Horses for the dead: funerary foodways in Bronze Age Kazakhstan

© 2011 Antiquity PublicationsThe authors examine the role of horses as expressed in assemblages from settlement sites and cemeteries between the Eneolithic and the Bronze Age in Kazakhstan. In this land, known for its rich association with horses, the skeletal evidence appears to indicate a fading of ritual interest. But that's not the whole story, and once again micro-archaeology reveals the true balance. The horses are present at the funeral, but now as meat for the pot, detected in bone fragments and lipids in the pot walls.Natural Environment Research Council (grant NE/B504506) and the British Academy (grants SG-35540 and SG-42656)

Ancient DNA Analysis of the Oldest Canid Species from the Siberian Arctic and Genetic Contribution to the Domestic Dog

Modern Arctic Siberia provides a wealth of resources for archaeological, geological, and paleontological research to investigate the population dynamics of faunal communities from the Pleistocene, particularly as the faunal material coming from permafrost has proven suitable for genetic studies. In order to examine the history of the Canid species in the Siberian Arctic, we carried out genetic analysis of fourteen canid remains from various sites, including the well-documented Upper Paleolithic Yana RHS and Early Holocene Zhokhov Island sites. Estimated age of samples range from as recent as 1,700 years before present (YBP) to at least 360,000 YBP for the remains of the extinct wolf, Canis cf. variabilis. In order to examine the genetic affinities of ancient Siberian canids species to the domestic dog and modern wolves, we obtained mitochondrial DNA control region sequences and compared them to published ancient and modern canid sequences. The older canid specimens illustrate affinities with pre-domestic dog/wolf lineages while others appear in the major phylogenetic clades of domestic dogs. Our results suggest a European origin of domestic dog may not be conclusive and illustrates an emerging complexity of genetic contribution of regional wolf breeds to the modern Canis gene pool

Ancient DNA Analysis of the Oldest Canid Species from the Siberian Arctic and Genetic Contribution to the Domestic Dog

<div><p>Modern Arctic Siberia provides a wealth of resources for archaeological, geological, and paleontological research to investigate the population dynamics of faunal communities from the Pleistocene, particularly as the faunal material coming from permafrost has proven suitable for genetic studies. In order to examine the history of the Canid species in the Siberian Arctic, we carried out genetic analysis of fourteen canid remains from various sites, including the well-documented Upper Paleolithic Yana RHS and Early Holocene Zhokhov Island sites. Estimated age of samples range from as recent as 1,700 years before present (YBP) to at least 360,000 YBP for the remains of the extinct wolf, <i>Canis</i> cf. <i>variabilis</i>. In order to examine the genetic affinities of ancient Siberian canids species to the domestic dog and modern wolves, we obtained mitochondrial DNA control region sequences and compared them to published ancient and modern canid sequences. The older canid specimens illustrate affinities with pre-domestic dog/wolf lineages while others appear in the major phylogenetic clades of domestic dogs. Our results suggest a European origin of domestic dog may not be conclusive and illustrates an emerging complexity of genetic contribution of regional wolf breeds to the modern <i>Canis</i> gene pool.</p></div

Median-joining network of ancient canid specimens for the mitochondrial DNA control region.

<p>Black circles indicate samples from our study (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125759#pone.0125759.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a> and <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125759#pone.0125759.s008" target="_blank">S6 Table</a> for sample ID). Sequences analyzed in the network span nucleotide positions 15561–15789.</p

Median-joining network of dog specimens for the mitochondrial DNA control region.

<p>Black circles indicate samples from our study. Sequences analyzed in the network span nucleotide positions 15547–15705. Clade A is highlighted in light gray and the Duvanny Yar sample S504 is noted in the network. The bottom-right cluster highlighted with a dashed line circle includes the samples S805, S806, S809, and S501.</p

Location of the sites studied.

<p>Corresponding numbers and information are provided in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125759#pone.0125759.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>.</p

Median-joining network of wolf specimens for the mitochondrial DNA control region.

<p>Black circles indicate samples from our study. Sequences analyzed in the network span nucleotide positions 15547–15792. See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125759#pone.0125759.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a> for the sample IDs from this study. Notable haplotypes include GQ509 (GenBank Accession No. GQ376509; Ural mountains of Russia [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125759#pone.0125759.ref059" target="_blank">59</a>]), JW237, 240, 255, 257 (GenBank Accession No. AB480736-AB480742, AB500700; <i>Canis lupus hodophilax</i>, Japan [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125759#pone.0125759.ref054" target="_blank">54</a>]), and LU51 (GenBank Accession No. AY812735; New Mexico, USA [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0125759#pone.0125759.ref057" target="_blank">57</a>]).</p