TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of domesticated pigs by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in northwestern Europe
AU - Krause-Kyora, Ben
AU - Makarewicz, Cheryl
AU - Evin, Allowen
AU - Flink, Linus Girdland
AU - Dobney, Keith
AU - Larson, Greger
AU - Hartz, Sönke
AU - Schreiber, Stefan
AU - Von Carnap-Bornheim, Claus
AU - Wurmb-Schwark, Nicolevon
AU - Nebel, Almut
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Mesolithic populations throughout Europe used diverse resource exploitation strategies that focused heavily on collecting and hunting wild prey. Between 5500 and 4200 cal BC, agriculturalists migrated into northwestern Europe bringing a suite of Neolithic technologies including domesticated animals. Here we investigate to what extent Mesolithic Ertebølle communities in northern Germany had access to domestic pigs, possibly through contact with neighbouring Neolithic agricultural groups. We employ a multidisciplinary approach, applying sequencing of ancient mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (coat colour-coding gene MC1R) as well as traditional and geometric morphometric (molar size and shape) analyses in Sus specimens from 17 Neolithic and Ertebølle sites. Our data from 63 ancient pig specimens show that Ertebølle hunter-gatherers acquired domestic pigs of varying size and coat colour that had both Near Eastern and European mitochondrial DNA ancestry. Our results also reveal that domestic pigs were present in the region ∼500 years earlier than previously demonstrated.
AB - Mesolithic populations throughout Europe used diverse resource exploitation strategies that focused heavily on collecting and hunting wild prey. Between 5500 and 4200 cal BC, agriculturalists migrated into northwestern Europe bringing a suite of Neolithic technologies including domesticated animals. Here we investigate to what extent Mesolithic Ertebølle communities in northern Germany had access to domestic pigs, possibly through contact with neighbouring Neolithic agricultural groups. We employ a multidisciplinary approach, applying sequencing of ancient mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (coat colour-coding gene MC1R) as well as traditional and geometric morphometric (molar size and shape) analyses in Sus specimens from 17 Neolithic and Ertebølle sites. Our data from 63 ancient pig specimens show that Ertebølle hunter-gatherers acquired domestic pigs of varying size and coat colour that had both Near Eastern and European mitochondrial DNA ancestry. Our results also reveal that domestic pigs were present in the region ∼500 years earlier than previously demonstrated.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84891404948&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/ncomms3348
DO - 10.1038/ncomms3348
M3 - Article
C2 - 23982268
AN - SCOPUS:84891404948
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 4
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 2348
ER -