The biocultural origins and dispersal of domestic chickens

SignificanceChickens are the world's most numerous domestic animal. In order to understand when, where, and how they first became associated with human societies, we critically assessed the domestic status of chicken remains described in >600 sites in 89 countries, and evaluated zoogeographic, morphological, osteometric, stratigraphic, contextual, iconographic, and textual data. Although previous studies have made claims for an early origin of chickens, our results suggest that unambiguous chickens were not present until ∼1650 to 1250 BCE in central Thailand. A correlation between early chickens and the first appearance of rice and millet cultivation suggests that the production and storage of these cereals may have acted as a magnet, thus initiating the chicken domestication process

Henchir Bourgou (Djerba, Tunesien): Stratigraphie und Fundvorlage einer Sondage im Zentrum der antiken Siedlung (8. Jh. v. Chr. – 2. Jh. n. Chr.)

Die antike Siedlung Henchir Bourgou auf Djerba (Tunesien) ist seit 2017 Gegenstand gemeinsamer Forschungen des tunesischen Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) und des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts (DAI). Der vorliegende Beitrag ist die Publikation der Ergebnisse einer ersten Sondage im Zentrum des Siedlungsareals. Die Schichtenabfolge und die Baubefunde von den ersten Siedlungsphasen im 8. Jh. v. Chr. bis zu den letzten Spuren einer intensiven Besiedlung an der höchsten Stelle des Siedlungsareals in der letzten Hälfte des 2. Jhs. n. Chr., geben gemeinsam mit der vorgelegten Fundkeramik und begleitenden naturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen einen ersten Überblick über die Siedlungs- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte von Henchir Bourgou.The ancient settlement of Henchir Bourgou/Djerba (Tunisia) has been the focus of joint research by the Tunisian Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) since 2017. The article summarizes the results of a first sondage in the centre of the settlement area. The sequence of layers and the building features from the first settlement phases in the 8th century B.C. to the last traces of intensive occupation at the highest point of the settlement area in the last half of the 2nd century A.D., together with the find pottery and accompanying scientific investigations, provide a first overview of the settlement and economic history of Henchir Bourgou

Wool sheep and purple snails - Long‐term continuity of animal exploitation in ancient Meninx (Jerba/Tunisia)

Archaeological research at the ancient city of Meninx in Jerba, Tunisia, carried out by the Institut National du Patrimoine Tunisie and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) produced more than 10,000 faunal specimens and shed light on subsistence activities spanning from the fourth century BCE until the seventh century CE. Despite its highly diverse fauna totalling at least 69 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and molluscs, domestic livestock formed the mainstay of the economy at Meninx. Throughout site occupation and compared with contemporaneous sites in coastal Tunisia and Libya, sheep were of prime importance at Meninx. Diachronic demographic profiling illustrates an emphasis on the production of wool for making textiles. Together with the ubiquitous presence of crushed banded dye‐murex (Hexaplex trunculus) shells implying exploitation of purple dyes, we assume that both activities were integrated into a single chaîne opératoire for making purple‐dyed fabrics that were traded across the Mediterranean from Punic until Late Roman times. Zooarchaeological findings also suggest that during the Byzantine Period, this major economic activity came to a standstill, with people returning to more self‐sufficient subsistence strategies. An intersite comparison furthermore revealed that high proportions of ovicaprines are a typical feature of Punic–Roman sites in Jerba. But even at the height of Roman power in the region, autochthonous husbandry traditions continued to exist on the island, as illustrated by the fauna from Henchir Bourgou

The biometry of prehistoric Alpine sheep: exploring four millennia of human-sheep interaction by means of osteometry

Trixl, Simon (2022): The biometry of prehistoric Alpine sheep: exploring four millennia of human-sheep interaction by means of osteometry. Anthropozoologica 57 (4): 117-139, DOI: 10.5252/anthropozoologica2022v57a

Henchir Bourgou (Djerba), Tunesien. Die Arbeiten der Jahre 2017 bis 2019

The ancient site of Henchir Bourgou (Djerba), Tunisia, is the object of archaeological research conducted jointly by the Tunisian National Heritage Institute, the Ludwigs Maximilians University Munich and the German Archaeological Institute since 2017. The reports presents an overview on the activities in Henchir­ Bourgou done in 2017–2019 and gives an outlook on the potential of the site with its stratigraphy covering more than thousand years of settlement history

Ancient DNA refines taxonomic classification of Roman equids north of the Alps, elaborated with osteomorphology and geometric morphometrics

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The biocultural origins and dispersal of domestic chickens.

SignificanceChickens are the world's most numerous domestic animal. In order to understand when, where, and how they first became associated with human societies, we critically assessed the domestic status of chicken remains described in >600 sites in 89 countries, and evaluated zoogeographic, morphological, osteometric, stratigraphic, contextual, iconographic, and textual data. Although previous studies have made claims for an early origin of chickens, our results suggest that unambiguous chickens were not present until ∼1650 to 1250 BCE in central Thailand. A correlation between early chickens and the first appearance of rice and millet cultivation suggests that the production and storage of these cereals may have acted as a magnet, thus initiating the chicken domestication process