In this contribution, Geometric Morphometrics and Log Shape Ratio are applied to the astragali of... more In this contribution, Geometric Morphometrics and Log Shape Ratio are applied to the astragali of domestic Karakul sheep (Ovis aries) and wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) to test the suitability of these methods for distinguishing these two sheep populations. Both methods successfully separated the wild sheep excavated at Göbekli Tepe and Gusir Höyük (10th – 9th millennium BC) from modern domestic sheep of the Karakul breed. Although additional tests are necessary to exclude other factors, it can be hypothesised that the divergence between the astragali of the two populations most likely results from the process of domestication.
Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associate... more Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associated with the beginning of cultivation and herding in the Old World. In this article we present new archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data from Gusir Höyük, an aceramic Neolithic habitation dating to the 12th-late 11th millennia cal BP. Our results show selective use of legume crop progenitors and nuts during the earlier part of this period, followed by the management of cereal and legume crop progenitors from the mid-11th millennium cal BP. This contrasts with data available from other Anatolian habitations indicating broad spectrum plant use with low crop progenitor inputs. Early aceramic Neolithic Anatolian plant and animal exploitation strategies were site-specific, reflecting distinctive identities and culinary choices rather than environmental constraints. A multivariate evaluation of wheat grain metrics alongside botanical and radiometric data indicate that early wheat domestica...
Fragestellung Die Rohmaterialversorgung im Rahmen der Metallherstellung verlangte schon sehr früh... more Fragestellung Die Rohmaterialversorgung im Rahmen der Metallherstellung verlangte schon sehr früh spe-zialisierte Formen von Abbau-und Verhüttungsplätzen sowie Unterkünften für die Bergleute. Die Mineralien, welche die gesuchten Rohstoffe enthielten, finden sich vielfach in sehr gebir-gigen und deshalb nicht selten an schwer zugänglichen Orten. Deshalb liegen die Plätze, an denen man die ersten Verarbeitungsschritte der Rohmetallherstellung durchführte, ebenfalls an eher abgelegenen Stellen. Die Bergleute und die Arbeiter dürften in der näheren Umgebung von Abbau-und Verhüttungsplätzen untergebracht gewesen sein. Aber wie wurden sie an die-sen speziellen Fundplätzen mit Nahrungsmitteln versorgt? Hat man gleichzeitig mit den Ab-bau-und Verhüttungsplätzen auch Siedlungen errichtet, in welchen Nahrungsmittel produziert, also Ackerbau und Viehzucht betrieben wurden? Oder wurden die notwendigen Nahrungsmit-tel in weiter entfernten Talsiedlungen produziert und zu den Abbau-und Verhüttungs...
Traditional methods for estimating age-at-death of caprines are based on dental and epiphyseal fu... more Traditional methods for estimating age-at-death of caprines are based on dental and epiphyseal fusion data and known to produce rather wide age intervals. In order to better interpret prenatal to early infantile mortality of sheep in prehistoric assemblages more precise age predictions are needed. We address this issue using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) developed on humerus measurements of unborn and very young sheep of known age housed in modern collections. We then verify the resulting prediction model with the aid of a pregnant ewe and her foetus (Ovis aries) excavated in the Ptolemaic-Roman animal cemetery at Syene (modern Aswan, Egypt). Her condition illustrates that both the mother and her mature foetus must have died during birthing. Subsequently, we apply the model to humeri of very young archaeological sheep (Ovis orientalis/O. aries) unearthed at early Neolithic Aşıklı Höyük (Central Turkey). Both study cases underscore the practicality of our approach whilst illustrating the cultural and historical importance of precise age determinations in foetal, newborn and infantile sheep. Finally, we discuss the possible causes for foetal and neonatal mortality in sheep at Aşıklı Höyük.
Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associate... more Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associated with the beginning of cultivation and herding in the Old World. In this article we present new archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data from Gusir Höyük, an aceramic Neolithic habitation dating to the 12th-late 11th millennia cal BP. Our results show selective use of legume crop progenitors and nuts during the earlier part of this period, followed by the management of cereal and legume crop progenitors from the mid-11th millennium cal BP. This contrasts with data available from other Anatolian habitations indicating broad spectrum plant use with low crop progenitor inputs. Early aceramic Neolithic Anatolian plant and animal exploitation strategies were site-specific, reflecting distinctive identities and culinary choices rather than environmental constraints. A multivariate evaluation of wheat grain metrics alongside botanical and radiometric data indicate that early wheat domestica...
