Papers by Benjamin Arbuckle
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2016
In this paper we address the timing of and mechanisms for the appearance of domestic cattle in th... more In this paper we address the timing of and mechanisms for the appearance of domestic cattle in the Eastern Fertile Crescent (EFC) region of SW Asia through the analysis of new and previously published species abundance and biometric data from 86 archaeofaunal assemblages. We find that Bos exploitation was a minor component of animal economies in the EFC in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene but increased dramatically in the sixth millennium BC. Moreover, biometric data indicate that small-sized Bos, likely representing domesticates, appear suddenly in the region without any transitional forms in the early to mid sixth millennium BC. This suggests that domestic cattle were imported into the EFC, possibly associated with the spread of the Halaf archaeological culture, several millennia after they first appear in the neighboring northern Levant.
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2013
In this paper, we present a reanalysis of pig (Sus scrofa) remains from the Neolithic site of Qal... more In this paper, we present a reanalysis of pig (Sus scrofa) remains from the Neolithic site of Qalat Jarmo, orig- inally excavated in the 1940s and 1950s. Employing modern zooarchaeological techniques, not available during the initial analyses, we explore the nature of swine exploitation strategies and demonstrate that pigs were most likely managed by the early 7th millennium (Pottery Neolithic) and perhaps earlier. Comparing biometric data with those from other sites in the region, we show that the Jarmo pigs exhibit evidence for size decrease associated with intensive management, but had not yet achieved the degree of dental or post-cranial size reduction seen in later Neolithic domestic populations. Although samples from the earliest (Pre-Pottery) occupation of the site are small, there is some evidence to suggest that domestic pigs were present at Jarmo as early as the late 8th millennium cal. BC. In either case, Jarmo likely represents the earliest appearance of pig husbandry along the Zagros flanks, and we discuss the mechanisms by which Neolithic technologies, including domesticated animals, spread to new regions. This project emphasises the value of curated faunal assemblages in shedding new light on the spread of Neolithic economies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Discussions of animal domestication in Southwest Asia often describe a homoge- nous process in wh... more Discussions of animal domestication in Southwest Asia often describe a homoge- nous process in which sheep, goats, cattle and pigs were domesticated in relatively rapid succession producing a productive and integrated 'barnyard complex' which then helped fuel the rapid expansion of Neolithic farmers into neighboring regions. A critical exami- nation of the data, however, suggests that the development of systems of animal husbandry took place over several millennia and followed markedly different trajectories in different regions within Southwest Asia and even at neighboring sites. In this paper I explore the development of the Neolithic 'barnyard complex' with an emphasis on its long gestation period, regional and local scale variability, and the importance of local context and histo- ries in the construction of heterogeneous Neolithic animal economies.
Nature, 2021
Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare1. However, mode... more Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare1. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling2–4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc3. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia5 and Anatolia6, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 bc, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled char...
Anatolian Studies
Scholars have recently investigated the efficacy of applying globalisation models to ancient cult... more Scholars have recently investigated the efficacy of applying globalisation models to ancient cultures such as the fourth-millennium BC Mesopotamian Uruk system. Embedded within globalisation models is the ‘complex connectivity‘ that brings disparate regions together into a singular world. In the fourth millennium BC, the site of Çadır Höyük on the north-central Anatolian plateau experienced dramatic changes in its material culture and architectural assemblages, which in turn reflect new socio-economic, sociopolitical and ritual patterns at this rural agro-pastoral settlement. This study examines the complex connectivities of the ancient Uruk system, encompassing settlements in more consistent contact with the Uruk system such as Arslantepe in southeastern Anatolia, and how these may have fostered exchange networks that reached far beyond the Uruk ‘global world‘ and onto the Anatolian plateau.
Journal of Field Archaeology
Science Advances
Despite the important roles that horses have played in human history, particularly in the spread ... more Despite the important roles that horses have played in human history, particularly in the spread of languages and cultures, and correspondingly intensive research on this topic, the origin of domestic horses remains elusive. Several domestication centers have been hypothesized, but most of these have been invalidated through recent paleogenetic studies. Anatolia is a region with an extended history of horse exploitation that has been considered a candidate for the origins of domestic horses but has never been subject to detailed investigation. Our paleogenetic study of pre- and protohistoric horses in Anatolia and the Caucasus, based on a diachronic sample from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age (~8000 to ~1000 BCE) that encompasses the presumed transition from wild to domestic horses (4000 to 3000 BCE), shows the rapid and large-scale introduction of domestic horses at the end of the third millennium BCE. Thus, our results argue strongly against autochthonous independent domestica...
