Papers Cosmopolitan Goths: Archaeogenomic Evidence for a Genetically Diverse Masłomęcz Community in Late Iron Age Barbaricum Goths on the Move: The Masłomęcz Group and Gothic Origins Goths on the Move: The Masłomęcz Group and Gothic Origins Introduction: A Gothic Community Revealed Through DNA The migration route of the Goths sweeps from the chilly shores of the Baltic Sea down towards the Black Sea, but pauses for By Caterina • 8 min read
Papers Neolithic Population Turnover and the End of Megalith Building in the Paris Basin Neolithic Decline and Demographic Collapse in North-Western Europe Neolithic Decline and Demographic Collapse in North-Western Europe: Evidence from the Bury Megalithic Tomb Introduction: A Crisis at the End of the Fourth Millennium BC The flourishing Neolithic world of north-western Europe began to unravel at the very end of the fourth By Caterina • 10 min read
Papers Ancient Y Chromosomes Reveal Coastal and Inland Migrations that Shaped East Asian Paternal History Paleolithic Peopling and Agricultural Transitions in East Asia: Y-Chromosome Evidence Paleolithic Peopling and Agricultural Transitions in East Asia: Y-Chromosome Evidence from Ancient DNA and Archaeological Sites Introduction: Tracing Ancient Migrations Through Paternal Lineages The peopling of East Asia represents one of the most complex chapters in human prehistory, involving multiple By Caterina • 10 min read
Papers µCT Scanning and Ancient DNA: A Safer Workflow for Archaeological Petrous Bones This methodological study tests whether µCT scanning measurably harms ancient DNA preservation in archaeological human petrous portions. Across 93 samples, the authors do not find strong evidence that routine scanning systematically degrades key aDNA quality metrics. They also propose a more sustain By Caterina • 1 min read
Papers Ancient Regulatory Evolution Shapes Individual Language Abilities in Present-Day Humans Ancient regulatory regions in the human genome may still influence language-related abilities in people today. By Caterina • 1 min read
Papers Sex‑Biased Genetic Mixing on Rome’s Dacian Frontier Roman Dacia: A Frontier Contact Zone at the Edge of Empire The province of Roman Dacia, perched north of the Danube River, represents one of the most fascinating examples of imperial frontier dynamics in the ancient world. Here, where the Roman Empire pushed into landscapes already shaped by local Dacians, By Caterina • 7 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Reveals Three Millennia of Mixed Tibetan, South Asian, and Central Asian Ancestry in Ladakh Ancient Tibetan-Related Ancestry in Ladakh Ancient Tibetan-Related Ancestry in Ladakh: Caves, Mounds, and Mountain Empires This comprehensive study examines two remarkable high-altitude burial sites in western Ladakh – the Old Lady Spider Cave (Gachu Lhabrog) and burial mounds at Hanu – revealing how people with diverse ancestral backgrounds lived, died, and were By Caterina • 5 min read
Papers Ancient Genomes Reveal East–West Genetic Mixing Along the Eastern Tianshan Corridor Eastern Tianshan: Mountain Gateway Between China and the Steppe Eastern Tianshan: Mountain Gateway Between China and the Steppe The eastern Tianshan mountains emerge from ancient DNA studies as one of the great crossroads of the ancient world. This rugged range in today's Xinjiang sat precisely where three civilizations By Caterina • 8 min read
Papers Ancient DNA Shows Recent Natural Selection Intensified Human Immune Responses and Altered Disease Risks Immune Adaptation and Infectious Disease in the Last 10,000 Years Immune Adaptation and Infectious Disease in the Last 10,000 Years This comprehensive study explores one of the most dramatic stories of recent human history: how people living in West Eurasia, from the first farmers to medieval townsfolk, reshaped By Caterina • 6 min read
Papers Genetic Traces of a 1348 Catalan Pogrom: Medieval Iberian Jews Revealed by Ancient DNA Medieval Iberian Jews and the 1348 Tà rrega Pogrom Medieval Iberian Jews and the 1348 Tà rrega Pogrom In the summer of 1348, as the Black Death raged across Europe, the small Catalan town of Tà rrega saw one of the most violent anti-Jewish attacks in the Crown of Aragon. Chronicles speak of By Caterina • 7 min read
