Search

Dogs are among the most variable species today, but little is known about the morphological variability in the early phases of their history. The Neolithic transition to farming may have resulted in an early morphological diversification as a result of changes in the anthropic environment or intentional selection on specific morphologies. Here, we describe the variability and modularity in mandible form by comparing 525 dog mandibles from European archaeological sites ranging from 8100 to 3000 cal. BC to a reference sample of modern dogs, wolves, and dingoes. We use three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to quantify the form of complete and fragmented mandibles. We demonstrate that an important morphological variability already existed before the Bronze Age in Europe, yet the largest, smallest, most brachycephalic or dolichocephalic extant dogs have no equivalent in the archaeological sample, resulting in a lower variation compared to modern relatives. The covariation between the anterior and posterior parts of the mandible is lower in archaeological dogs, suggesting a low degree of intentional human selection in early periods. The mandible of modern and ancient dogs differs in functionally important areas, possibly reflecting differences in diet, competition, or the implication of ancient dogs in hunting or defence.

Stable isotope signatures of domesticates found on archaeology sites provide information about past human behaviour, such as the evolution and adaptation of husbandry strategies. A dynamic phase in cattle husbandry evolution is during the 6th millennium BCE, where the first cattle herders of central Europe spread rapidly through diverse forested ecological niches, where little is known about pasturing strategies. Here we investigate cattle pasturing and foddering practices using a multi-regional dataset of stable isotope values (δ13C and δ18O; compound-specific stable isotopic analysis δ15N-amino acids and δ13C-dairy fats) measured from cattle bone and teeth, and pottery residues from early farming contexts, and palaeoenvironmental information. Our analysis reveals that farmers practiced different pasturing strategies with the intensive use of forested ecosystems in some areas for both graze and seasonal forage. We propose that the diversity of strategies is related to the adaptation of herding to new environments, which had a positive impact on cattle breeding and milk availability for human consumption.

On account of recent developments in the absolute chronology of circular-shaped grave deposits from Bavaria, new bibliographic research and a series of discoveries in the south of the Upper Rhine Plain, we can now advance the hypothesis of an origin of this phenomenon in Central Europe, between the Czech Republic and Bavaria. These regions have yielded the earliest deposits with typologies encompassing all of the defined categories: burials in conventional or non-conventional positions, asymmetrical deposits, mixed deposits, anatomic segments, etc. The introduction of this practice in the south of the Upper Rhine Plain and in the Neckar Valley, undoubtedly under the direct influence of Münchshofen, occurs in the second third of the 5th millennium: it is illustrated in particular by mixed deposits, anatomic segments, isolated individuals in conventional or non-conventional positions, singular deposits with a warrior connotation and deposits of animals. The Michelsberg culture, attested in Lower Alsace at the end of the millennium, perpetuates this practice which undergoes a new development during the middle stage of this culture and a direct diffusion towards Upper Alsace. To the east, in Slovakia, it is possible that the group from Ludanice, affected by the phenomenon during the last centuries of the 5th millennium, played a relay role in diffusion towards early Trichterbecherkultur groups.Thus, rather than a progressive diffusion of the phenomenon from the Chassean towards Michelsberg, then towards the Danubian regions, we propose a polycentric model in which South and Central Europe evolve separately without necessarily interacting. De récentes mises au point sur la chronologie absolue des dépôts en fosse de plan circulaire en Bavière, de nouvelles recherches bibliographiques ainsi qu’une série de découvertes réalisées dans le sud de la plaine du Rhin supérieur nous permettent d’émettre l’hypothèse d’une origine de ce phénomène en Europe centrale, entre la Tchéquie et la Bavière. Ces régions ont en effet livré les dépôts les plus anciens et leur typologie recouvre l’ensemble des catégories définies : inhumations en position conventionnelle ou non conventionnelle, dépôts asymétriques, dépôts mixtes, segments anatomiques, etc. L’introduction de cette pratique dans le sud de la plaine du Rhin supérieur et dans la vallée du Neckar, sans doute sous influence Münchshofen directe, intervient dans le second tiers du 5e millénaire. Elle est notamment illustrée par des dépôts mixtes, des segments anatomiques, des individus isolés en position conventionnelle ou non, des dépôts singuliers à connotation guerrière et des dépôts d’animaux. La culture de Michelsberg, attestée en Basse-Alsace à la fin du millénaire, perpétue cette pratique qui connaît un nouvel essor lors de l’étape moyenne de cette culture et une diffusion en direction de la Haute-Alsace. À l’est, en Slovaquie, il est possible que le groupe de Ludanice, touché par le phénomène dans les derniers siècles du 5e millénaire, ait joué le rôle de relais dans sa diffusion vers les groupes de la Trichterbecherkultur ancienne. Au principe d’une diffusion progressive du phénomène du Chasséen vers le Michelsberg, puis vers les régions danubiennes, nous proposons donc de substituer un modèle polycentrique dans lequel le Midi et l’Europe centrale évoluent indépendamment et sans nécessaires interactions.

Present-day domestic cattle are reproductively active throughout the year, which is a major asset for dairy production. Large wild ungulates, in contrast, are seasonal breeders, as were the last historic representatives of the aurochs, the wild ancestors of cattle. Aseasonal reproduction in cattle is a consequence of domestication and herding, but exactly when this capacity developed in domestic cattle is still unknown and the extent to which early farming communities controlled the seasonality of reproduction is debated. Seasonal or aseasonal calving would have shaped the socio-economic practices of ancient farming societies differently, structuring the agropastoral calendar and determining milk availability where dairying is attested. In this study, we reconstruct the calving pattern through the analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios of cattle tooth enamel from 18 sites across Europe, dating from the 6th mill. cal BC (Early Neolithic) in the Balkans to the 4th mill. cal BC (Middle Neolithic) in Western Europe. Seasonal calving prevailed in Europe between the 6th and 4th millennia cal BC. These results suggest that cattle agropastoral systems in Neolithic Europe were strongly constrained by environmental factors, in particular forage resources. The ensuing fluctuations in milk availability would account for cheese-making, transforming a seasonal milk supply into a storable product.

