DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.53060#0206
6 PRELIMINARY ANALYSES OF DNA IN SKELETAL
MATERIAL FROM THE HARBOR NECROPOLIS
205
The population structure and origin of Anatolians have been addressed in several studies, using
genetic data from living people of present-day inhabitants of Turkey to extrapolate movements
and origins of past populations272. A mosaic of maternal lineages is found in Turkey, including
traces of central Asian influence (Di Benedetto et al. 2001; Nasidze et al. 2004; Quintana-Murci
et al. 2004; Schönberg et al. 2011). The admixture is more pronounced in paternal markers than
in maternal markers (Nasidze et al. 2004), and recent analysis of unisexual markers shows that
the Turkish population is rather distinct from European populations (Skoglund et al. 2012).
However, the mode of introduction of the central Asian component to the people of Anatolia is
not yet understood.
Ephesos, located on the coast of Ionia, was one of the major cities of the Roman Empire,
and one of the largest in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. The rich and flourishing city
promoted maritime trading, travelling and likely, intermarriages of people from different parts
of the Roman Empire. The importance of the city as a commercial centre declined as the har-
bor was slowly silted up by the river, and Ephesos was a small village when the Seljuk Turks
conquered it in 1090.
The Harbor Necropolis, located along the harbor channel of Ephesos, comprises five grave
complexes containing skeletal remains of numerous humans of different coverage and preserva-
tion state (see chap. 3 and 5). The Harbor Necropolis was in use between the 2nd and the early
6th centuries; the burials of tomb 1/08 date from the 2nd to the early 5th century. In this study,
preliminary results of the genetic constitution of the Roman population of coastal western Asia
Minor is reported, and compared to the maternal genetic lineages found among the skeletal mate-
rial from the Türbe in the Artemision in Ayasuluk/Selguk, a grave complex from the Ottoman
period of Ephesos (Bjornstad 2015).
6.1 ANCIENT DNA ANALYSES
Ancient DNA (aDNA) is DNA isolated from organisms not preserved for the purpose of DNA
studies, and includes skeletal material, feathers, coprolites, herbarium and sediment samples,
among others. The history of the field goes back only four decades with the first reported DNA-
study of an extinct quagga (Higuchi et al. 1984), followed by genetic analysis of Egyptian
mummies (Pääbo 1985). Even though the field is young, and has seriously been set back several
times, the development has been significant during the last years. Retrieval of DNA has even
been possible for up to 700 000 years old specimens given exceptional preservation conditions
in permafrost (Orlando et al 2013). However, there wifi be a maximal age of retrieval of aDNA;
at some point all DNA wifi be in the form of single building blocks (Allentoft et al. 2011).
The question of authenticity has been a recurrent concern within the field. The DNA isolated
from old remains is degraded and fragmented into smaller pieces. Thus, aDNA is vulnerable
to contamination from high-quality modern DNA coming from people handling the bones or
performing the genetic analyses, from laboratory consumables that often contain mammalian
DNA, and from bacteria and fungi from the soil surrounding the skeletal remains. Some of this
contamination wifi inhibit the amplification of aDNA, while other could create false sequences.
Studies of aDNA therefore follow certain universal standards to minimize the risk of contami-
nation (Cooper - Poinar 2000; Hofreiter et al. 2001).
Recent developments of sequencing technologies, and implementation of the so-called next
generation sequencing (NGS), have nearly revolutionised the field of genetics, making it possible
272 Since the co-author of this volume and main author of this chapter, Gro Bjornstad, prefers writing in English
chap. 6 was left in its original version. See also Steskal - Bjornstad 2018.
MATERIAL FROM THE HARBOR NECROPOLIS
205
The population structure and origin of Anatolians have been addressed in several studies, using
genetic data from living people of present-day inhabitants of Turkey to extrapolate movements
and origins of past populations272. A mosaic of maternal lineages is found in Turkey, including
traces of central Asian influence (Di Benedetto et al. 2001; Nasidze et al. 2004; Quintana-Murci
et al. 2004; Schönberg et al. 2011). The admixture is more pronounced in paternal markers than
in maternal markers (Nasidze et al. 2004), and recent analysis of unisexual markers shows that
the Turkish population is rather distinct from European populations (Skoglund et al. 2012).
However, the mode of introduction of the central Asian component to the people of Anatolia is
not yet understood.
Ephesos, located on the coast of Ionia, was one of the major cities of the Roman Empire,
and one of the largest in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. The rich and flourishing city
promoted maritime trading, travelling and likely, intermarriages of people from different parts
of the Roman Empire. The importance of the city as a commercial centre declined as the har-
bor was slowly silted up by the river, and Ephesos was a small village when the Seljuk Turks
conquered it in 1090.
The Harbor Necropolis, located along the harbor channel of Ephesos, comprises five grave
complexes containing skeletal remains of numerous humans of different coverage and preserva-
tion state (see chap. 3 and 5). The Harbor Necropolis was in use between the 2nd and the early
6th centuries; the burials of tomb 1/08 date from the 2nd to the early 5th century. In this study,
preliminary results of the genetic constitution of the Roman population of coastal western Asia
Minor is reported, and compared to the maternal genetic lineages found among the skeletal mate-
rial from the Türbe in the Artemision in Ayasuluk/Selguk, a grave complex from the Ottoman
period of Ephesos (Bjornstad 2015).
6.1 ANCIENT DNA ANALYSES
Ancient DNA (aDNA) is DNA isolated from organisms not preserved for the purpose of DNA
studies, and includes skeletal material, feathers, coprolites, herbarium and sediment samples,
among others. The history of the field goes back only four decades with the first reported DNA-
study of an extinct quagga (Higuchi et al. 1984), followed by genetic analysis of Egyptian
mummies (Pääbo 1985). Even though the field is young, and has seriously been set back several
times, the development has been significant during the last years. Retrieval of DNA has even
been possible for up to 700 000 years old specimens given exceptional preservation conditions
in permafrost (Orlando et al 2013). However, there wifi be a maximal age of retrieval of aDNA;
at some point all DNA wifi be in the form of single building blocks (Allentoft et al. 2011).
The question of authenticity has been a recurrent concern within the field. The DNA isolated
from old remains is degraded and fragmented into smaller pieces. Thus, aDNA is vulnerable
to contamination from high-quality modern DNA coming from people handling the bones or
performing the genetic analyses, from laboratory consumables that often contain mammalian
DNA, and from bacteria and fungi from the soil surrounding the skeletal remains. Some of this
contamination wifi inhibit the amplification of aDNA, while other could create false sequences.
Studies of aDNA therefore follow certain universal standards to minimize the risk of contami-
nation (Cooper - Poinar 2000; Hofreiter et al. 2001).
Recent developments of sequencing technologies, and implementation of the so-called next
generation sequencing (NGS), have nearly revolutionised the field of genetics, making it possible
272 Since the co-author of this volume and main author of this chapter, Gro Bjornstad, prefers writing in English
chap. 6 was left in its original version. See also Steskal - Bjornstad 2018.
