Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-8wtlm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-19T20:14:39.426Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

84 - The Beginning of Animal Domestication and Husbandry in Southwest Asia

from Part VI: - Humans in the Levant

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2017

By
Jean-Denis Vigne ,
Lionel Gourichon ,
Daniel Helmer ,
Louise Martin  and
Joris Peters
Edited by
Yehouda Enzel  and
Ofer Bar-Yosef
Yehouda Enzel
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ofer Bar-Yosef
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Get access

Summary

The numerous new excavations and archaeozoological analyses of Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) sites in the Levant during the last 15 years shed new light on the domestication and early husbandry of animals. This chapter provides a synthetic update of the dates and locations of the early domestication of dog, cat, pig, sheep, goat and cattle, and of their utilisation by PPN societies. It also briefly discusses patterns and processes, with special attention to the commensalism and controlled hunting. Based on the data presented, the authors discuss different mechanisms and possible reasons behind early animal domestications in the Levant, as well as the role of animal domestication in the Neolithic transition.

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Quaternary of the Levant
Environments, Climate Change, and Humans
 , pp. 753 - 760
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2017

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Arbuckle, B.S. 2005. Experimental animal domestication and its application to the study of animal exploitation in prehistory. In The First Steps of Animal Domestication, ed. Vigne, J.-D., Peters, J. & Helmer, D.. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 18–33.Google Scholar
Arbuckle, B.S. 2014. Pace and process in the emergence of animal husbandry in Neolithic southwest Asia. Bioarchaeology of the Near East 8: 53–81.Google Scholar
Arbuckle, B.S. & Özkaya, V. 2007. Animal exploitation at Körtik Tepe: An early aceramic Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey. Paléorient 32: 198–211.Google Scholar
Atici, L. 2011. Implication of age structures for Epipaleolithic hunting strategies in the western Taurus Mountains, southwest Turkey. Anthropozoologica 44: 13–39.10.5252/az2009n1a1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bollongino, R. & Vigne, J.-D. 2008. Temperature monitoring in archaeo-logical animal bone samples in the Near East arid area, before, during and after excavation. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 873–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bollongino, R., Burger, J., Powell, A. et al. 2012. Modern taurine cattle descended from small number of Near-Eastern founders. Molecular Biology and Evolution 29: 2101–4.10.1093/molbev/mss092CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boudadi-Maligne, M., Mallye, J.-B., Langlais, M. & Barshay-Szmidt, C. 2012. Magdalenian dog remains from Le Morin rock-shelter (Gironde, France). Socio-economic implications of a zootechnical innovation. Paleo 23: 39–54.Google Scholar
Boudadi-Maligne, M. & Escarguel, G. 2014. A biometric re-evaluation of recent claims for early Upper Palaeolithic wolf domestication in Eurasia. Journal of Archaeological Science 45: 80–9.10.1016/j.jas.2014.02.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chessa, B., Pereira, F., Arnaud, F. et al. 2009. Revealing the history of sheep domestication using retrovirus integrations. Science 324: 532–6.10.1126/science.1170587CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clutton-Brock, J. 1979. The mammalian remains from the Jericho tell. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 45: 135–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conolly, J., Colledge, S., Dobney, K. et al. 2011. Meta-analysis of zoo-archaeological data from SW Asia and SE Europe provides insight into the origins and spread of animal husbandry. Journal of Archaeo-logical Science 38: 538–45.Google Scholar