Im traditionsreichen Bergbaugebiet von Schwaz/Brixlegg in Nordtirol ist seit Mitte der 1990er Jah... more Im traditionsreichen Bergbaugebiet von Schwaz/Brixlegg in Nordtirol ist seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre eine umfangreiche prähistorische Kupfergewinnung auf der Basis von Fahlerzen nachgewiesen. Zahlreiche, noch heute erhaltene Gruben, deren prähistorisches Alter lange Zeit unerkannt geblieben war, können mittlerweile einem spätbronzezeitlichen bis früheisenzeitlichen Bergbau zugeordnet werden. Neben vielfältigen Abbauspuren über und unter Tage konnten Aufbereitungs- sowie bislang zwei Verhüttungsplätze aufgefunden werden. In der Zusammenschau der Ergebnisse von montanarchäologischen Prospektionen und archäologischen Ausgrabungen lässt sich hier ein bedeutendes Zentrum prähistorischer Kupferproduktion im Alpenraum erkennen. Im Rahmen des vom FWF, dem Land Tirol und weiteren Sponsoren geförderten SFBs HiMAT konnten die in den 1990er Jahren an der Universität Innsbruck begonnenen Forschungsarbeiten zu diesem Thema seit Sommer 2007 mit einem breit gefächerten interdisziplinären Ansatz erfo...
Archaeozoology of the Near East XII Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium of the ICAZ Archaeozoology of Southwest Asia and Adjacent Areas Working Group, Groningen Institute of Archaeology, June 14-15 2015, University of Groningen, the Netherlands, 2018
In this contribution, Geometric Morphometrics and Log Shape Ratio are applied to the astragali of... more In this contribution, Geometric Morphometrics and Log Shape Ratio are applied to the astragali of domestic Karakul sheep (Ovis aries) and wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) to test the suitability of these methods for distinguishing these two sheep populations. Both methods successfully separated the wild sheep excavated at Göbekli Tepe and Gusir Höyük (10th – 9th millennium BC) from modern domestic sheep of the Karakul breed. Although additional tests are necessary to exclude other factors, it can be hypothesised that the divergence between the astragali of the two populations most likely results from the process of domestication.
From the very beginning sheep keepers (un-)consciously selected animals with traits amenable to l... more From the very beginning sheep keepers (un-)consciously selected animals with traits amenable to life and reproduction in an anthropogenic environment. Over the millennia sheep lineages developed which were adapted to the diverse landscapes and climates currently inhabited by the species. With time, human selection also fostered desired traits, such as docility, higher average milk production, abundant fleece or excessive fat depots, amongst others. However, verifying their appearance in the archaeological record is quite difficult applying standard archaeozoological methods. Here we present a Geometric Morphometric (GMM) approach that can shed light on these developments. Our study compares astragali of three wild and five domestic sheep populations. They come from prehistoric contexts in SW Asia dating to the Early Neolithic, Middle Chalcolithic and Late Bronze Age as well as modern reference series housed in natural history collections. We observe that ancient and modern wild sheep share the same astragalar morphology. Moreover, domestic sheep from Middle Chalcolithic Central Anatolia still resemble closely their Neolithic SE Anatolian wild relatives. Modern sheep populations from the United Kingdom and NW Germany form a distinct cluster, whereas sheep populations from Late Bronze Age Syria and particularly modern Karakul sheep clearly position away from all of the aforementioned groups, underscoring their distinct morphology. We conclude that the phenotypes preserved in the astragalar size and shape are at the same time a reflection of the respective population's geography, chronology and genetics.
Human interference with the life cycle of wild ruminant species in the 10 th-9th millennia BCE wa... more Human interference with the life cycle of wild ruminant species in the 10 th-9th millennia BCE was essential to the 'Neolithic Revolution' in the Near East. Being a process of learning by doing, initial ruminant management must have been challenging to both founder flocks and people, but information about potential problems is hitherto lacking in the archaeological record. Here we report on a skeletal condition affecting joint health in small bovids. Detailed examination of the bone surfaces of astragalus of modern and Goitered gazelles as well as wild and domestic sheep revealed circumscribed mesoscopic lesions that we classified into five stages based on their size and properties. Our study demonstrates that intra-articular bone damage is significantly more pronounced in animals living confined to enclosures. Similar non-physiologic conditions have been evidenced in juvenile and adult sheep from early Neolithic contexts throughout Anatolia and interpreted as evidence for locomotor stress due to restricted mobility and stabling on-site. Still in the course of the early Neolithic, joint health improved significantly, implying a better mastering of sheep management over the centuries. In conclusion, pathologic profiling yields the potential for tracing initial management of captive ruminants. Apart from Southwest Asia, the meth-odological approach presented here seems appropriate for detecting similar developments in the human-animal relationship of behaviorally comparable medium-and large-sized herbivore taxa in other parts of the Old and New Worlds.
