再论中国家养黄牛的起源——商榷《中国东北地区全新世早期管理黄牛的形态学和基因学证据》一文

针对有学者提出的中国最早黄牛的管理出现在距今10500年前的论述,我们从牙齿上严重磨耗现象的成因、动物遗存的采集和研究方法、中国家养黄牛起源的历史背景等3个方面对其所提出证据当中存在的问题进行一一探讨,认为该下颌骨标本并不能与人为管理建立联系。在此基础上,结合新的考古材料和研究,提出我们关于中国家养黄牛起源的认识,具体包括起源的时间和地点、传入路线、喂饲方式、起源动因等4个层面。     

Genetics and African Cattle Domestication

Whether cattle domestication occurred independently on the African continent is among the most controversial questions in the Holocene archaeology of northern Africa. One long-established scenario, based upon early archaeological evidence, suggested that Africa’s earliest cattle derived from several introductions from Southwest Asia through the Nile Valley, or via the Horn of Africa. Based upon archaeofaunal remains retrieved in the late twentieth century, other archaeologists argued that an independent domestication of the African aurochs gave rise to Africa’s earliest domestic cattle. Up to now, the genetic data have also been controversial. This paper reviews the archaeological evidence and the scope of debate, and then focuses on the recent contributions of genetic research to clarifying these issues.     

The Life History of an Enslaved African: Multiple Isotope Evidence for Forced Childhood Migration from Africa to the Caribbean and Associated Dietary Change

Archaeological excavations of an enslaved African domestic area at the Spring Bay Flat plantation on the island of Saba, Dutch Caribbean, uncovered a small concentration of artefacts (shell, metal nails, animal bones and five human teeth) overlaid with a lock hinge, interpreted as a lockbox and its contents. Dental anthropological and multi‐isotope (strontium, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen) analyses of the teeth revealed that they belonged to a single individual who originated from Africa and survived a period of pronounced nutritional stress as a juvenile. The results provide rare insights into the life history of an individual who probably experienced enslavement, (forced) migration from Africa and adaptation to plantation life in the colonial‐era Caribbean.     

Raising Practices of Neolithic Livestock Evidenced by Stable Isotope Analysis in the Wei River Valley,North China

Although a patchwork of projects shows a process of agriculture intensification in North China during the Neolithic, the impact of cereal farming on animal husbandry and their mutual interaction remain cloudy. This study reports bone collagen δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of humans and animals from Wayaogou (ca 6.5–6.0 kyrs bp ) and Dongying (ca 5.9–5.6 kyrs bp , 4.6–4.0 kyrs bp ) to explore temporal trend of livestock raising and particularly the importance of millet fodder to stock raising practices in the Wei River valley, North China. The isotopic evidence overall shows that millet products increased in human and domestic animal diets during the mentioned chronological span. δ¹³C values of pigs and dogs at Dongying are higher than those at Wayaogou, implying that the importance of millet nutrients increased to animal husbandry diachronically. Interestingly, δ¹³C results of domestic cattle of Dongying late phase (−14.1 ± 1.1‰, N = 5) are more enriched than Wayaogou wild Bos (−17.8 ± 0.3‰, N = 3), indicating that millet fodder had taken a significant place in early cattle husbandry. Besides, differences between Bos species of the two periods also imply that δ¹³C values of bone collagen constitute a potential indicator for tracing the origin of cattle husbandry in North China. In addition, domestic sheep at Dongying produced similar isotope data to wild ovicaprid at Wayaogou, suggesting that they possibly had grazed for the most in grassland and therefore experienced a different lifestyle from cattle. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphological changes in domestic cattle in Gaul,from the second century BC to the fifth century AD: diversity of herds in the Seine valley (France) and northern Gaul

