HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Mar 21, 2019
Six measurements were taken on the pelvis of modern and archaeological rabbits from France and th... more Six measurements were taken on the pelvis of modern and archaeological rabbits from France and the Iberian Peninsula and a difference in shape was noticed between the French and Iberian populations. A discriminant function was calculated using the geographically most extreme samples and it appeared that the shape difference was confined to samples from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineage B. Since many of the modern rabbits had been previously analysed genetically, it was possible to relate the pelvis morphology to the mtDNA type, and it was found that there was an association between the two. A reevaluation of the phylogeny using all available mtDNA control region sequences suggests that the main groups of haplotypes all branched off at much the same point, presumably as a result of the end of the ice age and the consequent expansion of rabbit populations both within the Peninsula and out of the Peninsula into France. Two groups (B9 and B10) are exclusive to the Peninsula and one (B4) is virtually exclusive to France. Another group (B1) is associated with domestic rabbits. Finally, two subgroups of the mtDNA type B3 are now seen to be distinct groups, one of them (B3A) being associated with domestic rabbits while the other (B3C) is only found in French wild rabbits. Previous work in which B3 rabbits were treated as a single entity therefore needs to be reevaluated. Whether the association between pelvis shape and mtDNA type stands up to further investigation or not, their study in archaeological material could help to elucidate the pattern of dispersal of rabbits after the ice age and the process of their domestication.
Studies undertaken several years ago indicated little change in cattle size in Portugal before th... more Studies undertaken several years ago indicated little change in cattle size in Portugal before the fifteenth century AD, indeed even Roman cattle were not very different from preceding Iron Age ones. The Roman province of Lusitania com- prised the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day central and southern Portugal and Spanish Extremad- ura). Here we present some evidence of cattle size increase in the newly founded Lusitanian Roman cities, that is, those with no previous occupation. These cities include, for example, Emerita Augusta (Mérida, Spain) and ancient Ammaia (near Marvão, Portugal). We compare their measurements with those from smaller Roman towns and sites from other periods. Our hypothesis is that the size increase reflects better nourishment or the presence of different cattle morpho- types (by selection or introduction of new animals). Osteometric analyses suggest that cattle from the main Roman cities were generally bigger in Roman newly founded cities, contrary to sites with pre-Roman occupation. Innovations could have been implemented via the import of new stock and/or new breeding strategies.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Oct 12, 2020
The relationship between the number of specimens found in a sample and the number of taxa represe... more The relationship between the number of specimens found in a sample and the number of taxa represented by them is examined using data from 62 sites that were studied with the same recording and counting method. A critique is made of the various approaches that have been used to evaluate such data. The deficiencies of the "regression approach" and "sampling to redundancy" are discussed. An approach based on a simple random sampling model is suggested as the appropriate one and the effects of possible biases are evaluated. Examples of its application are given and its usefulness is assessed. A more rigorous basis for "sampling to redundancy" is also proposed.
This study of osteometric variation of sheep and cattle remains from archaeological sites in sout... more This study of osteometric variation of sheep and cattle remains from archaeological sites in southern Portugaldthe part that was once ruled by the Moslemsdreveals an increase in size of the sheep in Moslem times and a subsequent increase of the cattle following the Christian conquest. It is assumed that a size increase reflects improvement. Sheep size increase is easy to understand given the Moslem fondness for mutton. The later size increase of the cattle is less easy to understand but could reflect a dietary switch from mutton to beef as well as the need for bovine power.
Given its abundance on archaeological sites, the sheep has clearly played a major rô le in the ec... more Given its abundance on archaeological sites, the sheep has clearly played a major rô le in the economy of our ancestors. An understanding of its osteology is therefore important to the zoo-archaeologist. The aims of this study are: (a) to determine when the epiphyses of long-bones of wethers and rams fuse; (b) to understand how castration affects dental and limb-bone development; (c) to examine the relation between age and bone-size; and (d) to find osteometric ways of distinguishing between the three sexes using a collection of 12 male (ram) and 30 castrate (wether) unimproved Shetland sheep skeletons whose ages range from 8 to 52 months (wethers) and 11 to 31 months (rams). They are compared to the 26 adult females (ewes) of the same breed in Davis (1996) Journal of Archaeological Science 23, 593-612. Fusion of the wethers' epiphyses proceeds continuously, and by their fifth year all limb-bone epiphyses are fully fused. Despite much variation in the ages of epiphysial closure, rams appear to fuse their epiphyses considerably earlier than wethers, which corroborates earlier studies. This delay of fusion in wethers allows elongation of long-bones. While castration appears to have little influence on the age at which milk teeth are replaced, rams' teeth may wear slightly faster than those of wethers. Most bones or parts of bones probably cease growing at or before epiphysial fusion. Some important exceptions include the scapula, distal humerus, proximal radius (and astragalus), which appear to continue growing for some time. Measurements of these bones or parts of bones may therefore be less useful for comparing sheep from different sites/periods. Apart from the pubis shaft thickness, long-bone lengths and shaft widths, few dimensions provide a clear distinction between males, females and castrates. Plots of long-bone lengths versus shaft widths do show some shape differences between the three sexes with ewes being short and slender, rams being short and robust and wethers being long and slender. These inter-sex differences however do not appear to provide a clear identification of archaeological specimens of sheep long-bones.
Domesticated dogs have been present in the Iberian Peninsula long before other domesticated speci... more Domesticated dogs have been present in the Iberian Peninsula long before other domesticated species, back to the late Palaeolithic period. Their origin is still uncertain, but dogs were already well established during the Chalcolithic period (ca. 5000–4000 BP). This study employed a multidisciplinary approach comprising osteometric, radiographic and palaeogenomic analyses to characterize Chalcolithic Iberian Canis remains. Two Chalcolithic archaeological sites – Leceia, Oeiras, in Portugal, and El Casetón de la Era, Villalba de los Alcores, Valladolid, in Spain – were the main focus of this study. Osteometric and odontometric data from eleven other sites in Iberia were also included. Osteometric results show signs of phenotypic variability, likely the result of human-driven selective pressure. Dental radiographic and dental wear analyses allowed age at death estimation for four individuals (two juvenile and two adults). Three Chalcolithic Iberian dogs had their mitogenomes resequenced and the mitochondrial DNA analysis allowed to assign each individual to two of the major known haplogroups – A and C. Molecular sex infered by the chromosomeX/chromosome1 coverage ratio allowed to identify one female and two males. This study unveils some aspects of the Iberian Chalcolithic dogs: these dogs already exhibited various morphotypes whose profiles might be associated to the performance of certain tasks, as well as mitogenomes of two distinct lineages that help tracking the evolutionary paths of Iberian dogs.
