. 2018 Aug 29;8(1):13003.

doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-31123-z.

Reconciling material cultures in archaeology with genetic data: The nomenclature of clusters emerging from archaeogenomic analysis

Stefanie Eisenmann^{1

2}, Eszter Bánffy³, Peter van Dommelen⁴, Kerstin P Hofmann³, Joseph Maran⁵, Iosif Lazaridis^{6

7

8}, Alissa Mittnik^{9

6

7}, Michael McCormick^{6

10

11}, Johannes Krause^{9

6

12}, David Reich^{6

7

8

11

13}, Philipp W Stockhammer^{14

15

16}

Affiliations

¹ Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeogenetics, Jena, 07745, Germany. eisenmann@shh.mpg.de.
² Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Jena, Germany & Cambridge, MA, USA. eisenmann@shh.mpg.de.
³ Römisch-Germanische Kommission, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Frankfurt, a. M., 60325, Germany.
⁴ Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
⁵ Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, 69117, Germany.
⁶ Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Jena, Germany & Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁷ Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁸ Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
⁹ Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeogenetics, Jena, 07745, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of History, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
¹¹ Initiative for the Science of the Human Past at Harvard, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
¹² Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72074, Germany.
¹³ Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MD, 20815, USA.
¹⁴ Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeogenetics, Jena, 07745, Germany. philipp.stockhammer@lmu.de.
¹⁵ Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Jena, Germany & Cambridge, MA, USA. philipp.stockhammer@lmu.de.
¹⁶ Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, 80799, Germany. philipp.stockhammer@lmu.de.

PMID: 30158639
PMCID: PMC6115390
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31123-z

Reconciling material cultures in archaeology with genetic data: The nomenclature of clusters emerging from archaeogenomic analysis

Stefanie Eisenmann et al. Sci Rep. 2018.

. 2018 Aug 29;8(1):13003.

doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-31123-z.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeogenetics, Jena, 07745, Germany. eisenmann@shh.mpg.de.
² Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Jena, Germany & Cambridge, MA, USA. eisenmann@shh.mpg.de.
³ Römisch-Germanische Kommission, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Frankfurt, a. M., 60325, Germany.
⁴ Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
⁵ Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, 69117, Germany.
⁶ Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Jena, Germany & Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁷ Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁸ Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
⁹ Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeogenetics, Jena, 07745, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of History, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
¹¹ Initiative for the Science of the Human Past at Harvard, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
¹² Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72074, Germany.
¹³ Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MD, 20815, USA.
¹⁴ Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeogenetics, Jena, 07745, Germany. philipp.stockhammer@lmu.de.
¹⁵ Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean (MHAAM), Jena, Germany & Cambridge, MA, USA. philipp.stockhammer@lmu.de.
¹⁶ Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, 80799, Germany. philipp.stockhammer@lmu.de.

PMID: 30158639
PMCID: PMC6115390
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31123-z

Abstract

Genome-wide ancient DNA analysis of skeletons retrieved from archaeological excavations has provided a powerful new tool for the investigation of past populations and migrations. An important objective for the coming years is to properly integrate ancient genomics into archaeological research. This article aims to contribute to developing a better understanding and cooperation between the two disciplines and beyond. It focuses on the question of how best to name clusters encountered when analysing the genetic makeup of past human populations. Recent studies have frequently borrowed archaeological cultural designations to name these genetic groups, while neglecting the historically problematic nature of the concept of cultures in archaeology. After reviewing current practices in naming genetic clusters, we introduce three possible nomenclature systems ('numeric system', 'mixed system (a)', 'geographic-temporal system') along with their advantages and challenges.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Reconciling material cultures in archaeology with genetic data: The nomenclature of clusters emerging from archaeogenomic analysis

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Reconciling material cultures in archaeology with genetic data: The nomenclature of clusters emerging from archaeogenomic analysis

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Abstract

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