In Western Europe the transition from the Iron Age to the Roman period is the scene of a rapid economic and agro-pastoral evolution characterized in particular by a modification in the shape of the cattle. Understanding this phenomenon, its implementation mechanisms and development dynamics represents a major challenge in archaeozoology. In our study a local and regional approach of the evolution in cattle morphology is carried out first on the scale of the middle Seine valley, then of the northern Gaul. Its purpose is to observe and compare the evolution rates in domestic cattle between Middle La Tène and the fifth century AD, and with the help of a tight chronological and geographical grid, to estimate to what extent the shape of the cattle has been influenced by the indigenous cultures, the Roman economic pattern or even the environment. This osteometrical study is based on the Log Size Index method and on a measurement corpus of 12,969 bones collected on sites located on 117 communes in France (for most of them), Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The results we obtained show local specificities in terms of breeding methods and animal morphologies, observed on a very fine scale and taking place long before the Conquest. Moreover the growth patterns of the various herds happen to be different and to evolve under the impetus of the developing Roman economic pattern. This work thus points out an essential aspect of the agro-pastoral turmoil that took place in Gaul at the turning point of our era. The Roman pattern is not the cause of the morphological changes of the cattle, nor of the diversity in cattle shapes in Gaul, but it provokes a reshaping of the agricultural systems and a redefining of the breeding strategies which boost and completely change the cattle growth patterns.     

Transition from hunting to animal husbandry in Southern,Western and Eastern Finland: new dated osteological evidence

The beginning of animal husbandry in Finland is one of the most debated topics in Finnish archaeology. For this study a total of 69 bone materials from archaeological sites in Southern, Western and Eastern Finland, dating from the Middle Neolithic to the Early Metal Period, were analysed: 52 represented identifiable animal bones. These data were complemented with those from previously analysed bone materials. A total of 19 domestic animal bones were radiocarbon-dated to determine their connection with a particular cultural period. However, 13 of them proved to belong to the historical and not the prehistoric period, emphasizing the importance of radiocarbon-dating and context awareness when interpreting prehistoric bone materials. Among the radiocarbon-dated material were the oldest dated sheep, cattle and horse bones in Finland. The oldest radiocarbon-dated domestic animal bone in Finland, from sheep or goat, derives from the Late Stone Age Kiukainen Culture site, while cattle and horse bones date to the Bronze Age. This is later than expected. However, the available material does not exclude the possibility that some animal husbandry was practised in Finland earlier. Nevertheless, domestic animal bones are rare in samples dated to the cultural periods studied, while hunting and fishing represented important subsistence activities.     

The late adoption of cattle and pig husbandry in Neolithic Central Turkey

This paper summarizes and interprets zooarchaeological evidence for cattle and pig domestication in Neolithic Central Anatolia. Biometric and demographic data indicate that domestic cattle first appear in the region in the late seventh millennium cal BC while domestic pigs are not evident until the mid fifth millennium. This places the origins of cattle and pig husbandry in Central Anatolia considerably later than in neighboring regions. Reasons for this delay in the spread of productive animal husbandry practices are explored.     

河南地区新石器时代生业方式初探

本文通过梳理河南地区动植物考古研究成果,对新石器时代(距今10000年—4000年)河南地区豫北、郑洛和豫西南三个区域的生业方式进行了初步的综合研究和探讨。研究表明,新石器时代中期河南地区是以采集渔猎为主、种植农作物和饲养家畜为辅的生业模式,经过新石器时代晚期的过渡,发展为以种植农作物和饲养家畜为主、采集渔猎为辅的生业模式;新石器时代末期,农作物中新加入了大豆和小麦,家畜中新加入了黄牛和绵羊,多种农作物种植和家畜饲养方式逐渐形成。人类对动植物资源的掌控、文化和资源的交流是生业发展的主因,同时自然环境对生业起到了制约和促进两方面的影响。在古代社会发展与文明进步的进程中,生业起到了不可或缺的重要作用。     

Diet of aurochs and early cattle in southern Scandinavia: evidence from 15N and 13C stable isotopes

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from ¹⁴C dated bones of early Atlantic aurochs (Bos primigenius Bojanus) and late Atlantic first domestic cattle (Bos taurus Linnaeus) in eastern Denmark and southern Sweden are significantly different and provide information on the origin and feeding strategies of the two species.Radiocarbon dates generally divide the bone material of aurochs and domestic cattle in three groups: aurochs older than 4000 cal yr BP, an older group of domestic cattle around 4000 cal yr BP, and a younger, less well-defined group of domestic cattle starting at around 3500 cal yr BP. The older domestic cattle are represented mainly by fragmentary bones left over from meals, and deposited in lakes at the vicinity of the settlement areas. Bones of the younger domestic cattle group occur both as settlement debris and as single articulated skeletons in bogs, commonly in association with different types of clay pots. The latter type of finds suggests that sacrifice of domestic cattle began at this time. The dating of the early domestic cattle further indicates that they were contemporaneous with or slightly younger than the elm decline, which occurred shortly after 4000 cal yr BC on the Danish island of Sjælland. Our results indicate a sudden rapid introduction of domestic cattle into Denmark, heralding the introduction of agriculture and there is no evidence for leaf foddering or domestication of aurochs. A combination of several natural events may have created the necessary open land, providing the grazing areas for the imported cattle.     