Measurements of the bones of 7 ? and 1 ? Barros. cattle from Portugal are presented. These may se... more Measurements of the bones of 7 ? and 1 ? Barros. cattle from Portugal are presented. These may serve as a baseline for osteometrical studies of Bos in Iberia. Sexual dimorphism varies: shaft width measurements show considerable dimorphism while those of the M3 and metapodial lengths show little. An osteometrical survey of late Pleistocene to modern Portuguese Bos reveals Pleistocene-Holocene (Magdalenian-Early Mesolithic) size reduction that accords with Bergmann’s rule. During the Mesolithic aurochsen dwarfed slightly possibly due to overhunting. Some large Chalcolithic Bos, probably aurochsen, had increased in size after the Mesolithic. Neolithic to Muslim period Bos were smaller and probably therefore domestic. Predator pressure relaxed during the Neolithic with the arrival of domesticated livestock allowing aurochsen to recover some of their former size – a scenario with parallels in the Near East and Denmark. After the reconquista, cattle increased in size. Modern Barros. are e...
Resumo: Excavations at Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic Lameiras near Sintra in Portugal have u... more Resumo: Excavations at Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic Lameiras near Sintra in Portugal have uncovered numerous caprine bones. Many, including milk teeth, humeri, metapodials, calcanea, astragali and terminal phalanges, can be securely identified using well established morphological criteria and osteometrical differences on metacarpal condyles and astragali. Radiocarbon dates on some of these sheep bones indicate their presence in southern Portugal around 5,450 cal BC which is the beginning of the Early Neolithic in this region. It is possible that the change from hunting to husbanding occurred rapidly. Current evidence from the Near East, the region whence our domesticated sheep came, indicates a date of domestication there that is some three thousand years earlier. In other words sheep coming overland must have travelled quite rapidly – perhaps too rapidly – and so it seems likely that livestock were being shipped already in the Neolithic.
EnglishExcavation of the contents of a well at the Roman villa of Sao Miguel de Odrinhas near Sin... more EnglishExcavation of the contents of a well at the Roman villa of Sao Miguel de Odrinhas near Sintra, Portugal, dated to the 4th/5th century AD uncovered over 700 identifiable animal bones. Many of the cattle, caprines and pigs are probably food refuse. Many complete bones derive from a cat, 7–8 very small sheep, 6 dogs, a suckling pig and a young chicken. One of the dogs was a small dwarfed variety with bandy legs that stood 23–24 cm high at the shoulders — among the smallest known so far from the Roman world. The Sao Miguel de Odrinhas sheep are among the smallest recorded so far from Portugal being smaller than the Soay, a modern Scottish breed. The pit may have functioned as part of some kind of burial ritual for pets, or simply a refuse hole after its function for obtaining and/or storing water had ceased portuguesA escavacao dos depositos de preenchimento de um poco na villa romana de Sao Miguel de Odrinhas, em Sintra, Portugal, datados dos seculos IV/V d.C., revelou mais de 7...
Animal remains from excavations of the Iron Age II (end IV th century-early III rd century BC) an... more Animal remains from excavations of the Iron Age II (end IV th century-early III rd century BC) and Roman Republican (I st century BC) part of a defensive ditch of Odemira hillfort in SW Portugal are described. Most derive from domesticated animals like cattle, goats and pigs, and a hunted animal, red deer. There are two substantial changes between Iron Age and Roman times. The first is a huge increase in the frequency of red deer. This may reflect a rise in the status of the inhabitants. The second is a change in the age-at-slaughter of the cattle: most Iron Age cattle were slaughtered quite young while those in Roman times were not slaughtered until old. This probably reflects a change in the management strategy of cattle. In the Iron Age the emphasis in cattle production was for meat while the Romans kept cattle more for their power and milk. Other animals present include birds, dog, fox, horse, rabbit, and in the Roman period, some marine shells.
FOUILLES RÉCENTES À KHIROKITIA république de chypre ministère des transports, des communications et des travaux publics département des antiquités Sous la direction de Alain LE BRUN, 2020
30 years’ studies of the animal bones from Khirokitia have failed to provide answers to certain k... more 30 years’ studies of the animal bones from Khirokitia have failed to provide answers to certain key questions about the peopling and fauna of this third largest island of the Mediterranean. In the meantime, and taken together with Jean-Denis Vigne’s study of the faunal remains from Shillourokambos, it is possible to conclude the following:
• The timing and reason for the demise of the native animals – the pygmy hippopotamuses and pygmy elephants – is still not known. My preferred explanation is that these animals, presumably naïve, and therefore easy to hunt, became extinct very rapidly so that any traces of their remains in any archaeological site will be hard to find. People undoubtedly hunted them and it is also quite likely that they suffered competition from feral pigs and other animals introduced from the mainland Near East some 10 or 11 millennia ago.
• Given the identity of the Cypriot fallow deer and the former distribution of fallow deer taxa on the mainland as well as considerations of the sizes of domesticated pigs in the Near East it seems probable that the first human colonists came to the island from the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean rather than from western Anatolia, Greece or the southern Levant.
• Throughout their occupation, the inhabitants of Khirokitia appear to have possessed a reduced spectrum of animals. This suggests, as do their cultural remains, development in isolation. In other words over time there is little evidence for much contact with peoples and cultures of the mainland.
• The reason for the absence of cattle from Khirokitia and other contemporary sites during later Aceramic Neolithic times also remains an enigma. Did the early Cypriots tire of cattle herding and decide to concentrate on smaller livestock like sheep, goat and pigs? Or did the cattle succumb to some kind of disease? It is likely that we shall never know.
• Well over 99% of the medium and large mammal remains from Khirokitia belonged to sheep, goat, Mesopotamian fallow deer and pigs; with dog, cat, and fox present in very small numbers (these last three were almost certainly not eaten). The presence of mouse and shrew is also attested. The frequencies of the sheep, goat, deer and pig change in a most interesting way. Thus in the beginning, and as at the earlier settlement of Shillourokambos, goats were quite common but rapidly became rare in the course of the occupation of Khirokitia. Sheep increased through time while there was a simultaneous and gradual reduction in the frequencies of pig and fallow deer – two animals that prefer woodland and moist vegetation. One possible explanation for these changes is that they reflect local habitat deterioration – a destruction of local forests – an explanation corroborated by the palaeo-botanical remains from the site. It is possible that trees were cut down to provide building material and fuel. The early switch from goat to sheep may reflect specialisation or a preference for grazing livestock on the Khirokitia plain.
• During the course of the site’s occupation there is little evidence for any size change of the fallow deer. The deer from Shillourokambos may have been very slightly smaller. Similarly the pigs and perhaps the goats too (though there are really too few goat bones to be very sure) remained similar in size. This stasis contrasts with what happened to the sheep. Sheep increased in size in the course of the occupation of the site. This probably happened gradually and without any change of shape of the bones (or at least the astragalus). It therefore seems logical to assume, but this cannot be proven, that sheep underwent some kind of local change. Perhaps they were improved by the inhabitants of Khirokitia to provide larger carcasses and more meat. This size increase at Khirokitia contrasts with the contemporary trend in mainland (Syrian) sheep which decreased in size. This could again signal local development in isolation from the mainland. A consideration of the variation of sheep, goat, fallow deer and pig tooth and bone measurements also fails to reveal any change over time.
• In two other respects we see stasis occurring for all four of the common large animals at Khirokitia. Thus both the representation of parts of their carcass and their age-at-slaughter remained the same throughout the occupation of the site. One interesting exception is a particular locus that contained an excess of distal femora – perhaps evidence for some ritual practise or children making a collection of these bones.
