Robert Arnott - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Robert Arnott

Research paper thumbnail of Genetic origins of the Minoans and Mycenaeans

Nature, Aug 2, 2017

The origins of the Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean cultures have puzzled archaeologists for more ... more The origins of the Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean cultures have puzzled archaeologists for more than a century. We have assembled genome-wide data from 19 ancient individuals, including Minoans from Crete, Mycenaeans from mainland Greece, and their eastern neighbours from southwestern Anatolia. Here we show that Minoans and Mycenaeans were genetically similar, having at least three-quarters of their ancestry from the first Neolithic farmers of western Anatolia and the Aegean, and most of the remainder from ancient populations related to those of the Caucasus and Iran. However, the Mycenaeans differed from Minoans in deriving additional ancestry from an ultimate source related to the hunter-gatherers of eastern Europe and Siberia, introduced via a proximal source related to the inhabitants of either the Eurasian steppe or Armenia. Modern Greeks resemble the Mycenaeans, but with some additional dilution of the Early Neolithic ancestry. Our results support the idea of continuity but n...

Research paper thumbnail of Trepanation

Research paper thumbnail of Ancient DNA in human bones from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete

Journal of Archaeological Science, Oct 1, 2008

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neoli... more Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nikomedia, Lerna, Karaviádena (Zakro), Antron Grave Circle A and Mycenae ...

Research paper thumbnail of Healing and medicine in the Aegean Bronze Age

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1996

Since the discovery of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations of Crete and Greek mainland, a syst... more Since the discovery of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations of Crete and Greek mainland, a systematic understanding has been gained of their material culture and social structures. Nevertheless, because of the absence of textual and pictorial evidence of medicine of the kind which exists in the contemporary societies of Egypt and the Near East, little work has been produced on the subject of disease and the practice of medicine in the period. However, new pathological evidence throws much light on this hitherto largely unknown aspect of their civilization.

Research paper thumbnail of Ancient alternative medicine and its modern survival

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1997

Research paper thumbnail of Letter to the editors: did a stone save Rome from destruction?

Journal of the history of the neurosciences, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of 1.1 A brief history of endocrinology

Oxford Textbook of Endocrinology and Diabetes, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Human Bones in Archaeology, 2nd. Ed

American Journal of Archaeology, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of Disease and the Prehistory of the Aegean

HEALTH IN ANTIQUITY, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Book Review:The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament James B. Pritchard

The Journal of Religion, 1956

Research paper thumbnail of Doctors from the Indian subcontinent and UK general practice

Research paper thumbnail of The diagnosis of art: Diastrophic dysplasia and Hephaistos

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Philoctetes

Research paper thumbnail of A Stone at the Siege of Cyropolis and the Death of Alexander the Great

Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 2004

Alexander the Great was struck by a stone at the Siege of Cyropolis in 329 BC and was rendered te... more Alexander the Great was struck by a stone at the Siege of Cyropolis in 329 BC and was rendered temporarily blind and inaudible as a result. Although other authors have written extensively about the likely pathological effects of this injury, none have suggested carotid artery dissection as a possible cause. We present evidence that this should be considered as a differential diagnosis and how it might explain an unusual symptom seen at his deathbed in Babylon six years later.

Research paper thumbnail of Proposal for an academic Association for Medical Humanities

Research paper thumbnail of The University of Birmingham Medical School and the history of medicine

Research paper thumbnail of Ancient DNA in human bones from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2008

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neoli... more Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nikomedia, Lerna, Karaviádena (Zakro), Antron Grave Circle A and Mycenae ...

Research paper thumbnail of An Early Cycladic Bracelet from Pholegandros in the Fitzwilliam Museum

Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 1989

Research paper thumbnail of Kinship in Aegean Prehistory? Ancient DNA in Human Bones from Mainland Greece and Crete

The Annual of the British School at Athens, 2009

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 89 human skeletons from Neolithic a... more Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 89 human skeletons from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nicomedia, Lerna, Kato Zakro: Karaviádena, and Mycenae Grave Circle A. For each of three skeletons sampled from Antron Grave Circle B, polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) gave products for nuclear but not mitochondrial DNA, but the yield of DNA was low and inconsistent, with replicate PCRs failing to give reproducible results. At Kouphovouno evidence for mitochondrial and/or nuclear aDNA was obtained from eight of the 20 skeletons that were examined, while at Mycenae Grave Circle B evidence for mitochondrial aDNA was obtained for four of the 22 skeletons that were studied, and in two cases confirmed the evidence of close kinship that had already been suggested by facial reconstruction: this in turn raises interesting questions of social relationships and the role of high-status women in MBA/LBA society. W...

Research paper thumbnail of Early Cycladic Objects from Ios Formerly in the Finlay Collection

The Annual of the British School at Athens, 1990

Whilst visiting Ios during his Cycladic tour of 1837, George Finlay purchased a number of Early C... more Whilst visiting Ios during his Cycladic tour of 1837, George Finlay purchased a number of Early Cycladic objects, which include four marble figurines (three of folded arm type), three marble vessels and a lead figurine now thought to be fake. This article traces the current whereabouts of these objects, describes and illustrates them, examines the detail of their original purchase and places them within the current framework of Early Cycladic chronology.

