Papers by Viktor Trifonov
iScience, 2024
Our research uncovers the genetic connections between the ancient farming community of the Darkve... more Our research uncovers the genetic connections between the ancient farming community of the Darkveti-Meshoko culture and the early herders of the Khvalynsk culture, highlighting how cultural and mating networks facilitated the spread of agriculture from the Caucasus to the Eastern European steppes. We invite you to explore our findings on the genetic ancestry from the Nalchik cemetery and its implications for understanding early agricultural practices.
Archaeometry, 2023
This study reconstructed the technical chaîne operatoire of silver seed bead production in the Ma... more This study reconstructed the technical chaîne operatoire of silver seed bead production in the Maikop culture on the basis of tracewear analysis and experimental research using silver beads from the Early Bronze Age dolmen (c. 3200–2900 bce) in kurgan 2 at Tsarskaya (1898). The results demonstrate that such beads were produced as a “garland” lost wax casting, when a garland of beads is formed on a hollow dry stalk (straw) that burns out during the casting process. The technology of “garland” casting is an original and, probably, the earliest solution in history that helped address the issue of large‐scale production of uniform cast precious metal seed beads. It is not yet clear whether this technology was originally developed in the Caucasus or brought here from Western Asia, where the Maikop culture has its roots.
Kratkie soobŝeniâ, Dec 2, 2019
традициям академической археологии, сложившимся при образовании ИИМК. Мы рассчитываем, что журнал... more традициям академической археологии, сложившимся при образовании ИИМК. Мы рассчитываем, что журнал послужит академической археологии и в будущем, собирая на своих страницах яркие и глубокие материалы.
Acta Naturae
Several different methods of DNA library preparation for paleogenetic studies are now available. ... more Several different methods of DNA library preparation for paleogenetic studies are now available. However, the chemical reactions underlying each of them can affect the primary sequence of ancient DNA (aDNA) in the libraries and taint the results of a statistical analysis. In this paper, we compare the results of a sequencing of the aDNA libraries of a Bronze Age sample from burials of the Caucasian burial ground Klady, prepared using three different approaches: (1) shotgun sequencing, (2) strategies for selecting target genomic regions, and (3) strategies for selecting target genomic regions, including DNA pre-treatment with a mixture of uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) and endonuclease VIII. The impact of the studied approaches to genomic library preparation on the results of a secondary analysis of the statistical data, namely F4 statistics, ADMIXTURE, and principal component analysis (PCA), was analyzed. It was shown that preparation of genomic libraries without the use of UDG can re...
Archaeological News, 2023
The paper considers the early stage of the study of the Maykop archaeological culture and analyze... more The paper considers the early stage of the study of the Maykop archaeological culture and analyzes the reasons why the scientific community supported the plausible but erroneous trend in comparative typology while the correct solution was initially rejected and recognized as true almost fifty years afterwards. The consequences of this historiographic episode are evaluated for the development of archaeology of the Caucasus and South of East Europe of the Bronze Age. The article traces the history of changing views on periodization and chronology of the Maykop culture, depending on which, over the past century, not only the ideas about the cultural and chronological systematization of the Bronze Age sites of the Caucasus and the adjacent East European steppe have noticeably changed, but, to a large extent, the reconstruction of the general network of cultural relations between Europe and the early civilizations of the Ancient East. The paper analyses the motives and goals of the main participants of the discussion on the Caucasian archaeology of the Bronze Age in the first half of the 20th century: N. I. Veselovsky, D. Ya. Samokvasov, A. A. Spitsyn, V. A. Gorodtsov, A. M. Tallgren, B. V. Farmakovsky, M. I. Rostovtsev, G. Childe, H. Frankfort, A. V. Sсhmidt, F. Hančar, A. A. Yessen.
Biochemistry (Moscow)
Development of technologies for high-throughput whole-genome sequencing and improvement of sample... more Development of technologies for high-throughput whole-genome sequencing and improvement of sample preparation techniques made it possible to study ancient DNA (aDNA) from archaeological samples over a million year old. The studies of aDNA have shed light on the history of human migration, replacement of populations, interbreeding of Cro-Magnons with Neanderthals and Denisovans, evolution of human pathogens, etc. Equally important is the possibility to investigate epigenetic modifications of ancient genomes, which has allowed to obtain previously inaccessible information on gene expression, nucleosome positioning, and DNA methylation. Analysis of methylation status of certain genomic sites can predict an individual's age at death and reconstruct some phenotypic features, as it was done for the Denisovan genome, and even to elucidate unfavorable environmental factors that had affected this archaic individual. In this review, we discuss current progress in epigenetic studies of aDNA, including methodological approaches and promising research directions in this field.
