Eastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and Cattle
Abstract 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 fir...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2017-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00701-y |
| _version_ | 1830208397501267968 |
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| author | Meirav Meiri Philipp W. Stockhammer Nimrod Marom Guy Bar-Oz Lidar Sapir-Hen Peggy Morgenstern Stella Macheridis Baruch Rosen Dorothée Huchon Joseph Maran Israel Finkelstein |
| author_facet | Meirav Meiri Philipp W. Stockhammer Nimrod Marom Guy Bar-Oz Lidar Sapir-Hen Peggy Morgenstern Stella Macheridis Baruch Rosen Dorothée Huchon Joseph Maran Israel Finkelstein |
| author_sort | Meirav Meiri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T04:48:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-202acfcd87a341c38d056ec0abb193f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T04:48:42Z |
| publishDate | 2017-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-202acfcd87a341c38d056ec0abb193f02022-12-21T21:20:30ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222017-04-017111010.1038/s41598-017-00701-yEastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and CattleMeirav Meiri0Philipp W. Stockhammer1Nimrod Marom2Guy Bar-Oz3Lidar Sapir-Hen4Peggy Morgenstern5Stella Macheridis6Baruch Rosen7Dorothée Huchon8Joseph Maran9Israel Finkelstein10Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv UniversityInstitute for Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology and Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, Ludwig-Maximilians-University MunichZinman Institute of Archaeology, University of HaifaZinman Institute of Archaeology, University of HaifaInstitute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv UniversityInstitute for Prehistory, Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology, University of HeidelbergDepartment of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund UniversityIsrael Antiquities AuthorityDepartment of Zoology, Tel Aviv UniversityInstitute for Prehistory, Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology, University of HeidelbergInstitute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv UniversityAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00701-y |
| spellingShingle | Meirav Meiri Philipp W. Stockhammer Nimrod Marom Guy Bar-Oz Lidar Sapir-Hen Peggy Morgenstern Stella Macheridis Baruch Rosen Dorothée Huchon Joseph Maran Israel Finkelstein Eastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and Cattle Scientific Reports |
| title | Eastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and Cattle |
| title_full | Eastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and Cattle |
| title_fullStr | Eastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and Cattle |
| title_full_unstemmed | Eastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and Cattle |
| title_short | Eastern Mediterranean Mobility in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages: Inferences from Ancient DNA of Pigs and Cattle |
| title_sort | eastern mediterranean mobility in the bronze and early iron ages inferences from ancient dna of pigs and cattle |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00701-y |
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