Fragestellung Die Rohmaterialversorgung im Rahmen der Metallherstellung verlangte schon sehr früh... more Fragestellung Die Rohmaterialversorgung im Rahmen der Metallherstellung verlangte schon sehr früh spe-zialisierte Formen von Abbau-und Verhüttungsplätzen sowie Unterkünften für die Bergleute. Die Mineralien, welche die gesuchten Rohstoffe enthielten, finden sich vielfach in sehr gebir-gigen und deshalb nicht selten an schwer zugänglichen Orten. Deshalb liegen die Plätze, an denen man die ersten Verarbeitungsschritte der Rohmetallherstellung durchführte, ebenfalls an eher abgelegenen Stellen. Die Bergleute und die Arbeiter dürften in der näheren Umgebung von Abbau-und Verhüttungsplätzen untergebracht gewesen sein. Aber wie wurden sie an die-sen speziellen Fundplätzen mit Nahrungsmitteln versorgt? Hat man gleichzeitig mit den Ab-bau-und Verhüttungsplätzen auch Siedlungen errichtet, in welchen Nahrungsmittel produziert, also Ackerbau und Viehzucht betrieben wurden? Oder wurden die notwendigen Nahrungsmit-tel in weiter entfernten Talsiedlungen produziert und zu den Abbau-und Verhüttungs...
This study presents the results of a major data integration project bringing together primary arc... more This study presents the results of a major data integration project bringing together primary archaeozoological data for over 200,000 faunal specimens excavated from seventeen sites in Turkey spanning the Epipaleolithic through Chalcolithic periods, c. 18,000-4,000 cal BC, in order to document the initial westward spread of domestic livestock across Neolithic central and western Turkey. From these shared datasets we demonstrate that the westward expansion of Neolithic subsistence technologies combined multiple routes and pulses but did not involve a set ‘package’ comprising all four livestock species including sheep, goat, cattle and pig. Instead, Neolithic animal economies in the study regions are shown to be more diverse than deduced previously using quantitatively more limited datasets. Moreover, during the transition to agro-pastoral economies interactions between domestic stock and local wild fauna continued. Through publication of datasets with Open Context (opencontext.org), this project emphasizes the benefits of data sharing and web-based dissemination of large primary data sets for exploring major questions in archaeology (Alternative Language Abstract S1).
In this contribution, Geometric Morphometrics and Log Shape Ratio are applied to the astragali of... more In this contribution, Geometric Morphometrics and Log Shape Ratio are applied to the astragali of domestic Karakul sheep (Ovis aries) and wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) to test the suitability of these methods for distinguishing these two sheep populations. Both methods successfully separated the wild sheep excavated at Göbekli Tepe and Gusir Höyük (10th – 9th millennium BC) from modern domestic sheep of the Karakul breed. Although additional tests are necessary to exclude other factors, it can be hypothesised that the divergence between the astragali of the two populations most likely results from the process of domestication.
Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associate... more Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associated with the beginning of cultivation and herding in the Old World. In this article we present new archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data from Gusir Höyük, an aceramic Neolithic habitation dating to the 12th-late 11th millennia cal BP. Our results show selective use of legume crop progenitors and nuts during the earlier part of this period, followed by the management of cereal and legume crop progenitors from the mid-11th millennium cal BP. This contrasts with data available from other Anatolian habitations indicating broad spectrum plant use with low crop progenitor inputs. Early aceramic Neolithic Anatolian plant and animal exploitation strategies were site-specific, reflecting distinctive identities and culinary choices rather than environmental constraints. A multivariate evaluation of wheat grain metrics alongside botanical and radiometric data indicate that early wheat domestica...
Fragestellung Die Rohmaterialversorgung im Rahmen der Metallherstellung verlangte schon sehr früh... more Fragestellung Die Rohmaterialversorgung im Rahmen der Metallherstellung verlangte schon sehr früh spe-zialisierte Formen von Abbau-und Verhüttungsplätzen sowie Unterkünften für die Bergleute. Die Mineralien, welche die gesuchten Rohstoffe enthielten, finden sich vielfach in sehr gebir-gigen und deshalb nicht selten an schwer zugänglichen Orten. Deshalb liegen die Plätze, an denen man die ersten Verarbeitungsschritte der Rohmetallherstellung durchführte, ebenfalls an eher abgelegenen Stellen. Die Bergleute und die Arbeiter dürften in der näheren Umgebung von Abbau-und Verhüttungsplätzen untergebracht gewesen sein. Aber wie wurden sie an die-sen speziellen Fundplätzen mit Nahrungsmitteln versorgt? Hat man gleichzeitig mit den Ab-bau-und Verhüttungsplätzen auch Siedlungen errichtet, in welchen Nahrungsmittel produziert, also Ackerbau und Viehzucht betrieben wurden? Oder wurden die notwendigen Nahrungsmit-tel in weiter entfernten Talsiedlungen produziert und zu den Abbau-und Verhüttungs...