Research paper thumbnail of Genetic origins of the Minoans and Mycenaeans

Nature, Aug 2, 2017

The origins of the Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean cultures have puzzled archaeologists for more ... more The origins of the Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean cultures have puzzled archaeologists for more than a century. We have assembled genome-wide data from 19 ancient individuals, including Minoans from Crete, Mycenaeans from mainland Greece, and their eastern neighbours from southwestern Anatolia. Here we show that Minoans and Mycenaeans were genetically similar, having at least three-quarters of their ancestry from the first Neolithic farmers of western Anatolia and the Aegean, and most of the remainder from ancient populations related to those of the Caucasus and Iran. However, the Mycenaeans differed from Minoans in deriving additional ancestry from an ultimate source related to the hunter-gatherers of eastern Europe and Siberia, introduced via a proximal source related to the inhabitants of either the Eurasian steppe or Armenia. Modern Greeks resemble the Mycenaeans, but with some additional dilution of the Early Neolithic ancestry. Our results support the idea of continuity but n...

Research paper thumbnail of Trepanation

Research paper thumbnail of Ancient DNA in human bones from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete

Journal of Archaeological Science, Oct 1, 2008

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neoli... more Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nikomedia, Lerna, Karaviádena (Zakro), Antron Grave Circle A and Mycenae ...

Research paper thumbnail of Healing and medicine in the Aegean Bronze Age

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1996

Since the discovery of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations of Crete and Greek mainland, a syst... more Since the discovery of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations of Crete and Greek mainland, a systematic understanding has been gained of their material culture and social structures. Nevertheless, because of the absence of textual and pictorial evidence of medicine of the kind which exists in the contemporary societies of Egypt and the Near East, little work has been produced on the subject of disease and the practice of medicine in the period. However, new pathological evidence throws much light on this hitherto largely unknown aspect of their civilization.

Research paper thumbnail of Ancient alternative medicine and its modern survival

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1997

Research paper thumbnail of Letter to the editors: did a stone save Rome from destruction?

Journal of the history of the neurosciences, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of 1.1 A brief history of endocrinology

Oxford Textbook of Endocrinology and Diabetes, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Human Bones in Archaeology, 2nd. Ed

American Journal of Archaeology, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of Disease and the Prehistory of the Aegean

HEALTH IN ANTIQUITY, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of Book Review:The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament James B. Pritchard

The Journal of Religion, 1956

Research paper thumbnail of Doctors from the Indian subcontinent and UK general practice

Research paper thumbnail of The diagnosis of art: Diastrophic dysplasia and Hephaistos

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Philoctetes

Research paper thumbnail of A Stone at the Siege of Cyropolis and the Death of Alexander the Great

Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 2004

Alexander the Great was struck by a stone at the Siege of Cyropolis in 329 BC and was rendered te... more Alexander the Great was struck by a stone at the Siege of Cyropolis in 329 BC and was rendered temporarily blind and inaudible as a result. Although other authors have written extensively about the likely pathological effects of this injury, none have suggested carotid artery dissection as a possible cause. We present evidence that this should be considered as a differential diagnosis and how it might explain an unusual symptom seen at his deathbed in Babylon six years later.

Research paper thumbnail of Proposal for an academic Association for Medical Humanities

Research paper thumbnail of The University of Birmingham Medical School and the history of medicine

Research paper thumbnail of Ancient DNA in human bones from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2008

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neoli... more Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nikomedia, Lerna, Karaviádena (Zakro), Antron Grave Circle A and Mycenae ...

Research paper thumbnail of An Early Cycladic Bracelet from Pholegandros in the Fitzwilliam Museum

Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 1989

Research paper thumbnail of Kinship in Aegean Prehistory? Ancient DNA in Human Bones from Mainland Greece and Crete

The Annual of the British School at Athens, 2009

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 89 human skeletons from Neolithic a... more Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 89 human skeletons from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nicomedia, Lerna, Kato Zakro: Karaviádena, and Mycenae Grave Circle A. For each of three skeletons sampled from Antron Grave Circle B, polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) gave products for nuclear but not mitochondrial DNA, but the yield of DNA was low and inconsistent, with replicate PCRs failing to give reproducible results. At Kouphovouno evidence for mitochondrial and/or nuclear aDNA was obtained from eight of the 20 skeletons that were examined, while at Mycenae Grave Circle B evidence for mitochondrial aDNA was obtained for four of the 22 skeletons that were studied, and in two cases confirmed the evidence of close kinship that had already been suggested by facial reconstruction: this in turn raises interesting questions of social relationships and the role of high-status women in MBA/LBA society. W...

Research paper thumbnail of Early Cycladic Objects from Ios Formerly in the Finlay Collection

The Annual of the British School at Athens, 1990

Whilst visiting Ios during his Cycladic tour of 1837, George Finlay purchased a number of Early C... more Whilst visiting Ios during his Cycladic tour of 1837, George Finlay purchased a number of Early Cycladic objects, which include four marble figurines (three of folded arm type), three marble vessels and a lead figurine now thought to be fake. This article traces the current whereabouts of these objects, describes and illustrates them, examines the detail of their original purchase and places them within the current framework of Early Cycladic chronology.