Draught cattle and the South Scandinavian economies of the 4th millennium BC

Abstract

This paper presents an osteomorphological survey of evidence for draught utilisation of cattle in the South Scandinavian TRB culture. The investigations focus on morphological changes in the lower limb bones of domestic cattle from a large number of archaeological sites and from several individual cattle skeletons found in bogs. The osteological results are discussed in the context of other lines of evidence, both archaeological and environmental, and one of the main themes of this discussion is the relationship between the adoption of animal traction and developments in land use. Furthermore, developments in the economic complex of the South Scandinavian TRB culture are compared with certain trends further south in Europe.     

‘We'll have what they're having’, cultural identity through diet in the English Saxon Period

The roots of the English population lie in diverse cultural origins. Within the second half of the first millennium AD, there were two major migrations, firstly the Saxons in the immediate post-Roman period, and later following the ‘Viking’ incursions of the mid-9th century. This paper considers the visibility of these migrations in the animal economy. Zooarchaeological data from 141 Saxon sites within England were analysed for evidence of diet and animal husbandry. Results indicate that there were signatures specific to native British rural populations in the early Saxon phase, relying largely on a self-sufficient economy, consuming very few wild species or domestic birds. Saxon cultural differences were implied from a number of sites, dependant on the increased importance of cattle in the diet and as culturally symbolic animals signifying status and utilised for trade. There was also evidence for the earliest settlers to have used pigs as a ‘mobile larder’, to provide meat while they established herds and flocks of cattle and sheep. Regional differences were visible in the late Saxon phase, within Wessex and the Danelaw, related to agricultural changes in the midlands and central southern region, and cultural identity, particularly within the heartlands of the northern Danelaw, towards an increase in cattle production.     

汉晋时期河西走廊张掖地区的开发研究——以黑水国汉代墓葬为例

黑水国汉代墓葬出土的农具、动物骨骼、农作物遗存和人骨为人们了解河西走廊张掖地区汉晋时期生业经济和农业发展等问题提供了重要证据。通过动物骨骼、农作物遗存鉴定结果和人骨碳氮同位素检测结果,可以揭示汉晋时期黑水国人群的食物结构和生业模式特点。墓葬出土的农作物有粟、黍、稻,随葬动物有鸡、猪、绵羊、黄牛、狗、马,人骨骨胶原碳稳定同位素主要呈现C₃和C₄混合信号,部分呈现C₃信号和C₄信号,氮稳定同位素值相较牛羊等家养食草动物较高。综合研究说明汉晋时期河西走廊形成麦类、粟黍和豆类的混合农业模式,所以黑水国汉代先民摄取的粮食作物来源呈多样化。同时,河西走廊畜牧业发达,使当时人群摄取了大量的肉食资源,导致蛋白质摄入量较高。     

“So bigge as bigge may be”: tracking size and shape change in domestic livestock in London (AD 1220–1900)

This study presents the analysis of 7966 individual cattle, sheep, pig and domestic hen bone measurements from 105 sites excavated in London dating to the period AD 1220–1900. Multiple episodes of size change are identified, although the speed and timing varies by species. The earliest evidence for size change in cattle and sheep occurs in the early 14th century and may be connected to the need to restock livestock populations following the outbreaks of murrain in the first half of that century. Subsequent size increases in livestock size may have occurred as a combined consequence of agricultural innovations in the wake of the Black Death, the increasing commercialisation of animal farming, as the meat requirements of an expanding London grew, and the rise of the ethic of improvement.     