In the course of evolution, pecorans (i.e., higher ruminants) developed a remarkable diversity of osseous cranial appendages, collectively referred to as “headgear,” which likely share the same origin and genetic basis. However, the nature and function of the genetic determinants underlying their number and position remain elusive. Jacob and other rare populations of sheep and goats are characterized by polyceraty, the presence of more than two horns. Here, we characterize distinct POLYCERATE alleles in each species, both associated with defective HOXD1 function. We show that haploinsufficiency at this locus results in the splitting of horn bud primordia, likely following the abnormal extension of an initial morphogenetic field. These results highlight the key role played by this gene in headgear patterning and illustrate the evolutionary co-option of a gene involved in the early development of bilateria to properly fix the position and number of these distinctive organs of Bovidae.

In European and many African, Middle Eastern and southern Asian populations, lactase persistence (LP) is the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved over the past 10,000 years1. Although the selection of LP and the consumption of prehistoric milk must be linked, considerable uncertainty remains concerning their spatiotemporal configuration and specific interactions2,3. Here we provide detailed distributions of milk exploitation across Europe over the past 9,000 years using around 7,000 pottery fat residues from more than 550 archaeological sites. European milk use was widespread from the Neolithic period onwards but varied spatially and temporally in intensity. Notably, LP selection varying with levels of prehistoric milk exploitation is no better at explaining LP allele frequency trajectories than uniform selection since the Neolithic period. In the UK Biobank4,5 cohort of 500,000 contemporary Europeans, LP genotype was only weakly associated with milk consumption and did not show consistent associations with improved fitness or health indicators. This suggests that other reasons for the beneficial effects of LP should be considered for its rapid frequency increase. We propose that lactase non-persistent individuals consumed milk when it became available but, under conditions of famine and/or increased pathogen exposure, this was disadvantageous, driving LP selection in prehistoric Europe. Comparison of model likelihoods indicates that population fluctuations, settlement density and wild animal exploitation—proxies for these drivers—provide better explanations of LP selection than the extent of milk exploitation. These findings offer new perspectives on prehistoric milk exploitation and LP evolution.

International audience; A preventive excavation carried out in 2016 at the Achenheim Strasse 2 site, west of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) investigated part of a ringed village, over an area of one hectare, attributed to the Bruebach-Oberbergen horizon, an Epiroessenian group settled in Lower Alsace between 4400 and 4250 BC. Most of the storage pits discovered belong to this horizon (at least 211 and probably more than 350), and a long section of enclosure outlining a segment of a circle over 155 linear metres followed on from them, consisting of a continuous V-shaped ditch, on average 1.70 metres wide and of equivalent depth. The ditch was probably flanked on the inside by an earthen embankment, as indicated by the asymmetrical profiles of the fillings, and is interrupted twice by openings with structures assimilated to fortified entrances. The construction of the enclosure was carried out as a single project where only the entrances were redeveloped, to varying degrees. The discovery of this enclosure, identified as a defensive structure, marks an important stage in research into regional Neolithic enclosures. Indeed, up until now, such structures were only represented, from the Early Neolithic to the end of the fifth millennium, by ‘Rosheim-type’ monuments, identified by recent research as ceremonial centres. The number of excavations, the large volume of certain storage pits and the surface covered by the enclosure (which we know extends over at least 3 or 4 hectares) suggest that the site hosted a large population. This unprecedented configuration depicts the organisation of the territory and of Bruebach-Oberbergen society in a very different way from reconstructions based on regional sites, which point rather to settlements composed of farms or small scattered hamlets. We examine the historical context that led to the emergence of this large fortified village and propose a correlation with an episode of collective violence that affected Lower Alsace around 4250 BC. This episode is illustrated at Achenheim itself by very specific human deposits with vestiges of warrior rites (victory celebrations). In addition to the important reconstruction of the historical processes at work in the last third of the fifth millennium, the relative abundance of exhumed material from the site also provides the opportunity to better define the stylistic evolution of pottery, to characterise lithic and bone tools, as well as the husbandry system of the Bruebach-Oberbergen group.; Une fouille préventive conduite en 2016 sur le site d’Achenheim Strasse 2, à l’ouest de Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), a permis l’étude, sur une surface d’un hectare, d’une partie d’un village ceinturé attribué à l’horizon Bruebach-Oberbergen, groupe épiroessénien installé en Basse-Alsace entre 4400 et 4250 av. J.-C. À cet horizon appartient la majorité des fosses de stockage mises au jour (au moins 211 et probablement plus de 350) et un long tronçon d’enceinte dessinant un segment de cercle suivi sur 155 m linéaires, constitué par un fossé continu à profil en V, large d’1,70 m en moyenne pour une profondeur équivalente. Le fossé, probablement flanqué vers l’intérieur d’une levée de terre comme l’indiquent les profils dissymétriques des comblements, est interrompu à deux reprises par des ouvertures présentant des dispositifs avancés que nous proposons d’assimiler à des entrées fortifiées. La construction de l’enceinte s’inscrit dans un projet unique ; seules les entrées ont, à divers degrés, fait l’objet de réaménagements. La découverte de cette enceinte que nous identifions comme un ouvrage à vocation défensive, marque une étape importante de la recherche sur les enceintes néolithiques régionales, jusqu’ici représentées, du Néolithique ancien à la fin du Ve millénaire, par les seuls monuments de « type Rosheim », monuments que les recherches récentes reconnaissent comme des centres cérémoniels. Le nombre de creusements, le volume important de certaines fosses de stockage et la surface couverte par l’enceinte (dont nous savons qu’elle se développe sur au moins 3 ou 4 hectares) suggèrent que le site a accueilli une population nombreuse, configuration inédite qui donne de l’organisation du territoire et de la société Bruebach-Oberbergen, une image très éloignée de celle que les sites régionaux nous avaient jusqu’ici amené à restituer : celle d’un habitat composé de fermes ou de petits hameaux dispersés. Nous nous interrogeons sur le contexte historique ayant favorisé l’émergence de ce grand village fortifié et proposons une corrélation avec un épisode de violence collective ayant touché la Basse-Alsace aux alentours de 4250 av. J.-C, épisode notamment illustré, à Achenheim même, par des dépôts humains très particuliers où nous identifions des vestiges de rites guerriers (fêtes de victoire). Outre son intérêt pour la restitution des processus historiques à l’œuvre dans le dernier tiers du Ve millénaire, le site offre également, par la relative abondance du mobilier exhumé, l’opportunité de mieux définir l’évolution stylistique de la céramique, de caractériser l’outillage lithique et osseux ainsi que le système d’élevage du groupe de Bruebach-Oberbergen.