Davis, S.J.M. 1989. Some more animal remains from the aceramic Neolithic of Cyprus. In Fouilles récentes à Khirokitia (Chypre) 1983–1986, ed. Le Brun, A.. Paris: ADPF, Édition Recherches sur les Civilisations, pp. 189–221.Google Scholar
Davis, S.J.M. & Valla, F.R. 1978. Evidence for domestication of the dog 12,000 years ago in the Natufian of Israel. Nature 276: 608–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ducos, P. 1993. Some remarks about Ovis, Capra and Gazella remains from two PPNB sites from Damascene, Syria, Tell Aswad and Ghoraife. In Proceedings of the Archaeozoology of the Near East and Adjacent Areas, ed. Buitenhuis, H. & Clason, A.T.. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers, pp. 37–45.Google Scholar
Ervynck, A., Dobney, K., Hongo, H. & Meadow, R.H. 2001. Born free? New evidence for the status of Sus scrofa at Neolithic Cayönü Tepesi (southeastern Anatolia, Turkey). Paléorient 27: 47–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evin, A., Cucchi, T., Cardini, A. et al. 2013. The long and winding road: Identifying pig domestication through molar size and shape. Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 735–43.10.1016/j.jas.2012.08.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuller, D.Q., Willcox, G. & Allaby, R.G. 2011. Cultivation and domestication had multiple origins: Arguments against the core area hypothesis for the origins of agriculture in the Near East. World Archaeology 43: 628–52.10.1080/00438243.2011.624747CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garrard, A., Pirie, A., Schroeder, B. & Wasse, A. 2001. Survey of Nachcharini Cave and prehistoric settlement in the northern Anti-Lebanon Highland. Bulletin d'Archéologie et d'Architecture Libanaises 7: 15–48.Google Scholar
Gourichon, L. & Helmer, D. 2008. Etude archéozoologique de Mureybet. In Le Site neolithique de Tell Mureybet (Syrie du Nord), ed. Ibáñez, J.J.. BAR International Series, 1843(1). Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 115–228.Google Scholar
Haber, A. & Dayan, T. 2004. Analyzing the process of domestication: Hagoshrim as a case study. Journal of Archaeological Science 31: 1587–601.10.1016/j.jas.2004.04.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, D.R. (ed.) 1996. The Origins and Spread of Agriculture and Pastoralism in Eurasia. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institute Press.Google Scholar
Helmer, D. 1992. La Domestication des animaux par les hommes préhistoriques. Paris: Masson.Google Scholar
Helmer, D. 2008. Révision de la faune de Cafer Höyük (Malatya, Turquie): Apports des méthodes de l'analyse des mélanges et de l'analyse de Kernel à la mise en évidence de la domestication. In Archaeozoology of the Near East VIII, ed. Vila, E., Gourichon, L., Choyke, A. & Buitenhuis, H.. Lyon: Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen, pp. 169–95.Google Scholar
Helmer, D. & Gourichon, L. 2008. Premières données sur les modalités de subsistance à Tell Aswad (Syrie, PPNB moyen et récent, néolithique céramique ancien) – Fouilles 2001–2005. Archaeozoology of the Near East 8: 119–51.Google Scholar
Helmer, D., Gourichon, L., Monchot, H., Peters, J. & Sana Segui, M. 2005. Identifying early domestic cattle from Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites on the Euphrates using sexual dimorphism. In The First Steps of Animal Domestication, ed. Vigne, J.-D., Peters, J., Helmer, D.. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 86–95.Google Scholar
Helmer, D., Gourichon, L. & Vila, E. 2007. The development of the exploit-ation of products from Capra and Ovis (meat, milk and fleece) from the PPNB to the Early Bronze in the northern Near East (8700 to 2000 BC cal.). Anthropozoologica 42: 41–69.Google Scholar
Hongo, H., Meadow, R.H., Öksuz, B. & Ilgezdi, G.L.I. 2005. Sheep and goat remains from Cayönü tepesi, southeastern Anatolia. In Archaeo-zoology of the Near East IV, ed. Buitenhuis, H., Choyke, A., Martin, L., Bartosiewicz, L. & Mashkour, M.. Groningen: ARC Publication 123, pp. 112–23.Google Scholar
Hongo, H., Pearson, J., Öksüz, B. & Ilgezdi, G. 2009. The process of ungulate domestication at Çayönü, southeastern Turkey: A multidisciplinary approach focusing on Bos sp. and Cervus elaphus. An-thropozoologica 44: 63–78.Google Scholar
