Mitochondrial DNA of domesticated sheep confirms pastoralist component of Afanasievo subsistence economy in the Altai Mountains (3300–2900 cal BC)

The initial spread of pastoralist subsistence to Inner Asia remains poorly defined due in part to limited research on settlement sites dating to the Eneolithic period (ca. 3600–2900 cal BC) in the Altai Mountains. The emergence of the Afanasievo culture in the Altai Mountains appears to have coincided with the arrival of domesticated sheep, goats, and cattle. However, Afanasievo sites also contain wild counterparts of these domesticated livestock species, which calls into question previous faunal identifications between analysts. We analyzed sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of faunal skeletal remains from the Afanasievo settlement site Nizhnyaya Sooru to test for the presence of domesticated sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus). Five out of five analyzed tooth specimens were identified as Ovis aries, and radiocarbon determinations taken from two of these date to ca. 3300–2900 cal BC. This research provides an important chronological point of reference for the earliest spread of Near Eastern domesticated animals to Inner Asia.