Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences最新文献

The transition from hunter-gatherer communities to farming societies is a pivotal shift in human history, hinging on the emergence, selection and diffusion of domestic plants and animals. However, the sequence and order of these steps remain only partially understood. In this study, we used a possibilistic formalism to model the emergence and development of farming. This first attempt, based on an intentionally limited number of qualitative and discrete rules, represents the interactions between domestic and wild plants and animals, and human societies. This initial case study focuses on the emergence of farming in Southwest Asia. We constructed a theoretical model including a minimum number of five components and 18 processes. We explored three models representing increasing exploitation of resources from no overexploitation, to overexploitation of both wild and domestic resources. Our findings revealed possible scenarios for the emergence and development of farming, where animal domestication possibly emerged before plant domestication, contradicting the most accepted temporality. We also generated alternative hypotheses concerning the initiation of plant and animal domestications. The possible ecosystem development with resource overexploitation underscores the importance of wild resources for sustainable societies. This initial attempt at possibilistic modelling can be further developed and expanded to address a broad range of archaeological questions.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.

The domestication of plants and animals permitted the development of cities and social hierarchies, as well as fostering cultural changes that ultimately led humanity into the modern world. Despite the importance of this set of related evolutionary phenomena, scholars have not reached a consensus on what the earliest steps in the domestication process looked like, how long the seminal portions of the process took to unfold, or whether humans played a conscious role in parts or all of it. Likewise, many scholars find it difficult to disentangle the cultural processes of cultivation from the biological processes of domestication. Over the past decade, the prevailing views among scholars have begun to shift towards unconscious and protracted models of early domestication; however, the nomenclature used to discuss these changes has been stagnant. Discussions of early domestication remain bound up in prevailing definitions and preconceived ideas of what the process looked like. In this paper, we seek to break down definitions of domestication and to construct a definition that serves equal utility regardless of the views that researchers hold about the process.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.

Cultural knowledge is widely presumed to be important for elephants. In all three elephant species, individuals tend to congregate around older conspecifics, creating opportunities for social transmission. However, direct evidence of social learning and cultural traditions in elephants is scarce. Here, we briefly outline that evidence then provide a systematic review of how elephant societies respond to the loss of potentially knowledgeable individuals or opportunities for knowledge transfer, which we characterize as social disruption. We consider observations from 95 peer-reviewed, primary research papers that describe disruption to elephant societies or networks via the removal or death of individuals. Natural deaths were mentioned in 14 papers, while 70 detailed human-caused deaths or disruption. Grouping descriptions according to consequences for behaviour and sociality, and demography and fitness, we show that severely disrupted populations are less cohesive, may exhibit reduced fitness or calf survival and respond inappropriately to threats and predators. We suggest that severe social disruption can inhibit or break potential pathways of information transmission, providing indirect evidence for the role of social transmission in elephants. This has implications for elephant conservation amid increasing anthropogenic change across their habitats.This article is part of the theme issue 'Animal culture: conservation in a changing world'.

The highlands of Odisha are home to numerous indigenous communities, known as Adivasi, who traditionally cultivate various species of millets and rice in systems of shifting cultivation and permanent upland cultivation. National and international agricultural schemes have had notable impact on the crops cultivated in the highlands, increasing the consumption of (modern varieties of) rice at the expense of millets. Recent initiatives, such as the Odisha Millet Mission, are attempting to reverse the dependence on modern rice and reintroduce millets, in the highlands as well as in the lowland urban areas. The archaeobotanical records of South Asia and beyond illustrate that crop assemblages have always been dynamic, and understanding the choices that underlie these dynamics can contribute insights into the emergence of contemporary crop assemblages and related foodways, as well as their future trajectories. This contribution seeks to explore how crop choices are reflected in current crop assemblages in the highlands of Odisha and to examine how anthropological insights can contribute to an understanding of crop choices in the past and vice versa.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.

Since their domestication about 10 500 years ago, sheep and goats have been central to human subsistence economies. Despite shared traits and frequent co-herding, these species are biologically distinct, with their uses reflecting diverse cultural practices. Advances in geometric morphometrics enable detailed analyses of their phenotypic evolution, shaped by natural and artificial selection, genetic drift and gene flow. These evolutionary mechanisms are often challenging to disentangle in archaeozoology, but patterns of morphometric variation can reveal evolutionary parallels and divergences. This study investigates the morphometric evolution of sheep and goat teeth in the northwestern Mediterranean basin over 8000 years. Dental remains, which preserve well in archaeological contexts, provide rich data for evolutionary studies, including species-level identifications. Using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics, third lower molars from 1602 sheep and 635 goats, spanning archaeological and modern specimens, were analysed. Molar size, shape and variance were compared across six chrono-cultural phases, tracing diachronic morphological changes. Distinct patterns emerge: sheep exhibit greater variability likely reflecting selective breeding for diverse purposes. Goats, in contrast, show greater uniformity. These findings underscore unique evolutionary trajectories for sheep and goats, offering new perspectives on their biocultural evolution within the dynamic environmental and anthropic contexts that shaped their current diversity.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.

