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Dushka Urem-Kotsou

Bio: Dushka Urem-Kotsou is an academic researcher from Democritus University of Thrace. The author has contributed to research in topics: Pottery & Prehistory. The author has an hindex of 11, co-authored 24 publications receiving 765 citations. Previous affiliations of Dushka Urem-Kotsou include Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study demonstrates a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the European Neolithic migratory chain all the way back to southwestern Asia.
Abstract: Farming and sedentism first appeared in southwestern Asia during the early Holocene and later spread to neighboring regions, including Europe, along multiple dispersal routes. Conspicuous uncertainties remain about the relative roles of migration, cultural diffusion, and admixture with local foragers in the early Neolithization of Europe. Here we present paleogenomic data for five Neolithic individuals from northern Greece and northwestern Turkey spanning the time and region of the earliest spread of farming into Europe. We use a novel approach to recalibrate raw reads and call genotypes from ancient DNA and observe striking genetic similarity both among Aegean early farmers and with those from across Europe. Our study demonstrates a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the European Neolithic migratory chain all the way back to southwestern Asia.

377 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
12 Nov 2015-Nature
TL;DR: Temporally, it is demonstrated that bee products were exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal bc, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions.
Abstract: The pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticides, parasites, predators and diseases, have raised awareness of the economic importance and critical role this insect plays in agricultural societies across the globe. However, the association of humans with A. mellifera predates post-industrial-revolution agriculture, as evidenced by the widespread presence of ancient Egyptian bee iconography dating to the Old Kingdom (approximately 2400 BC). There are also indications of Stone Age people harvesting bee products; for example, honey hunting is interpreted from rock art in a prehistoric Holocene context and a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site. However, when and where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown. One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect's biochemistry. Thus, the chemical 'fingerprint' of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process.

126 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Overall, it appears that milk or the by-products of milk was an important foodstuff, which may have contributed significantly to the spread of these cultural groups by providing a nourishing and sustainable product for early farming communities.
Abstract: In the absence of any direct evidence, the relative importance of meat and dairy productions to Neolithic prehistoric Mediterranean communities has been extensively debated. Here, we combine lipid residue analysis of ceramic vessels with osteo-archaeological age-at-death analysis from 82 northern Mediterranean and Near Eastern sites dating from the seventh to fifth millennia BC to address this question. The findings show variable intensities in dairy and nondairy activities in the Mediterranean region with the slaughter profiles of domesticated ruminants mirroring the results of the organic residue analyses. The finding of milk residues in very early Neolithic pottery (seventh millennium BC) from both the east and west of the region contrasts with much lower intensities in sites of northern Greece, where pig bones are present in higher frequencies compared with other locations. In this region, the slaughter profiles of all domesticated ruminants suggest meat production predominated. Overall, it appears that milk or the by-products of milk was an important foodstuff, which may have contributed significantly to the spread of these cultural groups by providing a nourishing and sustainable product for early farming communities.

110 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the first evidence for the use of birch-bark tar on Late Neolithic pottery from Greece is presented, which appears to have been used for two different purposes, to seal a fracture and to line the interior walls.
Abstract: The authors discuss the first evidence for the use of birch-bark tar on Late Neolithic pottery from Greece. This appears to have been used for two different purposes, to seal a fracture and to line the interior walls. The authors also discuss other possible uses.

71 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Pottery lipid residues from sites in the Iron Gates region of the Danube in the northern Balkans show that here, Neolithic pottery was being used predominantly for processing aquatic resources, providing evidence for the strategic diversity within the wider cultural and economic practices during the Neolithic.
Abstract: The spread of early farming across Europe from its origins in Southwest Asia was a culturally transformative process which took place over millennia. Within regions, the pace of the transition was probably related to the particular climatic and environmental conditions encountered, as well as the nature of localized hunter-gatherer and farmer interactions. The establishment of farming in the interior of the Balkans represents the first movement of Southwest Asian livestock beyond their natural climatic range, and widespread evidence now exists for early pottery being used extensively for dairying. However, pottery lipid residues from sites in the Iron Gates region of the Danube in the northern Balkans show that here, Neolithic pottery was being used predominantly for processing aquatic resources. This stands out not only within the surrounding region but also contrasts markedly with Neolithic pottery use across wider Europe. These findings provide evidence for the strategic diversity within the wider cultural and economic practices during the Neolithic, with this exceptional environmental and cultural setting offering alternative opportunities despite the dominance of farming in the wider region.