• Variations of the average sizes of the samples of bones of fallow deer between layers are shown to reflect biases in the representation of the sexes – this animal being markedly sexually dimorphic. With large samples of measurable bones it has also been possible to use and develop metric methods for separating sheep from goat bones. The astragalus has proven particularly useful in this respect and shape variation of the astragalus may well provide useful avenues of study in the future.
• Although difficult to speculate about actual husbandry practises, the chronological size increase of the sheep possibly reflects their improvement. Similarly some very sparse sex and age related data for the goat could be interpreted in terms of a change in the way goats were husbanded. As for pigs and fallow deer there is little to indicate any change in the relationship of people towards these animals in the course of Khirokitia’s occupation. Indeed it is difficult to understand whether fallow deer were hunted or kept in enclosures (or both). Given the fairly high proportion of caprines slaughtered while still osteologically immature, it is most probable that the sheep as well as the pigs were kept mainly for their meat.
The animal remains from Aceramic Neolithic Cyprus when viewed in a more general geographic context – the Near East as a whole – provide us with evidence for what must be almost the earliest sign of man’s possession of domesticated food animals like the pig, cattle, sheep and goat and presumably the taming of foxes, cats and fallow deer. As Vigne has noted at Shillourokambos, some of these animals were undoubtedly hunted. This makes it likely that some escaped into the wild to establish feral populations which could be hunted too. When viewed in a wider geographical perspective it is becoming clear that while a decrease in size of animals like Sus, Ovis and Bos certainly signals their early domestication, size continued to decrease perhaps for one or several millennia after domestication. Put another way, the effects of domestication took some time to become apparent. Another example of this is the shape of the Khirokitia Sus lower third molars: they are intermediate between wild Near Eastern examples and domesticated pigs from Medieval England. It is hoped that this report and the data herein will serve zooarchaeologists in the future and aid our understanding of animals and man-animal relations in Cyprus.
El presente estudio sobre la variacion osteometrica de los restos de oveja y vacuno recuperados d... more El presente estudio sobre la variacion osteometrica de los restos de oveja y vacuno recuperados de yacimientos arqueologicos del sur de Portugal — region que fue controlada por los musulmanes — revela que durante el periodo andalusi se produjo un incremento en la talla de la oveja, seguido tras la reconquista por un subsiguiente aumento del tamano del vacuno. El analisis de ADN antiguo de un conjunto de metacarpos de vacuno del siglo XV procedentes de Beja ha confirmado una interpretacion osteometrica previa: el aumento de la talla del vacuno no fue consecuencia de un cambio en la proporcion de los sexos. Tanto los metacarpos mas pequenos (vaca) como los mas grandes (toro/buey) aumentaron de tamano en epoca post-andalusi. Se ha asumido que estos incrementos en el tamano de las cabanas ovina y vacuna reflejan su mejora. El aumento de tamano de la oveja es facil de entender dada la preferencia de los musulmanes por la carne de ovino. Sin embargo, el posterior aumento de talla del gana...
T cells rely for their development and function on the correct folding and turnover of proteins g... more T cells rely for their development and function on the correct folding and turnover of proteins generated in response to a broad range of molecular cues. In the absence of the eukaryotic type II chaperonin complex, CCT, T cell activation induced changes in the proteome are compromised including the formation of nuclear actin filaments and the formation of a normal cell stress response. Consequently, thymocyte maturation and selection, and T cell homeostatic maintenance and receptor-mediated activation are severely impaired. Additionally, Th2 polarization digresses in the absence of CCT-controlled protein folding resulting paradoxically in continued IFN-γ expression. As a result, CCT-deficient T cells fail to generate an efficient immune protection against helminths as they are unable to sustain a coordinated recruitment of the innate and adaptive immune systems. These findings thus demonstrate that normal T cell biology is critically dependent on CCT-controlled proteostasis and that...
We investigated the genetic composition of six Canis remains from western Iberia, directly radioc... more We investigated the genetic composition of six Canis remains from western Iberia, directly radiocarbon dated to 7,903-7,570 years (cal BP). They were identified as dogs via their archaeological and depositional context, osteometry, and a high percentage of aquatic diet shared with humans. For comparison, genetic data were obtained from an additional 37 Iberian dog remains from the Neolithic to Late Antiquity, as well as two Palaeolithic and a Chalcolithic Canis identified as wolves. Previous data indicated that dog mtDNA haplogroup A (HgA) is prevalent in extant European dogs (>50%), in the Near East and Asia, but rare or absent (<10%) in European Canis older than 3,000 years (cal BP). We found a high frequency (83%) of dog HgA in Mesolithic Iberian dog remains. This is the first report of a high frequency of dog HgA in pre-Neolithic Europe. We show that, contrary to the current view, Canis with HgA did not necessarily arrive in Europe from East-Asia. This phylogeographical difference in HgA frequency demonstrates that genetic differentiation was high prior to, or as a consequence of, domestication which may be linked with pre-Neolithic local processes for Iberian wolf domestication. Our results emphasize that knowledge of both ancient wolves' and early dogs' genetic profiles from the European periphery should improve our understanding of the evolution of the European dog.
The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reportin... more Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, compa...
Nitric Oxide (NO) is an intracellular signalling mediator, which affects many biological processe... more Nitric Oxide (NO) is an intracellular signalling mediator, which affects many biological processes via the posttranslational modification of proteins through S-nitrosation. The availability of NO and NOS-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) from enzymatic uncoupling are determined by the NO synthase cofactor Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4). Here, using a global proteomics "biotin-switch" approach, we identified components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system to be altered via BH4-dependent NO signalling by protein S-nitrosation. We show S-nitrosation of ubiquitin conjugating E2 enzymes, in particular the catalytic residue C87 of UBC13/UBE2N, leading to impaired polyubiquitylation by interfering with the formation of UBC13~Ub thioester intermediates. In addition, proteasome cleavage activity in cells also seems to be altered by S-nitrosation, correlating with the modification of cysteine residues within the 19S regulatory particle and catalytic subunits of the 20S complex. Our res...
The T-cell receptor (TCR) triggers the elimination of pathogens and tumors by T lymphocytes. In o... more The T-cell receptor (TCR) triggers the elimination of pathogens and tumors by T lymphocytes. In order for this to avoid damage to the host, the receptor has to discriminate between thousands of peptide ligands presented by each host cell. Exactly how the TCR does this is unknown. In resting T-cells, the TCR is largely unphosphorylated due to the dominance of phosphatases over kinases expressed at the cell surface. When agonist peptides are presented to the TCR by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins expressed by antigen-presenting cells (APCs), very fast receptor triggering occurs, leading to TCR phosphorylation. Recent work suggests that this depends on the local exclusion of the phosphatases from regions of contact of the T cells with the APCs. Here, we develop and test a quantitative treatment of receptor triggering reliant only upon TCR dwell-time in phosphatase-depleted cell-cell contacts constrained in area by cell topography. Using the model and experimentally-deri...
