scholarly journals Investigating cattle husbandry in the Swiss Late Neolithic using different scales of temporal precision: potential early evidence for deliberate livestock “improvement” in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Wright
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Clear Correlation ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Temporal Precision ◽  
Domestic Livestock ◽  
East And West ◽  
Cattle Husbandry

AbstractCattle were the most common domestic livestock animal throughout much of the Neolithic period in the area now occupied by modern day Switzerland, home to a significant number of sites dating to between approximately 4400 and 2500 cal BC. Many of these sites were located in wetland locations, resulting in very well-preserved large faunal assemblages which can be dated using dendrochronology with rare precision. This region is also particularly important for our knowledge of the spread of culture and innovation through Central Europe during the Neolithic period—its topography results in a natural corridor through which influences travelled from both the east and west. This study is the first to combine cattle data from across the whole of Switzerland, focusing on %NISP and biometrical data, in order to investigate how cattle husbandry changed over time, comparing the east and west of the region. A number of different temporal scales are used in order to look for broad patterns and then focus in for more detail. Results indicate that there is a clear correlation between %NISP and body size of cattle throughout much of the Swiss Neolithic and that cattle husbandry changed broadly in line with perceived cultural changes in both the east and west. Of particular interest is a clear increase in both %NISP and body size around the time of the introduction of the Corded Ware culture, contrary to the general pattern of cattle body size decrease seen across Europe at this time. This change is seen, however, in the west of Switzerland prior to the east and raises questions around alternative origins and areas of influence. Either way, the most likely explanation for the increase in cattle size is the introduction of a new population (or populations) of larger cattle into the region, which are incorporated into herds over a few hundred years, providing perhaps some of the earliest evidence for cattle “improvement” in Europe.

scholarly journals FINDING GREENER PASTURES: THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO-PASTORALISM IN THE ORDOS REGION, NORTH CHINA.

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Tricia Owlett
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
New Information ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Northern Shaanxi ◽  
Cattle Husbandry

<p><em>The results of recent archaeological research in the Ordos region provide new information on the timing and process of the development of agro-pastoralism in China. Integrating previously published archaeological materials with archaeological research conducted since 2000, this essay synthesizes our current understanding of archaeological data for the middle to late Neolithic period (c. 3500–1800 B.C.) of the Ordos Region. The region is generally defined as including northern Shaanxi, southwestern Inner Mongolia, eastern Ningxia, and western Shanxi Provinces. Research into this transition to large-scale reliance upon domesticated herd animals is just beginning, but sheep, goat, and cattle husbandry were important from the Late Neolithic period onwards. During this time wild resources obtained through hunting and foraging appear to have been complementary to the diet in this region, though in small amounts. With the increasing use of zooarchaeological analysis, the foundation is laid for a greater understanding of the origins and the development of agro-pastoralism in the Ordos Region, Northwest China.</em></p>

scholarly journals Neolithic genomes reveal a distinct ancient HLA allele pool and population transformation in Europe

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Immel ◽  
Christoph Rinne ◽  
John Meadows ◽  
Rodrigo Barquera ◽  
András Szolek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Human Leukocyte ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Leukocyte Antigen ◽  
Cultural Transformations ◽  
Farming Community ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome

AbstractThe Wartberg culture (WBC, 3,500-2,800 BCE) dates to the Late Neolithic period, a time of important demographic and cultural transformations in western Europe. We perform a genome-wide analysis of 42 individuals who were interred in a WBC collective burial in Niedertiefenbach, Germany (3,300-3,200 cal. BCE). Our results highlight that the Niedertiefenbach population indeed emerged at the beginning of the WBC. This farming community was genetically heterogeneous and carried a surprisingly large hunter-gatherer ancestry component (40%). We detect considerable differences in the human leukocyte antigen gene pool between contemporary Europeans and the Niedertiefenbach individuals whose immune response was primarily geared towards defending viral infections.

