European colonization ͉ mtDNA ͉ phylogeography

Dogs were the first domestic animal, but little is known about their population history and to what extent it was linked to humans. We sequenced 27 ancient dog genomes and found that all dogs share a common ancestry distinct from present-day wolves, with limited gene flow from wolves since domestication but substantial dog-to-wolf gene flow. By 11,000 years ago, at least five major ancestry lineages had diversified, demonstrating a deep genetic history of dogs during the Paleolithic. Coanalysis with human genomes reveals aspects of dog population history that mirror humans, including Levant-related ancestry in Africa and early agricultural Europe. Other aspects differ, including the impacts of steppe pastoralist expansions in West and East Eurasia and a near-complete turnover of Neolithic European dog ancestry.

A large and varied avifaunal bone assemblage from the final Mousterian levels of Grotta di Fumane, northern Italy, reveals unusual human modifications on species that are not clearly relatable to feeding or utilitarian uses (i.e., lammergeier, Eurasian black vulture, golden eagle, red-footed falcon, common wood pigeon, and Alpine chough). Cut, peeling, and scrape marks, as well as diagnostic fractures and a breakthrough, are observed exclusively on wings, indicating the intentional removal of large feathers by Neandertals. The species involved, the anatomical elements affected, and the unusual type and location of the human modifications indicate an activity linked to the symbolic sphere and the behavioral modernity of this European autochthonous population.cut marks | raptors | symbolism | Middle Paleolithic

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Oxygen isotopes in shell carbonate samples from the marine rocky-shore intertidal gastropod Monodonta turbinata (Born) are investigated in both modern analogue specimens and in archaeological specimens from the Grotta dell'Uzzo (Sicily). Variations in shell edge values of δ 18 O in living specimens collected monthly over two years are closely correlated with monthly seawater temperatures measured at the time of collection, showing that the species can be used for palaeoseasonality studies. Analyses of shell edge δ 18 O values in archaeological specimens, from Mesolithic through to early Neolithic phases at the Grotta dell'Uzzo, enabled the inference of various seasons of collection of shellfish and how such seasonality varies between the different phases of occupation. Interesting similarities and differences exist between the seasons of marine shellfish exploitation and the seasons inferred from the vertebrate zooarchaeological assemblages. A major inference drawn from the analyses and discussion is that the exploitation of all marine resources (fish and shellfish) increased in the later Mesolithic and early Neolithic periods.

The question of the origins of the dog has been much debated. The dog is descended from the wolf that at the end of the last glaciation (the archaeologically hypothesized period of dog domestication) was one of the most widespread among Holarctic mammals. Scenarios provided by genetic studies range from multiple dog-founding events to a single origin in East Asia. The earliest fossil dogs, dated approximately 17-12,000 radiocarbon ((14)C) years ago (YA), were found in Europe and in the Middle East. Ancient DNA (a-DNA) evidence could contribute to the identification of dog-founder wolf populations. To gain insight into the relationships between ancient European wolves and dogs we analyzed a 262-bp mitochondrial DNA control region fragment retrieved from five prehistoric Italian canids ranging in age from approximately 15,000 to approximately 3,000 (14)C YA. These canids were compared to a worldwide sample of 547 purebred dogs and 341 wolves. The ancient sequences were highly diverse and joined the three major clades of extant dog sequences. Phylogenetic investigations highlighted relationships between the ancient sequences and geographically widespread extant dog matrilines and between the ancient sequences and extant wolf matrilines of mainly East European origin. The results provide a-DNA support for the involvement of European wolves in the origins of the three major dog clades. Genetic data also suggest multiple independent domestication events. East European wolves may still reflect the genetic variation of ancient dog-founder populations.

Italy is very rich in Middle Palaeolithic sites, and the Veneto region ranges among those with the best archaeozoological information. Most of the Middle Palaeolithic sites are located in caves and rock shelters situated at the mouths of the Alpine valleys, in the piedmont slopes. The two sites that offer the best archaeozoological data are Grotta di Fumane and Grotta S. Bernardino. Grotta S. Bernardino was occupied alternately by humans and carnivores, in particular bear. The fauna is largely dominated by ungulate remains, with red and roe deer prevalent over chamois and ibex; elk and giant deer are also present. Among the carnivores, the most frequent species is cave bear followed by lynx and leopard. Furthermore, hare, beaver and marmot are present together with remains of both fish and birds. It is possible that bears or birds of prey introduced the rare fish remains. In the Mousterian levels, hunting of the most common species was mainly directed towards young adult and adult individuals, suggesting the possibility of selective hunting. Marmot, beaver and probably bear, together with some species of birds (ducks, geese and Galliformes) were also hunted. At Grotta Fumane, Mousterian and Aurignacian levels reveal evidence of human activity related to carcass processing and bone exploitation. The most frequent ungulates are red deer, followed by roe deer and ibex; less frequent are chamois, bovids and giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus). Among the carnivores, bears (both Ursus arctos and Ursus spelaeus) are present, as are wolf, red fox and hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Hare and marmot are also present together with abundant bird remains. The most common species of bird are: Tetrao tetrix, Crex crex and Pyrrhocorax graculus. Mortality data for ungulates suggest that young adults and adults were preferentially selected. The faunal assemblage indicates that economic, ecological and climatic changes took place between the Mousterian and the Aurignacian levels.

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.