There is now abundant evidence for a role of social learning and culture in shaping behaviour in a range of avian species across multiple contexts, from migration routes in geese and foraging behaviour in crows, to passerine song. Recent emerging evidence has further linked culture to fitness outcomes in some birds, highlighting its potential importance for conservation. Here, we first summarize the state of knowledge on social learning and culture in birds, focusing on the best-studied contexts of migration, foraging, predation and song. We identify extensive knowledge gaps for some taxa but argue that existing evidence suggests that: (i) social learning and culture are taxonomically clustered and that (ii) reliance on social learning in one behavioural domain does not predict reliance across others. Together, we use this to build a predictive framework to aid conservationists in species-specific decision-making under imperfect knowledge. Second, we review evidence for a link between culture and conservation in birds. We argue that understanding which behaviours birds are likely to learn socially can help refine conservation strategies, improving the trajectories of threatened populations. Last, we present practical steps for how consideration of culture can be integrated into conservation actions including reintroductions, translocations and captive breeding programmes.This article is part of the theme issue 'Animal culture: conservation in a changing world'.

It is becoming clear that the cognition of a species plays an important role in successful conservation, with cultural processes being a fundamental part of this. However, in contrast to mammals and birds, very little is known about cultural processes (and the social learning that underlies these) in reptiles. Here, we summarize the current state of knowledge, consider why this information is so limited and assess candidate behaviours observed in the wild, which warrant further investigation through the lens of cultural traditions. We then make suggestions for the fundamental next steps necessary to start to address this issue. This includes future experimental work and also consideration of how existing datasets, such as those capturing animal movement or acoustic activity, can be used to assess cultural questions. In addition, we emphasize the important role that engaging key conservation stakeholders, such as zoos, aquaria and ecotourism providers, could play in furthering our understanding of cultural behaviour in this group and the potential conservation implications of this knowledge. Whether there is cultural behaviour in reptiles and the relationship that this has with conservation remain unclear; however, the findings of this review suggest that these are areas worthy of further research.This article is part of the theme issue 'Animal culture: conservation in a changing world'.

The past agrobiodiversity and evolution of barley, a staple cereal in the northwestern Mediterranean region for the last ca 8000 years, is still poorly documented. This study employed an intensive sampling strategy to analyse morphometric variation of 9817 grains (264 samples and 102 sites), dating from the Neolithic to the Late Middle Ages, from southern France and Catalonia. We utilized an archaeophenomic approach to quantify grain size and shape through elliptic Fourier transformation. We contrasted the variation of archaeological grains with that of 6397 caryopses from 105 modern Euro-Mediterranean varieties of 2-row/6-row subspecies, hulled/naked types. Past climate conditions in southern France/Catalonia were investigated to provide an environmental framework for interpreting morphometric variation. Barley grains increased in size, and changed in shape over time, likely owing to a combination of factors, including environmental adaptation and human selection, coupled with changes in agricultural practices. Naked barley was prevalent during the Neolithic, while the proportion of hulled barley increased from the Late Bronze Age onwards. In contrast, subspecies were identified in all assemblages, without clear temporal trends but with strong variation between assemblages. This study uncovers a complex interplay of environmental and human factors in cereal evolution, highlighting the evolution of agrobiodiversity that fuelled the development of modern societies.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.

Over 40% of bird species learn their vocalizations from conspecifics. Avian vocalizations therefore represent one of the most pervasive and quantifiable examples of culturally acquired behaviour that evolves and is maintained within populations through conformity and selection. We review research exploring the loss of vocal culture in wild birds and synthesize how this loss may occur through three processes, defined as erosion/fragmentation, divergence and convergence. We discuss the potential to conserve avian vocal cultures in the wild and in captivity, using the regent honeyeater Anthochaera phrygia as a case study. Given the current rates of global biodiversity decline, we predict that more examples of avian vocal culture loss will emerge in the future. There is a need, therefore, for a better understanding of (i) how pervasive loss of vocal culture is in birds; (ii) what factors predispose birds to loss of vocal culture; (iii) the fitness costs of loss of vocal culture, including the population size or density range within which fitness costs may be greatest; and (iv) how vocal cultures can best be conserved or restored. This knowledge could then inform management actions such that the diversity of the world's birds and their vocalizations can be maintained for generations to come.This article is part of the theme issue 'Animal culture: conservation in a changing world'.

The Northern Highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea (NHE) were a centre for food production in Africa, hosting one of the earliest agriculture-based complex societies on the continent. The NHE's geographical connections with the Arabian Peninsula, and Nilotic cultures led to the cultivation of southwest Asian crops and African native domesticates in its territory. Additionally, the NHE were also the domestication centre for crops like t'ef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn L.), after well-adapted local wild plants. Considering the paucity of the archaeobotanical record in the region and food remains' preservation issues, in this study, we aim to investigate the domestication and spread of t'ef and finger millet using genomics and interpreting the results in the light of archaeological proxies. Our data confirmed Eragrostis pilosa and Eleusine coracana subsp. africana as the sole wild progenitors of t'ef and finger millet, respectively. T'ef was initially domesticated in the NHE before spreading into southern Ethiopia and eastwards into southern Arabia. Finger millet spread followed two routes: one leading eastwards through the Red Sea to India, and the other southwards, through Kenya and Uganda, reaching southern Africa.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.