American Journal of Biological Anthropology

AbstractThe rules and structure of human culture impact health and disease as much as genetics or the natural environment. To study the origin and evolution of these patterns, we take a multidisciplinary approach combining ancient DNA, skeletal metrics, paleopathology, and stable isotopes. Our analysis focuses on cultural, environmental, and genetic contributions to variation in stature in four populations of Early Neolithic Europe. In Central Europe, low female stature is likely due to male preference in resource allocation under conditions of stress. In contrast, shorter male stature in Mediterranean populations may reflect a lack of preference. Our analysis suggests that biological consequences of sex-specific inequities can be linked to culture as early as 7000 years before present. Understanding these patterns is key to interpreting the evolution of genetic and socio-cultural determinants of health, and our results show that culture, more than environment or genetics, drove height disparities in Early Neolithic Europe.

Archeological excavations at the site of Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia have yielded a rich assemblage of hominin fossil remains, as well as lithic artefacts and bones of fossil fauna. The site is considered to be between 1.95 Ma and 1.77 Ma (Gabunia et al. 2000b) and presents us with the first skeletal evidence of hominins to emerge from Africa, a key event in human evolution. Their morphology, and the degree of morphological variation observed among the assemblage, has generated considerable controversy about their affinities and heterogeneity. Here we use parsimony analyses to test the competing hypotheses for Dmanisi hominins employing characters from the cranium, mandible, dentition, and postcranium; and we address anomalies in endocranial volume, dentition and mandibular structure among the assemblage. We propose that the Dmanisi hominins are not Homo erectus, and that two species are represented among the assemblage: one comprises Homo georgicus and the other an as yet unnamed species. Our review of the dating of the Dmanisi site leads us to propose that Homo georgicus was probably present by 1.8 Ma and that the other hominins recovered from the Dmanisi excavations accumulated at some time or times during the reverse polarity of 1.07 Ma and 1.77 Ma. The specific, individual, ages of these hominins remain unknown.

Using tools to access hard-to-reach and high-quality resources, such as termites, honey, and nuts, initiated a fundamental adaptive shift in human and nonhuman primate cognitive and behavioural evolution. Variation in the efficiency of extracting calorie-rich and nutrient-dense resources directly impacts energy expenditure, and potentially has significant repercussions for cultural transmission where model selection biases are employed during skill acquisition. Assessing variation in efficiency is key to understanding the evolution of complex behavioural traits in primates. Yet, individual-level differences beyond age- and sex-class in primate extractive foraging efficiency have never been investigated. Here, we used 25 years (1992- 2017) of video data of the Bossou chimpanzee community (Guinea), to investigate whether individual differences in nut-cracking efficiency exist across the life span of chimpanzees aged [≥] 6 years. Data from 3,882 oil-palm nut-cracking bouts from over 800 hours of observation were collected. We found long-term stable and reliable individual differences in four (out of five) measures of efficiency. We found no sex effect, challenging previous research on a female bias in chimpanzee tool use. These life-long differences in extractive foraging impacts daily energy budgets, which potentially have significant individual fitness and life history consequences. Additionally, the establishment of long-term individual variation in chimpanzee stone tool use has implications for interpreting archaeological records of hominins. Our findings highlight the importance of longitudinal data from long-term field sites when investigating underlying cognitive and behavioural diversity across individual lifespans and between populations.

Uintatheres, mammals belonging to the extinct order Dinocerata, are among the most recognizable of all Paleogene ([~]66 - 23 Ma) organisms. Unmistakable for their bizarre skulls with multiple pairs of horns and saber-like upper canines, uintatheres have captivated paleontologists since the late nineteenth century. Since their initial discovery, uintatheres have been regarded as a classic example of dramatic sexual dimorphism in the fossil record, with males purported to be larger and possess more prominent horns and canines than females. However, the hypothesis that uintatheres were highly sexually dimorphic has never been formally tested. Here, I use traditional, linear morphometrics on a collection including most known skulls of Uintatherium anceps to quantify patterns of cranial variation within this taxon. Despite using a variety of traditional and novel statistical methods, I fail to detect any evidence of strong sexual dimorphism in Uintatherium. To verify my approach, I assembled a similarly sized dataset from Bison bison as an extant analog, and found strong, consistent evidence of sexual dimorphism. In light of these findings, as well as the current understanding of uintathere systematics and paleoecology, I argue that strong sexual dimorphism should not be treated as the null hypothesis for this clade.

