Paleoparasitological evidence of helminth infections in individuals from two Late Iron Age necropolises in Northern Italy (3rd-1st c. BCE).

Objective: Evaluate the presence of digestive macroparasites (helminths) in human remains from the Late Iron Age (3rd-1st c. BCE) in northern Italy (Verona province).

Materials: Pelvic soil samples and control samples from the skull or foot areas of 55 individuals from the necropolises of Seminario Vescovile (n = 45) and Povegliano Veronese (n = 10).

Reconstructing medieval diets through the integration of stable isotope and proteomic analyses from two European burial sites.

The combined study of stable isotopes and ancient proteins is a very promising approach to reconstructing past human diets. This study uses stable isotope carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) signatures from dental calculus, dentin, and bone of individuals from a monastic cemetery at Dalheim (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) dating to the ninth-twelfth centuries CE. In addition, we examined ancient proteins from the dental calculus of these individuals, complemented by the analysis of a second medieval site in Baar-Früebergstrasse (Zug, Switzerland) dating to the seventh century CE.

The dichotomy of human decision-making: An experimental assessment of stone tool efficiency.

The physical properties of distinct raw materials, such as hardness, homogeneity, and grain size, have been recurrently suggested as some of the key reasons for human decision-making, namely the selection, production, and use of stone implements in the past. However, little is known, concerning the relationship between stone tools and human behaviour and how this is reflected in the variability seen in the archaeological record. Therefore, investigating stone tools' properties and performance brings fundamental insights into identifying and understanding the origins of some of the major human technological behavioural traits.

Genomic diversity and structure of prehistoric alpine individuals from the Tyrolean Iceman's territory.

The Eastern Italian Alps played a crucial bridging role between Mediterranean and Northern alpine populations since Prehistory. However, few prehistoric individuals from that region have been genomically analysed so far. Among them, the Iceman (Copper Age, 3368-3108 BC) showed a relatively high Anatolian-Neolithic-related ancestry and low Hunter-Gatherers (HGs)-related ancestry.

Systematic assessment of bone and soft tissue tumors on whole-body CTs of 45 mummies from ancient Egypt.

There is a growing interest in the antiquity of cancer and ongoing discussion of the apparent scarcity of malignant tumors in ancient human remains, especially those of soft tissues. We systematically assessed bone and soft tissue tumors on 45 whole-body computed tomography (CT) scans of ancient Egyptian mummies. In one of 45 cases (2%), malignant skeletal disease (probably skeletal metastases) was detected.

Ötzi the Iceman: forensic 3D reconstructions of a 5300-year-ago murder case.

The cause of death of Ötzi the Iceman has been the subject of extensive investigation. A deep wound on his left shoulder and an arrowhead lodged between his rib cage and left scapula have been central to determining his final moments. While initial CT analyses concluded that exsanguination due to a lacerated left subclavian artery was the cause of death, recent research has suggested that the injury might not have been immediately fatal.

The multifaceted nature of Egyptian mummification: Paleoradiological insights into child mummies.

In accordance with ancient Egyptian beliefs, the preservation of the body after death was an important prerequisite for the continued existence of the deceased in the afterlife. This involved application of various physical interventions and magical rituals to the corpse. Computed tomography (CT), as the gold-standard technology in the field of paleoradiology, enables deeper insights into details of artificial body preservation.

Histology of pulmonary tuberculosis in a 19th-century mummy from Comiso (Sicily, Italy).

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate potential evidence of tuberculosis in mummified remains.

Materials: The natural mummy of an anonymous friar from the mortuary chapel of the church of Santa Maria della Grazia in Comiso (Sicily) METHODS: The mummy was studied through macroscopic examination; tissue sampling was conducted through breaches in the dorsal surface of the thorax. Radiological, histological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed on the pulmonary parenchyma.

Facilitating accessible, rapid, and appropriate processing of ancient metagenomic data with AMDirT.

Background: Access to sample-level metadata is important when selecting public metagenomic sequencing datasets for reuse in new biological analyses. The Standards, Precautions, and Advances in Ancient Metagenomics community (SPAAM, https://spaam-community.org) has previously published AncientMetagenomeDir, a collection of curated and standardised sample metadata tables for metagenomic and microbial genome datasets generated from ancient samples.

Dental damage: Creating 3D anatomical models to illustrate destructive effects on human teeth.

Forensic odontologists often must identify human remains with damaged teeth. This damage is due to high-impact accidents, violence, or disasters. This 2-part study aimed to create two 3D digital models.

Geographic origin, ancestry, and death circumstances at the Cornaux/Les Sauges Iron Age bridge, Switzerland.

Cornaux/Les Sauges (Switzerland, Late Iron Age) revealed remnants of a wooden bridge, artifacts, and human and animal skeletal remains. The relationship between the collapsed structure and the skeletal material, whether it indicates a potential accident or cultural practices, remains elusive. We evaluate the most plausible scenario for Cornaux based on osteological, taphonomic, isotopic, and paleogenomic analysis of the recovered individuals.