In the course of evolution, pecorans (i.e. higher ruminants) developed a remarkable diversity of osseous cranial appendages, collectively referred to as ‘headgear’, which likely share the same origin and genetic basis. However, the nature and function of the genetic determinants underlying their number and position remain elusive. Jacob and other rare populations of sheep and goats, are characterized by polyceraty, the presence of more than two horns. Here, we characterize distinct POLYCERATE alleles in each species, both associated with defective HOXD1 function. We show that haploinsufficiency at this locus results in the splitting of horn bud primordia, likely following the abnormal extension of an initial morphogenetic field. These results highlight the key role played by this gene in headgear patterning and illustrate the evolutionary co-option of a gene involved in the early development of bilateria to properly fix the position and number of these distinctive organs of Bovidae.

International audience; The Alsace region bordering the Rhine River was extensively occupied during the Neolithic by farming societies with domesticated animal. The first settlers were two sub-groups of the Linearbandkeramik who appeared to diverge in several respects, including: pottery styles, house orientations and funerary rituals. To explore whether this was reflected in food procurement practices investigations were performed of organic residues in nearly 900 pottery vessels from sites across the region. The results reveal lipid biomarker and stable carbon evidence for exploitation of plant and bee products, and most significantly, extensive domestic animal products including: non-ruminant carcass products, and ruminant primary and secondary products. Critically, culturally-related economic differences were seen spatially between the upper and lower Alsatian groups. Temporal differences were confirmed using compound-specific radiocarbon dating of fatty acids preserved in potsherds, showing that while milk exploitation was widespread during the early Neolithic in UA, it only became commonplace in LA generations later.

Museum collections not only provide educational tools for the public, but also reference material for osteological research and baseline information for understanding historical population dynamics and food webs. Such applications are only possible, however, with accurate identifications of museum osteological specimens, which is sometimes challenging, as specimens can be separated from their original information. In order to clarify missing information about provenience and species identifications, we analysed 13 historical whale bone specimens from the Museum of Zoology, Strasbourg, using a multidisciplinary approach that combined historical document analysis, osteology, and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS). These analyses enabled identification of elements from seven different whale species: five baleen whales (Mysticeti) and two toothed whales (Odontoceti). Two skeletons could be connected with letters from the early 1900s indicating they derived from whales stranded on the shores of South Island, New Zealand. One of these skeletons was digitized using a 3D scanner and can be freely viewed online. All of the samples will be available through a digital archive. The identification and digitization of these museum whale specimens, which include threatened and endangered whale species whose past histories are not yet fully understood, is of great value and ensures they are fully available for future systematic research. The study demonstrates a new and useful application of ZooMS, particularly in concert with other methods, to support museum collections research. 1. Introduction 2. Material and Methods 2.1. Assessment of collection 2.2. Historical documents 2.3. Osteological analysis 2.4. Peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS) 2.5. Overall identifications 3. Results 3.1. Description of the bones 3.2. Documents and historical data 3.3. Osteological determinations and observations 3.4. ZooMS identifications 3.5. Combining identifications and reuniting individuals 4. Discussion 5. Conclusion

Significance Archaeological evidence indicates that domestic pigs arrived in Europe, alongside farmers from the Near East ∼8,500 y ago, yet mitochondrial genomes of modern European pigs are derived from European wild boars. To address this conundrum, we obtained mitochondrial and nuclear data from modern and ancient Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses indicate that, aside from a coat color gene, most Near Eastern ancestry in the genomes of European domestic pigs disappeared over 3,000 y as a result of interbreeding with local wild boars. This implies that pigs were not domesticated independently in Europe, yet the first 2,500 y of human-mediated selection applied by Near Eastern Neolithic farmers played little role in the development of modern European pigs., Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ∼8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local European wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more than 4% Near Eastern ancestry, indicating that gene flow from European wild boars resulted in a near-complete disappearance of Near East ancestry. In addition, we demonstrate that a variant at a locus encoding black coat color likely originated in the Near East and persisted in European pigs. Altogether, our results indicate that while pigs were not independently domesticated in Europe, the vast majority of human-mediated selection over the past 5,000 y focused on the genomic fraction derived from the European wild boars, and not on the fraction that was selected by early Neolithic farmers over the first 2,500 y of the domestication process.

