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

Alinda. An ancient city with its remains and monumental tombs in Caria

A brief historical and topographical presentation of the Alinda site carried out during an extended archeological study on graveyards. Proposition for a typological classification of these funereal monuments.En introduction brève présentation historique et topographie du site d'Alinda à l'occasion d'une étude archéologique développée des tombes. Proposition pour un classement typologique de ces monuments funéraires.Özkaya Vecihi, San Oya. Alinda. An ancient city with its remains and monumental tombs in Caria. In: Revue des Études Anciennes. Tome 105, 2003, n°1. pp. 103-125

Animal exploitation at Körtik Tepe : An early Aceramic Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey

Abstract: In this paper the first results describing animal exploitation at the early Aceramic Neolithic site of Körtik Tepe, Batman, southeastern Turkey, are presented. The site is characterized by the intensive exploitation of sheep as well as that of red deer, cattle, gazelle, fallow deer, and pig. Metrical data indicate that sheep, the dominant taxa at the site, were morphologically wild and that both rams and ewes were well represented in the adult population. Age data indicate a kill-off focused on individuals between the ages of 1-3 years, which is interpreted to represent the hunting of juvenile rich female herds as well as bachelor herds of rams. This pattern of exploiting primarily young sheep is similar to patterns documented at sites including Hallan Çemi and Cafer and may be a precursor to strategies of herd management in the region. Metrical data for cattle indicate the presence of large, morphologically wild cattle in the upper Tigris basin in the 10 th millennium cal. BC. The faunal remains from Körtik provide valuable information describing the mosaic nature of animal exploitation strategies in southeastern Turkey in the period just prior to the domestication of food animals.Résumé: Sont présentés ici les premiers résultats relatifs à l’exploitation des animaux à Körtik Tepe, Batman, site néolithique acéramique du Sud-Est de la Turquie. Elle est caractérisée par une exploitation intensive des moutons, des boeufs, des gazelles, des cerfs et des daims (Cervus elaphus et Dama sp.) ainsi que des porcs. Les données métriques montrent que les moutons sont sauvages sur le plan morphologique et que mâles et femelles sont bien représentés dans la population adulte. L’âge des restes recueillis atteste d’une mortalité précoce se situant en général entre 1 et 3 ans (80 %); ce que nous pouvons interpréter comme une chasse privilégiant les troupeaux formés de jeunes femelles tout comme ceux composés de jeunes mâles. Ce modèle d’exploitation d’une population jeune est attesté également à Hallan Çemi et à Cafer, et paraît annoncer les stratégies de gestion des troupeaux retenues par la suite dans la région. Dans le bassin supérieur du Tigre, les données métriques concernant les boeufs montrent la présence au 10 e millénaire cal. BC de bovins morphologiquement sauvages. Les restes fauniques recueillis à Körtik Tepe donnent donc une bonne image de la diversité des stratégies d’exploitation des animaux au Sud-Est de la Turquie précédant la domestication du bétail.Arbuckle Benjamin S., Özkaya Vecihi. Animal exploitation at Körtik Tepe : An early Aceramic Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey. In: Paléorient, 2006, vol. 32, n°2. pp. 113-136

Local trend of symbolism at the dawn of the Neolithic: The painted bone plaquettes from PPNA Kortiktepe, Southeast Turkey

The PPNA site of Körtiktepe in the Upper Tigris Basin yielded one of the richest Pre-Pottery Neolithic assemblages in Western Asia. The site also stands among a few key Epipalaeolithic–Neolithic transitional centers that played vital roles in the origin and evolution of Neolithic symbolism in Upper Mesopotamia. The site was occupied from the second half of the 11th millennium BCE, and throughout much of the 10th millennium BCE the sedentary hunter-gatherers at Körtiktepe engaged in a socio-symbolic organization with elaborate funerary practice and extensive manufacture of symbolic artifacts, including figurative plaquettes, engraved stone vessels, incised shaft straighteners with elaborate designs, scepters, and large assemblages of beads, mostly unearthed from c2000 intra-site burials. No other PPN site has yielded such an extensive number of burial remains and grave goods. Here, we present a group of painted bone plaquettes displaying morphological features and some imagery so far not seen at any other Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Western Asia. Assessing the specimens in light of the wider symbolic practices among the first Neolithic societies, we argue that Körtiktepe was an important center of symbolic trend at the dawn of the Neolithic in the Upper Tigris Basin

Adaptions in subsistence strategy to environment changes across the Younger Dryas-Early Holocene boundary at Kortiktepe, Southeastern Turkey