Makhachkala Publishing House, 2020
Краткие сообщения Института археологии (КСИА), 2021
В статье представлен обзор новейших результатов анализа ДНК древних народов Кавказа и сопредельно... more В статье представлен обзор новейших результатов анализа ДНК древних народов Кавказа и сопредельной степи в эпоху энеолита - бронзы (V-II тыс. до н. э.) и рассматриваются проблемы их культурно-исторической интерпретации. Выделено семь особенностей общей палеогенетической картины региона: 1. Формирование генотипа кавказских охотников-собирателей не позднее XII тыс. до н. э. и его раннее распространение за пределы Кавказа; 2. Существование на Кавказе непрерывной генетической преемственности с эпохи верхнего палеолита; 3. Раннее, не позднее VI тыс. до н. э., появление кавказского и связанного с ним переднеазиатского (иранского и анатолийского) генетического компонента в степном генетическом пуле; 4. Сохранение генетических различий между населением Кавказа и открытой степи на протяжении всей эпохи энеолита - бронзы; 5. Существование вдоль северных склонов Кавказа генетической буферной зоны, которую, в зависимости от исторических и климатических условий, занимали степняки или кавказцы; 6...
Краткие сообщения Института археологии (КСИА), 2018
В статье приведены результаты всестороннего анализа уникального бронзового крюка с антропоморфным... more В статье приведены результаты всестороннего анализа уникального бронзового крюка с антропоморфными фигурками из дольмена эпохи ранней бронзы (прибл. 3200–2900 до н. э.) у ст. Царская (совр. Новосвободная) на Северо-Западном Кавказе. Установлено, что предмет отлит из мышьяковой бронзы по технологии утрачиваемой восковой модели, является крюком для вынимания мяса из котла и входит в набор церемониальной посуды для общественной трапезы. Изображения пары обнаженных мужчин, стоящих в боксерской стойке, представляют сцену ритуального поединка в присутствии или в честь божества, чьим атрибутом являются бычьи рога, на которых соперники стоят. Предмет в целом ассоциируется с темой погребального пира и погребальных игр. Вероятно, что сюжет и иконография изображений восходят к канонам храмового шумерского искусства раннединастического, а возможно, и более раннего времени. Адаптация этой темы в майкопской культурной среде объясняется ее принадлежностью к кругу культур самой северной периферии п...
Antiquities of Тhе Northern Black Sea Region, Тhе Caucasus and Central Asia: from Nikolay Veselovsky's Discoveries to current studies. Proceedings of the International conference dedicated to the 175-th anniversary of Nikolay Ivanovich Veselovsky (1848- 1918). St. Petersburg 27-29 February 2024, 2024
The original form of the grave pit and the position of the buried in the Maikop kurgan 1897 (Earl... more The original form of the grave pit and the position of the buried in the Maikop kurgan 1897 (Early Bronze Age, Caucasus) have been reconstructed using computer simulation (SP SOFiSTiK) of the grave pit deformation and contextual analysis of N. I. Veselovsky's field notes.
Archaeometry, 2023
This study reconstructed the technical chaîne operatoire of silver seed bead production in the Ma... more This study reconstructed the technical chaîne operatoire of silver seed bead production in the Maikop culture on the basis of tracewear analysis and experimental research using silver beads from the Early Bronze Age dolmen (c. 3200-2900 BCE) in kurgan 2 at Tsarskaya (1898). The results demonstrate that such beads were produced as a "garland" lost wax casting, when a garland of beads is formed on a hollow dry stalk (straw) that burns out during the casting process. The technology of "garland" casting is an original and, probably, the earliest solution in history that helped address the issue of large-scale production of uniform cast precious metal seed beads. It is not yet clear whether this technology was originally developed in the Caucasus or brought here from Western Asia, where the Maikop culture has its roots.
Moving northward: Professor Volker Heyd’s Festschrift as he turns 60. Monographs of the Archaeological Society of Finland, Vol. 11, Helsinki: 161-176, 2023
The paper provides an overview of the most recent results of DNA analysis of ancient populations ... more The paper provides an overview of the most recent results of DNA analysis of ancient populations inhabiting the Caucasus and the adjacent steppes against the background of the cultural diversity of the Eneolithic–Bronze Age (c.5000–2000 BC). It is noted that in the Caucasus, cultural diversity prevails over genetic, and genes flowed through the Сaucasus in only one direction from south to north. The genetically “pure” CHG component has not yet been found in the North Caucasus. It comes here in the first half of the 5th millennium BC as a mixed ancestry with Anatolian and Iranian farmers during the re-occcupation in the mid-Holocene, following a significant depopulation of the North Caucasus in the previous cold and dry phase.