De récentes mises au point sur la chronologie absolue des dépôts en fosse de plan circulaire en Bavière, de nouvelles recherches bibliographiques ainsi qu’une série de découvertes réalisées dans le sud de la plaine du Rhin supérieur nous permettent d’émettre l’hypothèse d’une origine de ce phénomène en Europe centrale, entre la Tchéquie et la Bavière. Ces régions ont en effet livré les dépôts les plus anciens et leur typologie recouvre l’ensemble des catégories définies : inhumations en position conventionnelle ou non conventionnelle, dépôts asymétriques, dépôts mixtes, segments anatomiques, etc. L’introduction de cette pratique dans le sud de la plaine du Rhin supérieur et dans la vallée du Neckar, sans doute sous influence Münchshofen directe, intervient dans le second tiers du 5e millénaire. Elle est notamment illustrée par des dépôts mixtes, des segments anatomiques, des individus isolés en position conventionnelle ou non, des dépôts singuliers à connotation guerrière et des dépôts d’animaux. La culture de Michelsberg, attestée en Basse-Alsace à la fin du millénaire, perpétue cette pratique qui connaît un nouvel essor lors de l’étape moyenne de cette culture et une diffusion en direction de la Haute-Alsace. À l’est, en Slovaquie, il est possible que le groupe de Ludanice, touché par le phénomène dans les derniers siècles du 5e millénaire, ait joué le rôle de relais dans sa diffusion vers les groupes de la Trichterbecherkultur ancienne. Au principe d’une diffusion progressive du phénomène du Chasséen vers le Michelsberg, puis vers les régions danubiennes, nous proposons donc de substituer un modèle polycentrique dans lequel le Midi et l’Europe centrale évoluent indépendamment et sans nécessaires interactions. On account of recent developments in the absolute chronology of circular-shaped grave deposits from Bavaria, new bibliographic research and a series of discoveries in the south of the Upper Rhine Plain, we can now advance the hypothesis of an origin of this phenomenon in Central Europe, between the Czech Republic and Bavaria. These regions have yielded the earliest deposits with typologies encompassing all of the defined categories: burials in conventional or non-conventional positions, asymmetrical deposits, mixed deposits, anatomic segments, etc. The introduction of this practice in the south of the Upper Rhine Plain and in the Neckar Valley, undoubtedly under the direct influence of Münchshofen, occurs in the second third of the 5th millennium: it is illustrated in particular by mixed deposits, anatomic segments, isolated individuals in conventional or non-conventional positions, singular deposits with a warrior connotation and deposits of animals. The Michelsberg culture, attested in Lower Alsace at the end of the millennium, perpetuates this practice which undergoes a new development during the middle stage of this culture and a direct diffusion towards Upper Alsace. To the east, in Slovakia, it is possible that the group from Ludanice, affected by the phenomenon during the last centuries of the 5th millennium, played a relay role in diffusion towards early Trichterbecherkultur groups.Thus, rather than a progressive diffusion of the phenomenon from the Chassean towards Michelsberg, then towards the Danubian regions, we propose a polycentric model in which South and Central Europe evolve separately without necessarily interacting.

International audience

International audience; Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ∼8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local Euro-pean wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more than 4% Near Eastern ancestry, indicating that gene flow from European wild boars resulted in a near-complete disappearance of Near East ancestry. In addition, we demonstrate that a variant at a locus encoding black coat color likely originated in the Near East and persisted in European pigs. Altogether, our results indicate that while pigs were not independently domesticated in Europe, the vast majority of human-mediated selection over the past 5,000 y focused on the genomic fraction derived from the European wild boars, and not on the fraction that was selected by early Neolithic farmers over the first 2,500 y of the domestication process. domestication | evolution | gene flow | Neolithic

Ancient Dog diversity for five regions of Eurasia for pre-Neolithic period and during/after the Neolithic transition

Near Eastern Neolithic farmers introduced several species of domestic plants and animals as they dispersed into Europe. Dogs were the only domestic species present in both Europe and the Near East prior to the Neolithic. Here, we assessed whether early Near Eastern dogs possessed a unique mitochondrial lineage that differentiated them from Mesolithic European populations. We then analysed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 99 ancient European and Near Eastern dogs spanning the Upper Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age to assess if incoming farmers brought Near Eastern dogs with them, or instead primarily adopted indigenous European dogs after they arrived. Our results show that European pre-Neolithic dogs all possessed the mitochondrial haplogroup C, and that the Neolithic and Post-Neolithic dogs associated with farmers from Southeastern Europe mainly possessed haplogroup D. Thus, the appearance of haplogroup D most probably resulted from the dissemination of dogs from the Near East into Europe. In Western and Northern Europe, the turnover is incomplete and C haplogroup persists well into the Chalcolithic at least. These results suggest that dogs were an integral component of the Neolithic farming package and a mitochondrial lineage associated with the Near East was introduced into Europe alongside pigs, cows, sheep and goats. It got diluted into the native dog population when reaching the Western and Northern margins of Europe.