The site of Körtiktepe in southeastern Turkey is one of few sites in the Upper Mesopotamia basin that attests continuous, permanent occupation across the boundary from end of the colder, drier Younger Dryas (YD) into the comparatively wetter and warmer Early Holocene (EH). This allows for the study of the degree of environmental change experienced on a local level over this boundary as well as for the study of the adaptations that the occupants of the site undertook in response to these changes. The mammal assemblage of Körtiktepe remains relatively stable across the YD – EH transition with the main contributors to diet being mouflon (Ovis orientalis) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in approximately the same quantities, although the contribution of aurochs (Bos primigenius) increases in the EH. The most significant changes can be seen in the shift in avifauna remains, with a sharp increase of waterbirds during the EH. It is proposed that these shifts reflect changes in the local environment with an increase in woodland cover as well as expansion of local waterways, which is generally consistent with previously published archaeobotanical studies. In terms of species exploited, mortality profiles as well as size distribution of mammals, a great deal of continuity is observed. This suggests that over this particular period the local impact of the beginning of the Early Holocene was not overly dramatic, allowing for cultural continuity of previously established subsistence strategies

Evidence for early sedentism at Körtik Tepe, southeastern Turkey, during the Younger Dryas

Location: Körtik Tepe, Province Diyarbakır, Southeastern Turkey, at the confluence of the River Tigris and the Batman Creek. Period: Younger Dryas to Early Holocene (10400-9200 BCE) Focus: Archaeological evidence for permanent occupation of the site; conditions favouring early sedentism at the intersection of two ecological regimes: the riverine environments and the steppe/tree-steppe mountain ranges of the hinterland; ecological and socio-economic impact of sedentism and of climatic changes from the Younger Dryas to the Early Holocene; interpretation of burial customs comparing evidence of daily practices and emerging differentiation in burial rituals. Methods: Archaeobotany, stable isotope analyses, modelling of radiocarbon sequences; holistic approac

Methodological Implications of New Radiocarbon Dates from the Early Holocene Site of Körtik Tepe, Southeast Anatolia

One of the greatest challenges of contemporary archaeology is to synthesize the large amount of radiocarbon and archaeological data into a useful dialogue. For the late Epipaleolithic and the Early Neolithic of the Near East, many 14C ages have been published without precise stratigraphic documentation. Consequently, for archaeological age models we often must use some more elementary approaches, such as probabilistic summation of calibrated ages. The stratigraphy of Körtik Tepe allows us for the first time to study an extended series of 14C ages of the earliest Holocene. In particular, we are able to analyze the data according to stratigraphic position within a well-documented profile. However, because of a plateau in the 14C age calibration curve at the transition from the Younger Dryas to the Early Holocene, dates of this period can be interpreted only if an extended sequence of dates is available. Due to problems remaining in the calibration procedure, the best way to achieve an interpretation is to compare the results of different 14C calibration software. In the present paper, we use the results of the calibration programs OxCal and CalPal. This approach has important implications for future age modeling, in particular for the question of how to date the transition from the Epipaleolithic to the PPNA precisely and accurately.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Prelude to village life. Environmental data and building traditions of the Epipalaeolithic settlement at Körtik Tepe, Southeastern Turkey

Recent archaeological discoveries, refinements in genetic analyses and the archaeobotanical data require a reconsideration of the nature of the emergence of sedentary farming communities in Southeastern Turkey. In the rescue excavations prompted by the Batman and Ilısu dam projects several Early Holocene sites were discovered. For the first time, new data from Körtik Tepe now provide detailed evidence of a local Epipalaeolithic origin for these permanent settlements. In this article we summarize the results and analyses of the 2010-2012 excavations as well as palaeopedological and archaeobotanical data of the Younger Dryas layers at Körtik Tepe. Human isotope studies and the archaeological data suggest a permanent occupation of the site and might point to a local primordial adoption of a sedentary lifestyle in this region as early as the 11th millennium BC.De nouvelles découvertes archéologiques et le développement des analyses génétiques et archéobotaniques nous amènent à préciser la nature de l’émergence des communautés sédentaires agricoles en Anatolie du Sud-Est. Les fouilles de sauvetage effectuées dans le cadre de la construction des barrages de Batman et d’Ilısu ont conduit à la découverte de plusieurs sites de l’Holocène ancien dans la haute vallée du Tigre. Pour la première fois, de nouvelles données en provenance de Körtik Tepe fournissent des indices précis pour attribuer une origine locale de l’épipaléolithique à ces habitats permanents. Cet article présente de manière synthétique les résultats des campagnes de fouilles 2010-2012 et des analyses paléopédologiques et archéobotanique des niveaux du Dryas récent de Körtik Tepe. Les analyses isotopiques sur les os humains et les données archéologiques suggèrent une occupation permanente du site qui permet d’envisager qu’un mode de vie sédentaire a été adopté dans cette région dès le 11e millénaire avant notre ère.Benz Marion, Deckers Katleen, Rössner Corinna, Alexandrovskiy Alexander, Pustovoytov Konstantin, Scheeres Mirjam, Fecher Marc, Coşkun Aytaç, Riehl Simone, Alt Kurt W., Özkaya Vecihi. Prelude to village life. Environmental data and building traditions of the Epipalaeolithic settlement at Körtik Tepe, Southeastern Turkey. In: Paléorient, 2015, vol. 41, n°2. pp. 9-30