A new system for computing dentition-based age profiles in Sus scrofa

a b s t r a c t Reconstructing demographic profiles is valuable for revealing animal exploitation strategies at archaeological sites. For pig (Sus scrofa), the method presented by The study presented here is part of ongoing research aimed at developing new methods for the construction of S. scrofa demographic profiles based on both dentition and long bone fusion. In this paper, we present the results of a study of eruption and wear patterns in a large modern assemblage of wild boar which provides the basis for a new method for constructing pig harvest profiles and addresses some of the most serious limitations of Grant's earlier study. The utility of this method in detecting subtle differences in pig prey/harvest profiles is demonstrated through its application to three Near Eastern archaeological assemblages from three distinct time periods: Bronze Age Tell Leilan, Halafian Banahilk, and Epipaleolithic Hallan Çemi, where residents likely employed widely different pig exploitation strategies. The results of these case studies demonstrate the ability of this method to reliably reconstruct age demography and distinguish age profiles between sites with different animal procurement strategies. This method provides a standardized means of collecting accurate and reliable age data crucial in examining patterns of past pig exploitation

Reply to Westaway and Lyman: emus, dingoes, and archaeology’s role in conservation biology

In a curious comment on our PNAS Perspective, Westaway and Lyman offer two Australian zooarchaeological case studies—one involving eggshells and the other dingoes—that they argue undercut one of our main points: that archaeological data and deep time perspectives have much to offer conservation biology. Neither example provides a specific substantive critique of our perspective: there are no dingoes in our article, no eggshells, and we mention the long and rich record of human management and alteration of Australian environments only briefly. Nor do we suggest that all archaeological assemblages can effectively inform current conservation biology efforts. Such datasets obviously vary in their quality and potential applicability to modern situations. When considered more closely, both of Westaway and Lyman’s case studies underscore rather than undercut the importance of archaeological and paleoecological data in conservation biology initiatives

Impacts of biological globalization in the Mediterranean: Unveiling the deep history of human-mediated gamebird dispersal

Humans have a long history of moving wildlife that over time has resulted in unprecedented biotic homogenization. It is, as a result, often unclear whether certain taxa are native to a region or naturalized, and how the history of human involvement in species dispersal has shaped present-day biodiversity. Although currently an eastern Palaearctic galliform, the black francolin (Francolinus francolinus) was known to occur in the western Mediterranean from at least the time of Pliny the Elder, if not earlier. During Medieval times and the Renaissance, the black francolin was a courtly gamebird prized not only for its flavor, but also its curative, and even aphrodisiac qualities. There is uncertainty, however, whether this important gamebird was native or introduced to the region and, if the latter, what the source of introduction into the western Mediterranean was. Here we combine historical documentation with a DNA investigation of modern birds and archival (13th–20th century) specimens from across the species’ current and historically documented range. Our study proves the black francolin was nonnative to the western Mediterranean, and we document its introduction from the east via several trade routes, some reaching as far as South Asia. This finding provides insight into the reach and scope of long-distance trade routes that serviced the demand of European aristocracy for exotic species as symbols of wealth and prestige, and helps to demonstrate the lasting impact of human-mediated long-distance species dispersal on current day biodiversity

Tracking the Near Eastern origins and European dispersal of the western house mouse

Abstract: The house mouse (Mus musculus) represents the extreme of globalization of invasive mammals. However, the timing and basis of its origin and early phases of dispersal remain poorly documented. To track its synanthropisation and subsequent invasive spread during the develoment of complex human societies, we analyzed 829 Mus specimens from 43 archaeological contexts in Southwestern Asia and Southeastern Europe, between 40,000 and 3,000 cal. BP, combining geometric morphometrics numerical taxonomy, ancient mitochondrial DNA and direct radiocarbon dating. We found that large late hunter-gatherer sedentary settlements in the Levant, c. 14,500 cal. BP, promoted the commensal behaviour of the house mouse, which probably led the commensal pathway to cat domestication. House mouse invasive spread was then fostered through the emergence of agriculture throughout the Near East 12,000 years ago. Stowaway transport of house mice to Cyprus can be inferred as early as 10,800 years ago. However, the house mouse invasion of Europe did not happen until the development of proto urbanism and exchange networks — 6,500 years ago in Eastern Europe and 4000 years ago in Southern Europe — which in turn may have driven the first human mediated dispersal of cats in Europe