Molecular studies have yielded two primary models for understanding the uniparental DNA phylogenetic trees of modern humans: the Recent Out of Africa (ROA) and the Recent Out of East Asia (ROE) models. These models differ in their underlying assumptions, particularly in relation to early stem haplotypes, even though they share many haplotype relationships. Leveraging the wealth of new genetic variants within the male-specific region unveiled through the comprehensive sequencing of 43 diverse human Y chromosomes, we here investigated the presence of shared variants among different haplotypes to determine which model better aligns with the genetic data. We were able to corroborate the existence of stem haplotypes specific to the ROE model, but not those exclusive to the ROA model. We found that A0b and A1a shared the most variants with each other, aligning with the A00A1a clade of the ROE model. Also, stem haplotypes specific to the ROE model showed the expected relationships, with A00A1a closest to B, AB closest to E, E closest to B, A, and C, ABDE closest to C. Our findings also revealed extensive variant sharing independent of common ancestry, consistent with the maximum genetic diversity theory underlying the ROE model but challenging the neutral theory behind the ROA model. These new genetic data lend robust support to the ROE model as the more accurate representation of modern human origins.

Using contemporary people as proxies for ancient communities is a contentious but necessary practice in anthropology. In Southern Africa, the distinction between the Cape KhoeSan and eastern KhoeSan remains unclear as ethnicity labels are continually changed through time and most communities were extirpated. The eastern KhoeSan may reflect an essentialistic biological distinction from neighbouring Bantu-speaking communities or it may not be tied to race and instead denote communities with a nomadic life-way distinct from agro-pastoralism. The BaPhuthi of the 1800s in the Maloti-Drakensberg, Southern Africa had a substantial San constituency and a life-way of nomadism, cattle raiding, and horticulture. The BaPhuthi heritage could provide insights into the history of the eastern KhoeSan. We examine for the first time genetic affinities of 23 BaPhuthi to distinguish if KhoeSan ancestry reflects biologically distinct heritage or a shared life-way. Data were merged with 52 global populations. The Principle Component Analysis, ADMIXTURE clustering and F3 tests show no support for a unique eastern KhoeSan ancestry distinct from other KhoeSan or southern Bantu-speaking communities. The BaPhuthi have strong affinities with Nguni communities, as the non-Nguni show strong evidence of recent African admixture possibly related to late-iron age migrations. The BaPhuthi may have an interesting connection to the early iron-age Bantu-speaking communities as MALDER detected no signals for late-iron age admixture. We demonstrate how the essentialistic understanding of references in historic literature creates misconstrued notions of ethnic/biological distinctions when San and Bushman may have reflected ambiguous references to the non-sedentary polities and practices.

