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Several dog skeletons were excavated at the Roman town of Augusta Raurica and at the military camp of Vindonissa, located in the northern Alpine region of Switzerland (Germania Superior). The relationships between them and the people, the nature of their lives, and the circumstances of their deaths are unclear. In order to gain insight into this dog population, we collected 31 dogs deposited almost simultaneously in two wells (second half of the third century CE), three dogs from burial contexts (70–200 CE and third to fifth century CE) at Augusta Raurica, and two dogs from burial contexts at Vindonissa (ca. first century CE). We detected a mixed population of young and adult dogs including small, medium and large sized individuals. Three small dogs had conspicuous phenotypes: abnormally short legs, and one with a brachycephalic skull. Stable isotope analysis of a subset of the dogs showed that their diets were omnivorous with a substantial input of animal proteins and little variation, except one with a particularly low δ15N value, indicating a diet low in animal proteins. Partial mitochondrial DNA sequences from 25 dogs revealed eight haplotypes within canine haplogroup A (11 dogs; 44%; 5 haplotypes), C (8 dogs; 32%; 1 haplotype), D (4 dogs, 16%; 1 haplotype) and B (2 dogs, 8%; 1 haplotype). Based on shotgun sequencing, four Roman mitogenomes were assembled, representing sub-haplogroups A1b3, A1b2 and C2. No canine pathogens were identified, weakening the assumption of infectious disease as a cause for dog disposal. The genetic and morphological diversity observed in dogs of Augusta Raurica and Vindonissa is similar to modern dog diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluctuations in the size of taurine cattle (Bos taurus) have been regularly demonstrated using archaeozoological data from across time and space in Europe, and have been linked to cultural, social and economic changes, but little is known about whether phenotypic change is accompanied by changes in genetic diversity. Here, we performed PCR-typed analysis of the partial mtDNA d-loop fragments of 99 cattle from the Neolithic to Early Medieval times from a number of different sites across Switzerland, combining newly presented data with previously published data (n = 20). We found that most cattle included (84) were members of the common European macro-haplogroup T3. However, cattle belonging to the haplogroups T1, T2, Q and P were identified as early as the Neolithic period, before 2690 cal. BCE. The highest diversity was found in the Neolithic period, during the 1st century CE and during the 7th–8th centuries CE. Bottleneck phases with low genetic diversity were detected during the Late Iron Age and from the fifth to the seventh century CE. Based on the FST values, Horgen, Corded Ware and cattle populations from the seventh to the ninth century CE were plotted away from the clusters of all other populations. The periods with larger-sized cattle correspond with those of high mtDNA d-loop diversity. Phenotype and genotype both appear to respond to the same socio-economic and cultural processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestication is an ongoing process continuously changing the lives of animals and humans and the environment. For the majority of European cattle (Bos taurus) genetic and archaeozoological evidence support initial domestication ca. 11'000 BP in the Near East from few founder aurochs (Bos primigenius) belonging to the mitochondrial DNA T macro-haplogroup. Gene flow between wild European aurochs of P haplogroup and domestic cattle of T haplogroup, coexisting over thousands of years, appears to have been sporadic. We report archaeozoological and ancient DNA evidence for the incorporation of wild stock into a domestic cattle herd from a Neolithic lake-dwelling in Switzerland. A complete metacarpus of a small and compact adult bovid is morphologically and genetically a female. With withers height of ca. 112 cm, it is comparable in size with small domestic cattle from contemporaneous sites in the area. The bone is directly dated to 3360-3090 cal BC and associated to the Horgen culture, a period of the secondary products revolution. The cow possessed a novel mtDNA P haplotype variant of the European aurochs. We argue this is either a single event or, based on osteological characteristics of the Horgen cattle, a rare instance of intentional breeding with female aurochs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ancient DNA from a Neolithic legging (1st half of the 3rd millennium BC) found at Lenk, Schnidejoch (2750 m a.sl.) in the Swiss Alps has demonstrated, that modern distribution of genetic variation does not reflect past spatio-temporal signatures. The legging was made from the skin of a domestic goat (Capra hircus), belonging to the caprine haplogroup B1, which is marginal in Europe today, but represents a third highly diverse goat haplogroup entering Europe already in the Neolithic. Population expansion of lineage B therefore happened more than 4500 years ago, but their members were at some point almost completely replaced by goats of today''s common A and C haplogroups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mules (Equus asinus x Equus caballus) represent first-generation hybrids between a female horse (mare) and a male donkey (jack). They are generally considered to have first appeared north of the Alps with Roman influence, a time period in which written and iconographic sources support their key role for transport and traction, both in farming and the military. The archaeozoological evidence for mules is, however, contentious as faunal assemblages are difficult to assign to either parental species or hybrids based on morphometric data alone. Here we leverage low-coverage DNA sequence data and Zonkey computational analyses to assess the occurrence of mules within Roman equid faunal assemblages in the alpine foreland. While morphological data previously assigned 17 remains to mules, successful DNA analysis of 12 remains revealed that 11 were in fact horses, one female and ten males. Eight mtDNA d-loop haplogroups were identified and genetic diversity within Roman equids corresponds to non-threatened modern local breeds. Two remains genetically identified as mules belonged to haplogroups F and I. Our results suggest that the importance of mules in the Roman archaeological record of the alpine foreland, and probably elsewhere, may have been previously over-estimated. Whether this is true for other regions of the Roman Empire needs to be evaluated. Further genomic testing for equid species and their hybrids and molecular sexing will improve our knowledge on this important issue. • Classical texts, art and archaeozoological evidence support the large socio-economic impact of equids in the Roman Empire. • Archaeozoological evidence is ambiguous due to overlapping morphology amongst horses, donkeys and their hybrids. • 10 out of 12 remains identified as mules on the basis of their morphology were reassigned to male horses genetically. • We propose that the occurrence of mules at Roman sites may be more limited than previously claimed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]