Three Thousand Years of Continuity in the Maternal Lineages of Ancient Sheep (Ovis aries) in Estonia

Rannamäe, Eve; Lõugas, Lembi; Speller, Camilla; Valk, Heiki; Maldre, Liina; Wilczyński, Jarosław; Mikhailov, A. Yu.; Saarma, Urmas

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0163676

Cited by 23 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Third, we find that Anatolian Neolithic sheep show significantly higher affinity to modern-day European breeds than to Asian breeds, including east Mediterranean sheep. This result is also consistent with the mitochondrial haplogroup compositions of ANS and breeds from Europe 13,14,16,33 , where haplogroup B predominates. A possible explanation for this pattern is that ANS were the direct ancestors of modern-day European sheep, and were brought to Europe through the Neolithic migrations of the 7th and 6th millennia 34 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication

Yurtman

Özer

Yüncü

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

22Sheep was among the first domesticated animals, but its demographic history is little 23 understood. Here we present combined analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear polymorphism 24 data from ancient central and west Anatolian sheep dating to the Late Glacial and early 25 Holocene. We observe loss of mitochondrial haplotype diversity around 7500 BCE during the 26 early Neolithic, consistent with a domestication-related bottleneck. Post-7000 BCE, 27 mitochondrial haplogroup diversity increases, compatible with admixture from other 28 domestication centres and/or from wild populations. Analysing archaeogenomic data, we 29 further find that Anatolian Neolithic sheep (ANS) are genetically closest to present-day 30 European breeds, and especially those from central and north Europe. Our results indicate that 31 Asian contribution to south European breeds in the post-Neolithic era, possibly during the 32 Bronze Age, may explain this pattern.33 34 35 36 65 traits across the globe, especially within the last 5 millennia, as part of the secondary products 66 revolution 18,19 . Although the first domesticated sheep were likely used for their meat and 67 possibly their milk 20 , they started to be increasingly exploited for their wool in Bronze Age SW 68 Asia, during the 3rd millennium BCE 21 . Intriguingly, a comparison of DNA retroelements 69 across modern breeds implies an expansion of SW Asian lineages, estimated to date back to the 70 Bronze Age; according to this model, SW Asian sheep with desired traits, such as fine wool, 71 were introduced into local breeds across the globe 22 . A recent ancient DNA study reports 72 evidence consistent with novel breeds being introduced to Bronze Age Europe, coinciding with 73 archaeological evidence for the introduction of wool to this continent 21 . In later periods, export 74 and admixture of selected sheep breeds into local stocks continued 11 . Indeed, the most recent 75 common ancestor of domestic sheep breeds has been inferred to date back only 800 generations 76 ago 11 -an unexpectedly recent estimate. 77 4We currently lack a solid demographic history model to explain these observations: high 78 diversity, clear genetic structure, and recent coalescence times. What is missing is genetic data 79 on the initial steps of domestication and characterisation of the early domesticated sheep gene 80 pool. Here we present a first attempt to bridge this gap, studying ancient DNA from Neolithic 81 period sheep remains from Anatolia, one of the possible domestication centres. Analysing both 82 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and nuclear polymorphism data, we find support for 83 the notions that the present-day domestic sheep population has multiple origins, and also that 84 the sheep gene pool changed considerably since the Neolithic period. 85 86 Results 87 We analysed DNA from c.200 archaeological sheep bone and tooth samples from early 88 Holocene Anatolia, originating from six different sites from central and west Anatolia and 89spanning the Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, and Ch...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication

Yurtman

Özer

Yüncü

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Becker et al 2016;Benecke 1994;Greenfield 2014). In recent times, new possibilities for investigating prehistoric sheep have become available, thanks to advances in aDNA analyses (Brandt 2014;Niemi et al 2013;O'Sullivan et al 2016;Olivieri et al 2012;Rannamäe et al 2016a;Rannamäe et al 2016b). We here present and discuss some of the main results from each of these disciplines relating to the study of sheep and sheep fleece.…”