Proboscideans, including mammoths, played a crucial role in past herbivore communities, where resource partitioning helped reduce competition and promote coexistence. Stable carbon isotopes are frequently employed to differentiate between the consumption of C3 and C4 plants in the fossil record. However, as geographic variability influences {delta}13C values, dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is often used in tandem to infer dietary preferences among extinct taxa (e.g., the consumption of grass vs. browse). Interpreting the dietary ecology of proboscideans, like mammoths, rests on our ability to compare fossil specimens to modern taxa with known diets. Here, we established a modern reference for interpreting mammoth DMTA by analyzing teeth from 11 African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana) culled in 1993 from Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa (CITES permit certificate no. 780873). These specimens, housed at the Illinois State Museum, originated from the arid bushveld of northern KNP and were collected during the beginning of the dry season. Previous studies indicate that modern elephants in this region consume a mixed diet, consisting of [~]40% grass in the dry season and 50% grass in the wet season. The well-documented dietary and environmental context of these individuals provides an opportunity to assess dental microwear patterns in a modern analog and compare individuals with known diets to extinct mammoths. Specifically, we compared newly acquired modern African bush elephants DMTA to published DMTA data from fossil specimens of Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi). Comparisons with fossil assemblages reveal few statistically significant differences in microwear between mammoth and KNP elephants, with the exception of mammoths from Leisey Shell Pit 1A having significantly lower complexity values than modern African bush elephants--indicative of some mammoth populations eating softer foods and/or less woody browse. Variation and breadth of DMTA from mammoths are similar to the temporally and geographically constrained population of L. africana. Despite potential time averaging in fossil assemblages, the variation in mammoth DMTA aligns with that of a geographically and temporally constrained modern population, indicating that microwear variability in fossil taxa is not necessarily greater than that observed in extant species and is consistent with the highly varied diets of modern African elephants.

Chimpanzees, amongst other primates, are characterized by the large variability of habitats they can be found in as well as a large behavioral, sometimes cultural diversity. Such observations have launched a decades-long debate on the roots of behavioral diversity, stressing the need to document this behavioral variability in context, such as by connecting closely related populations through localized analyses. This study presents the first comprehensive description of feeding ecology from the Mwera South chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) community in the Bugoma Central Forest Reserve, in Uganda, establishing a valuable baseline for this previously unstudied population and providing a comparative perspective on the populations of Western Uganda and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. By employing multiple methodological approaches, including direct observation and fecal analysis, we describe dietary composition, seasonal patterns, and environmental influences on feeding behavior. Characterizing the feeding ecology of this previously unstudied population is critical for examining how ecological factors might influence how feeding patterns evolve depending on resource availability or chimpanzee behavior, in particular by favoring analyses at the regional level. In addition, we can better evaluate to what extent behavioral differences between chimpanzee communities stem from ecological constraints and/or cultural transmission pathways. Our findings suggest that the Bugoma chimpanzees seat at the location of a historic cultural junction, opening a large array of questions about historic movements and cultural diffusion in Eastern chimpanzees.

OBJECTIVESFrom the perspective of uniparental markers, the view of the human prehistoric settlement of America is that it resulted from a single main migration after the Last Glacial Maximum, following a long or short period of genetic isolation in Beringia. Ancient DNA and whole genome analyses have confirmed this view. My objective here is to demonstrate that humans entered America before the LGM and that the documented post-LGM expansions began in South instead North America. METHODSIn this work, I have reanalyzed all publicly available mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome haplogroups in the American population using simple phylogenetic and phylogeographic methodologies. RESULTSThe arrival of the American settlers occurred more than 30,000 years ago, preceding the LGM. As genomic studies have uncovered, at least two Asian populations contributed to the ancestry of the immigrant population. Low population density and climatic deterioration led to a long period of demographic eclipse, during which small bands of hunter-gatherers made long journeys in search of favorable niches. After the LGM, the climate improved, and demographic expansions occurred in multiple independent centers. The founding and expansion ages of the uniparental haplogroups indicate that these centers were in South America, particularly the Colombian isthmus, the Andean region, the Southern Cone, and the Amazon. Subsequent dispersals occurred in North America, one involving mitochondrial haplogroups A2, C1, and D1, but not B2, and another, of lesser magnitude, represented by the expansion of haplogroups C4c and X2a. DISCUSSIONThis work offers a previously unexplored model for the colonization of the Americas. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTSSince the past century, the predominant molecular genetic theory explaining the prehistoric human colonization of the Americas has been that Asian hunter-gatherers entered North America across a Beringia land bridge during or after the LGM. Complementary hypotheses have resolved the evident problem of crossing the existing ice sheets at that epoch, such as the LGM Beringian standstill or the existence of a Pacific maritime coastal route during that period. In contradiction, here, the reanalysis of uniparental genes shows that people were already in America before the LGM and that the post-LGM expansions detected with all kinds of molecular markers occurred first in the southern areas of the continent instead of North America.