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Mar 21, 2019
Six measurements were taken on the pelvis of modern and archaeological rabbits from France and th... more Six measurements were taken on the pelvis of modern and archaeological rabbits from France and the Iberian Peninsula and a difference in shape was noticed between the French and Iberian populations. A discriminant function was calculated using the geographically most extreme samples and it appeared that the shape difference was confined to samples from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineage B. Since many of the modern rabbits had been previously analysed genetically, it was possible to relate the pelvis morphology to the mtDNA type, and it was found that there was an association between the two. A reevaluation of the phylogeny using all available mtDNA control region sequences suggests that the main groups of haplotypes all branched off at much the same point, presumably as a result of the end of the ice age and the consequent expansion of rabbit populations both within the Peninsula and out of the Peninsula into France. Two groups (B9 and B10) are exclusive to the Peninsula and one (B4) is virtually exclusive to France. Another group (B1) is associated with domestic rabbits. Finally, two subgroups of the mtDNA type B3 are now seen to be distinct groups, one of them (B3A) being associated with domestic rabbits while the other (B3C) is only found in French wild rabbits. Previous work in which B3 rabbits were treated as a single entity therefore needs to be reevaluated. Whether the association between pelvis shape and mtDNA type stands up to further investigation or not, their study in archaeological material could help to elucidate the pattern of dispersal of rabbits after the ice age and the process of their domestication.
Studies undertaken several years ago indicated little change in cattle size in Portugal before th... more Studies undertaken several years ago indicated little change in cattle size in Portugal before the fifteenth century AD, indeed even Roman cattle were not very different from preceding Iron Age ones. The Roman province of Lusitania com- prised the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day central and southern Portugal and Spanish Extremad- ura). Here we present some evidence of cattle size increase in the newly founded Lusitanian Roman cities, that is, those with no previous occupation. These cities include, for example, Emerita Augusta (Mérida, Spain) and ancient Ammaia (near Marvão, Portugal). We compare their measurements with those from smaller Roman towns and sites from other periods. Our hypothesis is that the size increase reflects better nourishment or the presence of different cattle morpho- types (by selection or introduction of new animals). Osteometric analyses suggest that cattle from the main Roman cities were generally bigger in Roman newly founded cities, contrary to sites with pre-Roman occupation. Innovations could have been implemented via the import of new stock and/or new breeding strategies.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Oct 12, 2020
The relationship between the number of specimens found in a sample and the number of taxa represe... more The relationship between the number of specimens found in a sample and the number of taxa represented by them is examined using data from 62 sites that were studied with the same recording and counting method. A critique is made of the various approaches that have been used to evaluate such data. The deficiencies of the "regression approach" and "sampling to redundancy" are discussed. An approach based on a simple random sampling model is suggested as the appropriate one and the effects of possible biases are evaluated. Examples of its application are given and its usefulness is assessed. A more rigorous basis for "sampling to redundancy" is also proposed.
This study of osteometric variation of sheep and cattle remains from archaeological sites in sout... more This study of osteometric variation of sheep and cattle remains from archaeological sites in southern Portugaldthe part that was once ruled by the Moslemsdreveals an increase in size of the sheep in Moslem times and a subsequent increase of the cattle following the Christian conquest. It is assumed that a size increase reflects improvement. Sheep size increase is easy to understand given the Moslem fondness for mutton. The later size increase of the cattle is less easy to understand but could reflect a dietary switch from mutton to beef as well as the need for bovine power.
Given its abundance on archaeological sites, the sheep has clearly played a major rô le in the ec... more Given its abundance on archaeological sites, the sheep has clearly played a major rô le in the economy of our ancestors. An understanding of its osteology is therefore important to the zoo-archaeologist. The aims of this study are: (a) to determine when the epiphyses of long-bones of wethers and rams fuse; (b) to understand how castration affects dental and limb-bone development; (c) to examine the relation between age and bone-size; and (d) to find osteometric ways of distinguishing between the three sexes using a collection of 12 male (ram) and 30 castrate (wether) unimproved Shetland sheep skeletons whose ages range from 8 to 52 months (wethers) and 11 to 31 months (rams). They are compared to the 26 adult females (ewes) of the same breed in Davis (1996) Journal of Archaeological Science 23, 593-612. Fusion of the wethers' epiphyses proceeds continuously, and by their fifth year all limb-bone epiphyses are fully fused. Despite much variation in the ages of epiphysial closure, rams appear to fuse their epiphyses considerably earlier than wethers, which corroborates earlier studies. This delay of fusion in wethers allows elongation of long-bones. While castration appears to have little influence on the age at which milk teeth are replaced, rams' teeth may wear slightly faster than those of wethers. Most bones or parts of bones probably cease growing at or before epiphysial fusion. Some important exceptions include the scapula, distal humerus, proximal radius (and astragalus), which appear to continue growing for some time. Measurements of these bones or parts of bones may therefore be less useful for comparing sheep from different sites/periods. Apart from the pubis shaft thickness, long-bone lengths and shaft widths, few dimensions provide a clear distinction between males, females and castrates. Plots of long-bone lengths versus shaft widths do show some shape differences between the three sexes with ewes being short and slender, rams being short and robust and wethers being long and slender. These inter-sex differences however do not appear to provide a clear identification of archaeological specimens of sheep long-bones.
Domesticated dogs have been present in the Iberian Peninsula long before other domesticated speci... more Domesticated dogs have been present in the Iberian Peninsula long before other domesticated species, back to the late Palaeolithic period. Their origin is still uncertain, but dogs were already well established during the Chalcolithic period (ca. 5000–4000 BP). This study employed a multidisciplinary approach comprising osteometric, radiographic and palaeogenomic analyses to characterize Chalcolithic Iberian Canis remains. Two Chalcolithic archaeological sites – Leceia, Oeiras, in Portugal, and El Casetón de la Era, Villalba de los Alcores, Valladolid, in Spain – were the main focus of this study. Osteometric and odontometric data from eleven other sites in Iberia were also included. Osteometric results show signs of phenotypic variability, likely the result of human-driven selective pressure. Dental radiographic and dental wear analyses allowed age at death estimation for four individuals (two juvenile and two adults). Three Chalcolithic Iberian dogs had their mitogenomes resequenced and the mitochondrial DNA analysis allowed to assign each individual to two of the major known haplogroups – A and C. Molecular sex infered by the chromosomeX/chromosome1 coverage ratio allowed to identify one female and two males. This study unveils some aspects of the Iberian Chalcolithic dogs: these dogs already exhibited various morphotypes whose profiles might be associated to the performance of certain tasks, as well as mitogenomes of two distinct lineages that help tracking the evolutionary paths of Iberian dogs.
Measurements of the bones of 7 ? and 1 ? Barros. cattle from Portugal are presented. These may se... more Measurements of the bones of 7 ? and 1 ? Barros. cattle from Portugal are presented. These may serve as a baseline for osteometrical studies of Bos in Iberia. Sexual dimorphism varies: shaft width measurements show considerable dimorphism while those of the M3 and metapodial lengths show little. An osteometrical survey of late Pleistocene to modern Portuguese Bos reveals Pleistocene-Holocene (Magdalenian-Early Mesolithic) size reduction that accords with Bergmann’s rule. During the Mesolithic aurochsen dwarfed slightly possibly due to overhunting. Some large Chalcolithic Bos, probably aurochsen, had increased in size after the Mesolithic. Neolithic to Muslim period Bos were smaller and probably therefore domestic. Predator pressure relaxed during the Neolithic with the arrival of domesticated livestock allowing aurochsen to recover some of their former size – a scenario with parallels in the Near East and Denmark. After the reconquista, cattle increased in size. Modern Barros. are e...