Horwitz, L.K., Tchernov, E., Ducos, P. et al. 1999. Animal domestication in the southern Levant. Paléorient 25: 63–80.10.3406/paleo.1999.4687CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson, G. & Burger, J. 2014. A population genetics view of animal domestication. Trends in Genetics 29: 197–205.10.1016/j.tig.2013.01.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson, G., Karlsson, E.K., Perri, A. et al. 2012. Rethinking dog domestic-ation by integrating genetics, archaeology, and biogeography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 109: 8878–83.10.1073/pnas.1203005109CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lasota-Moskalewska, A. 1994. Animal remains from Nemrik, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Iraq. In Nemrik 9, Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site in Iraq, Vol. 4: Animal Remains. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, pp. 5–52.Google Scholar
Legge, A.J. & Rowley-Conwy, P. 2000. The exploitation of animals. In Village on the Euphrates, from Foraging to Farming at Abu Hureyra, ed. Moore, A.M.T., Hillman, G.C. & Legge, A.J.. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 475–525.Google Scholar
Lösch, S., Grupe, G. & Peters, J. 2006. Stable isotopes and dietary adaptations in humans and animals at Pre-Pottery Neolithic Nevali Çori, southeast Anatolia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 131: 181–93.10.1002/ajpa.20395CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, L. 1999. Mammal remains from the eastern Jordanian Neolithic, and the nature of caprine herding in the steppe. Paléorient 25: 87–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, L.A. & Edwards, Y. 2013. Diverse strategies: Evaluating the appearance and spread of domestic caprines in the southern Levant. In The Origins and Spread of Domestic Animals in Southwest Asia and Europe, ed. College, S., Conolly, J., Dobney, K., Manning, K. & Shennan, S.. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, pp. 49–82.Google Scholar
Meadow, R.H. 1999. The use of size index scaling techniques for research on archaeozoological collections from the Middle East. Internationale Archaologie 8: 285–300.Google Scholar
Monchot, H., Mashkour, M. & Vigne, J.-D. 2005. New statistical approach for the study of Neolithic and Modern faunal assemblage. In The First Steps of Animal Domestication, ed. Vigne, J.-D., Peters, J. & Helmer, D.. Oxford: Oxbow books, pp. 55–60.Google Scholar
Naderi, S., Rezaei, H.-R., Pompanon, F. et al. 2008. The goat domestication process inferred from large-scale mitochondrial DNA ana-lysis of wild and domestic individuals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 105: 17659–64.10.1073/pnas.0804782105CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Napierala, H. & Uerpmann, H.-P. 2012. A ‘new’ Palaeolithic dog from central Europe. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 22: 127–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ottoni, C., Flink, L.G., Evin, A. et al. 2013. Pig domestication and human-mediated dispersal in western Eurasia revealed through ancient DNA and geometric morphometrics. Molecular Biology and Evolution 30: 824–32.10.1093/molbev/mss261CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peters, J., von den Driesch, A. & Helmer, D. 2005. The upper Euphrates–Tigris basin: Cradle of agro-pastoralism. In The First Steps of Animal Domestication, ed. Vigne, J.-D., Peters, J. & Helmer, D.. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 96–124.Google Scholar
Peters, J., Buitenuis, H., Grupe, G., Schmidt, K. & Pöllah, N. 2013. The long and winding road; ungulates exploitation and domestication in Early Neolithic Anatolia (10 000–7000 cal BC). In The Origins and Spread of Domestic Animals in Southwest Asia and Europe, ed. College, S., Conolly, J., Dobney, K., Manning, K. & Shennan, S.. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, pp. 83–114.Google Scholar
Peters, J., Arbuckle, B. & Pöllath, N. 2014. Subsistence and beyond: Animals in Neolithic Anatolia. In The Neolithic in Turkey, Vol. 6. ed. Özdoğan, M., Başgelen, N. & Kuniholm, P.. Istanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları, pp. 135–203.Google Scholar
