Immigration and Locality at Alalakh, a 2nd millennium BC city in the northern
Levant
Eisenmann Stefanie (1),Ingman Tara (2), Skourtanioti Eirini (1), Akar Murat (3),
Ilgner Jana (1), Gnecchi Ruscone Guido Alberto (1), Le Roux Petrus (4), Shafiq
Rula (5), Neumann Gunnar U. (1), Keller Marcel (6), Freund Cäcilia (1), Marzo
Sara (1), Lucas Mary (1), Krause Johannes (1, 7), Roberts Patrick (1), Yener K.
Aslıhan (8), Stockhammer Philipp W. (1, 9)
1 - Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Germany), 2 - Koç
University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED), Istanbul (Turkey),
3 - Department of Archaeology, Mustafa Kemal University, Alahan-Antakya (Turkey),
4 - Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town (South Africa), 5 -
Anthropology Department, Yeditepe University, Istanbul (Turkey), 6 - Estonian
Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu (Estonia), 7 - Max Planck
Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany), 8 - Institute for the Study of the
Ancient World (ISAW), New York University (United States), 9 - Institute for Pre- and
Protohistoric Archaeology and Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, Ludwig
Maximilian University, Munich (Germany)
Tell Atchana, the location of the ancient city of Alalakh, is situated in modern day
Turkey at the northernmost fringes of the Levant. During the 2nd millennium BC
Alalakh became the capital of a regional kingdom and is featured in numerous textual
sources uncovered from the site itself and the wider Near East. It connected the
Hittite world to the north with the Egyptian sphere to the south, and Mesopotamia,
Assyria, and the northern Syrian territories to the east with the Mediterranean world
to the west, taking an active role in what is frequently referred to as the first
'international age'. The extensive burial record known from the site, combined with
the far-reaching contacts attested in foreign objects, styles, and architectural
features, make Alalakh a prime candidate for mobility studies in the ancient world.
The paper presents the first large-scale tandem study of strontium isotope and
genome-wide ancient DNA (aDNA) at one single site in the Ancient Near East. Out of
a total of 342 burials from inside and outside the settlement excavated up to date, a
representative subset of 53 and 37 individuals were analysed for 87Sr/86Sr ratios
and aDNA respectively with the goal to gain insights into the extent and role of
locality and immigration at this urban hub (ca. 2000-1300 BC). While the strontium
data is a snapshot of each individual's mobility during their lifetime, aDNA data opens
up complementary perspectives into their ancestral past.
https://isba9.sciencesconf.org/data/...ISBA9_2022.pdf pg 41
https://www.alalakh.org/arkeopark/
Levant
Eisenmann Stefanie (1),Ingman Tara (2), Skourtanioti Eirini (1), Akar Murat (3),
Ilgner Jana (1), Gnecchi Ruscone Guido Alberto (1), Le Roux Petrus (4), Shafiq
Rula (5), Neumann Gunnar U. (1), Keller Marcel (6), Freund Cäcilia (1), Marzo
Sara (1), Lucas Mary (1), Krause Johannes (1, 7), Roberts Patrick (1), Yener K.
Aslıhan (8), Stockhammer Philipp W. (1, 9)
1 - Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (Germany), 2 - Koç
University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED), Istanbul (Turkey),
3 - Department of Archaeology, Mustafa Kemal University, Alahan-Antakya (Turkey),
4 - Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town (South Africa), 5 -
Anthropology Department, Yeditepe University, Istanbul (Turkey), 6 - Estonian
Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu (Estonia), 7 - Max Planck
Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany), 8 - Institute for the Study of the
Ancient World (ISAW), New York University (United States), 9 - Institute for Pre- and
Protohistoric Archaeology and Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, Ludwig
Maximilian University, Munich (Germany)
Tell Atchana, the location of the ancient city of Alalakh, is situated in modern day
Turkey at the northernmost fringes of the Levant. During the 2nd millennium BC
Alalakh became the capital of a regional kingdom and is featured in numerous textual
sources uncovered from the site itself and the wider Near East. It connected the
Hittite world to the north with the Egyptian sphere to the south, and Mesopotamia,
Assyria, and the northern Syrian territories to the east with the Mediterranean world
to the west, taking an active role in what is frequently referred to as the first
'international age'. The extensive burial record known from the site, combined with
the far-reaching contacts attested in foreign objects, styles, and architectural
features, make Alalakh a prime candidate for mobility studies in the ancient world.
The paper presents the first large-scale tandem study of strontium isotope and
genome-wide ancient DNA (aDNA) at one single site in the Ancient Near East. Out of
a total of 342 burials from inside and outside the settlement excavated up to date, a
representative subset of 53 and 37 individuals were analysed for 87Sr/86Sr ratios
and aDNA respectively with the goal to gain insights into the extent and role of
locality and immigration at this urban hub (ca. 2000-1300 BC). While the strontium
data is a snapshot of each individual's mobility during their lifetime, aDNA data opens
up complementary perspectives into their ancestral past.
https://isba9.sciencesconf.org/data/...ISBA9_2022.pdf pg 41
https://www.alalakh.org/arkeopark/
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