Wim Van Neer

THE CONTINUOUS EXPLOITATION OF WILD ANIMAL RESOURCES IN THE ARCHAEOZOOLOGICAL RECORD OF GHANA

The paper provides a critical review of the archaeozoological information from Ghanaian sites published up to now and summarizes the new faunal analysis of several Gonja and Asante sites. The data suggest the persistence of the use of the various wild animal resources available and limited reliance on domestic animals since late prehistoric times up to today, although certain resources such as molluscs, insects etc. may have limited or no visibility. Intensive utilisation of edible wild resources may be prevalent in African woodlands.

Hunting, gathering, fishing and herding: Animal exploitation in Sandy Flanders (NW Belgium) during the second half of the fifth millennium BC

Abstract At Doel, in the lower basin of the river Scheldt, excavations have revealed camp sites of the Swifterbant culture dating back to the second half of the fifth millennium BC. They document the transition period from the Late Mesolithic to the Early Neolithic in Sandy Flanders (NW Belgium). The sites were situated on the top of sandy ridges which were covered with an alluvial hardwood forest vegetation and surrounded by wetlands. Only burnt animal remains survived at the sites, illustrating (seasonal) fishing and hunting. In addition, botanical evidence indicates the herding of domestic mammals. The finds are of importance for the reconstruction of the chronological development of the food economy of the Swifterbant culture.

Inter- and intraspecies variability in stable isotope ratio values of archaeological freshwater fish remains from Switzerland (11th–19th centuries AD)

This paper presents carbon and nitrogen isotopic results from several Swiss freshwater fish (Esox lucius, Perca fluviatilis, Barbus barbus, Rutilus rutilus and other Cyprinidae) in order to provide information about their trophic level, feeding habits and provenance. Freshwater fish remains are regularly recovered from archaeological contexts in Switzerland, which attests to the importance of these aquatic food resources to past communities. However, it can be difficult to determine the effect of freshwater fish consumption in human bone isotope signatures by stable isotope ratio analysis. Therefore, an establishment of baseline isotope signatures of freshwater fish by region and time is necessary. Additionally, freshwater fish isotope analysis can serve as a backdrop for research on former aquatic isotopic ecology. We measured carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of 140 freshwater fish bone samples from sites dating between the 11th and 19th centuries AD. Suitable C:N ratios (2·9–3·6) were obtained from 56 of the samples, a rather low success rate that may be the result of diagenetic contamination and insufficient sample weight (<20u2005mg). A high inter- and intraspecies variability of freshwater fish isotope signature was observed. The δ15N results indicate a size and age-related trophic level effect. Heterogeneous carbon isotope signatures from samples from the same site could indicate spatial variation in isotope values within a single ecosystem or alternatively represent the use of different fishing grounds.

Animal dung from arid environments and archaeobotanical methodologies for its analysis: An example from animal burials of the Predynastic elite cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis, Egypt

Abstract Bioarchaeological studies of animal dung from arid environments provide valuable information on various aspects of life in ancient societies relating to land use and environmental change, and from the Neolithic onwards to the animal husbandry and the use of animals as markers of status and wealth. In this study we present the archaeobotanical analysis of animal gut contents from burials in the elite Predynastic cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt. The study involved analysis of plant macrofossils, phytoliths and pollen applied on samples from two elephants, a hartebeest, an aurochs and five domestic cattle. The study showed that most probably the elephants were given fodder containing emmer spikelets (dehusking by-products) before the animals death. Most of the other animals were also foddered with cereal chaff, but were mainly allowed to browse and graze in the settlement area and near the Nile. The diet of some contained only wild growing plants. The variety of plant remains identified in the stomach contents indicates that the food plants for the animals were obtained from three possible habitats near the site: the river banks, the low desert and the cultivated/anthropogenically modified areas.

Of cats and men: the paleogenetic history of the dispersal of cats in the ancient world

The origin and dispersal of the domestic cat remain elusive despite its importance to human societies around the world. Archaeological evidence for domestication centers in the Near East and in Egypt is contested, and genetic data on modern cats show that Felis silvestris lybica, the subspecies of wild cat inhabiting at present the Near East and Northern Africa, is the only ancestor of the domestic cat. Here we provide the first broad geographic and chronological dataset of ancient cat mtDNA sequences, drawing on archaeological specimens from across western Eurasia and northern and eastern Africa, dating from throughout the Holocene and spanning ~9,000 years. We characterized the ancient phylogeography of F. s. lybica, showing that it expanded up to southeastern Europe prior to the Neolithic, and reconstructed the subsequent movements that profoundly transformed its distribution and shaped its early cultural history. We found that maternal lineages from both the Near East and Egypt contributed to the gene pool of the domestic cat at different historical times, with the Near Eastern population providing the first major contribution during the Neolithic and the Egyptian cat spreading efficiently across the Old World during the Classical period. This expansion pattern and range suggest dispersal along maritime and terrestrial routes of trade and connectivity. Late trait selection is suggested by the first occurrence in our dataset of the major allele for blotched-tabby body marking not earlier than during the Late Middle Ages. Significance The cat has long been important to human societies as a pest-control agent, object of symbolic value, and companion animal, but little is known about its domestication process and early anthropogenic dispersal. Our DNA analyses of geographically and temporally widespread archaeological cat remains show that while the cat’s world-wide conquest began in prehistoric times, when tamed cats accompanied humans on their journeys over land and sea, it gained momentum during the Classical period, when the Egyptian cat successfully spread throughout the ancient world. The appearance of a new coat pattern at the end of the Middle Ages suggests late breeding control that might explain the semi-domestic status of the cat. This distinguishes the domestication process of cats from that of most other domesticates.