Papers by Marjan Mashkour
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Apr 1, 2023
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Nov 28, 2022
Schriften zur Vorderasiatischen Archäologie
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2006
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2019
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2002
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Apr 27, 2022
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2021
Frontiers in Genetics
The Oxus Civilisation (or Bactrio-Margian Archaeological Complex, BMAC) was the main archaeologic... more The Oxus Civilisation (or Bactrio-Margian Archaeological Complex, BMAC) was the main archaeological culture of the Bronze Age in southern Central Asia. Paleogenetic analyses were previously conducted mainly on samples from the eastern part of BMAC. The population associated with BMAC descends from local Chalcolithic populations, with some outliers of steppe or South-Asian descent. Here, we present new genome-wide data for one individual from Ulug-depe (Turkmenistan), one of the main BMAC sites, located at the southwestern edge of the BMAC. We demonstrate that this individual genetically belongs to the BMAC cluster. Using this genome, we confirm that modern Indo-Iranian–speaking populations from Central Asia derive their ancestry from BMAC populations, with additional gene flow from the western and the Altai steppes in higher proportions among the Tajiks than the Yagnobi ethnic group.
Biology Letters
Mummified remains have long attracted interest as a potential source of ancient DNA. However, mum... more Mummified remains have long attracted interest as a potential source of ancient DNA. However, mummification is a rare process that requires an anhydrous environment to rapidly dehydrate and preserve tissue before complete decomposition occurs. We present the whole-genome sequences (3.94 X) of an approximately 1600-year-old naturally mummified sheep recovered from Chehrābād, a salt mine in northwestern Iran. Comparative analyses of published ancient sequences revealed the remarkable DNA integrity of this mummy. Hallmarks of postmortem damage, fragmentation and hydrolytic deamination are substantially reduced, likely owing to the high salinity of this taphonomic environment. Metagenomic analyses reflect the profound influence of high-salt content on decomposition; its microbial profile is predominated by halophilic archaea and bacteria, possibly contributing to the remarkable preservation of the sample. Applying population genomic analyses, we find clustering of this sheep with Southw...
Antiquity
The EVOSHEEP project combines archaeozoology, geometric morphometrics and genetics to study archa... more The EVOSHEEP project combines archaeozoology, geometric morphometrics and genetics to study archaeological sheep assemblages dating from the sixth to the first millennia BC in eastern Africa, the Levant, the Anatolian South Caucasus, the Iranian Plateau and Mesopotamia. The project aims to understand changes in the physical appearance and phenotypic characteristics of sheep and how these related to the appearance of new breeds and the demand for secondary products to supply the textile industry.
Direkli Cave, located in the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey, was occupied by Late Epipaleoli... more Direkli Cave, located in the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey, was occupied by Late Epipaleolithic hunters-gatherers for the seasonal hunting and processing of game including large numbers of wild goats. We report genomic data from new and publishedCapraspecimens from Direkli Cave and, supplemented with historic genomes from multipleCapraspecies, find a novel lineage best represented by a ∼14,000 year old 2.59X genome sequenced from specimen Direkli4. This newly discovered Capra lineage is a sister clade to the Caucasian tur species (Capra cylindricornisandCapra caucasica), both now limited to the Caucasus region. We identify genomic regions introgressed in domestic goats with high affinity to Direkli4, and find that West Eurasian domestic goats in the past, but not those today, appear enriched for Direkli4-specific alleles at a genome-wide level. This forgotten “Taurasian tur” likely survived Late Pleistocene climatic change in a Taurus Mountain refugia and its genomic fate is u...
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2020
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Sep 6, 2021
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Oct 24, 2016
International audienc
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2020
Introduction 1 Shapur Shahbazi 2010, pp. 95-96. The site of Tol-e Qaleh Seyfābād (TQS) is located... more Introduction 1 Shapur Shahbazi 2010, pp. 95-96. The site of Tol-e Qaleh Seyfābād (TQS) is located in the centre of the Sasanian province of Bišābuhr, in southwestern Iran. The first season of archaeological excavations at this site in revealed new evidence of the Sasanian period related to advanced agricultural policy, large-scale date production, and commercial and provincial administrative systems, as well as other activities in the heartland of the empire. The finds from this limited excavation indicate that agriculture was an important source of income in what is now the province of Fars and the newly identified administrative toponyms impressed on bullae show that TQS acted as a centre for collection, storage and processing of the agriculture products of the date palm. In terms of its administrative system, a more detailed picture of the Bišābuhr province has emerged, resulting from the identification of more new administrations. Moreover, new evidence relating to architecture, pottery, glass and other industries from TQS demonstrate that this site was one of the major hubs in Bišābuhr province during the Sasanian period.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Oct 22, 2020
Les conquêtes et la domination de vastes territoires, qui ont forgé les empires de l'Orient ancie... more Les conquêtes et la domination de vastes territoires, qui ont forgé les empires de l'Orient ancien des Néo-Assyriens aux Sassanides, n'ont été possibles que par le développement d'un appareil militaire reposant d'abord sur la charrerie puis la cavalerie, c'est-à-dire sur l'usage guerrier des chevaux 1. Parmi les terres d'élevage remarquables en Orient, se distingue le plateau Iranien, qui s'étend de la Mer Caspienne au Golfe persique et inclue les régions antiques de Parthie, de Médie et de Perse. Déjà les Assyriens y menaient des razzias pour se procurer des chevaux, puis les Achéménides, les Séleucides, les Arsacides et les Sassanides s'y sont procurés de la remonte en quantité et en qualité, grâce notamment au savoir zootechnique Mède, réputé dans toute la Méditerranée et suscitant la fascination des auteurs grecs. Des textes sacrés du zoroastrisme aux tablettes administratives de Persépolis en passant par l'imagerie royale, les chevaux sont omniprésents dans les cultures de l'Iran antique et ont joué un rôle très concret dans la formation de l'État et l'exercice du pouvoir. Pourtant, ils ne sont bien souvent abordés que sous l'angle des représentations humaines et des valeurs symboliques qui leur sont attachées. Pendant longtemps, en effet, il a pu sembler impossible à l'historien d'appréhender ces animaux dans toute leur complexité biologique et éthologique. Les chevaux les plus prestigieux du plateau Iranien sont qualifiés, par les sources grecques, de « Niséens » 2 en raison de leur origine géographique, une plaine éponyme de Médie, la « plaine Niséenne » (Nêsaion pedion) évoquée déjà par une inscription assyrienne de Teglath-Phalasar III (745-727) 3 et par celle de Darius I er à Behistun 4. L'origine Mède de ces chevaux n'est pas douteuse. Toutefois, il convient de préciser que les chevaux de Médie n'ont jamais été les seuls utilisés par les rois achéménides et consacrés aux divinités du
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), May 20, 2021
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Papers by Marjan Mashkour