A meal on the hoof or wealth in the kraal? Stable isotopes at Kgaswe and Taukome in eastern Botswana

Iron Age sites associated with the Toutswe tradition in Eastern Botswana date between CE 700–1300 and share a variety of settlement patterns, economic features and material culture. The presence of domestic fauna, settlement structures and concentrations of vitrified dung provide archaeological evidence for herding economies. However, due to factors of preservation and past retrieval techniques, evidence for plant remains is still somewhat limited for the Toutswe sites in Botswana. Additionally, archaeological remains such as flora, fauna and material culture often provide only indirect evidence for their contributions to diet. This study provides new evidence for the diet of individuals from the Toutswe tradition. Given the large numbers of animal remains and residues at Toutswe sites, the expectation is that animal domesticates were also an integral part of the diet. Stable isotopic analysis of human remains indicates that even though domestic cattle and sheep occur in great abundance at Toutswe sites, their contribution to the diet may be minimal. The main source of protein for individuals at Kgaswe and Taukome comes from C4 plants such as sorghum and millet and to a lesser extent, animal products. The practice of maintaining large domestic herds for economic and social reasons rather than for primary subsistence in southern Africa today may have its roots in the Iron Age populations of the region. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Animal Genetics and African Archaeology: Why It Matters

This article introduces the special issue of African Archaeological Review on the relevance of African livestock genetics to archaeology on the continent. It shows how modern and ancient animal genetic research in Eurasia has substantially revised archaeological scenarios for the origins and spread of food production there. It argues that, in contrast to colleagues in Europe and Asia, Africanist archaeologists have generally been slow to engage in truly collaborative research with archaeogeneticists, with some notable exceptions. It builds a case that animal introductions and domestication are as much social, cultural, and economic processes as they are ecological in nature. Through examples, it outlines some profound selective effects that animal keeping has had on humans themselves. Building on the concepts of taste and embodied practice in Stahl’s (2002) discussion of artifacts and differently scaled encounters with non-local commerce, it develops suggestions for archaeologically studying genetically distinctive domestic animals as part of local and long-distance economic systems. Finally, it comments on the issue’s review articles and offers suggestions for ways to encourage stronger collaboration between archaeologists and genetic researchers.     

Ancient Humped Cattle in Africa: A View from the Chad Basin

The origins of ancient and modern African cattle are still a matter of much debate among researchers. Part of the dispute involves the question of the appearance in Africa, from the second millennium BC onwards, of cattle carrying a distinguishing morphological feature present in most of the modern sub-Saharan breeds: The hump. This paper addresses the issue of the origins of the African humped cattle. After reviewing the current hypothesis on their origins, the status and significance of old and new archaeological and osteological evidence from the Chad Basin are presented and critically discussed. Mainly based on the cultural context of the archaeological figurative evidence available in the remaining continent, a case for the foreign ancestry of the ancient African humped cattle is made, and a perspective for future research in the topic is provided.     

Domestic Pigs in Africa

The history of African pig breeds is still controversial due to the relative scarcity of archaeological and genetic data clarifying their origins. While these breeds might descend from Near Eastern pigs entering the continent via Egypt during the Neolithic, Africa may be a primary domestication locus for pigs, as indicated for other species such as cattle and donkeys. In this regard, characterisation of the mitochondrial gene pool of African pig breeds has revealed a very low frequency of Near Eastern alleles, suggesting that, if Fertile Crescent pigs played a part in the foundation of African breeds, their genetic signature has been substantially erased. Interestingly, genetic analysis of western and eastern African pig breeds has revealed a strong phylogeographic pattern, with the latter harbouring Far Eastern alleles at high frequencies. This finding is consistent with data obtained for chickens and confirms that livestock was transported in ancient times, from the Far East to Africa as a consequence of the Indian Ocean trade. European colonisation of Africa also involved the introduction of exotic swine breeds such as Iberian pigs. The confluence of the highly divergent European and Far Eastern Sus scrofa gene pools contributed to significantly enrich the genetic reservoir of African swine breeds, favouring their adaptation to environmental conditions that are often harsh. Conservation of this genetic legacy will be of utmost importance to ensure the prosperity of current resource-based subsistence farming systems in Africa.     

Molecular and osteometric sexing of cattle metacarpals: a case study from 15th century AD Beja,Portugal