L’importante représentation de vestiges osseux de chien au sein du remplissage du fossé interne du site de Herxheim (Allemagne, Rhénanie-Palatinat) daté du Rubané final est l’occasion de revenir sur la question de la place du chien au Néolithique ancien et de son rôle auprès des premiers éleveurs en Europe occidentale. L’objet de cette contribution est de présenter les caractéristiques de cet assemblage qui représente, pour le Néolithique ancien d’Europe occidentale, la série d’ossements la plus importante attribuée à cet animal. L’état de conservation et de fragmentation, les marques liées à la découpe des carcasses, les traces de cuisson par grillade suggèrent qu’il s’agit de restes d’animaux qui ont été préparés pour la consommation et qui ont fait l’objet de diverses préparations (découpe en quartiers, cuisson par rôtissage à la flamme…). Cette consommation du chien est une pratique circonscrite au fossé interne du site et semble étroitement liée à la nature des activités particulières dont il a été le cadre. Les restes de chien y côtoient d’autres vestiges osseux remarquables comme de nombreuses chevilles osseuses de ruminants, un dépôt de mandibules de carnivores, mais surtout d’importantes accumulations d’ossements humains dont l’état de fragmentation, les nombreuses traces de désarticulation et de prélèvement des chairs, les traces de mâchouillage laissent fortement soupçonner des pratiques de cannibalisme.

International audience

International audience; Near Eastern Neolithic farmers introduced several species of domestic plants and animals as they dispersed into Europe. Dogs were the only domestic species present in both Europe and the Near East prior to the Neolithic. Here, we assessed whether early Near Eastern dogs possessed a unique mitochondrial lineage that differentiated them from Mesolithic European populations. We then analysed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 99 ancient European and Near Eastern dogs spanning the Upper Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age to assess if incoming farmers brought Near Eastern dogs with them, or instead primarily adopted indigenous European dogs after they arrived. Our results show that European pre-Neolithic dogs all possessed the mitochondrial haplogroup C, and that the Neolithic and Post-Neolithic dogs associated with farmers from Southeastern Europe mainly possessed haplogroup D. Thus, the appearance of haplogroup D most probably resulted from the dissemination of dogs from the Near East into Europe. In Western and Northern Europe, the turnover is incomplete and haplogroup C persists well into the Chalcolithic at least. These results suggest that dogs were an integral component of the Neolithic farming package and a mitochondrial lineage associated with the Near East was introduced into Europe alongside pigs, cows, sheep and goats. It got diluted into the native dog population when reaching the Western and Northern margins of Europe.

An established method of estimating the trophic level of an organism is through stable isotope analysis of its tissues and those of its diet. This method has been used in archaeology to reconstruct past human diet from the stable nitrogen isotope (δ15N) values of human and herbivore bone collagen. However, this approach, using the 15N-enrichment of human bone collagen δ15N values over associated herbivore bone collagen δ15N values to predict the relative importance of animal protein, relies on the assumptions that: (i) the δ15N values of plants consumed by humans and herbivores are identical, and (ii) the 15N-enrichment between diet and consumer is consistent. Bone collagen amino acid δ15N values have the potential to tackle these uncertainties, as they constrain the factors influencing bone collagen δ15N values. In this study, the δ15N values of glutamic acid and phenylalanine in human and herbivore bone collagen isolates from Neolithic sites in Germany, Greece and Turkey were determined by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The fraction of animal protein in total dietary protein consumed by the humans was estimated by: (i) comparing bulk human and herbivore collagen δ15N values, (ii) comparing bulk human and herbivore collagen and ancient charred cereal grain δ15N values, (iii) comparing human bone collagen δ15NGlutamic acid and δ15NPhenylalanine values, and (iv) comparing δ15NGlutamic acid values of human and herbivore bone collagen and estimated δ15NGlutamic acid values of ancient charred cereal grains. Where determined cereal grain δ15N values are higher than estimated herbivore forage values, estimates of animal protein consumption are significantly lower, emphasising the importance of the plant nitrogen contribution to human bone collagen. This study also highlights the need for further investigation into: (i) the Δ15NConsumer-Diet values of glutamic acid and phenylalanine in terrestrial ecosystems, and (ii) Δ15NGlutamic acid-Phenylalanine values of common plant foods in order to improve the accuracy and more widespread applicability of amino acid-based methods for palaeodietary reconstruction.

Europe has played a major role in dog evolution, harbouring the oldest uncontested Palaeolithic remains and having been the centre of modern dog breed creation. Here we sequence the genomes of an Early and End Neolithic dog from Germany, including a sample associated with an early European farming community. Both dogs demonstrate continuity with each other and predominantly share ancestry with modern European dogs, contradicting a previously suggested Late Neolithic population replacement. We find no genetic evidence to support the recent hypothesis proposing dual origins of dog domestication. By calibrating the mutation rate using our oldest dog, we narrow the timing of dog domestication to 20,000–40,000 years ago. Interestingly, we do not observe the extreme copy number expansion of the AMY2B gene characteristic of modern dogs that has previously been proposed as an adaptation to a starch-rich diet driven by the widespread adoption of agriculture in the Neolithic., The European continent is thought to have played a major role in the origins of modern dogs. Here, analysing two ancient dog genomes from Germany, the authors find significant genetic continuity throughout the Neolithic period and time dog domestication to ∼20,000–40,000 years ago.