Normative modeling of brain morphometric data can inform about the clinical significance of deviations from typical patterns in brain structure. Their usefulness, however, is dependent on their applicability to diverse ethnoracial groups. With this in mind, we developed age- and sex-specific normative models for cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volumes using brain scans from 37,407 healthy individuals from a diverse international sample. Here we demonstrate the validity of these models in diverse and distinct populations. Specifically, we tested these pre-trained models on independent samples of healthy individuals that either self-identified as Black, South Asian, East Asian Chinese, East Asian Japanese, or we categorized as African, Admixed American, East Asian, and European based on their genetic ancestry. Regardless of ethnoracial definition, the performance of the pretrained models in these samples was exceptionally high; the relative mean absolute error for each regional brain morphometry measure was less than 10% across all the distinct ethnoracial groups. These findings affirm the broad applicability of our models, ensuring that brain morphometry assessments using these models are accurate and reliable for individuals regardless of background. This broad applicability has significant implications for advancing personalized medicine and improving health outcomes in diverse populations.

The Middle East plays a central role in human history harbouring a vast diversity of ethnic, cultural and religious groups. However, much remains to be understood about past and present genomic diversity in this region. Here, we present for the first time, a multidisciplinary bioarchaeological analysis of two individuals dated to late 7th and early 8th centuries from Tell Qarassa, an open-air site in modern-day Syria. Radiocarbon dates, religious and cultural burial evidence indicate that this site represents one of the earliest Islamic Arab burials in the Levant during the Late Antiquity period. Interestingly, we found genomic similarity to a genotyped group of modern-day Bedouins and Saudi rather than to most neighbouring Levantine groups. This is highlighted through substantial Neolithic Levant ancestry in our samples, inviting an alternative scenario of long-term continuity in this region. This raises questions about the influence of ancient populations and historical migrations to genetic structure in the Middle East. As our study represents the first genomic analysis of an early Islamic burial in the Levant, we discuss our findings and possible historic scenarios in light of forces such as genetic drift and their possible interaction with religious and cultural processes.

Despite significant advancements in the reconstruction of activity patterns from skeletal remains and growing scholarly interest in ancient warfare, few biomechanical studies have investigated weaponry use. We adopt a biomechanical approach to investigate who participated in ancient Maya warfare and the types of weaponry used at the Late Postclassic (ca. 1200-1450 A.D.) regional political capital of Mayapan located in northwestern Yucatan, Mexico. This has implications for the nature and scale of Maya warfare and the size of territories that could be controlled by Maya polities. Comparative Finite Element Analysis is a powerful, non-destructive method that can be applied to skeletal remains to model strain, stress and deformation of structures in response to a defined loading regime. Here, biomechanical data extracted using cross-sectional geometry were combined with Finite Element Analysis models of three ancient Maya humeri from Mayapan: one elite male, one elite female, and one commoner female. Models were created with loading conditions of archery and spear use to assess evidence for skeletal adaptation to habitual weapon use. Following suggestions by some Mayanists that elite status males were the principal participants in warfare, we hypothesized that the elite male humerus would exhibit lower strains than the two female humeri in all the loading conditions. This was supported by the Finite Element model results, with the exception of spear throwing. The elite female humerus showed similar trends to the elite male humerus, suggesting the possibility of elite female participation in warfare.

