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Afontova Gora

Coordinates: 56°03′N 92°52′E / 56.05°N 92.87°E / 56.05; 92.87
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Afontova Gora
Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum
Afontova Gora is located in Krasnoyarsk Krai
Afontova Gora
Shown within Krasnoyarsk Krai
LocationKrasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
RegionAltai-Sayan region
Coordinates56°03′N 92°52′E / 56.05°N 92.87°E / 56.05; 92.87
Typeopen occupation site
History
PeriodsLate Upper Paleolithic
Site notes
Website,

Afontova Gora is a Late Upper Paleolithic Siberian complex of archaeological sites located on the left[clarification needed] bank of the Yenisei River near the city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Afontova Gora has cultural and genetic links to the people from Mal'ta-Buret'. The complex was first excavated in 1884 by I. T. Savenkov.[1]

The site is a complex of five or more layers of campsites.[1] The campsites shows evidence of mammoth hunting were likely the result of an eastward expansion of mammoth hunters.[2] The human fossils discovered at Afontova Gora were stored in the Hermitage Museum.[1]

Sites

Afontova Gora II is the site where the human fossil remains were found. The site was first excavated in 1912-1914 by V.I. Gromov.[3] In 1924, G.P. Sosnovsky, N.K. Auerbach, and V.I. Gromov discovered the first human fossils at the site.[4] The remains of mammoth, Arctic fox, Arctic hare, reindeer, bison, and horse were discovered at the site.[5][6]

Afontova Gora II consists of 7 layers.[6] Layer 3 from Afontova Gora II is the most significant: the layer produced the largest amount of cultural artefacts and is the layer where the human fossil remains were discovered.[7] Over 20,000 artefacts were discovered at layer 3: this layer produced over 450 tools and over 250 osseous artefacts (bone, antler, ivory).[7] The fossils of two distinct individuals were discovered in the initial excavations: the upper premolar of a 11-15 year-old child and the left radius, ulna, humerus, phalanx, and frontal bone of an adult.[7]

Afontova Gora III is the site where the initial excavation was undertaken by I. T. Savenkov in 1884.[3] The site was disturbed by mining activities in the late 1880s.[8] The site consists of 3 layers.[8]

Afontova Gora V was discovered in 1996.[9] The remains of hare, pika, cave lion, horse, reindeer, bison, and partridge were discovered at the site.[10]

Human remains

The bodies of two individuals, known as Afontova Gora 2 (AG-2) and Afontova Gora 3 (AG-3) were discovered within the complex. (The name Afontova Gora 1 refers to the remains of a canid.)

Afontova Gora 2

The human fossil remains of Afontova Gora 2 were discovered in the 1920s at Afontova Gora II and stored at the Hermitage Museum.[1] The remains are dated to around 17,000 BP [11] (16,930-16,490 BP[12]).

In 2009, researchers visited the Hermitage Museum and extracted DNA from the humerus of Afontova Gora 2.[13] Despite significant contamination, researchers succeeded in extracting low coverage genomes.[11] DNA analysis confirmed that the individual was male.[11]

The individual showed close genetic affinities to Mal'ta 1 (Mal'ta boy).[14] Afontova Gora 2 also showed more genetic affinity for the Karitiana people versus Han Chinese.[14] Around 1.9-2.7% of the genome was Neanderthal in origin.[12]

According to some sources, AG-3 belongs to a now-rare Y-DNA haplogroup, Q1a1 (also known as Q-F746 and Q-NWT01).[12]

Afontova Gora 3

In 2014, more human fossil remains were discovered at Afontova Gora II during salvage excavation before the construction of a new bridge over the Yenesei River.[12] The remains belonged to two different females: the atlas of an adult female and the mandible and five lower teeth of a young girl (Afontova Gora 3) estimated to be around 14–15 years old.[4] Initially, the new findings were presumed to be roughly contemporaneous with Afontova Gora 2.[12] In 2017, direct AMS dating revealed that Afontova Gora 3 is dated to around 16,130-15,749 BC (14,710±60 BP).[15]

The mandible of Afontova Gora 3 was described as being gracile.[12]