Cattle dominate archaeozoological assemblages from the north-central Europe between the sixth and fifth millennium BC and are frequently considered as exclusively used for their meat. Dairy products may have played a greater role than previously believed. Selective pressure on the lactase persistence mutation has been modelled to have begun between 6000 and 4000 years ago in central Europe. The discovery of milk lipids in late sixth millennium ceramic sieves in Poland may reflect an isolated regional peculiarity for cheese making or may signify more generalized milk exploitation in north-central Europe during the Early Neolithic. To investigate these issues, we analysed the mortality profiles based on age-at-death analysis of cattle tooth eruption, wear and replacement from 19 archaeological sites of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture (sixth to fifth millennium BC). The results indicate that cattle husbandry was similar across time and space in the LBK culture with a degree of specialization for meat exploitation in some areas. Statistical comparison with reference age-at-death profiles indicate that mixed husbandry (milk and meat) was practised, with mature animals being kept. The analysis provides a unique insight into LBK cattle husbandry and how it evolved in later cultures in central and western Europe. It also opens a new perspective on how and why the Neolithic way of life developed through continental Europe and how dairy products became a part of the human diet.

Mortality data based on dental eruption, replacement and wear for Apc-Berekalja (APC), Füzseabony-Gubakút (FUZ), Polgár-Piócási-dűlő (PPIO), Polgár-Ferenci-hát (PFER), Polgár-Csőszhalom-dűlő (PCSO), Tĕšetice-Kyjovice (TES), Hostivice-Sadová (HOS), Chotěbudice phase IIa (CHO1), Chotěbudice phase IIb (CHO2), Chotěbudice phase IIc-IIIa (CHO3), Chotěbudice phase IIIa-IIIb (CHO4), Černý Vůl (CER), Ludwinowo phase IIb (LUD1), Ludwinowo III (LUD2), Mold (MOLD), Eilsleben (EIL), Stephansposching (STE), Dillingen-Steinheim (WIK), Rosheim (ROS), Bischoffsheim (BIS1, 2, 3, 4), Herxheim-settlement (HEXs), Herxheim-ditch (HEXd), Etigny (ETI) and Balloy (BAL). Mortality data for the four husbandry models based on the cattle remains from Bercy, Popina-Bordusani, Grimes Graves and La Montagne.;R code for the gernating the mortality profiles and Dirichlet simulations for the correspondence analysis.;Legge (1992) age classes for the R code.;Mortality profiles for Apc-Berekalja (APC), Füzseabony-Gubakút (FUZ), Polgár-Piócási-dűlő (PPIO), Polgár-Ferenci-hát (PFER), Polgár-Csőszhalom-dűlő (PCSO), Tĕšetice-Kyjovice (TES), Hostivice-Sadová (HOS), Chotěbudice phase IIa (CHO1), Chotěbudice phase IIb (CHO2), Chotěbudice phase IIc-IIIa (CHO3), Chotěbudice phase IIIa-IIIb (CHO4), Černý Vůl (CER), Ludwinowo phase IIb (LUD1), Ludwinowo III (LUD2), Mold (MOLD), Eilsleben (EIL), Stephansposching (STE), Dillingen-Steinheim (WIK), Rosheim (ROS), Bischoffsheim (BIS1, 2, 3, 4), Herxheim-settlement (HEXs), Herxheim-ditch (HEXd), Etigny (ETI) and Balloy (BAL).

Background Climatic and environmental fluctuations as well as anthropogenic pressure have led to the extinction of much of Europe’s megafauna. The European bison or wisent (Bison bonasus), one of the last wild European large mammals, narrowly escaped extinction at the onset of the 20th century owing to hunting and habitat fragmentation. Little is known, however, about its origin, evolutionary history and population dynamics during the Pleistocene. Results Through ancient DNA analysis we show that the emblematic European bison has experienced several waves of population expansion, contraction, and extinction during the last 50,000 years in Europe, culminating in a major reduction of genetic diversity during the Holocene. Fifty-seven complete and partial ancient mitogenomes from throughout Europe, the Caucasus, and Siberia reveal that three populations of wisent (Bison bonasus) and steppe bison (B. priscus) alternately occupied Western Europe, correlating with climate-induced environmental changes. The Late Pleistocene European steppe bison originated from northern Eurasia, whereas the modern wisent population emerged from a refuge in the southern Caucasus after the last glacial maximum. A population overlap during a transition period is reflected in ca. 36,000-year-old paintings in the French Chauvet cave. Bayesian analyses of these complete ancient mitogenomes yielded new dates of the various branching events during the evolution of Bison and its radiation with Bos, which lead us to propose that the genetic affiliation between the wisent and cattle mitogenomes result from incomplete lineage sorting rather than post-speciation gene flow. Conclusion The paleogenetic analysis of bison remains from the last 50,000 years reveals the influence of climate changes on the dynamics of the various bison populations in Europe, only one of which survived into the Holocene, where it experienced severe reductions in its genetic diversity. The time depth and geographical scope of this study enables us to propose temperate Western Europe as a suitable biotope for the wisent compatible with its reintroduction. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12915-016-0317-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

For cattle (Bos taurus), age estimations using dental criteria before the eruption of the first molar (3-8months) have large error margins. This hampers archaeozoological investigation into perinatal mortality or the putative slaughtering of very young calves for milk exploitation. Previous ageing methods for subjuveniles have focused on the length of unfused bones, but it is rarely possible to use them because they are restricted to foetuses and because of the fragmentation of bones. This paper presents new age prediction models based on length, breadth and depth of post cranial bones produced from a dataset of modern calves (n=27). This reference collection was compiled from material of known age at death, sex and breed from collections in Britain, France, GermanyandSwitzerland. Linearregressionmodels wereconstructedusingthemodern data for age prediction, andthesemodelswerethensuccessfullytestedandassessedusingaMiddleNeolithicassemblageofcomplete calves' skeletons from Bourguignon-Les-Morey, France. From the assessment, the astragalus and metapodials were determined to be the most reliable bones, and the femur was the worst. Measurements of the epiphyseal and distal elements and depth measurements were the most reliable. For ages before 12months, these models can provide ±1month age estimates. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this paper we reconstruct the palaeodietary setting of LBK Vaihingen an der Enz, south-west Germany (later sixth millennium cal. bc) using δ13C and δ15N values of human and faunal bone collagen and of charred plant remains from cereal crops (e.g. emmer and einkorn wheat) and pulses (lentil and pea). Our examination of this Neolithic dietary ‘food web’ incorporates crop δ15N values within a linear-mixing model to examine the estimated proportions of animal and plant protein in the human diet. We interpret the stable isotope dietary model outcomes together with accompanying archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological evidence to shed light on the role of crops in land use strategies and human diet, and conclude that (manured) crops probably formed the dominant protein source.

