Pub Date : 2023-04-24DOI: 10.3389/fearc.2023.1134068
A. Outram
For over a decade there has been general, but not universal, consensus that the earliest known evidence for horse husbandry was at Eneolithic Botai, Kazakhstan, circa 3,500 BCE. Recent ancient genomic analyses, however, indicate that Botai is not the source of modern domestic horse stock (DOM2 lineage), but is instead related to the Przewalski clade of horses. DOM2 appears to instead to have emerged in early Bronze Age (mid 3rd Mill. BCE) in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, and spread quickly replacing other horse lineages after approximately 2,000 BCE. Whilst the specific evidence for earlier husbandry at Botai is not diminished by this evidence, it has broken the consensus regarding the early stages of horse domestication, with some now viewing it as a later event. This paper argues that domestication is rarely an event, but instead a process that is ongoing. The case is made for a “prey pathway” initial phase of domestication in multiple localities during the Eneolithic, which was based around local subsistence pastoralist niche construction. This took different forms due to the presence or absence of ruminant domestic stock in the Eastern European or Central Asian steppes, respectively. Whilst “push” factors likely played a part in the development of horse specialist pastoralism at Botai, it is suggested that “pull” factors accelerated the spread of DOM2 lineages, replacing others, in the later Bronze Age. The DOM2 spread was principally driven, not by local subsistence needs, but wider social, economic and military desirability of equestrianism. The long-term process of horse domestication continues in modernity with major breed changes caused first by the post-medieval agricultural revolution and, more currently, the desire for sporting achievement.
{"title":"Horse domestication as a multi-centered, multi-stage process: Botai and the role of specialized Eneolithic horse pastoralism in the development of human-equine relationships","authors":"A. Outram","doi":"10.3389/fearc.2023.1134068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2023.1134068","url":null,"abstract":"For over a decade there has been general, but not universal, consensus that the earliest known evidence for horse husbandry was at Eneolithic Botai, Kazakhstan, circa 3,500 BCE. Recent ancient genomic analyses, however, indicate that Botai is not the source of modern domestic horse stock (DOM2 lineage), but is instead related to the Przewalski clade of horses. DOM2 appears to instead to have emerged in early Bronze Age (mid 3rd Mill. BCE) in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, and spread quickly replacing other horse lineages after approximately 2,000 BCE. Whilst the specific evidence for earlier husbandry at Botai is not diminished by this evidence, it has broken the consensus regarding the early stages of horse domestication, with some now viewing it as a later event. This paper argues that domestication is rarely an event, but instead a process that is ongoing. The case is made for a “prey pathway” initial phase of domestication in multiple localities during the Eneolithic, which was based around local subsistence pastoralist niche construction. This took different forms due to the presence or absence of ruminant domestic stock in the Eastern European or Central Asian steppes, respectively. Whilst “push” factors likely played a part in the development of horse specialist pastoralism at Botai, it is suggested that “pull” factors accelerated the spread of DOM2 lineages, replacing others, in the later Bronze Age. The DOM2 spread was principally driven, not by local subsistence needs, but wider social, economic and military desirability of equestrianism. The long-term process of horse domestication continues in modernity with major breed changes caused first by the post-medieval agricultural revolution and, more currently, the desire for sporting achievement.","PeriodicalId":221074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130084247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-18DOI: 10.3389/fearc.2023.1080785
Victor Iminjili, M. Stewart, C. Culley, Sean W. Hixon, Steven T. Goldstein, Madeleine Bleasdale, Antonio Jesús Sanchez Flores, Mary Lucas, Jana Ilgner, M. Prendergast, Alison Crowther, N. Boivin, P. Roberts
Background Climate change played a major role in shaping regional human-environment interactions in Africa during the late Pleistocene-Holocene, but this topic has not been exhaustively studied, particularly in eastern Africa. While there is growing evidence that the coastal and island settings in this region played a critical role in human evolution, combined archaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies have tended to focus on the arid interior and show the dominance of grasslands with patches of closed and open woodlands during the last 20,000 years. Methods Here, we present stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of zooarchaeological remains (n = 229) recovered from Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar Island, spanning the last glacial period and the Holocene (20,000 to 500 cal. BP). Results Our data demonstrate that the vicinity of Kuumbi Cave was consistently covered by mosaic habitats, dominated by forests and small patches of open woodland and grassland. The inhabitants of Kuumbi Cave exploited these diverse tropical habitats even after the regional arrival of agriculture. Discussion We suggest that the stable coastal forest mosaic habitats acted as a refugium for foragers during glacial periods and that the Iron Age inhabitants of Kuumbi Cave were not food producers migrating from the interior, but rather Indigenous foragers interacting with food production.