The apportionment of human genetic diversity within and between populations has been measured to understand human relatedness and demographic history. Likewise, the distribution of archaic ancestry in modern populations can be leveraged to better understand the interaction between our species and its archaic relatives, and the impact of natural selection on archaic segments of the human genome. Resolving these interactions can be difficult, as archaic variants in modern populations have also been shaped by genetic drift, bottlenecks, and gene flow. Here, we investigate the apportionment of archaic variation in Eurasian populations. We find that archaic genome coverage at the individual- and population-level present unique patterns in modern human population: South Asians have an elevated count of population-unique archaic SNPs, and Europeans and East Asians have a higher degree of archaic SNP sharing, indicating that population demography and archaic admixture events had distinct effects in these populations. We confirm previous observations that East Asians have more Neanderthal ancestry than Europeans at an individual level, but surprisingly Europeans have more Neandertal ancestry at a population level. In comparing these results to our simulated models, we conclude that these patterns likely reflect a complex series of interactions between modern humans and archaic populations.

For many species, sexual dimorphism is one of the major sources of intraspecific variation. This is the case in some extant great apes, such as gorillas and orangutans, and to a lesser degree in humans, chimpanzees and bonobos. This variation has been well documented in various aspects of these species skeletal anatomy, including differences in the size and shape of the body, cranium, canines, and cresting of males and females, but less is known about sexually dimorphic variation of great ape mandibles. This is particularly important for building robust analog models to interpreting variation in the early hominin fossil record which preserves a large proportion of isolated mandibles and partial mandibles. Here we describe the phenotypical expression of sexual dimorphism in the mandible of six extant hominoid species, including humans, using geometric morphometrics. Our analyses show that the extent of sexual dimorphism in mandibular size and shape amongst the species studied is not the same, as well as the presence of significant differences in the degree of sexual dimorphism being expressed at different sections of the mandible. Furthermore, we find significant differences in how sexual dimorphism is expressed phenotypically even amongst closely related species with small divergence times. We discuss the potential pathways leading to such variation and the implications for extinct hominin variability.

Ontogenetic change is a major source of phenotypic variation among members of a species and is often of greater magnitude than the anatomical differences that distinguish closely related species. Ontogeny has therefore become a problematic confounding variable in vertebrate paleontology, especially in study systems distant from extant crown clades, rendering taxonomic hypothesis testing (a fundamental process in evolutionary biology) rife with difficulty. Paleontologists have adopted quantitative methods to compensate for the perception that juvenile specimens lack diagnostic apomorphies seen in their adult conspecifics. Here, I critically evaluate these methods and the assumptions that guide their interpretation using a {micro}CT dataset comprising growth series of American and Chinese alligator. I find that several widespread assumptions are scientifically unjustifiable, and that two popular methods - geometric morphometrics and cladistic analysis of ontogeny - have unacceptably high rates of type II error and present numerous procedural difficulties. However, I also identify a suite of ontogenetically invariant characters that differentiate the living species of Alligator throughout ontogeny. These characters overwhelmingly correspond to anatomical systems that develop prior to (and play a signaling role in) the development of the cranial skeleton itself, suggesting that their ontogenetic invariance is a consequence of the widely conserved vertebrate developmental program. These observations suggest that the architecture of the cranium is fixed early in embryonic development, and that ontogenetic remodeling does not alter the topological relationships of the cranial bones or the soft tissue structures they house. I propose a general model for future taxonomic hypothesis tests in the fossil record, in which the hypothesis that two specimens different ontogenetic stages of a single species can be falsified by the discovery of character differences that cannot be attributed plausibly to ontogenetic variation.

The movement of livestock across the Mediterranean is well-documented in the Neolithic era, but its significance during subsequent periods has received less attention. This study explores potential evidence for maritime connections between sheep populations in the Iron Age eastern Mediterranean by analyzing astragal bones from four coastal and inland sites in Israel and Cyprus. Employing an established geometric morphometric protocol, we investigated the hypothesis that intra-site morphological variability is higher in coastal sites, reflecting greater genetic diversity in the livestock populations. While our findings support this hypothesis, the conclusions are constrained by contextual and sample size limitations.

