Summary Horse domestication revolutionized warfare and accelerated travel, trade, and the geographic expansion of languages. Here, we present the largest DNA time series for a non-human organism to date, including genome-scale data from 149 ancient animals and 129 ancient genomes (≥1-fold coverage), 87 of which are new. This extensive dataset allows us to assess the modern legacy of past equestrian civilizations. We find that two extinct horse lineages existed during early domestication, one at the far western (Iberia) and the other at the far eastern range (Siberia) of Eurasia. None of these contributed significantly to modern diversity. We show that the influence of Persian-related horse lineages increased following the Islamic conquests in Europe and Asia. Multiple alleles associated with elite-racing, including at the MSTN “speed gene,” only rose in popularity within the last millennium. Finally, the development of modern breeding impacted genetic diversity more dramatically than the previous millennia of human management.

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21Based on a series of new radiocarbon dates we examine the vertical mobility of cattle in the Alps by 22 means of strontium isotope analysis on samples from the prehistoric settlement of Ramosch-Mottata 23 (Canton of Grisons, Switzerland). By identifying variations in the strontium isotope ratios of high-24 crowned cattle molars, we investigate the seasonal use of alpine pastures (vertical transhumance) and 25 changes in cattle husbandry practices between the early and later stages of the site's occupation. 26Combined with the evidence of multiple high-altitude sites, indications of dairying and ethno-27 archeological observations, we see an economic shift and a reorganization of domestic animal 28 exploitation from the early to the late Bronze/early Iron Age in the Alps. 29 30

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Microscopic analyses can be used to determine whether fragments of eggshell come from hatched, incubated or nonincubated eggs. This information is essential for their interpretation since the developmental state of eggs often permits archaeologists to draw conclusions about the function of these finds at a site. However, what has often been neglected in previous studies is the fact that not only incubation but also taphonomy may affect the microstructure of shells. This preliminary study aims to demonstrate that taphonomic processes can in fact imitate features that are commonly interpreted as traces of incubation. The paper further introduces likely causes and one possible solution to this problem. The successful application of this technique on seemingly incubated eggs from a late roman burial of Ober-Olm (Germany) indicates that these shells were altered only by taphonomy and not by embryonic development as initially assumed. It is finally emphasized that the preliminary data of this investigation need to be validated in future research.

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Archaeozoological research of Roman animal bones has a long tradition in Switzerland. In the 1950s, Elisabeth Schmid started analysing bones from the Roman city of Augusta Raurica. On the basis of these analyses she published her Atlas of Animal Bones (1972) which is still in use all over the world today. To date, more than 300,000 bone fragments from different Swiss sites have been analysed. In 2002 a synthesis of Swiss data was published by Jörg Schibler et al.; in that publication, the authors focused on social aspects. They assumed that the Roman animal economy was more or less standardized in the region, and that differences existed mainly between settlement types and within sites. In the last few years, not only have more data been recorded, but also other research questions about functional and regional difference—especially between western and eastern Switzerland (Germania Superior and Raetia)—are becoming more important. These differences show the variability and adaptability of the Roman economy.