Kurt W Alt
Biographic Data
| ID | 72778 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kurt W Alt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kurt W |
| FAMILY NAME | Alt |
| SIGNATURE | ALT K W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6938-643X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 73 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 438 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 73 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1989 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
Osteological age-at-death estimation in an archaeological sample avoiding age-mimicry
In human osteoarchaeology, individual age-at-death is traditionally assigned by scoring characteristic expressions of specific traits and applying formulas or algorithms. However, it is well known that the resulting age estimates in target samples suffer from bias due to the effect of age-mimicry, both at the individual and at the population level. A general statistical methodology to obtain unbiased estimates of the age-at-death distribution in …
Socio-cultural practices may have affected sex differences in stature in Early Neolithic Europe
Age-at-death estimation in archaeological samples
Age mimicry is a well-known phenomenon in the application of osteological age-estimation methods. Age mimicry refers to the fact that predicting age-at-death from a specific trait (age indicator) based on the relation observed in a specific reference sample implies that age estimates to some degree reflect the age structure of the reference sample. In particular, the estimated population mean in a target population in which an age-estimation meth…
Modelling a scale-based strontium isotope baseline for Hungary
Strontium isotope analysis has recently proven to be a useful tool to elucidate population movements and subsistence strategies in ecological and archaeological sciences. The interpretation depends on the size, type, availability, and preservation of the sample and the reliability of the produced strontium isotope baseline. However, collecting quantitatively and qualitatively suitable baseline samples is considered a challenging task in archaeolo…
Best practice for osteological sexing in forensics and bioarchaeology
This paper aims to systematically investigate the value of combining traits from different anatomical regions in osteological sexing by contrasting the utility of single traits and established scores with those of ensembles of traits from single or multiple anatomical regions, allowing metric and morphological traits to be combined. The utility was defined as the fraction of the population for whom we could reach a posterior probability above 95%…
A special body
Neolithic land-use, subsistence, and mobility patterns in Transdanubia
A variety of interdisciplinary research on mobility and migration patterns in Neolithic Hungary has recently contributed to the explanatory models of the Neolithisation across Europe. Most of these models were based on a combination of the spatial distribution of material culture or bioarchaeological and genetic analyses to determine large-scale migration and social or population-dynamic development. This paper aims at contributing to the current…
The genomic history of southeastern Europe
The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe
An osseous lesion in the maxillary sinus—Tumour or tumour‐like
In the bioarchaeological analysis of burials from a medieval graveyard at Hettstedt, Central Germany, a male skeleton of about 40 to 50 years at death with an unusual bony structure in the left maxillary sinus was discovered. Macroscopic examination exhibited a balloon‐shaped osseous lesion with solid cortical surface 2.5 × 1.5 cm in size. Micro‐CT scans revealed trabecular structures around a central cavity. The margins of the osseous lesion wer…
A possible case of symbolic trepanation in Neolithic Central Germany
Manipulations on prehistoric skulls such as trepanations are among the most fascinating palaeopathological findings though it is not always easy to make a firm diagnosis. This case study presents a lesion on the cranial vault of a Late Neolithic burial in Central Germany. The defect forms an almost lanceolate lesion along the sagittal suture, which had not penetrated the cranial vault. Similar lesions have been found in other areas of Germany and…
Parallel palaeogenomic transects reveal complex genetic history of early European farmers
Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus
A knot in a network
The lay of land
What is on the menu in a Celtic town? Iron Age diet reconstructed at Basel-Gasfabrik, Switzerland
A distinct section of the early bronze age society? Stable isotope investigations of burials in settlement pits and multiple inhumations of the Únětice culture in central germany
OBJECTIVES: Inhumations in so-called settlement pits and multiple interments are subordinate burial practices of the Early Bronze Age Únětice culture in central Germany (2200-1700/1650 BC). The majority of the Únětice population was entombed as single inhumations in rectangular grave pits with a normative position of the body. The goal of the study was to test archaeological hypotheses that the deviant burials may represent socially distinct or n…
Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe
Genome-wide patterns of selection in 230 ancient Eurasians
The massacre mass grave of Schöneck-Kilianstädten reveals new insights into collective violence in Early Neolithic Central Europe
Significance The Early Neolithic massacre-related mass grave of Schöneck-Kilianstädten presented here provides new data and insights for the ongoing discussions of prehistoric warfare in Central Europe. Although several characteristics gleaned from the analysis of the human skeletal remains support and strengthen previous hypotheses based on the few known massacre sites of this time, a pattern of intentional mutilation of violence victims identif…
Human paleogenetics of Europe – The known knowns and the known unknowns