Papers Roman Soldiers on the Move: Praetorium Agrippinae and the Lower Rhine Frontier Roman Military Communities as Socially Mixed Borderland Settlements Roman Military Communities as Socially Mixed Borderland Settlements The archaeological site of Praetorium Agrippinae at modern Valkenburg in South Holland presents a compelling case study of Roman military communities as dynamic, socially mixed borderland settlements. This was not a lonely outpost of By Caterina • 5 min read
Papers Ancient Human DNA from Open-Air Sediments in Japan: Katsuren Castle Ancient Human DNA Without Bones: Stories in the Soil Ancient Human DNA Without Bones: Stories in the Soil Introduction: Overcoming Archaeological Limitations This comprehensive study explores an ingenious workaround for one of archaeology's most fundamental problems: bones do not last forever. In humid, acidic landscapes, skeletons crumble and By Caterina • 8 min read
Papers Late Byzantine Burials and Sacred Memory at St Isidore’s Basilica, Chios Byzantine Monumental Architecture and the Deep Stratigraphy of St Isidore, Chios Byzantine Monumental Architecture and the Deep Stratigraphy of St Isidore, Chios The sacred landscape of the eastern Aegean reveals one of its most compelling stories through the Basilica of St Isidore at Chios, where layers of stone, mosaic, and By Caterina • 7 min read
Papers Genetic Diversity in the Late Iron Age Goths of the Masłomęcz Group Gothic Cosmopolitanism and Long-Range Mobility beyond the Roman Frontier Gothic Cosmopolitanism and Long-Range Mobility beyond the Roman Frontier This comprehensive study transports readers to the eastern fringes of the Roman world, into the Hrubieszów Basin of what is now eastern Poland, where an astonishingly rich Goth-associated community – the Masłomęcz group By Caterina • 6 min read
Papers The Grave that Refused to Die - Neolithic Northern France The Bury Gallery Grave: A Monument That Refused to Stay Still The Bury Gallery Grave: A Monument That Refused to Stay Still Introduction: A Hidden Giant in a Garden The Bury gallery grave in northern France represents far more than a simple stone tomb. This remarkable monument underwent continuous transformation By Caterina • 6 min read
Papers Medieval DNA and Isotope Evidence for the Local Origins of Berlin’s First Townspeople Medieval Berlin: Archaeological and Genetic Evidence from St. Peter's Churchyard Introduction: Uncovering Berlin's Medieval Origins Through Ancient DNA and Archaeological Evidence The origins of Berlin emerge not from dusty chronicles or royal charters, but from thousands of graves discovered beneath the bustling streets of modern central By Caterina • 10 min read
Papers Tracing Leonardo: DNA Signals from da Vinci–Linked Artifacts Biological Signatures on Leonardo-Linked Objects Biological Signatures on Leonardo-Linked Objects: A Comprehensive Analysis of Renaissance DNA This comprehensive study explores how traces of life – from plants and animals to microbes and humans – still cling to Renaissance drawings and centuries-old letters. By taking the gentlest possible swabs from the surfaces of By Caterina • 5 min read
Papers Unravelling Columbus’ Lineage: Forensic SNP Sequencing Identifies 17th–18th-Century Descendants The Hidden Crypt of Columbus' Descendants in Gelves The Hidden Crypt of Columbus' Descendants Beneath the Church Floor: A Sealed Family Pantheon Deep beneath the church of Santa MarÃa de Gracia in Gelves, near Seville, lies a family crypt that for centuries remained sealed by ecclesiastical authority. This By Caterina • 6 min read
Papers DNA reveals 1,500 Years of Chono Population History in Chilean Patagonia By Caterina • 4 min read
Papers Roman Siege Trophy: The Decapitated Cantabrian Defender from La Loma By Caterina • 4 min read
Papers Hanging Coffins, and the Bo People: Tracing a Cliffside Burial Tradition Across Southern China and Southeast Asia By Caterina • 3 min read
Papers Shifting Sands: Population Dynamics during the Muslim-Christian Transition in 11th-13th Century Algarve By Caterina • 3 min read