Pionnier-Capitan, M., Bemilli, C., Bodu, P. et al. 2011. New evidence for Upper Palaeolithic small domestic dogs in south western Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science 38: 2123–40.10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.028CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, T.D. & Bar-Yosef, O. (ed.) 2011. The origins of agriculture: New data, new ideas. Current Anthropology 52(S4).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redding, R. 2005. Breaking the mold: A consideration of variation in the evolution of animal domestication. In The First Steps of Animal Domestication, ed. Vigne, J.-D., Peters, J. & Helmer, D.. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 41–8.Google Scholar
Redding, R., Rosenberg, M., Nesbitt, R. & Peasnall, B.L. 1998. Hallan Çemi, pig husbandry, and post-Pleistocene adaptations along the Taurus–Zagros arc (Turkey). Paléorient 24: 25–41.Google Scholar
Reed, C.A. 1959. Animal domestication in the prehistoric Near East. Science 130: 1629–39.10.1126/science.130.3389.1629CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, N., Martin, L. & Buitenhuis, H. 2005. Cattle domestication at Çatalhöyük revisited. Current Anthropology 46: S101–S108.10.1086/497664CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saña Segui, M. 1999. Arqueologia de la domesticacion animal. La gestion de los recursos animals en Tell halula (Valle del Eufrates-Siria) del 8 800 al 7 000 BP. Treballs d'Arqueologia del Proxim Orient 1. Barcelona: Departament d'Antopologia Social i Prehistoria.Google Scholar
Saña Segui, M. & Tornero, C. 2008. Consumption of animal resources at the sites of Akarçay Tepe and Tell Halula. In Archaeozoology of the Near East VIII, ed. Vila, E., Gourichon, L., Choyke, A. & Buitenhuis, H.. Lyon: Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen, pp. 153–67.Google Scholar
Starkovich, B.M. & Stiner, M.C. 2009. Hallan Çemi Tepesi: High-ranked game exploitation alongside intensive seed processing at the Epipaleolithic–Neolithic transition in southeast Turkey. Anthropozoologica 44: 41–61.10.5252/az2009n1a2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stiner, M.C., Buitenhuis, H., Duru, G. et al. 2014. A forager–herder trade off, from broad-spectrum hunting to sheep management at Aşıklı Höyük, Turkey. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 111: 8404–9.10.1073/pnas.1322723111CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tchernov, E. & Valla, F. 1997. Two new dogs, and other Natufian dogs, from the southern Levant. Journal of Archaeological Science 24: 65–95.10.1006/jasc.1995.0096CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turnbull, P.F. & Reed, C.A. 1974. The Fauna from the Terminal Pleistocene of Palegawra Cave: A Zarzian Occupation Site in Northeastern Iraq. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History.Google Scholar
Uerpmann, H.-P. 1979. Probleme der Neolithisierung des Mittelmeerraums. Weisbaden: Dr Ludwig Reichert Verlag.Google Scholar
Uerpmann, H.-P. 1987. The Ancient Distribution of Ungulate Mammals in the Middle East. Wiesbaden: Dr Ludwig Reichert Verlag.Google Scholar
Van Neer, W., Linseele, V., Friedman, R. & De Cupere, B. 2014. More evidence for cat taming at the Predynastic elite cemetery of Hierakonpolis (Upper Egypt). Journal of Archaeological Science 45: 103–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. 2008. Zooarchaeological aspects of the Neolithic diet transition in the Near East and Europe, and their putative relationships with the Neolithic demographic transition. In The Neolithic Demographic Transition and its Consequences, ed. Bocquet Appel, J.-P. & Bar-Yosef, O.. New York: Springer Verlag, pp. 179–205.10.1007/978-1-4020-8539-0_8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. 2011a. The origins of animal domestication and husbandry: A major change in the history of humanity and the biosphere. Comptes Rendus Biologies 334: 171–81.10.1016/j.crvi.2010.12.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. 2011b. Les suinés (Sus scrofa). In Shillourokambos. Un établissement néolithique pré-céramique à Chypre. Les fouilles du Secteur 1, ed. Guilaine, J., Briois, F. & Vigne, J.