Resumo: Excavations at Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic Lameiras near Sintra in Portugal have u... more Resumo: Excavations at Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic Lameiras near Sintra in Portugal have uncovered numerous caprine bones. Many, including milk teeth, humeri, metapodials, calcanea, astragali and terminal phalanges, can be securely identified using well established morphological criteria and osteometrical differences on metacarpal condyles and astragali. Radiocarbon dates on some of these sheep bones indicate their presence in southern Portugal around 5,450 cal BC which is the beginning of the Early Neolithic in this region. It is possible that the change from hunting to husbanding occurred rapidly. Current evidence from the Near East, the region whence our domesticated sheep came, indicates a date of domestication there that is some three thousand years earlier. In other words sheep coming overland must have travelled quite rapidly – perhaps too rapidly – and so it seems likely that livestock were being shipped already in the Neolithic.
EnglishExcavation of the contents of a well at the Roman villa of Sao Miguel de Odrinhas near Sin... more EnglishExcavation of the contents of a well at the Roman villa of Sao Miguel de Odrinhas near Sintra, Portugal, dated to the 4th/5th century AD uncovered over 700 identifiable animal bones. Many of the cattle, caprines and pigs are probably food refuse. Many complete bones derive from a cat, 7–8 very small sheep, 6 dogs, a suckling pig and a young chicken. One of the dogs was a small dwarfed variety with bandy legs that stood 23–24 cm high at the shoulders — among the smallest known so far from the Roman world. The Sao Miguel de Odrinhas sheep are among the smallest recorded so far from Portugal being smaller than the Soay, a modern Scottish breed. The pit may have functioned as part of some kind of burial ritual for pets, or simply a refuse hole after its function for obtaining and/or storing water had ceased portuguesA escavacao dos depositos de preenchimento de um poco na villa romana de Sao Miguel de Odrinhas, em Sintra, Portugal, datados dos seculos IV/V d.C., revelou mais de 7...
Animal remains from excavations of the Iron Age II (end IV th century-early III rd century BC) an... more Animal remains from excavations of the Iron Age II (end IV th century-early III rd century BC) and Roman Republican (I st century BC) part of a defensive ditch of Odemira hillfort in SW Portugal are described. Most derive from domesticated animals like cattle, goats and pigs, and a hunted animal, red deer. There are two substantial changes between Iron Age and Roman times. The first is a huge increase in the frequency of red deer. This may reflect a rise in the status of the inhabitants. The second is a change in the age-at-slaughter of the cattle: most Iron Age cattle were slaughtered quite young while those in Roman times were not slaughtered until old. This probably reflects a change in the management strategy of cattle. In the Iron Age the emphasis in cattle production was for meat while the Romans kept cattle more for their power and milk. Other animals present include birds, dog, fox, horse, rabbit, and in the Roman period, some marine shells.
FOUILLES RÉCENTES À KHIROKITIA république de chypre ministère des transports, des communications et des travaux publics département des antiquités Sous la direction de Alain LE BRUN, 2020
30 years’ studies of the animal bones from Khirokitia have failed to provide answers to certain k... more 30 years’ studies of the animal bones from Khirokitia have failed to provide answers to certain key questions about the peopling and fauna of this third largest island of the Mediterranean. In the meantime, and taken together with Jean-Denis Vigne’s study of the faunal remains from Shillourokambos, it is possible to conclude the following:
• The timing and reason for the demise of the native animals – the pygmy hippopotamuses and pygmy elephants – is still not known. My preferred explanation is that these animals, presumably naïve, and therefore easy to hunt, became extinct very rapidly so that any traces of their remains in any archaeological site will be hard to find. People undoubtedly hunted them and it is also quite likely that they suffered competition from feral pigs and other animals introduced from the mainland Near East some 10 or 11 millennia ago.
• Given the identity of the Cypriot fallow deer and the former distribution of fallow deer taxa on the mainland as well as considerations of the sizes of domesticated pigs in the Near East it seems probable that the first human colonists came to the island from the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean rather than from western Anatolia, Greece or the southern Levant.
• Throughout their occupation, the inhabitants of Khirokitia appear to have possessed a reduced spectrum of animals. This suggests, as do their cultural remains, development in isolation. In other words over time there is little evidence for much contact with peoples and cultures of the mainland.
• The reason for the absence of cattle from Khirokitia and other contemporary sites during later Aceramic Neolithic times also remains an enigma. Did the early Cypriots tire of cattle herding and decide to concentrate on smaller livestock like sheep, goat and pigs? Or did the cattle succumb to some kind of disease? It is likely that we shall never know.
• Well over 99% of the medium and large mammal remains from Khirokitia belonged to sheep, goat, Mesopotamian fallow deer and pigs; with dog, cat, and fox present in very small numbers (these last three were almost certainly not eaten). The presence of mouse and shrew is also attested. The frequencies of the sheep, goat, deer and pig change in a most interesting way. Thus in the beginning, and as at the earlier settlement of Shillourokambos, goats were quite common but rapidly became rare in the course of the occupation of Khirokitia. Sheep increased through time while there was a simultaneous and gradual reduction in the frequencies of pig and fallow deer – two animals that prefer woodland and moist vegetation. One possible explanation for these changes is that they reflect local habitat deterioration – a destruction of local forests – an explanation corroborated by the palaeo-botanical remains from the site. It is possible that trees were cut down to provide building material and fuel. The early switch from goat to sheep may reflect specialisation or a preference for grazing livestock on the Khirokitia plain.
• During the course of the site’s occupation there is little evidence for any size change of the fallow deer. The deer from Shillourokambos may have been very slightly smaller. Similarly the pigs and perhaps the goats too (though there are really too few goat bones to be very sure) remained similar in size. This stasis contrasts with what happened to the sheep. Sheep increased in size in the course of the occupation of the site. This probably happened gradually and without any change of shape of the bones (or at least the astragalus). It therefore seems logical to assume, but this cannot be proven, that sheep underwent some kind of local change. Perhaps they were improved by the inhabitants of Khirokitia to provide larger carcasses and more meat. This size increase at Khirokitia contrasts with the contemporary trend in mainland (Syrian) sheep which decreased in size. This could again signal local development in isolation from the mainland. A consideration of the variation of sheep, goat, fallow deer and pig tooth and bone measurements also fails to reveal any change over time.
• In two other respects we see stasis occurring for all four of the common large animals at Khirokitia. Thus both the representation of parts of their carcass and their age-at-slaughter remained the same throughout the occupation of the site. One interesting exception is a particular locus that contained an excess of distal femora – perhaps evidence for some ritual practise or children making a collection of these bones.
• Variations of the average sizes of the samples of bones of fallow deer between layers are shown to reflect biases in the representation of the sexes – this animal being markedly sexually dimorphic. With large samples of measurable bones it has also been possible to use and develop metric methods for separating sheep from goat bones. The astragalus has proven particularly useful in this respect and shape variation of the astragalus may well provide useful avenues of study in the future.
