Evolution of the Sasanian defences of the Gorgan Plain

Aucune région du monde antique ne possède une concentration de fortifications militaires semblable à celle de la plaine de Gorgan. C’est aussi ici que nous trouvons la plus longue barrière linéaire renforcée de forts du monde de l’Antiquité tardive. Exception faite des forteresses urbaines, l’infrastructure militaire sassanide éclipse celle de l’État romain tardif. Cet article retrace l’évolution de la construction des infrastructures militaires depuis l’émergence soudaine des fortifications géométriques à la fin du ive ou au début du ve siècle jusqu’à leur abandon dans la première moitié du viie siècle. L’essor initial peut avoir été le résultat d’une pression hostile croissante, dans le nord et le nord-est de l’empire, à partir de la fin du ive siècle. La construction de fortifications a atteint son apogée au ve siècle, mais c’est au vie siècle que les forts du mur de Gorgan construits au ve siècle ont peut-être été occupés le plus densément. Le système a été maintenu jusqu’au viie siècle, bien qu’un certain nombre de fortifications dans l’arrière-pays ont vraisemblablement été abandonnées avant, et il n’y a pas encore de preuves de la construction de nouvelles installations dans les dernières décennies de la domination sassanide. Cet investissement massif a non seulement protégé la plaine de Gorgan mais aussi formé l’épine dorsale des défenses sassanides, vitales pour protéger le coeur de l’empire. Il a par ailleurs permis à l’empire de lancer des opérations militaires sur d’autres frontières

Ancient goat genomes reveal mosaic domestication in the Fertile Crescent.

Current genetic data are equivocal as to whether goat domestication occurred multiple times or was a singular process. We generated genomic data from 83 ancient goats (51 with genome-wide coverage) from Paleolithic to Medieval contexts throughout the Near East. Our findings demonstrate that multiple divergent ancient wild goat sources were domesticated in a dispersed process that resulted in genetically and geographically distinct Neolithic goat populations, echoing contemporaneous human divergence across the region. These early goat populations contributed differently to modern goats in Asia, Africa, and Europe. We also detect early selection for pigmentation, stature, reproduction, milking, and response to dietary change, providing 8000-year-old evidence for human agency in molding genome variation within a partner species

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

Nuptial food gifts influence female egg production in the scorpionfly Panorpa cognata

Engqvist L. Nuptial food gifts influence female egg production in the scorpionfly Panorpa cognata. Ecological Entomology. 2007;32(3):327-332.1. Before copulation, male Panorpa cognata scorpionflies offer females a salivary secretion, which is consumed by the female during copulation. It has previously been demonstrated that this nuptial food gift functions as mating effort by increasing male attractiveness and by increasing ejaculate transfer during copulation. 2. In this study, the effect of saliva consumption on female reproductive output was investigated, and thus the possibility that nuptial food gifts also serve as paternal investment. The experimental design enabled the effect of nuptial gift consumption to be disentangled from other possible effects of multiple mating or increased copula duration. 3. The results showed that saliva consumption increases female egg production by on average 8% (4.5 eggs) per consumed salivary mass, whereas mean egg weight was not influenced. 4. These results have important implications for the evolution and maintenance of both male nuptial gifts and female polyandry in this and other species