Papers by Anastasia Papathanasiou
Changing subsistence economies in the course of the Neolithic transition: Isotopic sourcing of collagen isotopic ratios in human skeletons from early Neolithic Anatolia and Greece
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Jun 1, 2022
Science
Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asi... more Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom’s northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region.
Scientific Reports
The aim of the study is to investigate mitochondrial diversity in Neolithic Greece and its relati... more The aim of the study is to investigate mitochondrial diversity in Neolithic Greece and its relation to hunter-gatherers and farmers who populated the Danubian Neolithic expansion axis. We sequenced 42 mitochondrial palaeogenomes from Greece and analysed them together with European set of 328 mtDNA sequences dating from the Early to the Final Neolithic and 319 modern sequences. To test for population continuity through time in Greece, we use an original structured population continuity test that simulates DNA from different periods by explicitly considering the spatial and temporal dynamics of populations. We explore specific scenarios of the mode and tempo of the European Neolithic expansion along the Danubian axis applying spatially explicit simulations coupled with Approximate Bayesian Computation. We observe a striking genetic homogeneity for the maternal line throughout the Neolithic in Greece whereas population continuity is rejected between the Neolithic and present-day Greeks...
The Diros Project: Multidisciplinary Investigations at Alepotrypa Cave and Ksagounaki Promontory, 2010-2015
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020
Location of South End Mound I (9Li3) on St. Catherines Island 2. C.B. Moore's excavations of Sout... more Location of South End Mound I (9Li3) on St. Catherines Island 2. C.B. Moore's excavations of South End Mound I 3. Topographic map of South End Mound I, with outline of Moore's (1897) excavation, excavation, and Larsen's (this volume) excavation 4. Excavation unit B8 showing extent of Moore's excavation 5. Map showing locations of bones and teeth recovered in the 1991-1993 exca- vation of South End Mound I 6. Percent of juveniles represented by tooth types 7. Percent of adults represented by tooth types 8. Percent of juveniles represented by midline axial skeletal elements, upper body elements, and lower body elements 9. Percent of adults represented by midline axial skeletal elements, upper body elements, and lower body elements 10. Anterior and posterior views of proliferative periosteal reaction on proximal humerus diaphysis of individual 15 compared with nonpathological anatomical specimen 11. Concentration of disturbed skeletal remains in excavation unit C10 12. Overall and closeup of proliferative periosteal reaction on distal right ulna diaphysis from individual 16 compared with nonpathological anatomical specimen 13a. Lateral view of periosteal reaction and proliferative response on diaphysis of left tibia of individual 28 compared with nonpathological anatomical speci- men 13b. Medial view of periosteal reaction and proliferative response on diaphysis of left tibia of individual 28 compared with nonpathological anatomical speci- men 14. Chipped stone artifacts from South End Mound I 15. Bivariate plot of mean stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios comparing Georgia coastal prehistoric foragers, Georgia coastal prehistoric farmers. South End Mound I, Georgia coastal mission farmers, and Florida coastal mission farmers 16. Periosteal reactions of the tibia showing comparisons of frequencies from Geor- gia coastal prehistoric foragers, Georgia coastal prehistoric farmers, South End Mound I, Georgia coastal mission farmers, and Florida coastal mission farmers 17. Dental caries comparison of frequencies from Georgia coastal prehistoric for- agers, Georgia coastal prehistoric farmers, South End Mound I, Georgia coastal mission farmers, and Florida coastal mission farmers 18. Bar graph showing dental caries and tibial periosteal reaction frequencies from prehistoric and historic St. Catherines Island and descendant (Amelia Island) Guale 19. Bar graph showing femoral midshaft anterior-posterior diameter and femoral midshaft medial-lateral diameter for Georgia coastal prehistoric foragers, Georgia coastal prehistoric farmers, South End Mound I, Georgia coastal mission farmers, and Florida coastal mission farmers 20. Bar graph showing adult heights for Georgia coastal prehistoric farmers, South End Mound I, Georgia coastal mission farmers, and Florida coastal mission farmers 2 1 . Bar graph showing femoral midshaft index for Georgia coastal prehistoric farmers, South End Mound I, Georgia coastal mission farmers, and Florida coastal mission farmers 22. Bar graph showing femoral total subperiosteal area (standardized) for Georgia coastal prehistoric farmers, South End Mound I, Georgia coastal mission farmers, and Florida coastal mission farmers
A bioarchaeological analysis of a Neolithic ossuary from Alepotrypa Cave, Diros, Greece
Hesperia, 2015
List of Illustrations vii List of Tables xi Chapter 1 introd uction by Anastasia Papathanasiou an... more List of Illustrations vii List of Tables xi Chapter 1 introd uction by Anastasia Papathanasiou and Sherry C. Fox 1 Chapter 2 S table isotope analy sis of Bone and tee th as a Means for reconstructing Past human die ts in greece by Michael P. Richards 15 Chapter 3 S table isotope analy ses in neolithic and Bronz e age greece: an o vervie w by Anastasia Papathanasiou 25 Chapter 4 S table isotope analy sis of Skele tal assembl ages from Prehistor ic northern greece by Sevasti Triantaphyllou 57 Chapter 5 Var iations in die t in Prehistor ic thebes: the case of the Bronz e age Mass B ur ial by Efrossini Vika 77 Chapter 6 existence and Subsistence in Mycenaean-era east lokr is: the isotopic evidence by Carina A. Iezzi 89 Chapter 7 die tary reconstruction at the geome tr ic-Per iod B ur ial Site of ay ios dimitr ios by Eleni Panagiotopoulou and Anastasia Papathanasiou 105 vi Chapter 8 die t and the Polis: an isotopic S tudy of die t in athens and laur ion d ur ing the cl assic al, hel lenistic, and imper ial roman Per iods
Nature Ecology & Evolution
The Neolithic and Bronze Ages were highly transformative periods for the genetic history of Europ... more The Neolithic and Bronze Ages were highly transformative periods for the genetic history of Europe but for the Aegean—a region fundamental to Europe’s prehistory—the biological dimensions of cultural transitions have been elucidated only to a limited extent so far. We have analysed newly generated genome-wide data from 102 ancient individuals from Crete, the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands, spanning from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. We found that the early farmers from Crete shared the same ancestry as other contemporaneous Neolithic Aegeans. In contrast, the end of the Neolithic period and the following Early Bronze Age were marked by ‘eastern’ gene flow, which was predominantly of Anatolian origin in Crete. Confirming previous findings for additional Central/Eastern European ancestry in the Greek mainland by the Middle Bronze Age, we additionally show that such genetic signatures appeared in Crete gradually from the seventeenth to twelfth centuries bc, a period when the in...
Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia
Science
We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern... more We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.
U-Th dating of calcite on human bones from Alepotrypa Cave, Greece
This thesis contributes to increased knowledge on Holocene climate and environmental variability ... more This thesis contributes to increased knowledge on Holocene climate and environmental variability from two complex and sparsely studied areas. Using a speleothem from Gasparee Cave, Trinidad, as a paleoclimate archive, the local expression of the 8.2 ka (thousand years before 1950) climate event and associated patterns of the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and rainfall is provided. Subsequent speleothem studies using multi-proxy analysis of stalagmites from Kapsia Cave and Alepotrypa Cave, Greece, provide records of climate, vegetation and human induced changes in the cave environment during parts of the Holocene.The speleothems from the well-studied Neolithic habitation site, Alepotrypa Cave, have produced a climate and habitation record which covers the period of 6.3-1.0 ka. The cave was inhabited between 8.0-5.2 ka and was closed by a tectonic event, which has preserved the settlement. The stable oxygen record shows the first well-dated and robust expression of the 4.2 ka ...
8 - Diros in Context: Alepotrypa Cave and Ksagounaki Promontory in the Neolithic Period
Communities, Landscapes, and Interaction in Neolithic Greece
Diet and Social Divisions in Protohistoric Greece : Integrating Analyses of stable Isotopes and Mortuary Practices
List of illustrations vii List of tables xi List of colour plates xiii List of contributors xiv M... more List of illustrations vii List of tables xi List of colour plates xiii List of contributors xiv Memories of Alepotrypa Cave, Diros (George Papathanassopoulos) xvi 1. Introduction 1 Anastasia Papathanasiou 2. Alepotrypa Cave: the site description and its cultural and chronological range 10 Anastasia Papathanasiou 3. Stratigraphy and site formation processes of Alepotrypa Cave 24 Panagiotis Karkanas 4. The stratigraphic and pottery sequence of Trench B1 at Alepotrypa Cave: a first approach to the investigation of ceramic and chronological associations 33 Barbara Katsipanou-Margeli 5. When do the dead become dead? Mortuary projects from Ossuaries I and II, Alepotrypa Cave 91 Stella Katsarou 6. Patterns of pottery consumption, destruction and deposition at Alepotrypa Cave: the case of Chamber Z during the Neolithic period Katerina Psimogiannou 7. Pithoi with relief decoration from Alepotrypa Cave George Valvis 8. The Alepotrypa Cave pottery assemblage: a ceramic petrology approach Areti Pentedeka 9. The chipped stone industries of Alepotrypa Cave: a general presentation Georgia Kourtessi-Philippakis
A bioarchaeological analysis of health, subsistence, and funerary behavior in the eastern Mediterranean basin : a case study from Alepotrypa Cave, Greece
Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 2020
In this study, we aim to develop a detection system of damaged crosswalks as a basic component of... more In this study, we aim to develop a detection system of damaged crosswalks as a basic component of a digital map localization system. In rural areas, because the road paints of crosswalks are sometimes damaged, the features on which the existing methods focus for detecting them, such as rectangular shapes with side edges, are not clear. Thus, we focus on multi-layered faint features: existence of the white-band bottom shape, distribution of the white-band bottoms, and shape of the white-band candidates. Through an experiment on public roads, we confirm the practical performance of the proposed system.
SPARTA AND LACONIA: FROM PREHISTORY TO PRE-MODERN || Prehistoric Geraki: work in progress (2005)
Health, Diet and Social Implications in Neolithic Greece from the Study of Human Osteological Material
Human Bioarchaeology of the Transition to Agriculture, 2011
Stable isotope analysis in Neolithic Greece and possible implications on human health
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2003
... The three inland sites are Theopetra (Kyparissi-Apostolika, 1995) and Tharrounia (Stravopodi,... more ... The three inland sites are Theopetra (Kyparissi-Apostolika, 1995) and Tharrounia (Stravopodi, 1993) from central Greece, and Kouveleiki ... Sample composition and mass spectrometry ana-lysis was conducted in the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory of the Department of Geology ...