Documenta Praehistorica
The investigation of ‘complex connectivities’ as defined by Tomlinson (1999) as a critical elemen... more The investigation of ‘complex connectivities’ as defined by Tomlinson (1999) as a critical element in the understanding of how modern globalization works has been repurposed by archaeologists as a model to explain the mechanisms at work in the archaeological past. This study applies Tomlinson’s model to interpret evidence that such connectivities linked the vast Uruk system in Mesopotamia, the contemporary Kura-Araxes culture in Transcaucasia, and the north central Anatolian plateau in the second half of the fourth millennium BCE, known as the Late Chalcolithic period. We focus on the site of Çadır Höyük, on the north central Anatolian plateau. The occupants of this rural settlement experienced some dramatic changes in the later fourth millennium, including substantial reorganization of their village plan, expansions and contractions in socioeconomic activity and long-distance trade, more elaborate burials, and possibly the evolution of new sociopolitical and religious ideologies. H...
Science (New York, N.Y.), Jul 6, 2018
Current genetic data are equivocal as to whether goat domestication occurred multiple times or wa... more Current genetic data are equivocal as to whether goat domestication occurred multiple times or was a singular process. We generated genomic data from 83 ancient goats (51 with genome-wide coverage) from Paleolithic to Medieval contexts throughout the Near East. Our findings demonstrate that multiple divergent ancient wild goat sources were domesticated in a dispersed process that resulted in genetically and geographically distinct Neolithic goat populations, echoing contemporaneous human divergence across the region. These early goat populations contributed differently to modern goats in Asia, Africa, and Europe. We also detect early selection for pigmentation, stature, reproduction, milking, and response to dietary change, providing 8000-year-old evidence for human agency in molding genome variation within a partner species.
Oxford Handbooks Online, 2017
Analysis of spatio-temporal variation in patterns of animal exploitation helps our understanding ... more Analysis of spatio-temporal variation in patterns of animal exploitation helps our understanding of the transition from hunting to husbandry of Ovis, Capra, Sus, and Bos in Pre-Pottery Neolithic Anatolia (c.9500–7000 bce). Despite interaction with humans since the final Pleistocene, domestication of Sus in southeastern Anatolia is only evidenced after 8500 bce. This timing coincides with efforts to exert cultural control over Ovis, Capra, and Bos. Applying a broad methodological spectrum, it is shown that in southeastern Anatolia, the Neolithic ‘package’ was in place at the end of the ninth millennium bce, whereas in contemporaneous central Anatolia, livestock husbandry only included sheep and goat. Initially, animal management practices may have focused on a single species, but after 8000 bce, herding strategies comprised at least two species, likely a risk-reducing strategy. Conceivably, large-scale social gatherings, e.g. at Göbekli Tepe, promoted the spread of practices associat...
Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 2016
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2014
Bronze Age Anatolia is characterized by the emergence of an elite class situated at the apex of s... more Bronze Age Anatolia is characterized by the emergence of an elite class situated at the apex of society, where they controlled enormous resources; wielded great authority; and sought, conspicuously displayed, and consumed distinctive high-status material culture. In this article, I explore the use of domesticated cattle as a material and symbolic source of power for these elites. I address the central economic role of cattle and their “secondary products” in supporting Bronze Age agricultural systems and as sources of elite wealth. I also discuss the symbolic role of cattle in gift exchange, iconography, ritual, and display for creating narratives of power in which elites are situated in an elevated place within in a hierarchical cosmos.
Discussions of animal domestication in Southwest Asia often describe a homogenous process in whic... more Discussions of animal domestication in Southwest Asia often describe a homogenous process in which sheep, goats, cattle and pigs were domesticated in relatively rapid succession producing a productive and integrated 'barnyard complex' which then helped fuel the rapid expansion of Neolithic farmers into neighboring regions. A critical examination of the data, however, suggests that the development of systems of animal husbandry took place over several millennia and followed markedly different trajectories in different regions within Southwest Asia and even at neighboring sites. In this paper I explore the development of the Neolithic 'barnyard complex' with an emphasis on its long gestation period, regional and local scale variability, and the importance of local context and histories in the construction of heterogeneous Neolithic animal economies.
