1. Evidence for early dispersal of domestic sheep into Central Asia
- Author
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Cosimo Posth, Robert N. Spengler, Saltanat Alisher kyzy, Jina Min, Gregory W. L. Hodgins, Christina Warinner, Ludovic Orlando, William Timothy Treal Taylor, Choongwon Jeong, Raphaela Stahl, Aida Abdykanova, William Rendu, Katerina Douka, Stéphanie Schiavinato, Taylor Hermes, Maciej T. Krajcarz, Svetlana Shnaider, Greta Brancaleoni, Stanisław Fedorowicz, Mélanie Pruvost, A.I. Krivoshapkin, Centre d'anthropologie et de génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
Tajikistan ,Old World ,Asia ,Social Psychology ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Experimental and Cognitive Psychology ,DNA, Mitochondrial ,03 medical and health sciences ,Behavioral Neuroscience ,0302 clinical medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Animal Husbandry ,Domestication ,Kyrgyzstan ,Ovis ,History, Ancient ,Sheep, Domestic ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,030304 developmental biology ,0303 health sciences ,Sheep ,biology ,business.industry ,Ecology ,Biological anthropology ,Uzbekistan ,biology.organism_classification ,Kazakhstan ,Ancient DNA ,Geography ,Biological dispersal ,Livestock ,Capra ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
The development and dispersal of agropastoralism transformed the cultural and ecological landscapes of the Old World, but little is known about when or how this process first impacted Central Asia. Here, we present archaeological and biomolecular evidence from Obishir V in southern Kyrgyzstan, establishing the presence of domesticated sheep by ca. 6,000 BCE. Zooarchaeological and collagen peptide mass fingerprinting show exploitation of Ovis and Capra, while cementum analysis of intact teeth implicates possible pastoral slaughter during the fall season. Most significantly, ancient DNA reveals these directly dated specimens as the domestic O. aries, within the genetic diversity of domesticated sheep lineages. Together, these results provide the earliest evidence for the use of livestock in the mountains of the Ferghana Valley, predating previous evidence by 3,000 years and suggesting that domestic animal economies reached the mountains of interior Central Asia far earlier than previously recognized. Results - Site excavation. - Archaeofaunal remains. - Cementum analysis and dental eruption/wear. - Animal DNA. Discussion Methods - Excavation. - Radiocarbon dating. - Thermoluminescence dating. - Zooarchaeology and ZooMS. - Cementum analysis. - DNA analysis. -- PCR amplification. -- Library construction and sequencing. -- PCA of genome-wide sequences. -- Mitochondrial genome analysis.
- Published
- 2021