Late Bronze Age Apsidal and Oval Buildings in Greece and adjacent areas

1989 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
pp. 269-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mazarakis-Ainian
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Building Plans

Apsidal and elliptical buildings are characteristic of rural societies. In Greece their tradition goes back to the late Neolithic period. Apsidal houses become common in the EH and especially the MH periods, while oval buildings do not occur as often. It is generally acknowledged that curvilinear plans went out of fashion at the end of the MH period and that they reappeared in the beginning of the EIA. This statement is fundamentally correct for rectangular constructions prevail throughout the Mycenaean era. Yet an attentive survey of LBA sites in Greece proves that curvilinear buildings were still constructed in certain regions. A rapid review of these sites could be beneficial, for it might help in elucidating some of the reasons of the resurgence of these particular building plans shortly after the final collapse of the Mycenaean civilization.

scholarly journals Ancient Genomes Reveal the Evolutionary History and Origin of Cashmere-Producing Goats in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 2099-2109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yudong Cai ◽  
Weiwei Fu ◽  
Dawei Cai ◽  
Rasmus Heller ◽  
Zhuqing Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Standing Variation ◽  
Modern Chinese ◽  
Chalcolithic Period

Abstract Goats are one of the most widespread farmed animals across the world; however, their migration route to East Asia and local evolutionary history remain poorly understood. Here, we sequenced 27 ancient Chinese goat genomes dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Iron Age. We found close genetic affinities between ancient and modern Chinese goats, demonstrating their genetic continuity. We found that Chinese goats originated from the eastern regions around the Fertile Crescent, and we estimated that the ancestors of Chinese goats diverged from this population in the Chalcolithic period. Modern Chinese goats were divided into a northern and a southern group, coinciding with the most prominent climatic division in China, and two genes related to hair follicle development, FGF5 and EDA2R, were highly divergent between these populations. We identified a likely causal de novo deletion near FGF5 in northern Chinese goats that increased to high frequency over time, whereas EDA2R harbored standing variation dating to the Neolithic. Our findings add to our understanding of the genetic composition and local evolutionary process of Chinese goats.

scholarly journals Ancient genomes reveal social and genetic structure of Late Neolithic Switzerland

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Furtwängler ◽  
A. B. Rohrlach ◽  
Thiseas C. Lamnidis ◽  
Luka Papac ◽  
Gunnar U. Neumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Southern Central

Abstract Genetic studies of Neolithic and Bronze Age skeletons from Europe have provided evidence for strong population genetic changes at the beginning and the end of the Neolithic period. To further understand the implications of these in Southern Central Europe, we analyze 96 ancient genomes from Switzerland, Southern Germany, and the Alsace region in France, covering the Middle/Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age. Similar to previously described genetic changes in other parts of Europe from the early 3rd millennium BCE, we detect an arrival of ancestry related to Late Neolithic pastoralists from the Pontic-Caspian steppe in Switzerland as early as 2860–2460 calBCE. Our analyses suggest that this genetic turnover was a complex process lasting almost 1000 years and involved highly genetically structured populations in this region.

Does Size Matter? Body Size, Mass Collecting, and Their Implications for Understanding Prehistoric Foraging Behavior

2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Ugan
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Clear Correlation ◽  
Small Animals ◽  
Large Fish ◽  
Return Rates ◽  
Size Matter ◽  
Mass Collection

Zooarchaeologists regularly assume a positive relationship between body size and energetic return rates among animal taxa. Some researchers question the validity of this assumption, suggesting that small animals collected in mass can provide high returns and pose interpretive problems for methods relying on a clear correlation. A review of empirical data shows that while large fish and invertebrates can provide high returns, those for most small animals remain very low. Differences appear to result from disparities in the relative energetic value of various taxa, costs associated with mass collection, and the efficiency with which resources are handled once acquired. Mass collection is unlikely to pose an interpretive problem under most circumstances, and the low returns for mass collecting many small animals have interesting implications for interpreting changes in their relative frequencies.