This highlights that the issues relating to the cultural and historical interpretation of genetic data are caused by inconsistency between genetic and archaeological taxonomies, an underestimation of the archaeological context by geneticists, and a naïve interpretation of differences in the DNA by archaeologists as cultural attributes.
iScience, 2023
Highlights Copper-alloy vessels provide extended preservation of organic residues Muscle, blood, ... more Highlights Copper-alloy vessels provide extended preservation of organic residues Muscle, blood, and milk, likely from a cooked soup, found in 5000-year-old cauldron Blood and milk from ruminants, likely domesticates, were included in the residue
A global perspective, 1992
Archaeological News, 2023
The paper considers the early stage of the study of the Maykop archaeological culture and analyze... more The paper considers the early stage of the study of the Maykop archaeological culture and analyzes the reasons why the scientific community supported the plausible but erroneous trend in comparative typology while the correct solution was initially rejected and recognized as true almost fifty years afterwards. The consequences of this historiographic episode are evaluated for the development of archaeology of the Caucasus and South of East Europe of the Bronze Age. The article traces the history of changing views on periodization and chronology of the Maykop culture, depending on which, over the past century, not only the ideas about the cultural and chronological systematization of the Bronze Age sites of the Caucasus and the adjacent East European steppe have noticeably changed, but, to a large extent, the reconstruction of the general network of cultural relations between Europe and the early civilizations of the Ancient East. The paper analyses the motives and goals of the main participants of the discussion on the Caucasian archaeology of the Bronze Age in the first half of the 20th century: N. I. Veselovsky, D. Ya. Samokvasov, A. A. Spitsyn, V. A. Gorodtsov, A. M. Tallgren, B. V. Farmakovsky, M. I. Rostovtsev, G. Childe, H. Frankfort, A. V. Sсhmidt, F. Hančar, A. A. Yessen.
2 3 Chuan-Chao Wang, Sabine Reinhold, Alexey Kalmykov, Antje Wissgott, Guido 4 Brandt, Choongwon ... more 2 3 Chuan-Chao Wang, Sabine Reinhold, Alexey Kalmykov, Antje Wissgott, Guido 4 Brandt, Choongwon Jeong, Olivia Cheronet, Matthew Ferry, Eadaoin 5 Harney, Denise Keating, Swapan Mallick, Nadin Rohland, Kristin 6 Stewardson, Anatoly R. Kantorovich, Vladimir E. Maslov, Vladimira G. 7 Petrenko, Vladimir R. Erlikh, Biaslan Ch. Atabiev, Rabadan G. Magomedov, 8 Philipp L. Kohl, Kurt W. Alt, Sandra L. Pichler, Claudia Gerling, Harald 9 Meller, Benik Vardanyan, Larisa Yeganyan, Alexey D. Rezepkin, Dirk 10 Mariaschk, Natalia Berezina, Julia Gresky, Katharina Fuchs, Corina Knipper, 11 Stephan Schiffels, Elena Balanovska, Oleg Balanovsky, Iain Mathieson, 12 Thomas Higham, Yakov B. Berezin, Alexandra Buzhilova, Viktor Trifonov, 13 Ron Pinhasi, Andrej B. Belinskij, David Reich, Svend Hansen, Johannes 14 Krause & Wolfgang Haak 15
Archaeological News, 2021
This paper presents the results of archive and field investigations allowing us to reconstruct th... more This paper presents the results of archive and field investigations allowing us to reconstruct the architectural features, construction, basic dimensions, building stages, archaeological, chronological and cultural contexts of the unique multisided dolmen with a pyramidal (domed) roof, excavated by Nikolay Lvovich Kamenev in 1869 in North-Western Caucasus near the stanitsa (Cossack village) of Tsarskaya (modern Novosvobodnaya).
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Papers by Viktor Trifonov
This highlights that the issues relating to the cultural and historical interpretation of genetic data are caused by inconsistency between genetic and archaeological taxonomies, an underestimation of the archaeological context by geneticists, and a naïve interpretation of differences in the DNA by archaeologists as cultural attributes.
This highlights that the issues relating to the cultural and historical interpretation of genetic data are caused by inconsistency between genetic and archaeological taxonomies, an underestimation of the archaeological context by geneticists, and a naïve interpretation of differences in the DNA by archaeologists as cultural attributes.