{"title":"Late Pleistocene to late Holocene palaeoecology and human foraging at Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar Island","authors":"Victor Iminjili, M. Stewart, C. Culley, Sean W. Hixon, Steven T. Goldstein, Madeleine Bleasdale, Antonio Jesús Sanchez Flores, Mary Lucas, Jana Ilgner, M. Prendergast, Alison Crowther, N. Boivin, P. Roberts","doi":"10.3389/fearc.2023.1080785","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2023.1080785","url":null,"abstract":"Background Climate change played a major role in shaping regional human-environment interactions in Africa during the late Pleistocene-Holocene, but this topic has not been exhaustively studied, particularly in eastern Africa. While there is growing evidence that the coastal and island settings in this region played a critical role in human evolution, combined archaeological and palaeoenvironmental studies have tended to focus on the arid interior and show the dominance of grasslands with patches of closed and open woodlands during the last 20,000 years. Methods Here, we present stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of zooarchaeological remains (n = 229) recovered from Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar Island, spanning the last glacial period and the Holocene (20,000 to 500 cal. BP). Results Our data demonstrate that the vicinity of Kuumbi Cave was consistently covered by mosaic habitats, dominated by forests and small patches of open woodland and grassland. The inhabitants of Kuumbi Cave exploited these diverse tropical habitats even after the regional arrival of agriculture. Discussion We suggest that the stable coastal forest mosaic habitats acted as a refugium for foragers during glacial periods and that the Iron Age inhabitants of Kuumbi Cave were not food producers migrating from the interior, but rather Indigenous foragers interacting with food production.","PeriodicalId":221074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131879245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-07DOI: 10.3389/fearc.2023.1097815
Mariana Nabais, C. Dupont, J. Zilhão
Hominin consumption of small prey has been much discussed over the past decades. Such resources are often considered to be unproductive in the Middle Paleolithic due to their limited meat yield and, hence, low energy return. However, ethnographic studies suggest that small prey—including shellfish—are a reliable, predictable and by no means marginal resource, and there is increasing evidence for their inclusion in hominin diets during the Middle Paleolithic and even earlier. Gruta da Figueira Brava features a MIS 5c-5b Neanderthal occupation that left behind substantial, human-accumulated terrestrial and marine faunal remains, capped by reworked levels that contain some naturally accumulated, recent Holocene material, namely the remains of small crab species and echinoderms. The brown crab Cancer pagurus (Linnaeus, 1758) predominates in the intact Middle Paleolithic deposit, and reconstruction of its carapace width, based on regression from claw size, shows a preference for relatively large individuals. The detailed analysis of the Cancer pagurus remains reveals that complete animals were brought to the site, where they were roasted on coals and then cracked open to access the flesh.
在过去的几十年里，人们对人类食用小型猎物的问题进行了很多讨论。在旧石器时代中期，这些资源通常被认为是非生产性的，因为它们的肉产量有限，因此能量回报低。然而，人种学研究表明，包括贝类在内的小型猎物是一种可靠的、可预测的、绝不是边际资源，越来越多的证据表明，在旧石器时代中期甚至更早的时候，它们就被纳入了人类的饮食中。Gruta da Figueira Brava以MIS 5c-5b的尼安德特人占领为特征，留下了大量人类积累的陆地和海洋动物遗骸，在重新加工的水平上，包含了一些自然积累的全新世材料，即小螃蟹和棘皮动物的遗骸。棕蟹Cancer pagurus (Linnaeus, 1758)在完整的中旧石器时代沉积物中占主导地位，根据爪子大小的回归重建了其甲壳宽度，显示出相对较大的个体偏好。对巨蟹座巨兽遗骸的详细分析表明，完整的巨蟹座巨兽被带到现场，在那里它们被放在煤上烤，然后撕开以获取肉。