Prelude to village life. Environmental data and building traditions of the Epipalaeolithic settlement at Körtik Tepe, Southeastern Turkey
Recent archaeological discoveries, refinements in genetic analyses and the archaeobotanical data require a reconsideration of the nature of the emergence of sedentary farming communities in Southeastern Turkey. In the rescue excavations prompted by the Batman and Ilısu dam projects several Early Holocene sites were discovered. For the first time, new data from Körtik Tepe now provide detailed evidence of a local Epipalaeolithic origin for these p…
Superior in Life-Superior in Death
Food production provoked social inequality in agricultural societies. Starting in the European late Neolithic, conspicuously equipped inhumations with elaborate grave architecture indicated representatives of local and possibly regional elites. However, burials are always shaped by a complex combination of the desires of the deceased and of the bereaved, along with ritual customs and norms. Therefore, a superior burial may not always be preceded …
Same old in Middle Neolithic diets? A stable isotope study of bone collagen from the burial community of Jechtingen, southwest Germany
Celtic migrations”
Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of human remains from the early La Tène (fourth/third century BC) Czech cemeteries of Radovesice I (RAD I), Radovesice II (RAD II), and Kutná Hora were conducted to investigate the importance of residential changes during the period of the historic “Celtic migrations”. In the initial phases (LT A/B), the grave goods of these cemeteries are typical for the core area of the La Tène culture, while around 300 BC …
Beyond the grave
The Palaeoanthropocene - The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change
Early Neolithic diet and animal husbandry
Evidence for “Celtic migrations”? Strontium isotope analysis at the early La Tène (LT B) cemeteries of Nebringen (Germany) and Monte Bibele (Italy)
Dietary reconstruction in Migration Period Central Germany
Mobility or migration
Superior in Life-Superior in Death
Food production provoked social inequality in agricultural societies. Starting in the European late Neolithic, conspicuously equipped inhumations with elaborate grave architecture indicated representatives of local and possibly regional elites. However, burials are always shaped by a complex combination of the desires of the deceased and of the bereaved, along with ritual customs and norms. Therefore, a superior burial may not always be preceded …
Social differentiation and land use at an Early Iron Age “princely seat”
What is on the menu in a Celtic town? Iron Age diet reconstructed at Basel-Gasfabrik, Switzerland
Prelude to village life. Environmental data and building traditions of the Epipalaeolithic settlement at Körtik Tepe, Southeastern Turkey
Recent archaeological discoveries, refinements in genetic analyses and the archaeobotanical data require a reconsideration of the nature of the emergence of sedentary farming communities in Southeastern Turkey. In the rescue excavations prompted by the Batman and Ilısu dam projects several Early Holocene sites were discovered. For the first time, new data from Körtik Tepe now provide detailed evidence of a local Epipalaeolithic origin for these p…
Lifestyle, occupation, and whole bone morphology of the pre-Hispanic Maya coastal population from Xcambó, Yucatan, Mexico
The present bioarchaeological study examines the external diaphyseal geometric properties of humeri, radii, femora and tibiae of the Classic period skeletal population of Xcambó, Yucatan, Mexico. The diaphysial proportions are evaluated using a biomechanical approach together with data from the material context and other osteological information. Our intent is to provide new answers to questions concerning lifestyle, domestic labour division and …
Celtic migrations”
Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of human remains from the early La Tène (fourth/third century BC) Czech cemeteries of Radovesice I (RAD I), Radovesice II (RAD II), and Kutná Hora were conducted to investigate the importance of residential changes during the period of the historic “Celtic migrations”. In the initial phases (LT A/B), the grave goods of these cemeteries are typical for the core area of the La Tène culture, while around 300 BC …
Human paleogenetics of Europe – The known knowns and the known unknowns
Rib lesions in skeletons from early neolithic sites in Central Germany
As an infectious disease, tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Paleopathological and paleomicrobiological studies indicate a long standing association of the causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its human host. Since the occurrence and the epidemic spread of this pathogen seem to be closely linked to social and biological factors, it is of particular interest to understand better the role of TB during periods…
A knot in a network
The lay of land
Same old in Middle Neolithic diets? A stable isotope study of bone collagen from the burial community of Jechtingen, southwest Germany
Climbing into the past—first Himalayan mummies discovered in Nepal
Familienanalyse in kupferzeitlichen Kollektivgräbern aus Umm an‐Nar; Abu Dhabi
Skeletal material from three collective burials from the island of Umm an‐Nar (Arabian peninsula) dating to the 3rd millennium B.C. was submitted to a kinship analysis with the aid of a set of genetically determined odontologic traits. The analysis yielded the following results: a) phenotype and frequency of odontological traits in the skeletal sample suggest a relatively homogeneous population; and b) there are distinct indications for genetical…
Modelling a scale-based strontium isotope baseline for Hungary
Strontium isotope analysis has recently proven to be a useful tool to elucidate population movements and subsistence strategies in ecological and archaeological sciences. The interpretation depends on the size, type, availability, and preservation of the sample and the reliability of the produced strontium isotope baseline. However, collecting quantitatively and qualitatively suitable baseline samples is considered a challenging task in archaeolo…
