population, and yet it was not until 1880 that its members were allowed to practice their own funerary rites in local churchyards. This study investigates grave monuments found in the private cemeteries attached to Methodist chapels and compares them with the gravestones found in a contemporary planned Victorian cemetery that was divided into Anglican and Nonconformist areas. Before 1880, when funeral expression was limited, simple undecorated monuments were favored, whereas after this date, complex decorated monuments became more common. Within an environment of religious division and intolerance, some Nonconformists, those lucky enough to have access to private burial grounds, chose to express their identity by practicing selective consumerism and through the uniformity found in simple grave monuments.
7 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this article, the authors take as their point of departure the loss of various 18th and 19th century burial grounds to development in South Yorkshire, and examine the significance of Nonconformist burial grounds and identify potential research questions for future work.
Abstract: This article takes as its point of departure the loss of various 18th and 19th century burial grounds to development in South Yorkshire. Case studies are given based upon recent work at Sheffield Cathedral the Peace Gardens, and Carver Street Methodist Chapel, Sheffield, as well at the New Street Methodist chapel, Barnsley. Current archaeological approaches to the study of 18th and 19th century burials are far from satisfactory. There is an urgent need for curatorial archaeologies to stress the importance of such late post-medieval urban burial grounds to potential developers and for contracting archaeologists to ensure that proper provision, both in terms of access and funding, is made by the clients for appropriate scientific study.
The information gained form the study of later post-medieval urban burials would benefit from synthesis and analysis at a regional level. This may serve to establish variation in osteological data, as well a funerary practice and associated material culture within and between different congregational groups and different localities. In support of this suggestion we examine the significance of Nonconformist burial grounds and identify some potential research questions for future work.
6 citations
••
TL;DR: The interpretation of early medieval cemeteries has not always been holistic; archaeologists across Europe have developed different theoretical traditions and emphasised different types of evidence as mentioned in this paper, and some of these traditions as they relate to social interpretations while emphasising the multi-scaled nature of the early medieval culture.
Abstract: Pre-Christian early medieval cemeteries are rich archaeological sites; they contained burials with weapons, jewellery and pottery vessels. These sites also show some structured organisation – clusters of rich inhumations, rows of graves or differently oriented burials positioned adjacent to earlier features. But the interpretation of these sites has not always been holistic; archaeologists across Europe have developed different theoretical traditions and emphasised different types of evidence. This paper will describe some of these traditions as they relate to social interpretations while emphasising the multi-scaled nature of early medieval culture. Indeed individuals, sites and regional level interpretations are all important ways to understand the social aspects of mortuary practice and it is by combining evidence and learning from different traditions that it might be possible to understand the human experience of the ancient past.
5 citations
••
TL;DR: In this article, the authors found that the context of display changed and diversity was found in the location of burial, and amongst the social-signals that these contexts indicated were included rank and religious association as well as family and deviant status.
Abstract: Anglo-Saxon burial practices are particularly interesting because there is considerable variation in the archaeological record. In the earlier period local communities used a single cemetery site and grave goods were a mode of expression that signalled difference. In the Christian period grave goods were not employed in the same way but this change may not have had religion as its central agent. Moreover, the context of display changed and diversity was found in the location of burial – Minster, churchyard, field cemetery or execution site, and amongst the social-signals that these contexts indicated were included rank and religious association as well as family and deviant status. Dissimilar numbers of children – up to 51% in churchyards compared to 25% in field cemeteries – show that cemeteries must have held a different meaning amongst different social groups, indeed England’s earliest Christian communities’ seem to have considered churchyards to be significant places for the burial of children, but not the rural family, a contrast which may also have extended to other social groups.
5 citations
•
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors outline the history and development of post-medieval burial space in an attempt to define its impact on funerary tradition and begin to understand the differentiation present in the types of site available for burial.
Abstract: Since the Middle Ages the Church has had dominion over the dead, and so it would be fair to assume that religious identities were a strong contributor to post-medieval mortuary behaviour. However, religion is just one part of a selection of different conflicting identities expressed in the act of burial. From the placement of a body within an expensive lead coffin under a church to the rejection of Anglican burial practice in favour of a public or family burial plot, other parts of a person's identity can be visible in the decisions that people made when disposing of their dead. This chapter will outline the history and development of post-medieval burial space in an attempt to define its impact on funerary tradition and begin to understand the differentiation present in the types of site available for burial. Indeed, the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries saw a considerable amount of variation in burial practice and in context this can be used to understand broader and more subtle social questions.
5 citations
Cited by
More filters
•
[...]
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
••
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
••
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
••
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