• Although difficult to speculate about actual husbandry practises, the chronological size increase of the sheep possibly reflects their improvement. Similarly some very sparse sex and age related data for the goat could be interpreted in terms of a change in the way goats were husbanded. As for pigs and fallow deer there is little to indicate any change in the relationship of people towards these animals in the course of Khirokitia’s occupation. Indeed it is difficult to understand whether fallow deer were hunted or kept in enclosures (or both). Given the fairly high proportion of caprines slaughtered while still osteologically immature, it is most probable that the sheep as well as the pigs were kept mainly for their meat.
The animal remains from Aceramic Neolithic Cyprus when viewed in a more general geographic context – the Near East as a whole – provide us with evidence for what must be almost the earliest sign of man’s possession of domesticated food animals like the pig, cattle, sheep and goat and presumably the taming of foxes, cats and fallow deer. As Vigne has noted at Shillourokambos, some of these animals were undoubtedly hunted. This makes it likely that some escaped into the wild to establish feral populations which could be hunted too. When viewed in a wider geographical perspective it is becoming clear that while a decrease in size of animals like Sus, Ovis and Bos certainly signals their early domestication, size continued to decrease perhaps for one or several millennia after domestication. Put another way, the effects of domestication took some time to become apparent. Another example of this is the shape of the Khirokitia Sus lower third molars: they are intermediate between wild Near Eastern examples and domesticated pigs from Medieval England. It is hoped that this report and the data herein will serve zooarchaeologists in the future and aid our understanding of animals and man-animal relations in Cyprus.
El presente estudio sobre la variacion osteometrica de los restos de oveja y vacuno recuperados d... more El presente estudio sobre la variacion osteometrica de los restos de oveja y vacuno recuperados de yacimientos arqueologicos del sur de Portugal — region que fue controlada por los musulmanes — revela que durante el periodo andalusi se produjo un incremento en la talla de la oveja, seguido tras la reconquista por un subsiguiente aumento del tamano del vacuno. El analisis de ADN antiguo de un conjunto de metacarpos de vacuno del siglo XV procedentes de Beja ha confirmado una interpretacion osteometrica previa: el aumento de la talla del vacuno no fue consecuencia de un cambio en la proporcion de los sexos. Tanto los metacarpos mas pequenos (vaca) como los mas grandes (toro/buey) aumentaron de tamano en epoca post-andalusi. Se ha asumido que estos incrementos en el tamano de las cabanas ovina y vacuna reflejan su mejora. El aumento de tamano de la oveja es facil de entender dada la preferencia de los musulmanes por la carne de ovino. Sin embargo, el posterior aumento de talla del gana...
T cells rely for their development and function on the correct folding and turnover of proteins g... more T cells rely for their development and function on the correct folding and turnover of proteins generated in response to a broad range of molecular cues. In the absence of the eukaryotic type II chaperonin complex, CCT, T cell activation induced changes in the proteome are compromised including the formation of nuclear actin filaments and the formation of a normal cell stress response. Consequently, thymocyte maturation and selection, and T cell homeostatic maintenance and receptor-mediated activation are severely impaired. Additionally, Th2 polarization digresses in the absence of CCT-controlled protein folding resulting paradoxically in continued IFN-γ expression. As a result, CCT-deficient T cells fail to generate an efficient immune protection against helminths as they are unable to sustain a coordinated recruitment of the innate and adaptive immune systems. These findings thus demonstrate that normal T cell biology is critically dependent on CCT-controlled proteostasis and that...
We investigated the genetic composition of six Canis remains from western Iberia, directly radioc... more We investigated the genetic composition of six Canis remains from western Iberia, directly radiocarbon dated to 7,903-7,570 years (cal BP). They were identified as dogs via their archaeological and depositional context, osteometry, and a high percentage of aquatic diet shared with humans. For comparison, genetic data were obtained from an additional 37 Iberian dog remains from the Neolithic to Late Antiquity, as well as two Palaeolithic and a Chalcolithic Canis identified as wolves. Previous data indicated that dog mtDNA haplogroup A (HgA) is prevalent in extant European dogs (>50%), in the Near East and Asia, but rare or absent (<10%) in European Canis older than 3,000 years (cal BP). We found a high frequency (83%) of dog HgA in Mesolithic Iberian dog remains. This is the first report of a high frequency of dog HgA in pre-Neolithic Europe. We show that, contrary to the current view, Canis with HgA did not necessarily arrive in Europe from East-Asia. This phylogeographical difference in HgA frequency demonstrates that genetic differentiation was high prior to, or as a consequence of, domestication which may be linked with pre-Neolithic local processes for Iberian wolf domestication. Our results emphasize that knowledge of both ancient wolves' and early dogs' genetic profiles from the European periphery should improve our understanding of the evolution of the European dog.
The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.
Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reportin... more Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, compa...
Nitric Oxide (NO) is an intracellular signalling mediator, which affects many biological processe... more Nitric Oxide (NO) is an intracellular signalling mediator, which affects many biological processes via the posttranslational modification of proteins through S-nitrosation. The availability of NO and NOS-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) from enzymatic uncoupling are determined by the NO synthase cofactor Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4). Here, using a global proteomics "biotin-switch" approach, we identified components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system to be altered via BH4-dependent NO signalling by protein S-nitrosation. We show S-nitrosation of ubiquitin conjugating E2 enzymes, in particular the catalytic residue C87 of UBC13/UBE2N, leading to impaired polyubiquitylation by interfering with the formation of UBC13~Ub thioester intermediates. In addition, proteasome cleavage activity in cells also seems to be altered by S-nitrosation, correlating with the modification of cysteine residues within the 19S regulatory particle and catalytic subunits of the 20S complex. Our res...
The T-cell receptor (TCR) triggers the elimination of pathogens and tumors by T lymphocytes. In o... more The T-cell receptor (TCR) triggers the elimination of pathogens and tumors by T lymphocytes. In order for this to avoid damage to the host, the receptor has to discriminate between thousands of peptide ligands presented by each host cell. Exactly how the TCR does this is unknown. In resting T-cells, the TCR is largely unphosphorylated due to the dominance of phosphatases over kinases expressed at the cell surface. When agonist peptides are presented to the TCR by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins expressed by antigen-presenting cells (APCs), very fast receptor triggering occurs, leading to TCR phosphorylation. Recent work suggests that this depends on the local exclusion of the phosphatases from regions of contact of the T cells with the APCs. Here, we develop and test a quantitative treatment of receptor triggering reliant only upon TCR dwell-time in phosphatase-depleted cell-cell contacts constrained in area by cell topography. Using the model and experimentally-deri...
Abstract
Archaeological excavations undertaken between 1997 and 2010 at Lapa dos Coelhos – a smal... more Abstract Archaeological excavations undertaken between 1997 and 2010 at Lapa dos Coelhos – a small cavity in the Almonda River karst system near Torres Novas, Portugal, indicated intermittent occupation by humans during the Upper Pleistocene. During the Magdalenian the site served as a specialized temporary camp, probably related to hunting and fishing activities. A ‘laurel leaf’ fragment suggests human occupation during the Solutrean. The Mousterian artefacts identified in the lowest layers may correspond to runoff from other galleries of the same karstic system. Interpretation of the faunal remains shows that during the earlier periods the site also served as a hyaena den. We also note an important increase of small animals, especially rabbits, during the Tardiglacial period which probably reflects the ‘Mesolithic Crisis’. The Capra was considerably larger than modern ibex from Andalucia and modern domestic goats. A difference that may reflect climate change at the end of the Pleistocene.
