The evolution of sheep and goat husbandry in central Anatolia

This paper explores the evolution of sheep and goat husbandry in central Anatolia through the analysis of new and published faunal data from Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age sites in the region. The major patterns of change over time in the pastoral system are discussed including the beginnings of herding, the appearance of the practice of young male kill-off and the timing of the onset of the intensive use of secondary products. Results, including the discovery of longstanding differences in the management of sheep and goats as well as synchronic differences in herding strategies, have important implications for understanding the role of animal husbandry in central Anatolian communities and indicate that the history of pastoral production in the region is complex and multi-faceted

Ancient mitogenomes from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Central Anatolia and the effects of a Late Neolithic bottleneck in sheep (Ovis aries)

Occupied between ~10,300 and 9300 years ago, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Aşıklı Höyük in Central Anatolia went through early phases of sheep domestication. Analysis of 629 mitochondrial genomes from this and numerous sites in Anatolia, southwest Asia, Europe, and Africa produced a phylogenetic tree with excessive coalescences (nodes) around the Neolithic, a potential signature of a domestication bottleneck. This is consistent with archeological evidence of sheep management at Aşıklı Höyük which transitioned from residential stabling to open pasturing over a millennium of site occupation. However, unexpectedly, we detected high genetic diversity throughout Aşıklı Höyük’s occupation rather than a bottleneck. Instead, we detected a tenfold demographic bottleneck later in the Neolithic, which caused the fixation of mitochondrial haplogroup B in southwestern Anatolia. The mitochondrial genetic makeup that emerged was carried from the core region of early Neolithic sheep management into Europe and dominates the matrilineal diversity of both its ancient and the billion-strong modern sheep populations

Ancient mitogenomes from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Central Anatolia and the effects of a Late Neolithic bottleneck in sheep (Ovis aries)

Occupied between ~10,300 and 9300 years ago, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Aşıklı Höyük in Central Anatolia went through early phases of sheep domestication. Analysis of 629 mitochondrial genomes from this and numerous sites in Anatolia, southwest Asia, Europe, and Africa produced a phylogenetic tree with excessive coalescences (nodes) around the Neolithic, a potential signature of a domestication bottleneck. This is consistent with archeological evidence of sheep management at Aşıklı Höyük which transitioned from residential stabling to open pasturing over a millennium of site occupation. However, unexpectedly, we detected high genetic diversity throughout Aşıklı Höyük's occupation rather than a bottleneck. Instead, we detected a tenfold demographic bottleneck later in the Neolithic, which caused the fixation of mitochondrial haplogroup B in southwestern Anatolia. The mitochondrial genetic makeup that emerged was carried from the core region of early Neolithic sheep management into Europe and dominates the matrilineal diversity of both its ancient and the billion-strong modern sheep populations

Norşuntepe : die chalkolithische Keramik (Elazığ/Ostanatolien)

Gülçur Sevil. Norşuntepe : die chalkolithische Keramik (Elazığ/Ostanatolien). In: Chronologies des pays du Caucase et de l’Euphrate aux IVe-IIIe millénaires. From the Euphrates to the Caucasus: Chronologies for the 4th-3rd millennium B.C. Vom Euphrat in den Kaukasus: Vergleichende Chronologie des 4. und 3. Jahrtausends v. Chr. Actes du Colloque d’Istanbul, 16-19 décembre 1998. Istanbul : Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 2000. pp. 375-418. (Varia Anatolica, 11

Schoop U. 2005. Das anatolische Chalkolithikum. Eine chronologische Untersuchung zur vorbronzezeitlichen Kultursequenz im nördlichen Zentralanatolien und den angrenzenden Gebieten. Remshalden : Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner (Urgeschichtliche Studien I)

Gülçur Sevil. Schoop U. 2005. Das anatolische Chalkolithikum. Eine chronologische Untersuchung zur vorbronzezeitlichen Kultursequenz im nördlichen Zentralanatolien und den angrenzenden Gebieten. Remshalden : Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner (Urgeschichtliche Studien I). In: Paléorient, 2008, vol. 34, n°1. pp. 199-203

Norşuntepe : die chalkolithische Keramik (Elazığ/Ostanatolien)