The burial of Bad Dürrenberg, Central Germany
The isolated burial of Bad Dürrenberg is one of the richest Mesolithic graves in Europe. Although it was excavated in the 1930s, new spectacular anthropological and archaeological evidence has emerged during a recent re-study. Firstly, we present here the results of an anthropological re-evaluation of certain features of the skull base and theforamen magnum. Our work has clearly established that the observable features are caused by an anatomical…
Paleopathologies of the Vertebral Column in Medieval Skeletons
Paleopathological data provide valuable information about health, longevity and mortality in earlier human populations. We investigated the incidence of spinal pathologies on 54 individuals (1045 vertebrae and 18 sacral bones) that belong to a medieval skeletal series discovered in the Dalheim monastery (Northwest Germany) and compared them with contemporary and recent populations. The skeletons were analyzed with anthropological methods (sex and…
Multiple myeloma in an early medieval skeleton
Detailed studies on neoplasms in prehistoric populations are rare. Each well-documented case can therefore add to our knowledge. In former times, palaeopathology could present only tentative diagnoses in the case of tumours. Today, modern diagnostic methods and a comparison with established cases make exact evaluations and their verification possible. During our study it became obvious that criteria for the diagnosis of recent tumours can be used…
Methodological Implications of New Radiocarbon Dates from the Early Holocene Site of Körtik Tepe, Southeast Anatolia
One of the greatest challenges of contemporary archaeology is to synthesize the large amount of radiocarbon and archaeological data into a useful dialogue. For the late Epipaleolithic and the Early Neolithic of the Near East, many 14 C ages have been published without precise stratigraphic documentation. Consequently, for archaeological age models we often must use some more elementary approaches, such as probabilistic summation of calibrated age…
Artefacts, skulls and written sources
An examination of the skeletons from the well-known La Tène cemetery of Münsingen-Rain shows that they represent members of a high ranking group, and that they were closely related. These new findings prompt the authors to examine the written documents that refer to nobility in the Roman and Celtic world
Problems of analysing odontological relationships in prehistorical anthropology. Example
Prehistorians have been seeking information about kinship in burial complexes for decades. During the last few years paleoanthropologists have once again applied themselves to the resolution of that problem. Many of them favour epigenetic variants as the basis for their kinship analyses. Teeth and maxillary bones seem well suited to be investigated in view to this question. The author discusses whether hypodontia and numerical variants of teeth s…
Nasal teeth
Definition, frequency and etiology of impacted teeth
This paper draws attention to problems of assessment and interpretation of frequencies of the retention/displacement of teeth (impacted teeth and germ impaction), presents diagnostic criteria, comments on the incidence and frequency of retention/displacement and other disturbances in recent probands, lists the order in which teeth are affected, and discusses the causes of these disturbances. Reasons for the existing lack of anthropological data o…
Multiple myeloma in an early medieval skeleton
Detailed studies on neoplasms in prehistoric populations are rare. Each well-documented case can therefore add to our knowledge. In former times, palaeopathology could present only tentative diagnoses in the case of tumours. Today, modern diagnostic methods and a comparison with established cases make exact evaluations and their verification possible. During our study it became obvious that criteria for the diagnosis of recent tumours can be used…
Rekonstruktion biologischer und sozialer Strukturen in ur- und frühgeschichtlichen Bevölkerungen – Innovative Ansätze zur Verwandtschaftsanalyse in der Archäologie
Article Rekonstruktion biologischer und sozialer Strukturen in ur- und frühgeschichtlichen Bevölkerungen – Innovative Ansätze zur Verwandtschaftsanalyse in der Archäologie was published on January 1, 1994 in the journal Praehistorische Zeitschrift (volume 69, issue 1)
Familienanalyse in kupferzeitlichen Kollektivgräbern aus Umm an‐Nar; Abu Dhabi
Skeletal material from three collective burials from the island of Umm an‐Nar (Arabian peninsula) dating to the 3rd millennium B.C. was submitted to a kinship analysis with the aid of a set of genetically determined odontologic traits. The analysis yielded the following results: a) phenotype and frequency of odontological traits in the skeletal sample suggest a relatively homogeneous population; and b) there are distinct indications for genetical…
German population data on the loci Low-Density-Lipoprotein Receptor, Glycophorin A, Hemoglobin γG, D7S8 and Group-Specific Component
This paper reports on the allele and genotype frequencies for five polymerase chain reaction-based loci determined in a sample (n = 295) from Düsseldorf (Germany). The loci are Low-Density-Lipoprotein Receptor, Glycophorin A, Hemoglobin gamma G, D7S8 and Group-Specific Component. Typing was carried out by using the AmpliType PM PCR amplification and typing kit. The loci were tested for possible divergences from Hardy-Weinberg expectations (HWE). …
Detection of Blocks in a Binary Matrix — A Bayesian Approach
German data on the HUMVWA31 locus
A population study was carried out on Caucasians from Düsseldorf using the short tandem repeat (STR) system HumVWA (von Willebrand factor; locus 12p12-12pter; intron A). After amplification, electrophoresis and silver staining 9 alleles could be detected in the sample of 304 unrelated individuals. No deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium could be observed. The results were compared with other population studies.