Section: Scientific Approaches To the Study Of Prehistoric Sheep And mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Genetic population studies of sheep have so far had a main focus on modern sheep, and in particular on analyses of their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), revealing a great complexity and intense breeding throughout history (Alberto et al 2018;Fernández et al 2006;Guo et al 2005;Hiendleder et al 1998a;Hiendleder et al 1998b;Larson et al 2007;Larson et al 2005;Luikart et al 2001;Meadows et al 2007;Pedrosa et al 2005;Tapio et al 2006;Wood and Phua 1996). Recently, analyses of mtDNA have been conducted on prehistoric sheep bone samples as well (Demirci et al 2013;Niemi et al 2013;O'Sullivan et al 2016;Olivieri et al 2012;Rannamäe et al 2016a;Rannamäe et al 2016b), confirming that breeding was commonly practised in early times.…”

Section: Genetic Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Approaching sheep herds origins and the emergence of the wool economy in continental Europe during the Bronze Age

Sabatini

Bergerbrant

Brandt

et al. 2019

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, extensive archaeological studies have provided us with new knowledge on wool and woollen textile production in continental Europe during the Bronze Age. Concentrations of large numbers of textile tools, and of zooarchaeological evidence suggesting intense sheepherding, hint at specialized centres of wool production during the Bronze Age. The aim of this paper is to discuss whether engagement with this economic activity was facilitated by the introduction of new foreign sheep types, possibly from the Eastern Mediterranean, where well-established wool economies existed, or by using local sheep, or a mixture of local and non-local types. A small-scale genetic pilot study, presented in this paper, primarily aimed at testing the DNA preservation, and thus the genomic potential in Bronze Age sheep remains provides evidence of both mitochondrial haplogroups A and B among Bronze Age sheep in Hungary. This result could hint at sheep herds with mixed origin but further in-depth studies are necessary to address this. We aim to promote scholarly interest in the issue and propose new directions for research on this topic.

show abstract

“…For other livestock species, the use of maternal genetic markers in both extant samples and archaeological remains has proven to be particularly successful in revealing the history of domestication (Almathen et al., 2016; Bollongino et al., 2012; Caliebe, Nebel, Makarewicz, Krawczak, & Krause‐Kyora, 2017; Cieslak et al., 2010; Naderi et al., 2008; Rannamäe et al., 2016). In reindeer, such markers are also greatly useful because they can pinpoint maternal lineages with different origins (Kvie, Heggenes, & Røed, 2016a; Røed et al., 2008; Yannic et al., 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and structural genetic variation in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) associated with the pastoral transition in Northwestern Siberia

Røed

Kvie

Losey

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Just as the domestication of livestock is often cited as a key element in the Neolithic transition to settled, the emergence of large‐scaled reindeer husbandry was a fundamental social transformation for the indigenous peoples of Arctic Eurasia. To better understand the history of reindeer domestication, and the genetic processes associated with the pastoral transition in the Eurasian Arctic, we analyzed archaeological and contemporary reindeer samples from Northwestern Siberia. The material represents Rangifer genealogies spanning from 15,000 years ago to the 18th century, as well as modern samples from the wild Taĭmyr population and from domestic herds managed by Nenetses. The wild and the domestic population are the largest populations of their kind in Northern Eurasia, and some Nenetses hold their domestic reindeer beside their wild cousins. Our analyses of 197 modern and 223 ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences revealed two genetic clusters, which are interpreted as representing the gene pools of contemporary domestic and past wild reindeer. Among a total of 137 different mitochondrial haplotypes identified in both the modern and archaeological samples, only 21 were detected in the modern domestic gene pool, while 11 of these were absent from the wild gene pool. The significant temporal genetic shift that we associate with the pastoral transition suggests that the emergence and spread of reindeer pastoralism in Northwestern Siberia originated with the translocation and subsequent selective breeding of a special type of animal from outside the region. The distinct and persistent domestic characteristics of the haplotype structure since the 18th century suggests little genetic exchange since then. The absence of the typical domestic clade in modern nearby wild populations suggests that the contemporary Nenets domestic breed feature an ancestry from outside its present main distribution, possibly from further South.

show abstract

Three Thousand Years of Continuity in the Maternal Lineages of Ancient Sheep (Ovis aries) in Estonia

Cited by 23 publications

References 43 publications

Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication

Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication

Approaching sheep herds origins and the emergence of the wool economy in continental Europe during the Bronze Age

Temporal and structural genetic variation in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) associated with the pastoral transition in Northwestern Siberia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About