Resumo Os trabalhos arqueológicos, empreendidos entre 1997 e 2010, nesta pequena cavidade do sistema cársico do rio Almonda (Torres Novas, Portugal), permitiram identificar a ocupação humana intermitente da cavidade durante o pleistocénico superior. Durante o Magdalenense o local terá funcionado como acampamento temporário especializado, provavelmente relacionado com apoio a actividades cinegéticas. A recolha de um fragmento de folha de loureiro documenta a ocupação humana do local durante o Solutrense. Os materiais líticos atribuíveis ao Moustierense, podem corresponder a escorrências provenientes de outras galerias, do mesmo sistema cársico. O estudo da fauna permitiu concluir que durante os períodos mais antigos o sítio serviu, igualmente, como covil de hiena e constatar o aumento de consumo de animais de pequeno porte, sobretudo coelho, durante o Tardiglaciar.
Fouilles récentes à Khirokitia 2019 — The Neolithic mammals from Khirokitia, Cyprus - APPENDIXES , 2021
Measurements of bones and teeth from Khirokitia Measurements, in tenths of a millimeter, of the a... more Measurements of bones and teeth from Khirokitia Measurements, in tenths of a millimeter, of the animal teeth and bones. Measurements were taken with a vernier-scale calipers and are accurate to the nearest 0,1 mm. For cases where these are approximate (i.e. +/-0,3 mm), a note is mentioned in the comments column ("x = approx"). Bones were measured according to the descriptions given in Driesch (1976) for the astragalus, Davis (1996) for the distal humerus and distal metacarpal, and Payne and Bull (1988) for Sus teeth. Sketches inserted in the figures also show how measurements were taken. The state of fusion of epiphyses is 'U' unfused or juvenile, and 'F' fused or adult. Taxa are coded as follows: OVA = Ovis aries or definite sheep, CAH = Capra hircus or definite goat, D = Dama or fallow deer, S = Sus or pig.
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Papers by simon davis
• The timing and reason for the demise of the native animals – the pygmy hippopotamuses and pygmy elephants – is still not known. My preferred explanation is that these animals, presumably naïve, and therefore easy to hunt, became extinct very rapidly so that any traces of their remains in any archaeological site will be hard to find. People undoubtedly hunted them and it is also quite likely that they suffered competition from feral pigs and other animals introduced from the mainland Near East some 10 or 11 millennia ago.
• Given the identity of the Cypriot fallow deer and the former distribution of fallow deer taxa on the mainland as well as considerations of the sizes of domesticated pigs in the Near East it seems probable that the first human colonists came to the island from the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean rather than from western Anatolia, Greece or the southern Levant.
• Throughout their occupation, the inhabitants of Khirokitia appear to have possessed a reduced spectrum of animals. This suggests, as do their cultural remains, development in isolation. In other words over time there is little evidence for much contact with peoples and cultures of the mainland.
• The reason for the absence of cattle from Khirokitia and other contemporary sites during later Aceramic Neolithic times also remains an enigma. Did the early Cypriots tire of cattle herding and decide to concentrate on smaller livestock like sheep, goat and pigs? Or did the cattle succumb to some kind of disease? It is likely that we shall never know.
• Well over 99% of the medium and large mammal remains from Khirokitia belonged to sheep, goat, Mesopotamian fallow deer and pigs; with dog, cat, and fox present in very small numbers (these last three were almost certainly not eaten). The presence of mouse and shrew is also attested. The frequencies of the sheep, goat, deer and pig change in a most interesting way. Thus in the beginning, and as at the earlier settlement of Shillourokambos, goats were quite common but rapidly became rare in the course of the occupation of Khirokitia. Sheep increased through time while there was a simultaneous and gradual reduction in the frequencies of pig and fallow deer – two animals that prefer woodland and moist vegetation. One possible explanation for these changes is that they reflect local habitat deterioration – a destruction of local forests – an explanation corroborated by the palaeo-botanical remains from the site. It is possible that trees were cut down to provide building material and fuel. The early switch from goat to sheep may reflect specialisation or a preference for grazing livestock on the Khirokitia plain.
• During the course of the site’s occupation there is little evidence for any size change of the fallow deer. The deer from Shillourokambos may have been very slightly smaller. Similarly the pigs and perhaps the goats too (though there are really too few goat bones to be very sure) remained similar in size. This stasis contrasts with what happened to the sheep. Sheep increased in size in the course of the occupation of the site. This probably happened gradually and without any change of shape of the bones (or at least the astragalus). It therefore seems logical to assume, but this cannot be proven, that sheep underwent some kind of local change. Perhaps they were improved by the inhabitants of Khirokitia to provide larger carcasses and more meat. This size increase at Khirokitia contrasts with the contemporary trend in mainland (Syrian) sheep which decreased in size. This could again signal local development in isolation from the mainland. A consideration of the variation of sheep, goat, fallow deer and pig tooth and bone measurements also fails to reveal any change over time.
• In two other respects we see stasis occurring for all four of the common large animals at Khirokitia. Thus both the representation of parts of their carcass and their age-at-slaughter remained the same throughout the occupation of the site. One interesting exception is a particular locus that contained an excess of distal femora – perhaps evidence for some ritual practise or children making a collection of these bones.
• Variations of the average sizes of the samples of bones of fallow deer between layers are shown to reflect biases in the representation of the sexes – this animal being markedly sexually dimorphic. With large samples of measurable bones it has also been possible to use and develop metric methods for separating sheep from goat bones. The astragalus has proven particularly useful in this respect and shape variation of the astragalus may well provide useful avenues of study in the future.
• Although difficult to speculate about actual husbandry practises, the chronological size increase of the sheep possibly reflects their improvement. Similarly some very sparse sex and age related data for the goat could be interpreted in terms of a change in the way goats were husbanded. As for pigs and fallow deer there is little to indicate any change in the relationship of people towards these animals in the course of Khirokitia’s occupation. Indeed it is difficult to understand whether fallow deer were hunted or kept in enclosures (or both). Given the fairly high proportion of caprines slaughtered while still osteologically immature, it is most probable that the sheep as well as the pigs were kept mainly for their meat.
The animal remains from Aceramic Neolithic Cyprus when viewed in a more general geographic context – the Near East as a whole – provide us with evidence for what must be almost the earliest sign of man’s possession of domesticated food animals like the pig, cattle, sheep and goat and presumably the taming of foxes, cats and fallow deer. As Vigne has noted at Shillourokambos, some of these animals were undoubtedly hunted. This makes it likely that some escaped into the wild to establish feral populations which could be hunted too. When viewed in a wider geographical perspective it is becoming clear that while a decrease in size of animals like Sus, Ovis and Bos certainly signals their early domestication, size continued to decrease perhaps for one or several millennia after domestication. Put another way, the effects of domestication took some time to become apparent. Another example of this is the shape of the Khirokitia Sus lower third molars: they are intermediate between wild Near Eastern examples and domesticated pigs from Medieval England. It is hoped that this report and the data herein will serve zooarchaeologists in the future and aid our understanding of animals and man-animal relations in Cyprus.