Twenty-five thousand-year-old triple burial from Dolní Věstonice
In 1986 a paleolithic triple burial was discovered near Dolní Vĕstonice (Czech Republic). The occurrence of anatomic variants in all three skeletons gave rise to speculations that the buried individuals may have been closely related. To test this hypothesis the skeletons were submitted to a systematic kinship analysis based on odontologic and other non-metric traits. Statistical tests showed that the coincident occurrence of several rare traits i…
Length of the dental root and the diameter of the tooth neck as odontometric parameters for sex determination
The length of the dental root and the diameter of the tooth neck are odontometric parameters which to date have rarely been used for the differentiation of the sexes. Teeth of 166 individuals from the early medieval burial ground of Eichstetten (south Germany) were available for examination. A correlation analysis was performed to show the possible dimensional interrelation of teeth which, however, applies only to the dental neck parameters. Usin…
Syphilis 2001 a palaeopathological reappraisal
State-of-the-art imaging in palaeopathology
Non-invasive imaging techniques are of great value in palaeopathology. Computed tomography (CT) is widely established to visualize changes in human remains that occurred both pre and post mortem. Since 1999 an advanced form of helical CT-so called Multislice-CT (MSCT)-has become available for clinical purposes. We now present for the first time three historic cranial lesions of doubtful aetiology visualized by MSCT. Both original images and virtu…
Climbing into the past—first Himalayan mummies discovered in Nepal
Survival of a multiple skull trauma
The Early Neolithic enclosure of Herxheim yielded the human remains of more than 450 individuals mainly represented by cranial vaults and numerous fractured cranial and postcranial bones. The skulls were shaped post-mortem into skull caps by intentional separation of the cranial base and facial bones. One of these calottes revealed four ante-mortem traumatic lesions and additional cut marks.The defects of this individual were analysed in detail t…
Referate
Contribution of genetic and environmental factors to variation in body compartments - a twin study in adults
This study aimed at analyzing the contribution of genetic and environmental factors on phenotypic variation of various traits of body composition. Subjects were 30 same-sexed pairs of twins including 20 monozygous (MZ) and 10 dizygous (DZ) pairs, aged 19-62 years. Zygosity was determined by DNA typing and morphological diagnosis. Body composition parameters (fat mass FM, lean body mass LBM, body cell mass BCM, extracellular mass ECM, total body w…
ABO genotyping by PCR-RFLP and cloning and sequencing
A refined PCR-RFLP based method was established to genotype ABO blood groups. The main objective of this study was to make the techniques also suitable for working with degraded DNA. Specific primer design was carried out to choose fragments shorter than 200 bp as necessary in forensic and archaeological applications. Four fragments of exon 6 and 7 of the ABO gene were amplified and digested by in total 7 restriction endonucleases. Particular att…
Ancient DNA from the First European Farmers in 7500-Year-Old Neolithic Sites
The ancestry of modern Europeans is a subject of debate among geneticists, archaeologists, and anthropologists. A crucial question is the extent to which Europeans are descended from the first European farmers in the Neolithic Age 7500 years ago or from Paleolithic hunter-gatherers who were present in Europe since 40,000 years ago. Here we present an analysis of ancient DNA from early European farmers. We successfully extracted and sequenced inta…
Beyond the grave
Referate
Geschlecht und Gender in der Medizin
Gender specific medicine is a part of gender-research, which has been insufficiently considered up to the present in medicine, sanitation and politics. Part of the scientific medicine simply ignores the knowledge that men and women are different in feeling, thinking and social acting without any question. Doctors often incline to treat all their patients as if there was just one gender: i.e. the male one. It is without dispute that men and women …
Referate
The Neanderthalian molar from Hunas, Germany
The burial of Bad Dürrenberg, Central Germany
The isolated burial of Bad Dürrenberg is one of the richest Mesolithic graves in Europe. Although it was excavated in the 1930s, new spectacular anthropological and archaeological evidence has emerged during a recent re-study. Firstly, we present here the results of an anthropological re-evaluation of certain features of the skull base and theforamen magnum. Our work has clearly established that the observable features are caused by an anatomical…
Geography (45 works) · Archaeology (43 works) · Biology (37 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (37 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (32 works) · Population (27 works) · Demography (24 works) · History (19 works) · Forensic and Genetic Research (18 works) · Medicine (18 works)