Eastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and Cattle

The Late Bronze of the Eastern Mediterranean (1550-1150 BCE) was a period of strong commercial relations and great prosperity, which ended in collapse and migration of groups to the Levant. Here we aim at studying the translocation of cattle and pigs during this period. We sequenced the first ancient mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA of cattle from Greece and Israel and compared the results with morphometric analysis of the metacarpal in cattle. We also increased previous ancient pig DNA datasets from Israel and extracted the first mitochondrial DNA for samples from Greece. We found that pigs underwent a complex translocation history, with links between Anatolia with southeastern Europe in the Bronze Age, and movement from southeastern Europe to the Levant in the Iron I (ca. 1150-950 BCE). Our genetic data did not indicate movement of cattle between the Aegean region and the southern Levant. We detected the earliest evidence for crossbreeding between taurine and zebu cattle in the Iron IIA (ca. 900 BCE). In light of archaeological and historical evidence on Egyptian imperial domination in the region in the Late Bronze Age, we suggest that Egypt attempted to expand dry farming in the region in a period of severe droughts

Human Hunting and Nascent Animal Management at Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic Yiftah'el, Israel.

The current view for the southern Levant is that wild game hunting was replaced by herd management over the course of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, but there is significant debate over the timing, scale and origin of this transition. To date, most relevant studies focus either on wild game exploitation in the periods prior to domestication or on classic markers of domestication of domestic progenitor species over the course of the PPNB. We studied the faunal remains from the 2007-2008 excavations of the Middle PPNB (MPPNB) site of Yiftah'el, Northern Israel. Our analysis included a close examination of the timing and impact of the trade-off between wild game and domestic progenitor taxa that reflects the very beginning of this critical transition in the Mediterranean zone of the southern Levant. Our results reveal a direct trade-off between the intensive hunting of wild ungulates that had been staples for millennia, and domestic progenitor taxa. We suggest that the changes in wild animal use are linked to a region-wide shift in the relationship between humans and domestic progenitor species including goat, pig and cattle

Skewness and kurtosis values for each time period.

Skewness and kurtosis values for each time period.</p

Raw measurement data.

Measurements of the 1) distal depth of the tibia (Dd), (2) distal breadth (Bd) of the calcaneum, and (3) greatest length of the second phalanx for all assemblages in our study sample. Measurements are reported in millimeters. The assemblages include Kebaran Nahal Hadera V, Geometric Kebaran Neve David and Hefzibah, Early Natufian Hayonim Cave and el-Wad Terrace, Late Natufian Hayonim Cave, el-Wad Terrace, Hayonim Terrace, Hilazon Tachtit and Hatoula, Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) A Hatoula, Early PPNB Motza, Middle PPNB Yiftah’el. See Table 1 for sample sizes, averages, ranges, and the data collector for each site. (XLSX)</p

Histograms showing the distribution of the Dd of the tibia, GLpe of the second phalanx and the Bd of the calcaneum in 0.5 mm increments for each of the seven archaeological phases in our study.

See Table 1 for sample sizes for each element.</p

Gazelle bone measurements included in this study.

From left to right these include distal breadth of the calcaneum, greatest length of the second phalanx (GLpe) and distal depth of the tibia (Dd).</p

R script file.

This R Script file contains the code used for the statistical analyses performed in the study. (R)</p

Notched boxplots indicating the range, mean and 95% confidence interval for the GLpe of the second phalanx for the Late Natufian sites of Hayonim Cave, Hayonim Terrace, Hatoula, Hilazon Tachtit and the Jordan Valley site of Nahal Ein Gev II which is presented as an external comparison.

el-Wad Terrace is not included due to small sample size (n = 10).</p

Notched boxplots indicating the range, mean and 95% confidence interval of the Dd of the tibia, GLpe of the second phalanx and the Bd of the calcaneum for each of the seven archaeological phases in our study.

See Table 1 for sample sizes for each element.</p

Pairwise t-tests using pooled standard deviation and Holm method of adjustment.

Pairwise t-tests using pooled standard deviation and Holm method of adjustment.</p