Archaeology, genetics and a population bottleneck in prehistoric Finland

Antiquity ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 88 (342) ◽  
pp. 1132-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarja Sundell ◽  
Juhana Kammonen ◽  
Petri Halinen ◽  
Petro Pesonen ◽  
Päivi Onkamo
Keyword(s):  
Population Bottleneck ◽  
Genetic Profile ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Finnish Population ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
History Of ◽  
Stone Artefact

The long-term history of prehistoric populations is a challenging but important subject that can now be addressed through combined use of archaeological and genetic evidence. In this study a multidisciplinary team uses these approaches to document the existence of a major population bottleneck in Finland during the Late Neolithic period, the effects of which are still detectable in the genetic profile of the Finnish population today. The postglacial recolonisation of Finland was tracked through space and time using radiocarbon dates and stone artefact distributions to provide a robust framework of evidence against which the genetic simulations could be compared.

scholarly journals Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria: Radiocarbon Chronology, Cultural Change, and the 8.2 ka Event

Radiocarbon ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
J van der Plicht ◽  
P M M G Akkermans ◽  
O Nieuwenhuyse ◽  
A Kaneda ◽  
A Russell
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Statistics ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Climate Event ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

At Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria, we obtained a robust chronology for the 7th to early 6th millennium BC, the Late Neolithic. The chronology was obtained using a large set of radiocarbon dates, analyzed by Bayesian statistics. Cultural changes observed at ~6200 BC are coeval with the 8.2 ka climate event. The inhabitation remained continuous.

Pollinator communities in strawberry crops – variation at multiple spatial scales

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.J. Ahrenfeldt ◽  
B.K. Klatt ◽  
J. Arildsen ◽  
N. Trandem ◽  
G.K.S. Andersson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Field Margins ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Activity Density ◽  
Bee Diversity

AbstractPredicting potential pollination services of wild bees in crops requires knowledge of their spatial distribution within fields. Field margins can serve as nesting and foraging habitats for wild bees and can be a source of pollinators. Regional differences in pollinator community composition may affect this spill-over of bees. We studied how regional and local differences affect the spatial distribution of wild bee species richness, activity-density and body size in crop fields. We sampled bees both from the field centre and at two different types of semi-natural field margins, grass strips and hedges, in 12 strawberry fields. The fields were distributed over four regions in Northern Europe, representing an almost 1100 km long north-south gradient. Even over this gradient, daytime temperatures during sampling did not differ significantly between regions and did therefore probably not impact bee activity. Bee species richness was higher in field margins compared with field centres independent of field size. However, there was no difference between centre and margin in body-size or activity-density. In contrast, bee activity-density increased towards the southern regions, whereas the mean body size increased towards the north. In conclusion, our study revealed a general pattern across European regions of bee diversity, but not activity-density, declining towards the field interior which suggests that the benefits of functional diversity of pollinators may be difficult to achieve through spill-over effects from margins to crop. We also identified dissimilar regional patterns in bee diversity and activity-density, which should be taken into account in conservation management.

scholarly journals EXCAVATIONS OF KASTYKI BARROW CEMETERY IN THE VILIYA UPPER REACHES IN 1973

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-132
Author(s):  
M. A. Plavinski ◽  
M. I. Stsiapanava
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Burial Mound ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
The West ◽  
Burial Rites ◽  
Burial Mounds ◽  
New Research ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Village

The complex of archaeological monuments near the village Kastyki of the Viliejka district of the Minsk region consists of an Old Rus’ barrow cemetery and an open settlement, which functioned from the late Neolithic period to the third quarter of the 1st millennium AD. The complex of archaeological sites under the question is located in the eastern part of the village Kastyki in the upper reaches of the Vilija, on its right bank, 2.5 km from the confluence of the Servač River into Vilija River. For the first time, studies at Kastyki were carried out by K. Tyszkiewicz in 1856, when he excavated here one partially destroyed mound, containing neither traces of burial nor burial goods. In 1973, J. Zviaruha conducted a study of the barrow cemetery in Kastyki and excavated here 7 burial mounds. This article is devoted to the publication of materials from the Kastyki barrow cemetery, which took place in 1973 under the direction of J. Zviaruha. The focus is on rethinking the results of the 1973 excavations in the light of new research conducted in 2016 and 2018. The analysis of materials from the excavation of the burial mound, carried out in 1973, suggests that the necropolis functioned during the middle of the 11th—12th centuries. It belonged to a group of residents of the Polatsk land, who made burials according to the rites of inhumation on the basis of burial mounds, with their heads directed to the west. This, in turn, suggests that the members of the Old Rus’ community, which left the necropolis in Kastyki, had a certain understanding of the Christian burial rites.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document