Evidence for dynastic succession among early Celtic elites in Central Europe.

The early Iron Age (800 to 450 BCE) in France, Germany and Switzerland, known as the 'West-Hallstattkreis', stands out as featuring the earliest evidence for supra-regional organization north of the Alps. Often referred to as 'early Celtic', suggesting tentative connections to later cultural phenomena, its societal and population structure remain enigmatic. Here we present genomic and isotope data from 31 individuals from this context in southern Germany, dating between 616 and 200 BCE.

Ethical challenges in the bioanthropological and biomedical investigation of Sicilian mummies-Past experience and future pathways.

This article presents a multidisciplinary approach adopted in the Sicily mummy project, highlighting unique challenges and major ethical concerns inherent to the scientific study, conservation, and presentation of these mummies. Recognizing mummies as a distinct category of human remains, this paper argues for the development and application of specialized guidelines that address the intricate balance between scientific inquiry and respect for the cultural, religious, and mortuary practices that characterize the cultural context, in this case of Sicily. Through a transparent and collaborative dialogue among all stakeholders-including curators, clergy, scientists, and government officials-the project ensures the preservation of the mummies' dignity within their sacred spaces.

Insights into medieval rural lives: A paleo-odontological investigation of two central European communities.

Objective: Oral status is an important indicator of past lifestyles. Determining the presence and extent of oral pathologies helps reconstruct average oral health, paramasticatory activities and diet of ancient and historical populations.

Design: In this study, the dental remains from the early medieval cemetery of Früebergstrasse in Baar (Canton of Zug, Switzerland) and the high medieval Dalheim cemetery (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) were analyzed.

Taxonize-gb: A tool for filtering GenBank non-redundant databases based on taxonomy.

Analyzing taxonomic diversity and identification in diverse ecological samples has become a crucial routine in various research and industrial fields. While DNA barcoding marker-gene approaches were once prevalent, the decreasing costs of next-generation sequencing have made metagenomic shotgun sequencing more popular and feasible. In contrast to DNA-barcoding, metagenomic shotgun sequencing offers possibilities for in-depth characterization of structural and functional diversity.

Preservation of the heart in ancient Egyptian mummies: A computed tomography investigation with focus on the myocardium.

The ancient Egyptians considered the heart to be the most important organ. The belief that the heart remained in the body is widespread in the archeological and paleopathological literature. The purpose of this study was to perform an overview of the preserved intrathoracic structures and thoracic and abdominal cavity filling, and to determine the prevalence and computed tomography (CT) characteristics of the myocardium in the preserved hearts of ancient Egyptian mummies.

"Until death do us part". A multidisciplinary study on human- Animal co- burials from the Late Iron Age necropolis of Seminario Vescovile in Verona (Northern Italy, 3rd-1st c. BCE).

Animal remains are a common find in prehistoric and protohistoric funerary contexts. While taphonomic and osteological data provide insights about the proximate (depositional) factors responsible for these findings, the ultimate cultural causes leading to this observed mortuary behavior are obscured by the opacity of the archaeological record and the lack of written sources. Here, we apply an interdisciplinary suite of analytical approaches (zooarchaeological, anthropological, archaeological, paleogenetic, and isotopic) to explore the funerary deposition of animal remains and the nature of joint human-animal burials at Seminario Vescovile (Verona, Northern Italy 3rd-1st c.

Genetic Predisposition of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Ancient Human Remains.

Background: Several computed tomographic studies have shown the presence of atherosclerosis in ancient human remains. However, while it is important to understand the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), genetic data concerning the prevalence of the disease-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in our ancestors are scarce.

Objective: For a better understanding of the role of genetics in the evolution of ASCVD, we applied an enrichment capture sequencing approach to mummified human remains from different geographic regions and time periods.

Hit or miss - A metagenomic evaluation of intra-bone variability of host pathogen load in tuberculosis-infected human remains.

Many sampling protocols have been established to successfully retrieve human DNA from archaeological remains, however the systematic detection of ancient pathogens remains challenging. Here, we present a first assessment of the intra-bone variability of metagenomic composition in human skeletal remains and its effect on the sampling success for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and human endogenous DNA. For this purpose, four bone samples from published peer-reviewed studies with PCR-based evidence for ancient MTB DNA were selected.

Tuberculosis in mummies - New findings, perspectives and limitations.

The molecular analysis of ancient pathogen DNA represents a unique opportunity for the study of infectious diseases in ancient human remains. Among other diseases, paleogenetic studies have been successful in detecting tuberculous DNA in ancient human remains. In the beginning of ancient DNA (aDNA) studies, the presence of tuberculosis (TB) DNA was assessed using a PCR-based assay targeting specific regions of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex, such as the repetitive element IS6110.