{"title":"The exploitation of crabs by Last Interglacial Iberian Neanderthals: The evidence from Gruta da Figueira Brava (Portugal)","authors":"Mariana Nabais, C. Dupont, J. Zilhão","doi":"10.3389/fearc.2023.1097815","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2023.1097815","url":null,"abstract":"Hominin consumption of small prey has been much discussed over the past decades. Such resources are often considered to be unproductive in the Middle Paleolithic due to their limited meat yield and, hence, low energy return. However, ethnographic studies suggest that small prey—including shellfish—are a reliable, predictable and by no means marginal resource, and there is increasing evidence for their inclusion in hominin diets during the Middle Paleolithic and even earlier. Gruta da Figueira Brava features a MIS 5c-5b Neanderthal occupation that left behind substantial, human-accumulated terrestrial and marine faunal remains, capped by reworked levels that contain some naturally accumulated, recent Holocene material, namely the remains of small crab species and echinoderms. The brown crab Cancer pagurus (Linnaeus, 1758) predominates in the intact Middle Paleolithic deposit, and reconstruction of its carapace width, based on regression from claw size, shows a preference for relatively large individuals. The detailed analysis of the Cancer pagurus remains reveals that complete animals were brought to the site, where they were roasted on coals and then cracked open to access the flesh.","PeriodicalId":221074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129023873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-09DOI: 10.3389/fearc.2022.1098403
Emily M. B. Simpson, B. Crowley, D. Sturmer
Isotopic analysis is destructive and requires that a specimen retains its original (biogenic) chemical composition. A specimen's relative abundance of calcium and phosphorous (Ca/P) or carbonate and phosphate (CO3/PO4) is often used to assess preservation. If a specimen's Ca/P or CO3/PO4 is similar to modern specimens, a specimen's isotopic composition may be biogenic. However, most methods for measuring these proxies are destructive. Moreover the relationships between Ca/P, CO3/PO4 and isotopic preservation are poorly established. In this study, we assessed the ability of handheld X-ray fluorescence (hXRF) to non-destructively evaluate a specimen's preservation by characterizing the calcium to phosphorous ratio (Ca/P). We first established that surface Ca/P (Ca/Psurface) for modern specimens was consistent with expectations for unaltered bone (1.3–2.3). Several specimens had slightly larger ratios, suggesting the currently accepted range may need to be expanded. Second, we tested the ability of Ca/Psurface to detect alteration using twenty Quaternary mammal teeth from Big Bone Lick, Kentucky. Ten specimens had Ca/Psurface between 1.3 and 2.3 and ten had larger ratios, suggesting alteration. Because most methods measure Ca/P in powder (Ca/Ppowder), we compared Ca/Psurface, Ca/Ppowder, and the enamel subsurface (Ca/Psubsurface). With two exceptions, Ca/Psubsurface and Ca/Ppowder were below 2.3, regardless of Ca/Psurface, suggesting that Ca/Ppowder and Ca/Psubsurface underestimate alteration. We next compared Ca/Psurface, CO3/PO4, and carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope values for the fossil teeth. Fourteen specimens were identified as altered or unaltered by both proxies, but six specimens only had one altered proxy. Specimens with both proxies altered had lower, less variable δ13C values than specimens with both proxies unaltered. Median δ18O values were similar between these groups. Individuals with altered Ca/Psurface but unaltered CO3/PO4 isotopically resembled specimens with both proxies altered. Conversely, specimens with unaltered Ca/Psurface and altered CO3/PO4 were similar to specimens with both proxies unaltered. Notably, all individuals with both proxies altered had relatively low δ13C values, including a horse and mammoth, which are normally considered grazers (and therefore should have higher δ13C values). These and other altered specimens may be isotopically compromised. Overall, our results suggest that Ca/Psurface is effective at detecting alteration non-destructively, quickly, and affordably, making it an attractive approach for analyzing unique specimens.
