Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making.

Autor: Balasse M; UMR 7209 AASPE « Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques, environnements » CNRS, MNHN, 75005, Paris, France. marie.balasse@mnhn.fr., Gillis R; UMR 7209 AASPE « Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques, environnements » CNRS, MNHN, 75005, Paris, France.; Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal., Živaljević I; BioSense Institute, University of Novi Sad, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia., Berthon R; UMR 7209 AASPE « Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques, environnements » CNRS, MNHN, 75005, Paris, France., Kovačiková L; Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Palaeoecology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic., Fiorillo D; UMR 7209 AASPE « Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques, environnements » CNRS, MNHN, 75005, Paris, France., Arbogast RM; UMR 7044 'Archimède', MISHA, CNRS, University of Strasbourg, 67000, Strasbourg, France., Bălăşescu A; Department of Bioarchaeology, 'Vasile Pârvan' Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, 010667, Bucharest, Romania., Bréhard S; UMR 7209 AASPE « Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques, environnements » CNRS, MNHN, 75005, Paris, France., Nyerges ÉÁ; Department of Archaeology, Savaria Museum, Szombathely, 9700, Hungary., Dimitrijević V; Laboratory for Bioarchaeology, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia., Bánffy E; Römisch-Germanische Kommission des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 60325, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.; Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1097, Budapest, Hungary., Domboróczki L; Dobó István Castle Museum, Vár út 1, 3300, Eger, Hungary., Marciniak A; Faculty of Archaeology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-614, Poznań, Poland., Oross K; Institute of Archaeology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1097, Budapest, Hungary., Vostrovská I; Institute of Archaeology and Museology, Masaryk University, 60200, Brno, Czech Republic.; Department of History, Palacký University, 77900, Olomouc, Czech Republic., Roffet-Salque M; Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK., Stefanović S; BioSense Institute, University of Novi Sad, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.; Laboratory for Bioarchaeology, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia., Ivanova M; Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS), University of Vienna, 1190, Vienna, Austria.; Institut Für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Universität Heidelberg, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Scientific reports [Sci Rep] 2021 Apr 14; Vol. 11 (1), pp. 8185. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Apr 14.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1
Abstrakt: Present-day domestic cattle are reproductively active throughout the year, which is a major asset for dairy production. Large wild ungulates, in contrast, are seasonal breeders, as were the last historic representatives of the aurochs, the wild ancestors of cattle. Aseasonal reproduction in cattle is a consequence of domestication and herding, but exactly when this capacity developed in domestic cattle is still unknown and the extent to which early farming communities controlled the seasonality of reproduction is debated. Seasonal or aseasonal calving would have shaped the socio-economic practices of ancient farming societies differently, structuring the agropastoral calendar and determining milk availability where dairying is attested. In this study, we reconstruct the calving pattern through the analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios of cattle tooth enamel from 18 sites across Europe, dating from the 6th mill. cal BC (Early Neolithic) in the Balkans to the 4th mill. cal BC (Middle Neolithic) in Western Europe. Seasonal calving prevailed in Europe between the 6th and 4th millennia cal BC. These results suggest that cattle agropastoral systems in Neolithic Europe were strongly constrained by environmental factors, in particular forage resources. The ensuing fluctuations in milk availability would account for cheese-making, transforming a seasonal milk supply into a storable product.
Databáze: MEDLINE