The deepest phylogenetic divergence within crown birds (Neornithes) is that between the reciprocally monophyletic Palaeognathae and Neognathae. Extant palaeognath diversity comprises the iconic flightless "ratites" (ostriches, rhea, kiwi, cassowaries, and emu), as well as 46 species of volant tinamous in Central and South America (Billerman et al., 2020). Although the earliest stages of palaeognath evolution remain shrouded in mystery due to a sparse fossil record, a group of apparently volant extinct palaeognaths from the Paleogene of Europe and North America, the lithornithids, can help to clarify palaeognath origins. Here, we use high resolution microCT scanning to characterize the morphology of two lithornithid specimens from the early Eocene (Ypresian) London Clay Formation: the neotype of Lithornis vulturinus (NHMUK A5204), from the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England, and a newly discovered clay nodule containing lithornithid postcranial remains from the nearby locality of Seasalter. This three-dimensional dataset reveals bones from the L. vulturinus neotype that are partially or completely covered by matrix, allowing us to redescribe this critical specimen in new detail and present a revised differential diagnosis of L. vulturinus. We refer the new specimen from Seasalter to L. vulturinus on the basis of apomorphies such as a proximally directed lateral process of the coracoid, caudally divergent lateral margins of the sternum, an arcuate deltopectoral crest, as well as its provenance from a nearby penecontemporaneous locality. The Seasalter specimen contains abundant postcranial material that provides new insight into bones damaged or missing in the neotype, including two undamaged scapulae bearing the hooked acromion that is a diagnostic feature of lithornithids, two complete coracoids, and a nearly complete three-dimensionally preserved sternum. Its estimated body mass is one third larger than that of the neotype, indicating intraspecific variation within L. vulturinus that may reflect sexual dimorphism. Molecular divergence dates and Cretaceous neognath fossils indicate the presence of total-clade palaeognaths before the K-Pg mass extinction event; detailed anatomical descriptions of Paleogene palaeognaths will assist in the identification of the first total-clade palaeognaths from the Cretaceous, and provide insight into how and when flight was independently lost among Cenozoic crown palaeognaths.

Domestication of crops and animals during the Holocene epoch played a critical role in shaping human culture, diet and genetic variation. This domestication process took place across a span of time and space, especially in Asia. We hypothesize that domestication of plants and animals around the world must have influenced the human genome differentially among human populations to a far greater degree than has been appreciated previously. The range of domesticated foods that were available in different regions can be expected to have created regionally distinct nutrient intake profiles and deficiencies. To capture this complexity, we used archaeobotanical evidence to construct two models of dietary nutrient composition over a 9000 year time span in Asia: one based on Larson et al. (2014) and measured through composition of 8 nutrients, and another taking into account a wider range of crops, cooking and lifestyle variation, and the dietary variables glycemic index and carbohydrate content. We hypothesize that the subtle dietary shifts through time and space have also influenced current human genetic variation among Asians. We used statistical methods BayeScEnv, BayeScan and Baypass, to examine the impact of our reconstructed long-term dietary habits on genome-wide genetic variation in 29 current-day Asian populations (Figure S1, Figure 1, Figure 2). Our results show that genetic variation in diet-related pathways is correlated with dietary differences among Asian populations. SNPs in five genes, GHR, LAMA1, SEMA3A, CAST and TCF7L2, involved in the gene ontologies salivary gland morphogenesis and negative regulation of type B pancreatic cell apoptotic process suggest that metabolism may have been primary targets of selection driven by dietary shifts. These shifts may have influenced biological pathways in ways that have a lasting impact on health. We present a case that archaeobotanical evidence can provide valuable insight for understanding how historical human niche construction might have influenced modern human genetic variation.\n\nO_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=119 SRC=\"FIGDIR/small/747709v1_fig1.gif\" ALT=\"Figure 1\">\nView larger version (26K):\norg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1aa917corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@135990forg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d3e0d3org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@14d5112_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOFigure 1.C_FLOATNO Organization of the study and analysis pipeline. The two figures in column Archaeological data refer to the two constructed dietary models, with the boxes beside them referring to the dietary variables from each model.\n\nC_FIG O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=107 SRC=\"FIGDIR/small/747709v1_fig2a.gif\" ALT=\"Figure 2\">\nO_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=112 SRC=\"FIGDIR/small/747709v1_fig2b.gif\" ALT=\"Figure 2\">\nView larger version (52K):\norg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1059950org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@94662dorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@c01de2org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@ea07cb_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOFigure 2.C_FLOATNO Summary of Diet Model 1. a) Levels of nutrients contributed by domestication, based on Diet Model 1, as a sum total of values across all three population groups. b) Average levels of nutrients across the three time intervals (9000 YBP-present) in each region, based on Diet Model 1. Supplementary Tables 1-8 contain the data used to generate these figures.\n\nC_FIG