Alignment of the HVR sequences obtained in the present study. Alignment of the sequences originating from the samples listed in Table S1 using the primers listed in Additional file 1: Table S6. (PPTX 131 kb)

Distribution of the SNP density along the mitogenome for sequences analyzed in this study. Each bison mitogenome was aligned pairwise to the same outgroup, the bovine mitogenome reference sequence. The quantity of SNPs in 50 bp-long sliding windows (step of 5 bp) is plotted in ordinate alongside the length of the mitogenome in abscissa. Protein and RNA coding genes, and the HVR are schematized below in green, purple and pink, respectively. (PPTX 271 kb)

Description of the samples that yielded genetic results and of their sites of origin. (DOCX 761 kb)

Schematic representation of the two hypotheses describing the mtDNA segregation pattern between B. p taurus, B. bonasus, and B. priscus/bison. Species tree and embedded mtDNA tree are shown with the age estimate of the two nodes and the 95 % HPD bar are represented to scale using the values estimated with the Bayesian analyses of the complete mitogenomes presented in Fig. 3. Hypothesis 2 of the post-speciation gene flow requires a rapid speciation event taking place just during the short time-interval between the two nodes. This hypothesis appears less parsimonious because speciation is clearly gradual since it has not yet completely prevented interfertility between Bos and Bison even 800 kyr after the hypothesized rapid speciation event. (PPTX 45 kb)

Map showing the location of the various sites in Western Europe that yielded the samples described in this study. (PPTX 1296 kb)

Community differentiation is a fundamental topic of the social sciences, and its prehistoric origins in Europe are typically assumed to lie among the complex, densely populated societies that developed millennia after their Neolithic predecessors. Here we present the earliest, statistically significant evidence for such differentiation among the first farmers of Neolithic Europe. By using strontium isotopic data from more than 300 early Neolithic human skeletons, we find significantly less variance in geographic signatures among males than we find among females, and less variance among burials with ground stone adzes than burials without such adzes. From this, in context with other available evidence, we infer differential land use in early Neolithic central Europe within a patrilocal kinship system.

The extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius) was a large type of cattle that ranged over almost the whole Eurasian continent. The aurochs is the wild progenitor of modern cattle, but it is unclear whether European aurochs contributed to this process. To provide new insights into the demographic history of aurochs and domestic cattle, we have generated high-confidence mitochondrial DNA sequences from 59 archaeological skeletal finds, which were attributed to wild European cattle populations based on their chronological date and/or morphology. All pre-Neolithic aurochs belonged to the previously designated P haplogroup, indicating that this represents the Late Glacial Central European signature. We also report one new and highly divergent haplotype in a Neolithic aurochs sample from Germany, which points to greater variability during the Pleistocene. Furthermore, the Neolithic and Bronze Age samples that were classified with confidence as European aurochs using morphological criteria all carry P haplotype mitochondrial DNA, suggesting continuity of Late Glacial and Early Holocene aurochs populations in Europe. Bayesian analysis indicates that recent population growth gives a significantly better fit to our data than a constant-sized population, an observation consistent with a postglacial expansion scenario, possibly from a single European refugial population. Previous work has shown that most ancient and modern European domestic cattle carry haplotypes previously designated T. This, in combination with our new finding of a T haplotype in a very Early Neolithic site in Syria, lends persuasive support to a scenario whereby gracile Near Eastern domestic populations, carrying predominantly T haplotypes, replaced P haplotype-carrying robust autochthonous aurochs populations in Europe, from the Early Neolithic onward. During the period of coexistence, it appears that domestic cattle were kept separate from wild aurochs and introgression was extremely rare.

In the last decades data concerning the economy and environment of the Neolithic period of lake dwellings (4300-2400 B.C.) in Central Europe increased considerably and also palaeoecological data concerning lake level fluctuations were thoroughly elaborated. Lake shores were mainly settled during warm and rather dry climate periods which caused a regression of the lake-levels. Nevertheless, there were strong and partly very short-term shifts in the economy during the lake-dwelling period. These can be recognised only because the settlement layers can be very precisely dated by dendrochronology. In this article we discuss in an interdisciplinary way possible interrelations between climatic and economical shifts. To explain the latter, we assume as main reason crop failures, which caused intensified hunting and gathering. Three different possibilities can be supposed as reasons for this: cold-wet summers, severe drought during spring and summer, or local over-exploitation of soils in densely settled areas.

