Une histoire de l'élevage : les animaux et l'Archéologie

Ouvrage de vulgarisation

Les restes de mammifères de la cour Napoléon du Louvre (Paris) du XIVe au XVIIIe siècle.

International audience

Spatial and temporal disparities in human subsistence in the Neolithic Rhineland gateway

International audience; The Alsace region bordering the Rhine River was extensively occupied during the Neolithic by farming societies with domesticated animal. The first settlers were two sub-groups of the Linearbandkeramik who appeared to diverge in several respects, including: pottery styles, house orientations and funerary rituals. To explore whether this was reflected in food procurement practices investigations were performed of organic residues in nearly 900 pottery vessels from sites across the region. The results reveal lipid biomarker and stable carbon evidence for exploitation of plant and bee products, and most significantly, extensive domestic animal products including: non-rum…

Correction for Frantz et al., Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe

Significance Archaeological evidence indicates that domestic pigs arrived in Europe, alongside farmers from the Near East ∼8,500 y ago, yet mitochondrial genomes of modern European pigs are derived from European wild boars. To address this conundrum, we obtained mitochondrial and nuclear data from modern and ancient Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses indicate that, aside from a coat color gene, most Near Eastern ancestry in the genomes of European domestic pigs disappeared over 3,000 y as a result of interbreeding with local wild boars. This implies that pigs were not domesticated independently in Europe, yet the first 2,500 y of human-mediated selection applied by Near Eastern Ne…

Référentiel de bovins de Camargue : Etat d’avancement de l’étude et application aux bovins du site néolithique ancien de Vaihingen-an-der Enz (Bade-Würtemberg)

Référentiel de bovins de Camargue : Etat d’avancement de l’étude et application aux bovins du site néolithique ancien de Vaihingen-an-der Enz (Bade-Würtemberg)

Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe

International audience; Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ∼8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local Euro-pean wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hyp…

Ancient European dog genomes reveal continuity since the Early Neolithic

Europe has played a major role in dog evolution, harbouring the oldest uncontested Palaeolithic remains and having been the centre of modern dog breed creation. Here we sequence the genomes of an Early and End Neolithic dog from Germany, including a sample associated with an early European farming community. Both dogs demonstrate continuity with each other and predominantly share ancestry with modern European dogs, contradicting a previously suggested Late Neolithic population replacement. We find no genetic evidence to support the recent hypothesis proposing dual origins of dog domestication. By calibrating the mutation rate using our oldest dog, we narrow the timing of dog domestication t…

L'habitat néolithique récent de Geispolsheim "Forlen" (Bas-Rhin) : contribution à la périodisation de la culture de Munzingen et à l'étude de ses relations avec les cultures du Plateau suisse et du lac de Constance

The recent Neolithic site of Forlen in Geispolsheim, attributed to the recent Munzingen, has yielded a series of enclosures containing ceramic forms unprecedented in the context of Munzingen B. We have detected the influence of late productions by the Pfyn culture and propose the identification of a new stage in the recent Munzingen, which we have unoriginally named Munzingen C, and is typified by the appearance of ceramic forms with rounded profiles. This episode may date from around 3650-3550 BC, a late dating that has been confirmed by two carbon 14 tests. The discovery allows a strong claim to be made that ancient trading networks that linked the Rhine Valley with the Swiss Plateau and …

Prediction Models for Age-at-Death Estimates for Calves, Using Unfused Epiphyses and Diaphyses

For cattle (Bos taurus), age estimations using dental criteria before the eruption of the first molar (3-8months) have large error margins. This hampers archaeozoological investigation into perinatal mortality or the putative slaughtering of very young calves for milk exploitation. Previous ageing methods for subjuveniles have focused on the length of unfused bones, but it is rarely possible to use them because they are restricted to foetuses and because of the fragmentation of bones. This paper presents new age prediction models based on length, breadth and depth of post cranial bones produced from a dataset of modern calves (n=27). This reference collection was compiled from material of k…

Obernai (Bas-Rhin), Parc d'activités économiques intercommunal : 6000 ans d'Histoire au pied du Mont Sainte-Odile

Neolithic enclosures with pseudo-ditches

The recent discovery of seven Neolithic sites in the Alsace Plain with “Rosheim” enclosures has renewed the interpretation of these extensive complexes dated to the 5th millennium BC. This very particular type of enclosure, whose eponymous site is located about twenty kilometres from Strasbourg, is made up of discontinuous ditches, following a pre-established layout, which are progressively filled in. New analysis of these monuments is accompanied by a reflection on their function (ceremonial or defensive), enabling us to provide a coherent account of the origin and important geographical extension of these enclosures, which are found in numerous cultural groups over more than two millennia…

Berstett, Langenberg, A355 - contournement ouest de Strasbourg site 5.6 ; occupations du Néolithique récent, de l’âge du Bronze et du second âge du Fer

La fouille de Berstett Langenberg a permis la mise au jour, sur une surface de près de 2 ha, de plusieurs occupations successives, dont les datations s’échelonnent du Néolithique récent à La Tène finale, ainsi que quelques structures agricoles contemporaines.Deux pôles distincts du Néolithique récent ont été fouillés : au nord-est, une dizaine de fosses trahit une occupation du Michelsberg. L’ensemble des phases de cette période sont représentées. À une centaine de mètres à l’ouest, une douzaine de silos ont livré du mobilier Munzingen. Un dépôt de trois porcelets a été mis au jour dans l’une de ces fosses. Enfin, deux autres structures ont été rattachées au Néolithique sur la foi de datati…