Gülçur Sevil. Norşuntepe : die chalkolithische Keramik (Elazığ/Ostanatolien). In: Chronologies des pays du Caucase et de l’Euphrate aux IVe-IIIe millénaires. From the Euphrates to the Caucasus: Chronologies for the 4th-3rd millennium B.C. Vom Euphrat in den Kaukasus: Vergleichende Chronologie des 4. und 3. Jahrtausends v. Chr. Actes du Colloque d’Istanbul, 16-19 décembre 1998. Istanbul : Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 2000. pp. 375-418. (Varia Anatolica, 11

Spatial analysis of Güvercinkayası, a Middle Chalcolithic hilltop settlement in northwestern Cappadocia : A preliminary report

This investigation of a Middle Chalcolithic hilltop settlement might be representative of a phenomenon known in the Ancient Near East and all over the Ancient World in this period. Only a profound study of all the aspects of settling and the relations of the inhabitants to their environment can help us answer the formulated questions of why the Chalcolithic peoples broke not only from the traditional Neolithic settlement patterns but also from the existing subsistence economy and social system.Gülçur Sevil, Firat Céline. Spatial analysis of Güvercinkayası, a Middle Chalcolithic hilltop settlement in northwestern Cappadocia : A preliminary report. In: Anatolia Antiqua, Tome 13, 2005. pp. 41-52

The view from the north : comparative analysis of the Chalcolithic pottery assemblages from Norşuntepe and Ovçular Tepesi

The strong similarities apparent between the Chalcolithic ceramic assemblages of Norşuntepe in eastern Anatolia and Ovçular Tepesi in the south Caucasus are here analysed step by step in order to assess the degree of relationships between the two regions. Interestingly, in spite of the considerable distance between the sites - 700 km as the crow flies - the evidence shows that these similarities affect core features of the ceramic repertoires (their technical traits as well as their functional composition), while specificities either correspond to rare types (in absolute number) or derive from chronological differences between the sites : indeed, the Chalcolithic occupation of Norşuntepe (ca. 4500-3800 BC) is longer than at Ovçular Tepesi (ca. 4350-3950 BC ) by at least a century at each end of its stratigraphic sequence. Although Nor§untepe and Ovçular Tepesi clearly belong to two distinct ceramic provinces, it is nonetheless clear they are affected by the same transregional trends and are both part of a common system, the "Standardised ware oikoumene".Les fortes similitudes perceptibles entre les assemblages céramiques de Norşuntepe en Anatolie orientale et d' Ovçular Tepesi dans le Caucase méridional sont ici analysées systématiquement afin de mettre en évidence le degré de parenté entre ces deux régions. Malgré la distance considérable qui sépare les deux sites - 700 km à vol d'oiseau - il est intéressant de constater que ces similitudes ont trait à des caractéristiques fondamentales des deux répertoires (spécificités techniques et composition fonctionnelle de l'assemblage). A l'inverse, les divergences se rapportent à des types morphologiques et décoratifs rares (en chiffre absolu) ; ou encore s'expliquent par les différences chronologiques entre les deux sites : l'occupation de Norçuntepe (ca. 4500-3800 av.n.è.) est en effet plus longue que celle d' Ovçular Tepesi (ca. 4350-3950 av.n.è.) d'au moins un siècle de part et d'autre de la séquence chronologique. Quoique Norşuntepe et Ovçular Tepesi appartiennent à deux provinces céramiques distinctes, il est cependant clair que celles-ci sont traversées par de mêmes tendances transrégionales et font toutes deux partie d'un même système, la "Standardised ware oikoumene".Gülçur Sevil, Marro Catherine. The view from the north : comparative analysis of the Chalcolithic pottery assemblages from Norşuntepe and Ovçular Tepesi. In: After the Ubaid. Interpreting change from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia at the dawn of urban civilization (4500-3500 BC). Papers from The Post-Ubaid Horizon in the Fertile Crescent and Beyond. International Workshop held at Fosseuse, 29th June-1st July 2009. Istanbul : Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 2012. pp. 305-352. (Varia Anatolica, 27

The view from the north : comparative analysis of the Chalcolithic pottery assemblages from Norşuntepe and Ovçular Tepesi