Paleogenomic research has dramatically increased our understanding of past demographic and adaptive processes, but has also been criticized for a perceived disconnect between geneticists and other parties involved in the study of the past. For interdisciplinary research to be productive, contextual metadata associated with paleogenomic samples should be accessible in the same publication. Here, we conduct a pilot study examining the extent of archaeological metadata reporting in 30 peer-reviewed human paleogenomic studies, based on genetic sequences from 3911 ancient humans predominately from Western Eurasia, published between 2013 and 2024. We show inconsistent reporting of archaeological data across studies, and have sought to identify the driving factors. Overall, we found no strong explanatory variables, though some metadata fields - like Geolocation - have improved in completeness over time. These inconsistencies mean that metadata reporting is often insufficient to directly investigate the relationship between patterns of cultural and genetic change on the basis of published data alone. We propose a minimum information checklist as a best-practice guideline for collecting and reporting archaeological data in the future.

BackgroundEarly studies using a handful of Y-chromosome markers showed that many self-declared Jewish priests (Cohanim) share related haplotypes, but the limited resolution left open how many priestly lineages exist, when they arose, and how they map onto Jewish population history. ObjectivesWe used whole-Y sequencing and modern phylogenetic tools to (i) catalogue Y-chromosome clades that are robustly enriched among Cohanim, (ii) date their most-recent common ancestors (TMRCAs) with pedigree-calibrated clocks, (iii) reconstruct their geographic dispersal across the Jewish Diaspora, and (iv) offer a stable, SNP-block nomenclature for future work. MethodsWe generated 104 new Big Y-700 sequences from rigorously documented Cohanim spanning 20 diaspora origins, and incorporated 215 legacy samples re-typed for diagnostic SNPs. Phylogenies and branch TMRCAs were built on the FTDNA and YFull backbones. A branch qualified as "Cohen" (CB) if [≥]5 men and [≥]50 % of branch members self-identified as Cohanim. ResultsNine Cohen branches met these criteria, and for the current study were designated CB-01 to CB-09 with numbering based on antiquity of SNP-block coalescence. CB-01 is the largest ([~]45 % of all Cohanim sampled), the most ancient (TMRCA {approx} 850 BCE), and the only lineage present in every major Jewish community. Its internal topology shows explosive branching between 700 and 300 BCE, stasis through the Roman-Byzantine era, and renewed expansion after 800 CE, mirroring known demographic pulses. CB-02 (TMRCA {approx} 700 BCE) and CB-03 ({approx} 550 BCE) likewise trace to Iron- or late Classical-period Judea but are geographically narrower. CB-04 - CB-07 are Near-Eastern clades whose priestly status may have crystallized 0-1000 CE, while CB-05, CB-08 and CB-09 appear to derive from Mediterranean host populations. Twenty percent of Cohanim fall outside any current CB, indicating that additional, rarer lineages remain to be characterized. ConclusionsHigh-resolution sequencing reveals a small set of divergent paternal lines comprising the Jewish priesthood, dominated by a pre-exilic Levantine lineage whose branch structure traces three millennia of geographically dispersed Jewish demographic history. The CB nomenclature, SNP catalogues and open dataset provided here supply a reproducible framework for genetic and historical studies which illustrate the broader power of dense uniparental phylogenies in population-genetic inference.