Archaeogenetics of Late Iron Age Cemialo Srt, Batman: Investigating maternal genetic continuity in north Mesopotamia since the Neolithic

Abstract

ObjectivesNorth Mesopotamia has witnessed dramatic social change during the Holocene, but the impact of these events on its demographic history is poorly understood. Here, we study this question by analysing genetic data from the recently excavated Late Iron Age settlement of Cemialo Srt in Batman, southeast Turkey. Archaeological and radiocarbon evidence indicate that the site was inhabited during the second and first millennia BCE. Cemialo Srt reveals nomadic items of the Early Iron Age, as well as items associated with the Late Achaemenid and subsequent Hellenistic Periods. We compare Cemialo Srt mitochondrial DNA profiles with earlier and later populations from west Eurasia to describe genetic continuity patterns in the region.