The strong similarities apparent between the Chalcolithic ceramic assemblages of Norşuntepe in eastern Anatolia and Ovçular Tepesi in the south Caucasus are here analysed step by step in order to assess the degree of relationships between the two regions. Interestingly, in spite of the considerable distance between the sites - 700 km as the crow flies - the evidence shows that these similarities affect core features of the ceramic repertoires (their technical traits as well as their functional composition), while specificities either correspond to rare types (in absolute number) or derive from chronological differences between the sites : indeed, the Chalcolithic occupation of Norşuntepe (ca. 4500-3800 BC) is longer than at Ovçular Tepesi (ca. 4350-3950 BC ) by at least a century at each end of its stratigraphic sequence. Although Nor§untepe and Ovçular Tepesi clearly belong to two distinct ceramic provinces, it is nonetheless clear they are affected by the same transregional trends and are both part of a common system, the "Standardised ware oikoumene".Les fortes similitudes perceptibles entre les assemblages céramiques de Norşuntepe en Anatolie orientale et d' Ovçular Tepesi dans le Caucase méridional sont ici analysées systématiquement afin de mettre en évidence le degré de parenté entre ces deux régions. Malgré la distance considérable qui sépare les deux sites - 700 km à vol d'oiseau - il est intéressant de constater que ces similitudes ont trait à des caractéristiques fondamentales des deux répertoires (spécificités techniques et composition fonctionnelle de l'assemblage). A l'inverse, les divergences se rapportent à des types morphologiques et décoratifs rares (en chiffre absolu) ; ou encore s'expliquent par les différences chronologiques entre les deux sites : l'occupation de Norçuntepe (ca. 4500-3800 av.n.è.) est en effet plus longue que celle d' Ovçular Tepesi (ca. 4350-3950 av.n.è.) d'au moins un siècle de part et d'autre de la séquence chronologique. Quoique Norşuntepe et Ovçular Tepesi appartiennent à deux provinces céramiques distinctes, il est cependant clair que celles-ci sont traversées par de mêmes tendances transrégionales et font toutes deux partie d'un même système, la "Standardised ware oikoumene".Gülçur Sevil, Marro Catherine. The view from the north : comparative analysis of the Chalcolithic pottery assemblages from Norşuntepe and Ovçular Tepesi. In: After the Ubaid. Interpreting change from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia at the dawn of urban civilization (4500-3500 BC). Papers from The Post-Ubaid Horizon in the Fertile Crescent and Beyond. International Workshop held at Fosseuse, 29th June-1st July 2009. Istanbul : Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 2012. pp. 305-352. (Varia Anatolica, 27

L'évolution de l'élevage des moutons et des chèvres en Anatolie centrale

Cet article aborde l\u27évolution de l\u27élevage des moutons et des chèvres en l\u27Anatolie centrale à travers l\u27analyse de données nouvelles et publiées provenant de sites de la région datant du Néolithique, du Chalcolithique et de l\u27âge de Bronze. Les principaux modes de changement dans le temps du système pastoral sont examinés, depuis les débuts de l\u27élevage, l\u27apparition de la pratique de l\u27abattage des jeunes mâle et le moment de l\u27apparition de l\u27utilisation intensive des produits secondaires. Les résultats, y compris la découverte de différences durables dans le gestion des moutons et des chèvres ainsi que de différences synchroniques dans les stratégies d\u27élevage, ont d\u27importantes implications pour la compréhension du rôle de l\u27élevage dans les communautés d\u27Anatolie centrale. Ils montrent que l\u27histoire de la production pastorale dans la région est complexe et multi-facettes.This paper explores the evolution of sheep and goat husbandry in central Anatolia through the analysis of new and published faunal data from Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age sites in the region. The major patterns of change over time in the pastoral system are discussed including the beginnings of herding, the appearance of the practice of young male kill-off, and the timing of the onset of the intensive use of secondary products. Results, including the discovery of longstanding differences in the management of sheep and goats as well as synchronic differences in herding strategies, have important implications for understanding the role of animal husbandry in central Anatolian communities and indicate that the history of pastoral production in the region is complex and multi-faceted.</p