37 citations


Cited by
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MonographDOI
16 Dec 2004
TL;DR: The second edition of The Biomarker Guide as mentioned in this paper provides a comprehensive account of the role that biomarker technology plays both in petroleum exploration and in understanding Earth history and processes.
Abstract: The second edition of The Biomarker Guide is a fully updated and expanded version of this essential reference. Now in two volumes, it provides a comprehensive account of the role that biomarker technology plays both in petroleum exploration and in understanding Earth history and processes. Biomarkers and Isotopes in the Environment and Human History details the origins of biomarkers and introduces basic chemical principles relevant to their study. It discusses analytical techniques, and applications of biomarkers to environmental and archaeological problems. The Biomarker Guide is an invaluable resource for geologists, petroleum geochemists, biogeochemists, environmental scientists and archaeologists.

2,163 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
25 Aug 2016-Nature
TL;DR: This paper reported genome-wide ancient DNA from 44 ancient Near Easterners ranging in time between ~12,000 and 1,400 bc, from Natufian hunter-gatherers to Bronze Age farmers, showing that the earliest populations of the Near East derived around half their ancestry from a 'Basal Eurasian' lineage that had little if any Neanderthal admixture and that separated from other non-African lineages before their separation from each other.
Abstract: We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 44 ancient Near Easterners ranging in time between ~12,000 and 1,400 bc, from Natufian hunter–gatherers to Bronze Age farmers. We show that the earliest populations of the Near East derived around half their ancestry from a ‘Basal Eurasian’ lineage that had little if any Neanderthal admixture and that separated from other non-African lineages before their separation from each other. The first farmers of the southern Levant (Israel and Jordan) and Zagros Mountains (Iran) were strongly genetically differentiated, and each descended from local hunter–gatherers. By the time of the Bronze Age, these two populations and Anatolian-related farmers had mixed with each other and with the hunter–gatherers of Europe to greatly reduce genetic differentiation. The impact of the Near Eastern farmers extended beyond the Near East: farmers related to those of Anatolia spread westward into Europe; farmers related to those of the Levant spread southward into East Africa; farmers related to those of Iran spread northward into the Eurasian steppe; and people related to both the early farmers of Iran and to the pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe spread eastward into South Asia.

695 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Iñigo Olalde1, Selina Brace2, Morten E. Allentoft3, Ian Armit4  +166 moreInstitutions (69)
08 Mar 2018-Nature
TL;DR: Genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans is presented, finding limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and excludes migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions.
Abstract: From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts. We detected limited genetic affinity between Beaker-complex-associated individuals from Iberia and central Europe, and thus exclude migration as an important mechanism of spread between these two regions. However, migration had a key role in the further dissemination of the Beaker complex. We document this phenomenon most clearly in Britain, where the spread of the Beaker complex introduced high levels of steppe-related ancestry and was associated with the replacement of approximately 90% of Britain's gene pool within a few hundred years, continuing the east-to-west expansion that had brought steppe-related ancestry into central and northern Europe over the previous centuries.

479 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Organic residue analysis utilizes analytical organic chemical techniques to identify the nature and origins of organic remains that cannot be characterized using traditional techniques of archaeological investigation (because they are either amorphous or invisible).
Abstract: Organic residue analysis utilizes analytical organic chemical techniques to identify the nature and origins of organic remains that cannot be characterized using traditional techniques of archaeological investigation (because they are either amorphous or invisible). The field is founded upon the principle that the biomolecular, or biochemical, components of organic materials associated with human activity survive in a wide variety of locations and deposits at archaeological sites. The archaeological information contained in organic residues is represented by the biomolecular components of the natural products that contribute to the formation of a given residue. By applying appropriate separation (chromatographic) and identification (mass spectrometric) techniques, the preserved, and altered, biomolecular components of such residues can be revealed. Once identified, the Archaeological Biomarker Concept can be applied, wherein the structure and even isotopic composition(s) of a given biomolecule or suite of biomolecules (the ‘chemical fingerprint’) can be related to the compositions of organisms exploited by humans in the past. As the organic residue field emerges from its pre-paradigmatic phase, and the organic residue revolution gathers pace, the way is open for challenging many long-held archaeological hypotheses and offering new perspectives on the study of human activity in the past.