Levant, 2013
In this paper we survey a large body of faunal data for the practice of young male culling in Neo... more In this paper we survey a large body of faunal data for the practice of young male culling in Neolithic southwestern Asia. Although the young male kill-off model is one of the most widely used models for identifying animal domestication in Neolithic southwestern Asia, its ubiquity has never been addressed on a regional scale. By focusing on a combination of kill-off age and the shape of the distributions of biometric data, we are able to address the emergence and ubiquity of young male culling amongst Neolithic sheep and goat herders. Although the intensive culling of young males has been presented as a 'leading edge marker' for the initiation of sheep and goat herding, we find that clear evidence for young male kill-off appears in the faunal record only in the early 8th millennium cal BC-considerably later than the origins of caprine management. Instead, Neolithic caprine management practices appear to have been characterized by a high degree of 'initial diversity', especially in the 9th and early 8th millennia, suggesting that early management strategies may have been much more varied than previously realized. However, after c. 7500 cal BC young male kill-off was widely practised across southwestern Asia, suggesting this efficient and effective management technology quickly replaced the diversity of local management strategies prevalent earlier.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the presen... more 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 European 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 hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more ...
Animal Frontiers, 2021
Domestic animals have played an important role in shaping human Evolution and History. After mill... more Domestic animals have played an important role in shaping human Evolution and History. After millennia of constructing niches based on hunting, gathering, and foraging, a range of communities in diverse parts of the world embarked on trajectories of food production which in some instances led to the emergence of complex societies, urbanism, and empires, sowing the seeds for our current globalization. Thanks to intensive zooarcheology and genomics research, it is now common knowledge that, apart from dog domestication within hunter-gatherers societies around 23,000 years Before Present (BP) terminus post quem (Perri et al., 2021), the domestication of globally important livestock animals occurred within sedentary communities engaged in early agriculture in three independent cradles. The oldest of these is located in Southwest Asia where cereals (wheat, barley), legumes (pulse, peas, lentils), and fruits (figs) were domesticated between 12,000 and 10,000 BP, followed by sheep, goat, pigs, and cattle between 10,500 and 10,000 BP (Colledge et al., 2013). The second cradle is located in China where domesticated millets and rice were cultivated in the Yellow and Yangtze River valleys by 10,000 BP. This was followed relatively rapidly by pig domestication in the Yellow River valley (Jing and Flad, 2002; Cucchi et al., 2016). The last major center of ungulate domestication is located in the Andes, where agriculture based on imported maize and locally domesticated potato, beans, and squashes emerged between 9000 and 8000 BP along with South American camelids, llamas and alpacas, later followed by Barba's duck and the guinea pig around 4000 BP (Pearsall, 2008; Hardigan et al., 2017). North America, also contributed to global animal domestication with the turkey by 2000 BP (Speller et al., 2010). In the Old World, a later series of animal domestications focused on the use of animal labor, with the domestic forms of donkey, horse, and camel emerging between 5000 and 2000 BP (Clutton-Brock, 2014). These animals revolutionized human
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Papers by Benjamin Arbuckle
—Elizabeth Scott, Illinois State University
Animals and Inequality in the Ancient World explores the current trends in the social archaeology of human-animal relationships, focusing on the ways in which animals are used to structure, create, support, and even deconstruct social inequalities.
The authors provide a global range of case studies from both New and Old World archaeology—royal Aztec dog burial, the monumental horse tombs of Central Asia, and the ceremonial macaw cages of ancient Mexico among them. They explore the complex relationships between people and animals in social, economic, political, and ritual contexts, incorporating animal remains from archaeological sites with artifacts, texts, and iconography to develop their interpretations.
Animals and Inequality in the Ancient World presents new data and interpretations that reveal the role of animals, their products, and their symbolism in structuring social inequalities in the ancient world. The volume will be of interest to archaeologists, especially zooarchaeologists, and classical scholars of pre-modern civilizations and societies.
Contributors:
Alejandra Aguirre Molina, Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Levent Atici, Douglas V. Campana, Roderick Campbell, Ximena Chávez Balderas, Pam J. Crabtree, Susan D. deFrance, Kitty F. Emery, Abigail Holeman, H. Edwin Jackson, Leonardo López Luján, Michael MacKinnon, Arkadiusz Marciniak, Sue Ann McCarty, Neil L. Norman, Gilberto Perez, Bernardo Rodriguez, William A. Saturno, Ashley E. Sharpe, Nawa Sugiyama, Charlotte K. Sunseri, Naomi Sykes, Fabiola Torres, Raul Valadez, Norma Valentin Maldonado, Adam S. Watson, Joshua Wright, Belem Zuniga-Arelleno.