Initial diversity in sheep and goat management in Neolithic south-western Asia

Documenting the initial appearance of domestic cattle in the Eastern Fertile Crescent (northern Iraq and western Iran)

“…Neolithic economies in SW Asia often show strong regional preferences for specific taxa which are highly conservative over long periods of time (Arbuckle, 2014;Arbuckle and Atici, 2013). From our survey of the available data, it is clear that aurochs exploitation was never an important part of Pleistocene and early Holocene animal economies in the EFC in contrast to neighboring regions with robust traditions of Bos exploitation including the upper Euphrates basin, Çay€ onü (upper Tigris basin), central Anatolia and the Levantine coastal plain and Jordan valley (Baird, 2012;Horwitz and Ducos, 2005;Ilgezdi, 2008) (Fig.…”

Diet uniformity at an early farming community in northwest Anatolia (Turkey): carbon and nitrogen isotope studies of bone collagen at Aktopraklık

“…Multi-region zooarchaeological work provides convincing evidence that places the origins of western Eurasian domesticates (e.g. sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs) in the Fertile Crescent (Peters et al 2014;Arbuckle and Atici 2013;Vigne et al 2012;Zeder 2011). These recent studies, integrated within the existing framework of research for Neolithic Anatolia, provide evidence for a clear transmission of people and of livestock from the Fertile Crescent into western Turkey and beyond.…”

Early animal farming and zoonotic disease dynamics: modelling brucellosis transmission in Neolithic goat populations

“…The early management of goats is reported at Nevalı Çori ( ca 8200–8000 BC) in the upper Euphrates basin in the northern Fertile Crescent on the basis of size changes and demographic profiles [13]. Further east, early managed goats are also identified at the site of Ganj Dareh in the Zagros mountains of the eastern Fertile Crescent at ca 7900 BC, where the demographic profile indicates a population under human management that are morphologically unaltered from wild animals [14,15]. Archaeological sites from the Zagros region offer an ideal case-study for articulating a demographic model of early domestic goat populations to investigate the possible dynamics of brucellosis in the early stages of husbandry due to the well-dated and characterized sequence of site assemblages and the fact that for around a millennium goat was the only domestic food animal in the region [16].…”

“…Archaeological sites from the Zagros region offer an ideal case-study for articulating a demographic model of early domestic goat populations to investigate the possible dynamics of brucellosis in the early stages of husbandry due to the well-dated and characterized sequence of site assemblages and the fact that for around a millennium goat was the only domestic food animal in the region [16]. The area has produced the earliest and most accurately dated demographic profile suggestive of a managed population at Ganj Dareh in the highland Zagros (figure 1) [14,15], where possible indicators of brucellosis were identified in a human skeleton [10]. The spread of goat husbandry can then be followed to nearby lowland zones, reaching Ali Kosh by ca 7500 BC, and Jarmo a few centuries later still where it co-occurs with domestic sheep [16] (figure 1).…”

“…The spread of goat husbandry can then be followed to nearby lowland zones, reaching Ali Kosh by ca 7500 BC, and Jarmo a few centuries later still where it co-occurs with domestic sheep [16] (figure 1). Examining these three populations—from Ganj Dareh, Ali Kosh and Jarmo—allows an assessment of the diversity in management strategies during earlier phases of animal husbandry [15] and the impact of these strategies on the potential maintenance of Brucella melitensis within domestic goat populations. With unpasteurized milk being a particularly key mode of transmission to humans [6], the origins of dairying are highlighted as an important innovation.…”