468 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Iain Mathieson1, Songül Alpaslan-Roodenberg1, Cosimo Posth2, Cosimo Posth3, Anna Szécsényi-Nagy4, Nadin Rohland1, Swapan Mallick5, Swapan Mallick1, Iñigo Olalde1, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht5, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht1, Francesca Candilio6, Olivia Cheronet7, Olivia Cheronet6, Daniel Fernandes6, Daniel Fernandes8, Matthew Ferry1, Matthew Ferry5, Beatriz Gamarra6, Gloria G. Fortes9, Wolfgang Haak10, Wolfgang Haak3, Eadaoin Harney1, Eadaoin Harney5, Eppie R. Jones11, Eppie R. Jones12, Denise Keating6, Ben Krause-Kyora3, Isil Kucukkalipci2, Megan Michel1, Megan Michel5, Alissa Mittnik2, Alissa Mittnik3, Kathrin Nägele3, Mario Novak6, Jonas Oppenheimer1, Jonas Oppenheimer5, Nick Patterson13, Saskia Pfrengle2, Kendra Sirak14, Kendra Sirak6, Kristin Stewardson1, Kristin Stewardson5, Stefania Vai15, Stefan Alexandrov16, Kurt W. Alt17, Radian Andreescu, Dragana Antonović, Abigail Ash6, Nadezhda Atanassova16, Krum Bacvarov16, Mende Balázs Gusztáv4, Hervé Bocherens2, Michael Bolus2, Adina Boroneanţ18, Yavor Boyadzhiev16, Alicja Budnik, Josip Burmaz, Stefan Chohadzhiev, Nicholas J. Conard2, Richard Cottiaux, Maja Čuka, Christophe Cupillard19, Dorothée G. Drucker2, Nedko Elenski, Michael Francken2, Borislava Galabova, Georgi Ganetsovski, Bernard Gély, Tamás Hajdu20, Veneta Handzhyiska21, Katerina Harvati2, Thomas Higham22, Stanislav Iliev, Ivor Janković23, Ivor Karavanić24, Ivor Karavanić23, Douglas J. Kennett25, Darko Komšo, Alexandra Kozak26, Damian Labuda27, Martina Lari15, Cătălin Lazăr28, Maleen Leppek29, Krassimir Leshtakov21, Domenico Lo Vetro15, Dženi Los, Ivaylo Lozanov21, Maria Malina2, Fabio Martini15, Kath McSweeney30, Harald Meller, Marko Menđušić, Pavel Mirea, Vyacheslav Moiseyev, Vanya Petrova21, T. Douglas Price31, Angela Simalcsik18, Luca Sineo32, Mario Šlaus33, Vladimir Slavchev, Petar Stanev, Andrej Starović, Tamás Szeniczey20, Sahra Talamo3, Maria Teschler-Nicola7, Maria Teschler-Nicola34, Corinne Thevenet, Ivan Valchev21, Frédérique Valentin19, Sergey Vasilyev35, Fanica Veljanovska, Svetlana Venelinova, Elizaveta Veselovskaya35, Bence Viola36, Bence Viola35, Cristian Virag, Joško Zaninović, Steve Zäuner, Philipp W. Stockhammer3, Philipp W. Stockhammer29, Giulio Catalano32, Raiko Krauß2, David Caramelli15, Gunita Zariņa37, Bisserka Gaydarska38, Malcolm Lillie39, Alexey G. Nikitin40, Inna Potekhina26, Anastasia Papathanasiou, Dusan Boric41, Clive Bonsall30, Johannes Krause3, Johannes Krause2, Ron Pinhasi6, Ron Pinhasi7, David Reich5, David Reich13, David Reich1 
08 Mar 2018-Nature
TL;DR: It is shown that southeastern Europe continued to be a nexus between east and west after the arrival of farmers, with intermittent genetic contact with steppe populations occurring up to 2,000 years earlier than the migrations from the steppe that ultimately replaced much of the population of northern Europe.
Abstract: Farming was first introduced to Europe in the mid-seventh millennium bc, and was associated with migrants from Anatolia who settled in the southeast before spreading throughout Europe. Here, to und ...

447 citations