State Archaeological Museum

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica is an extremely diverse bacterial pathogen causing frequent infections and foodborne disease among human populations. More than 1500 different bacterial strains (serovars) have been described, many with a wide host range. A small number of serovars are adapted to infect specific hosts: of these, serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A, B, and C cause primate-specific systemic infections (typhoid and paratyphoid fever). Although Paratyphi C is one of the rarest human-specific serovars today, it was once widespread, and all ancient Salmonella genomes published to date belong to or are ancestral to this lineage. Here, we present 53 new ancient Salmonella genomes spanning Eurasia and dating between 3500 BCE and 1300 CE. This rich genomic dataset allows us to reconstruct the evolutionary history of this pathogen in unprecedented detail. We identify multiple extinct prehistoric lineages that caused infections throughout Eurasia. Multiple lineage replacement events are observed throughout prehistoric and historic times, and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis is used to date and identify host adaptation events within this lineage. We find that host-adapted sublineages Paratyphi C, Choleraesuis, and Typhisuis continued to evolve host specificity independently from each other. We reconstruct signals of convergent host adaptation in the studied lineages and other host-adapted strains by analysing shared pseudogenes and recurrent gene gain and loss events. This analysis demonstrates a role for host interactions as a particular target of selection, highlighting the gradual adaptation of this S. enterica lineage to humans that coincides with the intensification of animal husbandry in pastoralist and sedentary farming societies. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

The Migration Period (4th-5th centuries AD) in Central Europe was marked by profound demographic and cultural transformations. Nevertheless, bioarchaeological data from this period remain scarce across the region. Tyniec upon & Sacute;l & eogon;& zdot;a constitutes the only newly excavated Migration Period cemetery in southern Poland, providing a rare opportunity to explore lifeways during this transformative epoch. Stable carbon (delta C-1(3)) and nitrogen (delta N-1(5)) isotope analyses were conducted on samples from ten individuals to reconstruct dietary patterns, while mobility was investigated through high-resolution strontium isotope (Sr-8(7)/Sr-8(6)) measurements of dental enamel from selected individuals, yielding a total of twenty determinations. A local environmental baseline was established, encompassing the principal prehistoric settlement zones surrounding Wroc & lstrok;aw. To complement the isotopic dataset, trace element concentrations from dental enamel were examined to aid dietary reconstructions and assess potential diagenetic alterations. The findings highlight the interpretative challenges posed by the highly dynamic demographic landscape of the Migration Period, in which the absence of stable local populations complicates the identification of non-local individuals. Nevertheless, the results reveal pronounced dietary variability, including substantial consumption of aquatic resources, and complex mobility signatures, reflecting diverse geographic origins and life histories. Our paper provides new insights into the processes of cultural hybridization among Germanic populations inhabiting Silesia during this turbulent era. It further explores their adaptive strategies and cultural responses to interactions-both direct and indirect-with nomadic groups and the broader geopolitical transformations precipitated by the disintegration of the Roman Empire.

Artefacts made of organic materials from the 1st millennium BCE in Poland are relatively scarce, and products made of tree bast are even rarer than fabrics. There is limited evidence in the archaeological record for the production and use of bast cordage during this period. Tree bast cords have been preserved mainly in association with metal objects, like in the case of finds from Żelazo or Jodłowno. The remains of bast cordage were also identified among the hoard of bronze artefacts from Susz in northeastern Poland, which is the richest collection of bast cords in the region to date.

The article presents a new perspective on the differentiation and chronology of Pomeranian culture in allochthonouszones, i.e. outside Pomerania. The first part focuses on the variation in the spread of the Pomeranian culturalmodel, resulting from different rhythms of acculturation in territories formerly belonging to various Lusatian Urnfield zones and exposed to influences from diverse European directions. The second part proposes a new, and at the same time first for allochthonous areas, system of relative chronology of the Pomeranian culture, consistent with the latest schemes for the Hallstatt–La Tène zone. For regions outside Pomerania, two phases are distinguished: the Karczemki phase and the Pierzwin/Ulesie phase, further divided into six subphases, corresponding to Hallstatt and La Tène sub-periods. In the discussion of artefact sets assigned to specific intervals, attention is given to migration-related population movements, as well as to external relations that shaped the development and character of the Pomeranian culture in the Polish Lowland.

Early medieval Wolin was a multi-part urban agglomeration. One of its most important elements was the settlement within Silver Hill. In order to clarify the chronology of the settlement in its area, 26 new 14 C dates were obtained from layers associated with the northern rampart, the antler workshops, and houses. The results were compared with available dendrochronological and numismatic dates. As a result, the dating of the early medieval settlement on Silver Hill, which may have begun in the first half of the 9 th century and was already fortified at that time, was moved back. Comparison of these results with the dates from the Ogrody district and the centre in the Old Town allowed the formulation of two hypotheses about the formation of Wolin as a result of the merger of two settlements of perhaps different ethnic characters, and the sudden urbanisation breakthrough in the middle of the 9 th century involving both the Old Town and Silver Hill.