• The timing and reason for the demise of the native animals – the pygmy hippopotamuses and pygmy elephants – is still not known. My preferred explanation is that these animals, presumably naïve, and therefore easy to hunt, became extinct very rapidly so that any traces of their remains in any archaeological site will be hard to find. People undoubtedly hunted them and it is also quite likely that they suffered competition from feral pigs and other animals introduced from the mainland Near East some 10 or 11 millennia ago.
• Given the identity of the Cypriot fallow deer and the former distribution of fallow deer taxa on the mainland as well as considerations of the sizes of domesticated pigs in the Near East it seems probable that the first human colonists came to the island from the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean rather than from western Anatolia, Greece or the southern Levant.
• Throughout their occupation, the inhabitants of Khirokitia appear to have possessed a reduced spectrum of animals. This suggests, as do their cultural remains, development in isolation. In other words over time there is little evidence for much contact with peoples and cultures of the mainland.
• The reason for the absence of cattle from Khirokitia and other contemporary sites during later Aceramic Neolithic times also remains an enigma. Did the early Cypriots tire of cattle herding and decide to concentrate on smaller livestock like sheep, goat and pigs? Or did the cattle succumb to some kind of disease? It is likely that we shall never know.
• Well over 99% of the medium and large mammal remains from Khirokitia belonged to sheep, goat, Mesopotamian fallow deer and pigs; with dog, cat, and fox present in very small numbers (these last three were almost certainly not eaten). The presence of mouse and shrew is also attested. The frequencies of the sheep, goat, deer and pig change in a most interesting way. Thus in the beginning, and as at the earlier settlement of Shillourokambos, goats were quite common but rapidly became rare in the course of the occupation of Khirokitia. Sheep increased through time while there was a simultaneous and gradual reduction in the frequencies of pig and fallow deer – two animals that prefer woodland and moist vegetation. One possible explanation for these changes is that they reflect local habitat deterioration – a destruction of local forests – an explanation corroborated by the palaeo-botanical remains from the site. It is possible that trees were cut down to provide building material and fuel. The early switch from goat to sheep may reflect specialisation or a preference for grazing livestock on the Khirokitia plain.
• During the course of the site’s occupation there is little evidence for any size change of the fallow deer. The deer from Shillourokambos may have been very slightly smaller. Similarly the pigs and perhaps the goats too (though there are really too few goat bones to be very sure) remained similar in size. This stasis contrasts with what happened to the sheep. Sheep increased in size in the course of the occupation of the site. This probably happened gradually and without any change of shape of the bones (or at least the astragalus). It therefore seems logical to assume, but this cannot be proven, that sheep underwent some kind of local change. Perhaps they were improved by the inhabitants of Khirokitia to provide larger carcasses and more meat. This size increase at Khirokitia contrasts with the contemporary trend in mainland (Syrian) sheep which decreased in size. This could again signal local development in isolation from the mainland. A consideration of the variation of sheep, goat, fallow deer and pig tooth and bone measurements also fails to reveal any change over time.
• In two other respects we see stasis occurring for all four of the common large animals at Khirokitia. Thus both the representation of parts of their carcass and their age-at-slaughter remained the same throughout the occupation of the site. One interesting exception is a particular locus that contained an excess of distal femora – perhaps evidence for some ritual practise or children making a collection of these bones.
• Variations of the average sizes of the samples of bones of fallow deer between layers are shown to reflect biases in the representation of the sexes – this animal being markedly sexually dimorphic. With large samples of measurable bones it has also been possible to use and develop metric methods for separating sheep from goat bones. The astragalus has proven particularly useful in this respect and shape variation of the astragalus may well provide useful avenues of study in the future.
• Although difficult to speculate about actual husbandry practises, the chronological size increase of the sheep possibly reflects their improvement. Similarly some very sparse sex and age related data for the goat could be interpreted in terms of a change in the way goats were husbanded. As for pigs and fallow deer there is little to indicate any change in the relationship of people towards these animals in the course of Khirokitia’s occupation. Indeed it is difficult to understand whether fallow deer were hunted or kept in enclosures (or both). Given the fairly high proportion of caprines slaughtered while still osteologically immature, it is most probable that the sheep as well as the pigs were kept mainly for their meat.
The animal remains from Aceramic Neolithic Cyprus when viewed in a more general geographic context – the Near East as a whole – provide us with evidence for what must be almost the earliest sign of man’s possession of domesticated food animals like the pig, cattle, sheep and goat and presumably the taming of foxes, cats and fallow deer. As Vigne has noted at Shillourokambos, some of these animals were undoubtedly hunted. This makes it likely that some escaped into the wild to establish feral populations which could be hunted too. When viewed in a wider geographical perspective it is becoming clear that while a decrease in size of animals like Sus, Ovis and Bos certainly signals their early domestication, size continued to decrease perhaps for one or several millennia after domestication. Put another way, the effects of domestication took some time to become apparent. Another example of this is the shape of the Khirokitia Sus lower third molars: they are intermediate between wild Near Eastern examples and domesticated pigs from Medieval England. It is hoped that this report and the data herein will serve zooarchaeologists in the future and aid our understanding of animals and man-animal relations in Cyprus.
Archaeological excavations undertaken between 1997 and 2010 at Lapa dos Coelhos – a small cavity in the Almonda River karst system near Torres Novas, Portugal, indicated intermittent occupation by humans during the Upper Pleistocene. During the Magdalenian the site served as a specialized temporary camp, probably related to hunting and fishing activities. A ‘laurel leaf’ fragment suggests human occupation during the Solutrean. The Mousterian artefacts identified in the lowest layers may correspond to runoff from other galleries of the same karstic system. Interpretation of the faunal remains shows that during the earlier periods the site also served as a hyaena den. We also note an important increase of small animals, especially rabbits, during the Tardiglacial period which probably reflects the ‘Mesolithic Crisis’. The Capra was considerably larger than modern ibex from Andalucia and modern domestic goats. A difference that may reflect climate change at the end of the Pleistocene.
Resumo
Os trabalhos arqueológicos, empreendidos entre 1997 e 2010, nesta pequena cavidade do sistema cársico do rio Almonda (Torres Novas, Portugal), permitiram identificar a ocupação humana intermitente da cavidade durante o pleistocénico superior. Durante o Magdalenense o local terá funcionado como acampamento temporário especializado, provavelmente relacionado com apoio a actividades cinegéticas. A recolha de um fragmento de folha de loureiro documenta a ocupação humana do local durante o Solutrense. Os materiais líticos atribuíveis
ao Moustierense, podem corresponder a escorrências provenientes de outras galerias, do mesmo sistema cársico. O estudo da fauna permitiu concluir que durante os períodos mais antigos o sítio serviu, igualmente,
como covil de hiena e constatar o aumento de consumo de animais de pequeno porte, sobretudo coelho, durante o Tardiglaciar.