-D.. Paris: Errance/ Ecole Française d'Athènes, pp. 919–69.Google Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. 2011c. Les bovins (Bos taurus). In Shillourokambos. Un établissement néolithique pré-céramique à Chypre. Les fouilles du Secteur 1, ed. Guilaine, J., Briois, F. & Vigne, J.-D.. Paris: Errance/ Ecole Française d'Athènes, pp. 1059–73.Google Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. 2013. Domestication process and domestic ungulates: New observations from Cyprus. In The Origins and Spread of Domestic Animals in Southwest Asia and Europe, ed. College, S., Conolly, J., Dobney, K., Manning, K. & Shennan, S.. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, pp. 115–28.Google Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. 2014. Cat: Domestication. In Encyclopaedia of Global Archaeology, Vol. 2, ed. Smith, C.. New York: Springer, pp. 1175–7.Google Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. in press. Archaeozoological techniques and protocols for elaborating scenarios of early colonisation and neolithisation of Cyprus. In Oxford Handbook of Archaeology: Archaeozoology, ed. Albarella, U, Russ, H, Vickers, K & Viner, S. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. & Guilaine, J. 2004. Les premiers animaux de compagnie 8500 ans avant notre ère?… ou comment j'ai mangé mon chat, mon chien et mon renard. Anthropozoologica 39: 249–73.Google Scholar
Vigne, J.-D. & Helmer, D. 2007. Was milk a ‘secondary product’ in the Old World Neolithisation process? Its role in the domestication of cattle, sheep and goats. Anthropozoologica 42: 9–40.Google Scholar
Vigne, J.-D., Guilaine, J., Debue, K., Haye, L. & Gérard, P. 2004. Early taming of the cat in Cyprus. Science 304: 259.10.1126/science.1095335CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vigne, J.-D., Zazzo, A., Saliège, J.-F. et al. 2009. Pre-Neolithic wild boar management and introduction to Cyprus more than 11,400 years ago. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 106: 16131–8.10.1073/pnas.0905015106CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vigne, J.-D., Carrère, I., Briois, F. & Guilaine, J. 2011. The early process of the mammal domestication in the Near East: new evidence from the Pre-Neolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Cyprus. Current Anthropology S52: S255–S271.10.1086/659306CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vigne, J.-D., Briois, F., Zazzo, A. et al. 2012. The first wave of cultivators spread to Cyprus earlier than 10,600 years ago. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 109: 8445–9.10.1073/pnas.1201693109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vigne, J.-D., Daujat, J. & Monchot, H. 2015. First introduction and early exploitation of the Persian fallow deer on Cyprus (8,000–6,000 cal. BC). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, DOI: 10.1002/oa.2488.Google Scholar
Vila, E. 1998. L'Exploitation des animaux en Mésopotamie aux IVe et IIIe millénaires avant J.-C. Monographies du CRA 21. Paris: CNRS.Google Scholar
Wasse, A. 2002. Final results of an analysis of the sheep and goat bones from Ain Ghazal, Jordan. Levant 34: 59–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeder, M.A. 2005. A view from the Zagros: New perspectives on the livestock domestication in the Fertile Crescent. In The First Steps of Animal Domestication, ed. Vigne, J.-D., Peters, J. & Helmer, D.. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 125–46.Google Scholar
Zeder, M.A. 2008. Domestication and early agriculture in the Mediterranean Basin: Origins, diffusion and impact. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 105: 11597–604.10.1073/pnas.0801317105CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zeder, M. 2012. Pathways to animal domestication. In Biodiversity in Agriculture: Domestication, Evolution, and Sustainability, ed. Gepts, P., Famula, T.R. & Bettinger, R.L.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 227–59.Google Scholar
Zeuner, F.E. 1963. A History of Domesticated Animals. London: Hutchinson.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this chapter is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×