Researchers analyzing the dental morphology of Afontova Gora 3 concluded that the teeth showed distinct characteristics with most similarities to another fossil (the Listvenka child) from the Altai-Sayan region and were not western nor eastern.[16] Afontova Gora 3 and Listvenka showed distinct dental characteristics that were also different from other Siberian fossils, including those from Mal'ta.[17]

DNA was extracted from one of the teeth of Afontova Gora 3 and analyzed.[12] Compared to Afontova Gora 2, researchers were able to obtain higher coverage genomes from Afontova Gora 3.[12] DNA analysis confirmed that the individual was female.[12] Around 2.9-3.7% of the genome was Neanderthal in origin.[12]

In a 2016 study, researchers determined that Afontova Gora 2, Afontova Gora 3, and Mal'ta 1 (Mal'ta boy) shared common descent and were clustered together in a Mal'ta cluster.[12] Genetically, Afontova Gora 3 is not closer to Afontova Gora 2 when compared to Mal'ta 1.[12] When compared to Mal'ta 1, the Afontova Gora 3 lineage apparently contributed more to modern humans and are genetically closer to Native Americans.[12]

Phenotypic analysis shows that Afontova Gora 3 carries the derived rs12821256 allele associated with blond hair color in Europeans, making Afontova Gora 3 the earliest individual known to carry this derived allele.[18]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Turner II, Ovodov & Pavlova 2013, p. 54-55.
  2. ^ Hopkins 2013, p. 394-397.
  3. ^ a b Graf 2008, p. 129.
  4. ^ a b Zubova & Chikisheva 2015, p. 135.
  5. ^ Hopkins 2013, p. 394.
  6. ^ a b Graf 2008, p. 133.
  7. ^ a b c Graf 2008, p. 131.
  8. ^ a b Graf 2008, p. 134.
  9. ^ Drozdov & Artemiev 2007, p. 39.
  10. ^ Drozdov & Artemiev 2007, p. 40.
  11. ^ a b c Raghavan 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fu 2016.
  13. ^ Raghavan 2013, p. 90.
  14. ^ a b Raghavan 2013, p. 89.
  15. ^ Mathieson 2017.
  16. ^ Zubova & Chikisheva 2015, p. 142.
  17. ^ Zubova & Chikisheva 2015, p. 141-142.
  18. ^ Mathieson 2017, p. 50-51 (Supplementary).

Bibliography

  • Drozdov, N.I.; Artemiev, E.V. (2007). "THE PALEOLITHIC SITE OF AFONTOVA GORA: RECENT FINDINGS AND NEW ISSUES". Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 29: 39–45. doi:10.1134/S1563011007010033. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Fu, Qiaomei; et al. (May 2, 2016). "The genetic history of Ice Age Europe". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature17993. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Haak, W.; Lazaridis, I. "Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe". Nature. 522: 207–211. Bibcode:2015Natur.522..207H. doi:10.1038/nature14317. PMC 5048219. PMID 25731166.
  • Graf, Kelly E. (2008). Uncharted Territory: Late Pleistocene Hunter-gatherer Dispersals in the Siberian Mammoth-steppe. University of Nevada, Reno. ISBN 9780549562740. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Hopkins, David M. (2013). Paleoecology of Beringia. Elsevier. ISBN 9781483273402. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Mathieson, Iain (2017), The Genomic History of Southeastern Europe (PDF), bioRxiv.org
  • "Upper Palaeolithic Siberian Genome Reveals Dual Ancestry of Native Americans" (pdf). Nature. 505 (7481): 87–91. 2013. Bibcode:2014Natur.505...87R. doi:10.1038/nature12736. PMC 4105016. PMID 24256729. Retrieved 2013-11-22. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  • Turner II, Christy G.; Ovodov, Nicolai D.; Pavlova, Olga V. (2013). Animal Teeth and Human Tools: A Taphonomic Odyssey in Ice Age Siberia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107030299. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Zubova, A.V.; Chikisheva, T.A. (2015). "THE MORPHOLOGY OF HUMAN TEETH FROM AFONTOVA GORA II, SOUTHERN SIBERIA, AND THEIR STATUS RELATIVE TO THE DENTITION OF OTHER UPPER PALEOLITHIC NORTHERN EURASIANS". Archaeology Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia. doi:10.1016/j.aeae.2016.02.014. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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