Cattle dominate archaeozoological assemblages from the north-central Europe between the sixth and fifth millennium BC and are frequently considered as exclusively used for their meat. Dairy products may have played a greater role than previously believed. Selective pressure on the lactase persistence mutation has been modelled to have begun between 6000 and 4000 years ago in central Europe. The discovery of milk lipids in late sixth millennium ceramic sieves in Poland may reflect an isolated regional peculiarity for cheese making or may signify more generalized milk exploitation in north-central Europe during the Early Neolithic. To investigate these issues, we analysed the mortality profiles based on age-at-death analysis of cattle tooth eruption, wear and replacement from 19 archaeological sites of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture (sixth to fifth millennium BC). The results indicate that cattle husbandry was similar across time and space in the LBK culture with a degree of specialization for meat exploitation in some areas. Statistical comparison with reference age-at-death profiles indicate that mixed husbandry (milk and meat) was practised, with mature animals being kept. The analysis provides a unique insight into LBK cattle husbandry and how it evolved in later cultures in central and western Europe. It also opens a new perspective on how and why the Neolithic way of life developed through continental Europe and how dairy products became a part of the human diet.

Ranging from the valves of exotic marine shells (Spondylus) to anthropomorphic figurines fashioned on metapodials, and from carnivore tooth beads to the deposition of partial carcasses, the representation of fauna in the graves of the early Neolithic in northern France and in the upper Rhine valley takes very diverse forms. This contribution focuses on those remains which can be associated with the practice of food deposits in order to better define the modalities of this type of such finds (choice of species and body parts, preparation, arrangement and position in the grave), understand their meaning and outline their characteristics in relation to other categories of animal bone items (ornaments, tools…) which form part of the grave assemblage.

In comparison with dryland settlements, peri‐alpine lake‐dwellings of the Neolithic represent an ideal case for the study of population growth and its consequences, owing to the better preservation of organic remains, architectural woods and artefacts. Research has been based on dendrochrono‐logical sequences divided into series of ten to twenty years and on the statistical study of hundreds of thousands of archaeological remains, preserved below the level of the water‐table. For the two lake basins of Chalain and Clairvaux at the end of the fourth millennium BC, direct correlations are proposed between a period of population growth and successive technical and economical adaptations rapidly adopted by agricultural communities trying to temporarily resolve the problems resulting from demographic growth, due in large part to the coming of immigrant populations.

La correlation entre neuf sites d'habitat littoral des lacs de Chalain et de Clairvaux (Jura, France) a permis de construire une chronologie a peu pres continue pour le Neolithique final, c'est-a-dire la periode de 3200 a 2400 avant J.-C. Cette sequence est datee en dendrochronologie : elle couvre la succession stylistique des groupes de Horgen, Clairvaux et Chalain. En rapport avec l'evolution ceramique et les stimuli culturels deja reconnus, nous proposons l'etude de 484 objets de parure en bois, en pierre, en os, en bois de cerf et en coquillage. ; Cette serie exceptionnelle de parures bien datees permet de faire le lien avec l'arrivee de populations exogenes dans la Combe d'Ain, en particulier de petits groupes issus du Horgen de Suisse occidentale et du Ferrieres ardechois, comme l'impliquait deja la succession des styles ceramiques. Mais elle montre aussi des phases de regionalisation stylistique, en particulier avec des fabrications locales de la parure ; et une reinterpretation des symboles Ferrieres. ; Enfin, on s'attachera a montrer que l'evolution generale de la symbolique des parures repond tres etroitement a une modification rapide du contexte environnemental, des paysages et de l'economie. A la phase ancienne (Horgen, 3200 avant J.-C), ou dominent la chasse, la recherche de trophees et l'utilisation de parure animale peu transformee, vient s'opposer une phase recente (Clairvaux, 2800 avant J.-C.) qui privilegie les perles et les pendeloques en pierre entierement faconnees, tandis que les paysages deboises et l'elevage prennent de l'importance. ; Cet etonnant parallelisme entre donnees symboliques et contexte environnemental est peut-etre a mettre au compte de determinismes sociaux de valeur generale, lies aux variations de la densite de population et de l'impact de l'homme sur la foret.

The spread of farming from western Asia to Europe had profound long-term social and ecological impacts, but identification of the specific nature of Neolithic land management practices and the dietary contribution of early crops has been problematic. Here, we present previously undescribed stable isotope determinations of charred cereals and pulses from 13 Neolithic sites across Europe (dating ca. 5900–2400 cal B.C.), which show that early farmers used livestock manure and water management to enhance crop yields. Intensive manuring inextricably linked plant cultivation and animal herding and contributed to the remarkable resilience of these combined practices across diverse climatic zones. Critically, our findings suggest that commonly applied paleodietary interpretations of human and herbivore δ15N values have systematically underestimated the contribution of crop-derived protein to early farmer diets. ispartof: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America vol:110 issue:30 pages:1-6 ispartof: location:United States status: published

International audience; We have used a paleogenetics approach to investigate the genetic landscape of coat color variation in ancient Eurasian dog and wolf populations. We amplified DNA fragments of two genes controlling coat color, Mc1r (Melanocortin 1 Receptor) and CBD103 (canine-β-defensin), in respectively 15 and 19 ancient canids (dogs and wolf morphotypes) from 14 different archeological sites, throughout Asia and Europe spanning from ca. 12 000 B.P. (end of Upper Palaeolithic) to ca. 4000 B.P. (Bronze Age). We provide evidence of a new variant (R301C) of the Melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) and highlight the presence of the beta-defensin melanistic mutation (CDB103-K locus) on ancient DNA from dog-and wolf-morphotype specimens. We show that the dominant K(B) allele (CBD103), which causes melanism, and R301C (Mc1r), the variant that may cause light hair color, are present as early as the beginning of the Holocene, over 10 000 years ago. These results underline the genetic diversity of prehistoric dogs. This diversity may have partly stemmed not only from the wolf gene pool captured by domestication but also from mutations very likely linked to the relaxation of natural selection pressure occurring in-line with this process.