In the course of a zooarchaeological survey of Holocene sites in southern Portugal, a substantial size increase of cattle bones was noted following the Christian reconquista of the 11th–13th centuries AD. A size increase in the course of time within a lineage of domestic livestock is usually considered to represent animal improvement. However several other factors including sex may influence the average size of a sample of mammal bones – cattle exhibit considerable sexual size dimorphism, with bulls being larger than cows. A histogram of the distal widths of a large (n = 44) sample of cattle metacarpals from 15th century Beja (Alentejo, Portugal), revealed a bimodal distribution. It was assumed that the large measurements belonged to males and the small to females. In order to rule out the possibility of a post-Moslem change in the sex ratio of cattle, a sub-sample of 21 cattle metacarpals from Beja was selected and we used genetic markers to identify the sex of the animals to which these metacarpals belonged. The ancient DNA sex of all specimens agreed with the previously assumed sex as determined osteometrically. We conclude that the two nearly separated peaks for the metacarpal distal width measurements do indeed indicate sex. A similar bimodal distribution was obtained from another large but earlier sample of cattle metacarpals from Moslem Alcáçova de Santarém (9th–12th century AD). Although these have not been molecularly sexed and since osteometric sexing has now been validated, we conclude that both small (female) and large (male) peaks are smaller than the 15th century ones and that there was an overall size increase or improvement of cattle in this region. Why the Christians improved cattle is unclear, but a selection for larger beeves for meat is one possibility as is the selection of more robust cattle for power. The spread of the quadrangular or chariot plough in Iberia is known to have occurred at this time. We then use the genetically sexed metacarpals to determine which measurements provide reasonable distinction between the sexes. Both the distal width (BFd; as already noted by Svensson et al., 2008; in Swedish medieval cattle) and the width of the lateral condyle (WCL) offer the best distinction. We also used them as a reference ‘collection’ to sex the medieval and post-medieval cattle metacarpals from Launceston Castle in England. This re-visit of the Launceston data corroborates other evidence indicating increased specialisation (milk and veal) in post-medieval cattle husbandry in England.     

Cattle in the West African savanna: evidence from 1st millennium CE Kirikongo, Burkina Faso

The West African sahel and savanna are today home to diverse cattle breeds derived from complex social, political and environmental processes over at least the past four thousand years. Current evidence from the sahel and its floodplains indicates multiple sizes of cattle over time that may correspond to modern breeds. However, little is known about the cattle further south in the savanna, such as the West African Shorthorn. These humpless cattle are well adapted to the environmental conditions of more humid zones, including their significant resistance to trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness. In this paper I present new archaeozoological data from the Iron Age village of Kirikongo, Burkina Faso (100-1700 CE) that indicate the presence of small cattle in the 1st millennium CE similar in size to West African Shorthorn. These results are contextualized through comparisons with other archaeological sites and environmental data in Central West Africa, suggesting that small cattle are generally associated with the savanna environment over time, and their distributions may have oscillated with climatic changes. Lastly, interregional processes are assessed given Kirikongo’s evidence for small savanna cattle in western Burkina Faso and their subsequent adoption in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali.     

Meta-analysis of zooarchaeological data from SW Asia and SE Europe provides insight into the origins and spread of animal husbandry

Identifying spatial and temporal variation in animal exploitation patterns is essential for building our understanding of the transition from hunting to stock-keeping. Quantitative analysis of the published records of over 400,000 animal bones recovered from 114 archaeological sites from SW Asia and SE Europe from c12 ka to c7.5 ka cal BP (thousands of calibrated radiocarbon years before present) demonstrates significant spatiotemporal variability in faunal exploitation patterns. Sites in the Euphrates region show adoption of domestic taxa by c10.5 ka cal BP, although on average these taxa contribute less than 10% to total assemblage size. This rises to a median of about 40% by c9.5 ka cal BP, and then to about 45% of total NISP by c8.5 ka cal BP. By c10.5 ka in the Tigris and Zagros region domesticates contribute less than 5% to faunal assemblages, but then rise to a median of about 20% by c9.5 ka and 40% by c8.4 ka cal BP. In contrast, Levantine sites have low numbers of domestic taxa (<1%) until c8.8 ka cal BP, when the proportion dramatically increases to a median of about 35%. This apparent delayed-adoption pattern also holds true for the southern Levant, which shows, on average, low levels (<1%) of domestic taxa until 8.8 ka cal BP, at which point domesticates contribute a median of about 10% to assemblages. In the northern parts of SW Asia, the mid- to late-10th millennium cal BP is pivotal, as proportions of domestic taxa show a dramatic increase in frequency during this time, and the ‘package’ of domestic sheep, goat, cattle and pig becomes more firmly established. This sets the trend for sites of the 9th millennium and the appearance of Neolithic communities in SE Europe from the 8th millennium cal BP onwards, from which point domestic animals are ubiquitous in faunal assemblages.