DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.53060#0212
6.6 Future analyses of the graves of the Harbor Necropolis
211
2011) but was not observed in the late-Byzantine population of Sagalassos (Ottoni et al. 2011).
The lineage could have been brought into the Anatolian population by the Seljuk Turks or dur-
ing later contact with central Asia. However, the skeletal material from the Harbor Necropolis
suggests that these lineages are also more ancient in Anatolia.
One individual had mutations that could suggest it belongs to haplogroup L2 (or M). Hap-
logroup L2 is African. It is likely that the maritime trading networks of eastern Mediterranean
promoted contacts between coastal Ephesos and northern Africa, contacts that could have left
permanent genetic traces in the Ephesian population. Interactions between Sagalassos, an inland
city, and Egypt/Levant, have been documented through finds of ancient fish bones originating
from Northern Africa/Middle East in Sagalassos (Arndt et al. 2003).
The lack of information of partial DNA-sequences is challenging, particularly for detecting
H-haplotypes. Absence or minor differences compared to the reference sequence (Cambridge
Reference Sequence, CRS) indicate that a haplotype belong to haplogroup H, the most prevalent
haplogroup of present-day Turkey as well as Europe. Thus, many of the samples without detected
variation and not reported in this study most likely belong to haplogroup H but are not assigned
haplogroup since we do not possess the complete sequence information of these samples without
(conclusive) mutations.
6.6 FUTURE ANALYSES OF THE GRAVES OF THE HARBOR NECROPOLIS
Grave 3 and 4 appear to have best biological preservation of the five Harbor Necropolis graves.
Grave 1, 2 and 5 have been limited tested, but the physical appearance of the bones suggests that
amplification of aDNA could be more challenging from these graves. The biological preservation
of the skeletal material from grave 3 and 4 could warrant analyses also of nuclear markers like
SNPs (Single Nuclear Polymorphisms). SNPs include the complex genetic information of all
past direct ancestors and could elucidate complex cultural and historical trends undetectable by
maternally inherited markers (mtDNA). Further, reliable sex determination of skeletal remains
based on biometrical measurements is challenging for incomplete skeletons and children, but
analyses of sex-linked markers, detectable with SNPs, could reveal valuable information regard-
ing gender composition, population structure, health aspects, burial traditions and so on.
Multiple samples were taken from many of the skeletons from the Harbor Necropolis for
isotope analyses. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen provide information on diet composi-
tion while isotopes of strontium provide information on geographical origin. Values of strontium
isotopes are imprinted by the geology of the landscape, giving an area a unique strontium pattern.
The strontium values of teeth are identical with the geographical landscape values of where the
individual grew up, as the teeth were formed. By comparing the strontium values of the human
teeth with reference values of the landscape (e.g. soil, plants, molluscs, domestic animals) indi-
cate if the individual have lived the whole life in the region or if it was a migrant, growing up in
another region with a different strontium profile. Food consumption is reflected in the isotopic
composition of human tissue. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen reflect the protein intake and
indicate if a person’s diet was mainly terrestrial or marine, vegetarian or meat based, or if special
plants (C4-plants like millet, sorghum) were part of the diet. The isotope analyses of the skeletal
remains from the Harbor Necropolis are initiated in cooperation with Michael P. Richards (Simon
Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada) and will provide valuable information about diet and ori-
gin of people buried in the Harbor Necropolis of Roman Ephesos.
In conclusion, preliminary analyses of the skeletal material from the Harbor Necropolis sug-
gest a complex distribution of maternal lineages among the Roman Ephesians. Both European
signatures, along with more exotic maternal lineages potentially of Asian and/or African origin
were detected within this coastal site. This suggests that Roman Ephesos was a meeting point for
people from near and far, from >all corners of the worldc Further investigations using nuclear
markers and analyses of isotopes could elucidate significant cultural and historical issues of this
Roman population.
211
2011) but was not observed in the late-Byzantine population of Sagalassos (Ottoni et al. 2011).
The lineage could have been brought into the Anatolian population by the Seljuk Turks or dur-
ing later contact with central Asia. However, the skeletal material from the Harbor Necropolis
suggests that these lineages are also more ancient in Anatolia.
One individual had mutations that could suggest it belongs to haplogroup L2 (or M). Hap-
logroup L2 is African. It is likely that the maritime trading networks of eastern Mediterranean
promoted contacts between coastal Ephesos and northern Africa, contacts that could have left
permanent genetic traces in the Ephesian population. Interactions between Sagalassos, an inland
city, and Egypt/Levant, have been documented through finds of ancient fish bones originating
from Northern Africa/Middle East in Sagalassos (Arndt et al. 2003).
The lack of information of partial DNA-sequences is challenging, particularly for detecting
H-haplotypes. Absence or minor differences compared to the reference sequence (Cambridge
Reference Sequence, CRS) indicate that a haplotype belong to haplogroup H, the most prevalent
haplogroup of present-day Turkey as well as Europe. Thus, many of the samples without detected
variation and not reported in this study most likely belong to haplogroup H but are not assigned
haplogroup since we do not possess the complete sequence information of these samples without
(conclusive) mutations.
6.6 FUTURE ANALYSES OF THE GRAVES OF THE HARBOR NECROPOLIS
Grave 3 and 4 appear to have best biological preservation of the five Harbor Necropolis graves.
Grave 1, 2 and 5 have been limited tested, but the physical appearance of the bones suggests that
amplification of aDNA could be more challenging from these graves. The biological preservation
of the skeletal material from grave 3 and 4 could warrant analyses also of nuclear markers like
SNPs (Single Nuclear Polymorphisms). SNPs include the complex genetic information of all
past direct ancestors and could elucidate complex cultural and historical trends undetectable by
maternally inherited markers (mtDNA). Further, reliable sex determination of skeletal remains
based on biometrical measurements is challenging for incomplete skeletons and children, but
analyses of sex-linked markers, detectable with SNPs, could reveal valuable information regard-
ing gender composition, population structure, health aspects, burial traditions and so on.
Multiple samples were taken from many of the skeletons from the Harbor Necropolis for
isotope analyses. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen provide information on diet composi-
tion while isotopes of strontium provide information on geographical origin. Values of strontium
isotopes are imprinted by the geology of the landscape, giving an area a unique strontium pattern.
The strontium values of teeth are identical with the geographical landscape values of where the
individual grew up, as the teeth were formed. By comparing the strontium values of the human
teeth with reference values of the landscape (e.g. soil, plants, molluscs, domestic animals) indi-
cate if the individual have lived the whole life in the region or if it was a migrant, growing up in
another region with a different strontium profile. Food consumption is reflected in the isotopic
composition of human tissue. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen reflect the protein intake and
indicate if a person’s diet was mainly terrestrial or marine, vegetarian or meat based, or if special
plants (C4-plants like millet, sorghum) were part of the diet. The isotope analyses of the skeletal
remains from the Harbor Necropolis are initiated in cooperation with Michael P. Richards (Simon
Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada) and will provide valuable information about diet and ori-
gin of people buried in the Harbor Necropolis of Roman Ephesos.
In conclusion, preliminary analyses of the skeletal material from the Harbor Necropolis sug-
gest a complex distribution of maternal lineages among the Roman Ephesians. Both European
signatures, along with more exotic maternal lineages potentially of Asian and/or African origin
were detected within this coastal site. This suggests that Roman Ephesos was a meeting point for
people from near and far, from >all corners of the worldc Further investigations using nuclear
markers and analyses of isotopes could elucidate significant cultural and historical issues of this
Roman population.