同位素分析是破坏性的，要求标本保留其原始(生物)化学成分。标本的钙和磷(Ca/P)或碳酸盐和磷酸盐(CO3/PO4)的相对丰度通常用于评估保存情况。如果标本的Ca/P或CO3/PO4与现代标本相似，则标本的同位素组成可能是生物成因的。然而，大多数测量这些代理的方法都是破坏性的。Ca/P、CO3/PO4与同位素保存的关系尚不明确。在这项研究中，我们评估了手持式x射线荧光(hXRF)通过表征钙磷比(Ca/P)来无损评估标本保存的能力。我们首先确定了现代标本的表面Ca/P (Ca/Psurface)与未改变骨的预期一致(1.3-2.3)。有几个标本的比例略大，这表明目前可接受的范围可能需要扩大。其次，我们用肯塔基州Big Bone Lick的20颗第四纪哺乳动物牙齿测试了Ca/Psurface检测变化的能力。Ca/Psurface值在1.3 ~ 2.3之间的有10个，较大的有10个，表明有蚀变现象。由于大多数方法测量粉末(Ca/Ppowder)中的Ca/P，我们比较了Ca/Psurface, Ca/Ppowder和牙釉质亚表面(Ca/Psubsurface)。Ca/Psubsurface和Ca/Psubsurface均低于2.3，与Ca/Psurface无关，说明Ca/Ppowder和Ca/Psubsurface低估了蚀变。接下来，我们比较了化石牙齿的Ca/Psurface、CO3/PO4、碳(δ13C)和氧(δ18O)同位素值。14个标本被两种代用物改变或未改变，6个标本只有一种代用物改变。两种指标改变后的样品δ13C值比两种指标不变的样品更低、更少。两组间δ18O值中位数相似。Ca/ p表面改变而CO3/PO4未改变的个体同位素与两个指标都改变的标本相似。相反，Ca/ p面不变和CO3/PO4不变的标本与这两个指标不变的标本相似。值得注意的是，所有两个代用指标都改变的个体的δ13C值都相对较低，包括一匹马和猛犸象，它们通常被认为是食草动物(因此应该有更高的δ13C值)。这些和其他蚀变标本可能在同位素上受到损害。总的来说，我们的研究结果表明，Ca/Psurface在无损、快速、经济地检测变化方面是有效的，使其成为分析独特标本的一种有吸引力的方法。
{"title":"Is the damage worth it? Testing handheld XRF as a non-destructive analytical tool for determining biogenic bone and tooth chemistry prior to destructive analyses","authors":"Emily M. B. Simpson, B. Crowley, D. Sturmer","doi":"10.3389/fearc.2022.1098403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2022.1098403","url":null,"abstract":"Isotopic analysis is destructive and requires that a specimen retains its original (biogenic) chemical composition. A specimen's relative abundance of calcium and phosphorous (Ca/P) or carbonate and phosphate (CO3/PO4) is often used to assess preservation. If a specimen's Ca/P or CO3/PO4 is similar to modern specimens, a specimen's isotopic composition may be biogenic. However, most methods for measuring these proxies are destructive. Moreover the relationships between Ca/P, CO3/PO4 and isotopic preservation are poorly established. In this study, we assessed the ability of handheld X-ray fluorescence (hXRF) to non-destructively evaluate a specimen's preservation by characterizing the calcium to phosphorous ratio (Ca/P). We first established that surface Ca/P (Ca/Psurface) for modern specimens was consistent with expectations for unaltered bone (1.3–2.3). Several specimens had slightly larger ratios, suggesting the currently accepted range may need to be expanded. Second, we tested the ability of Ca/Psurface to detect alteration using twenty Quaternary mammal teeth from Big Bone Lick, Kentucky. Ten specimens had Ca/Psurface between 1.3 and 2.3 and ten had larger ratios, suggesting alteration. Because most methods measure Ca/P in powder (Ca/Ppowder), we compared Ca/Psurface, Ca/Ppowder, and the enamel subsurface (Ca/Psubsurface). With two exceptions, Ca/Psubsurface and Ca/Ppowder were below 2.3, regardless of Ca/Psurface, suggesting that Ca/Ppowder and Ca/Psubsurface underestimate alteration. We next compared Ca/Psurface, CO3/PO4, and carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope values for the fossil teeth. Fourteen specimens were identified as altered or unaltered by both proxies, but six specimens only had one altered proxy. Specimens with both proxies altered had lower, less variable δ13C values than specimens with both proxies unaltered. Median δ18O values were similar between these groups. Individuals with altered Ca/Psurface but unaltered CO3/PO4 isotopically resembled specimens with both proxies altered. Conversely, specimens with unaltered Ca/Psurface and altered CO3/PO4 were similar to specimens with both proxies unaltered. Notably, all individuals with both proxies altered had relatively low δ13C values, including a horse and mammoth, which are normally considered grazers (and therefore should have higher δ13C values). These and other altered specimens may be isotopically compromised. Overall, our results suggest that Ca/Psurface is effective at detecting alteration non-destructively, quickly, and affordably, making it an attractive approach for analyzing unique specimens.","PeriodicalId":221074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114511454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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