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New perspectives on Nubian ancestry: Paleogenomic investigation of the

ancient Middle Nile Region.

Conference Paper · April 2020

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Abagail M. Breidenstein Hisham Y Hassan

University of Michigan Bahrain Royal Medical Services
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 ABSTRACTS
Dental calculus (or plaque) has recently emerged
as a rich source of ancient DNA (aDNA) from
human archeological samples. Besides preserving
good-quality ancient human DNA, it is also an
excellent substrate for recovering aDNA from oral
microorganisms and food debris. To gain insights
into oral health status, lifestyle and dietary habits
of indigenous populations in Mexico, we analyzed
Pre and Post-contact dental calculus samples
from Mexico. We generated low-depth shot-gun
sequencing data from samples from these two
periods and used KRAKEN to compare the reads
to a database composed of complete bacterial,
archaeal, viral, and plants genomes in the NCBI’s
RefSeq database. We complemented these anal-
yses with microbotanical analyses data (e.i pollen,
starch grains and phytoliths) by optic and polar-
ized microscopy of dental calculus. Data from
Pre-contact individuals revealed reads assigned
to Streptococcus gordonni, an opportunistic path-
ogen associated to endocarditis. Furthermore,
Pre- and Post-contact individuals yielded reads
matching to Tannerella forsythia, a Gram-negative
bacterium associated with periodontal disease.
Regarding the dietary sources in Pre-contact indi-
viduals, we identi ed starch particles of Zea mays,
Phaseolus vulgaris and pollen grains of Nicotiana
by both paleogenomics and microfossil analyses.
Data from Post-contact individuals showed reads
assigned to Beta vulgaris subsp. Vulgaris, Zea
mays and Gossypium hirsutum.
Further genomic analyses of T. forsythia and S.
gordonni, and dietary sources recovered from
dental calculus of Pre and Post-contact individ-
uals will provide additional evidence as to how
Spanish colonization impacted past lifestyle, diet
and genetic makeup of pathogens and hosts
during this transitional period.
Wellcome Trust, DGAPA PAPIIT.
Fitness bene‫ܪ‬ts of male chimpanzee
social bonds at Gombe National Park,
Tanzania
JOEL BRAY1,2 and IAN C. GILBY1,2
1
School of Human Evolution and Social Change,
Arizona State University, 2Institute of Human
Origins, Arizona State University
Strong social bonds are associated with tness
bene ts in several species. To date, however,
the strong, equitable, and stable bonds formed
between male chimpanzees have not been linked
to improved health, greater longevity, or higher
mating and paternity success. Using 34 years
of behavioral data (N = 24 adult males) from
Gombe National Park, Tanzania, we examined
whether the strength of a male’s bonds with other
males predicted his mating success with maxi-
mally-swollen, parous females. In Analysis 1, we
identi ed each male present in a party during all
matings between males and maximally-swollen,
parous females, marking each male as having
36 89th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists
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mated or not. In Analysis 2, we examined all days
on which a parous female was maximally-swollen
and identi ed whether each male in the commu-
nity mated with her or not. In Analysis 3, we
repeated Analysis 2 while including only matings
that could be con dently identi ed as having
occurred during a female’s periovulatory period.
Overall, we found that a male’s maternal related-
ness to a female and his rank were the strongest
and most robust predictors across all three anal-
yses. Additionally, the strength of a male’s bonds
positively predicted his mating success when all
mating data were included. In the dataset that
included only matings during the periovulatory
period, however, these effects were more variable
and less clear. These data provide preliminary
evidence that strong social bonds may be asso-
ciated with incresed reproductive success in male
chimpanzees, but the magnitude and meaning of
this effect requires further investigation.
Funding provided by the Jane Goodall Institute, the
National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of
Health, the Leakey Foundation, and the National Science
Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
New perspectives on Nubian ancestry:
Paleogenomic investigation of the ancient
Middle Nile Region
