Burial of two closely related infants under a “dragon stone” from prehistoric Armenia
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Burial of two closely related infants under a “dragon stone” from prehistoric Armenia. / Bobokhyan, Arsen; Iraeta-Orbegozo, Miren; McColl, Hugh; Mkrtchyan, Ruzan; Simonyan, Hasmik; Ramos-Madrigal, Jazmín; Andrades-Valtueña, Aída; Hnila, Pavol; Gilibert, Alessandra; Margaryan, Ashot.
I: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Bind 57, 104601, 2024.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Burial of two closely related infants under a “dragon stone” from prehistoric Armenia
AU - Bobokhyan, Arsen
AU - Iraeta-Orbegozo, Miren
AU - McColl, Hugh
AU - Mkrtchyan, Ruzan
AU - Simonyan, Hasmik
AU - Ramos-Madrigal, Jazmín
AU - Andrades-Valtueña, Aída
AU - Hnila, Pavol
AU - Gilibert, Alessandra
AU - Margaryan, Ashot
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - “Dragon stones” are prehistoric basalt stelae carved with animal imagery found in Armenia and surrounding regions. These monuments have a complex history of use and reuse across millennia, and the original date of creation is still a matter of debate. In this article, we present a unique dragon stone context excavated at the site of Lchashen, Armenia, where a three-and-a-half-meter high basalt stela with an image of a sacrificed bovid was found above a burial dating to the 16th century BC. The burial stands out among hundreds from this site as the only one in connection with a “dragon stone”, and one of very few containing the remains of newborn babies. Furthermore, our analyses of ancient DNA extracted from the well-preserved skeletal remains of two 0–2-month-old individuals showed them to be second-degree related females with identical mitochondrial sequences of the haplogroup U5a1a1 lineage, thus indicating that the infants are closely related. Additionally, we assessed that the buried individuals displayed genetic ancestry profiles similar to other Bronze Age individuals from the region.
AB - “Dragon stones” are prehistoric basalt stelae carved with animal imagery found in Armenia and surrounding regions. These monuments have a complex history of use and reuse across millennia, and the original date of creation is still a matter of debate. In this article, we present a unique dragon stone context excavated at the site of Lchashen, Armenia, where a three-and-a-half-meter high basalt stela with an image of a sacrificed bovid was found above a burial dating to the 16th century BC. The burial stands out among hundreds from this site as the only one in connection with a “dragon stone”, and one of very few containing the remains of newborn babies. Furthermore, our analyses of ancient DNA extracted from the well-preserved skeletal remains of two 0–2-month-old individuals showed them to be second-degree related females with identical mitochondrial sequences of the haplogroup U5a1a1 lineage, thus indicating that the infants are closely related. Additionally, we assessed that the buried individuals displayed genetic ancestry profiles similar to other Bronze Age individuals from the region.
KW - Ancient DNA
KW - Armenia
KW - Bronze Age
KW - Burial practices
KW - Caucasus
KW - Next-generation sequencing
U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104601
DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104601
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85194959887
VL - 57
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
SN - 2352-409X
M1 - 104601
ER -
ID: 396094860