ABAGAIL M. BREIDENSTEIN1, JUDITH NEUKAMM1,2,
CHIARA BARBIERI3, GIADA FERRARI4, AGATA
T. GONDEK-WYROZEMSKA5, MOHAMED SAAD
ABDALLAH6,7, MAHMOUD SULIMAN BASHIR7,
MURTADA BUSHARA7, ROBERT J. STARK8,
JOANNA CIESIELSKA9, ARTUR OB USKI9,
BASTIAAN STAR4, HISHAM YOUSIF HASSAN10,
FRANK RÜHLI1, VERENA SCHUENEMANN1 and
ABIGAIL W. BIGHAM11
1
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of
Zझrich, 2Institute for Bioinformatics and Medical
Informatics, University of Tझbingen, 3Institute of
Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies,
University of Zझrich, 4Centre for Ecological and
Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences,
University of Oslo, 5Norweigen College of Fishery
Science, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, &
Economies, University of Tromsø‚ The Artic
University of Norway, 6Bolheim Bioarchaeology
Laboratory, Khartoum, 7National Committee for
Antiquities and Museums, Khartoum, 8Department
of Anthropology, McMaster University, 9Polish
Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University
of Warsaw, 10Banoon ART & Cytogenetics Centre,
Bahrain Defense Force Hospital, 11Department of
Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles
The kingdoms of Nubia, located in the Nile River
Valley of modern-day northern Sudan, served as
an important corridor of migration for millennia.
Since little is known of the ancient genetic
landscape, there is a lack of understanding
of population movements from Nubian times
through the Arab expansion. Here, we created a
time-transect of genetic diversity in this region,
using whole mitochondrial genome analysis of
ancient DNA of samples obtained from several
Middle Nile archaeological sites spanning nearly
two thousand years, from the Meroitic period
(ca. 350 BCE) to before the Arab expansion (ca.
1450 CE). We trialed 40 individuals, extracting
DNA using newly developed methods, including
petrosal bone extraction, non-heat sample
processing, enzymatic pretreatments, and DNA
capture techniques, optimized for samples with
very poor DNA preservation. We retrieved whole
mitogenomes (MT) for six individuals: two with
African ancestry and four with Eurasian ancestry.
The ancient Nubians showed most genetic af nity
with modern East Africans, Middle Easterners, and
Egyptians. These results indicate that Nubians
had a strong African component with evidence
of gene ow from Eurasia dating back to at least
Meroitic through Christian times. Although these
individuals encompass varying archaeological
contexts and span over two thousand years,
these initial results hint at the complexity of the
region’s genetic makeup and begin to reconstruct
the impact of migrations from outside Africa.
Lastly, our work represents the rst successful
retrieval of full MT sequence data from Middle Nile
inhabitants, further demonstrating the viability of
paleogenomic work in northeast Africa.
This work was funded by an Early Career Grant provided
by the National Geographic Society (EC-224R-18).
Health & Well-being in Pre- & Post-Black
Death London: An Assessment of Sexual
Stature Dimorphism
EMILY J. BRENNAN and SHARON N. DEWITTE
Anthropology, University of South Carolina
Given evidence that physical growth for males
is more sensitive to environmental uctuations
while immune responses in females may provide
better buffering against environmental conditions,
the degree of sexual stature dimorphism (SSD),
the ratio of male to female height, may be an
indicator of living standards. The degree of SSD
is expected to decrease as resource availability
declines. This association has been observed
in living contexts, and the aim of this study is to
assess SSD as an indicator of living standards
in medieval London in the context of repeated
famine events before the Black Death (c. 1348-
1350) but improved wages and diet afterwards.
This study compared adult individuals from
pre-Black Death (n=325) and post-Black Death
(n=289) cemeteries from London. Maximum tibial
length was used as a proxy for stature, and SSD
was calculated as the ratio of male to female
mean tibial length. Both sexes achieved taller adult
stature in the post-plague environment. Results
revealed only a slightly higher degree of SSD after
the Black Death. When considering SSD by age at
death, trends in both stature and SSD were more
similar between the early pre-Black Death sample
(c. 1000-1200) and the post-Black Death sample
(c. 1350-1540), compared to the late pre-Black
Death group (c. 1200-1250). Differentials in male