Traditional methods for estimating age-at-death of caprines are based on dental and epiphyseal fu... more Traditional methods for estimating age-at-death of caprines are based on dental and epiphyseal fusion data and known to produce rather wide age intervals. In order to better interpret prenatal to early infantile mortality of sheep in prehistoric assemblages more precise age predictions are needed. We address this issue using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) developed on humerus measurements of unborn and very young sheep of known age housed in modern collections. We then verify the resulting prediction model with the aid of a pregnant ewe and her foetus (Ovis aries) excavated in the Ptolemaic-Roman animal cemetery at Syene (modern Aswan, Egypt). Her condition illustrates that both the mother and her mature foetus must have died during birthing. Subsequently, we apply the model to humeri of very young archaeological sheep (Ovis orientalis/O. aries) unearthed at early Neolithic Aşıklı Höyük (Central Turkey). Both study cases underscore the practicality of our approach whilst illustrating the cultural and historical importance of precise age determinations in foetal, newborn and infantile sheep. Finally, we discuss the possible causes for foetal and neonatal mortality in sheep at Aşıklı Höyük.
Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associate... more Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associated with the beginning of cultivation and herding in the Old World. In this article we present new archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data from Gusir Höyük, an aceramic Neolithic habitation dating to the 12th-late 11th millennia cal BP. Our results show selective use of legume crop progenitors and nuts during the earlier part of this period, followed by the management of cereal and legume crop progenitors from the mid-11th millennium cal BP. This contrasts with data available from other Anatolian habitations indicating broad spectrum plant use with low crop progenitor inputs. Early aceramic Neolithic Anatolian plant and animal exploitation strategies were site-specific, reflecting distinctive identities and culinary choices rather than environmental constraints. A multivariate evaluation of wheat grain metrics alongside botanical and radiometric data indicate that early wheat domestica...
Im traditionsreichen Bergbaugebiet von Schwaz/Brixlegg in Nordtirol ist seit Mitte der 1990er Jah... more Im traditionsreichen Bergbaugebiet von Schwaz/Brixlegg in Nordtirol ist seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre eine umfangreiche prähistorische Kupfergewinnung auf der Basis von Fahlerzen nachgewiesen. Zahlreiche, noch heute erhaltene Gruben, deren prähistorisches Alter lange Zeit unerkannt geblieben war, können mittlerweile einem spätbronzezeitlichen bis früheisenzeitlichen Bergbau zugeordnet werden. Neben vielfältigen Abbauspuren über und unter Tage konnten Aufbereitungs- sowie bislang zwei Verhüttungsplätze aufgefunden werden. In der Zusammenschau der Ergebnisse von montanarchäologischen Prospektionen und archäologischen Ausgrabungen lässt sich hier ein bedeutendes Zentrum prähistorischer Kupferproduktion im Alpenraum erkennen. Im Rahmen des vom FWF, dem Land Tirol und weiteren Sponsoren geförderten SFBs HiMAT konnten die in den 1990er Jahren an der Universität Innsbruck begonnenen Forschungsarbeiten zu diesem Thema seit Sommer 2007 mit einem breit gefächerten interdisziplinären Ansatz erfo...
Archaeozoology of the Near East XII Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium of the ICAZ Archaeozoology of Southwest Asia and Adjacent Areas Working Group, Groningen Institute of Archaeology, June 14-15 2015, University of Groningen, the Netherlands, 2018
In this contribution, Geometric Morphometrics and Log Shape Ratio are applied to the astragali of... more In this contribution, Geometric Morphometrics and Log Shape Ratio are applied to the astragali of domestic Karakul sheep (Ovis aries) and wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) to test the suitability of these methods for distinguishing these two sheep populations. Both methods successfully separated the wild sheep excavated at Göbekli Tepe and Gusir Höyük (10th – 9th millennium BC) from modern domestic sheep of the Karakul breed. Although additional tests are necessary to exclude other factors, it can be hypothesised that the divergence between the astragali of the two populations most likely results from the process of domestication.
From the very beginning sheep keepers (un-)consciously selected animals with traits amenable to l... more From the very beginning sheep keepers (un-)consciously selected animals with traits amenable to life and reproduction in an anthropogenic environment. Over the millennia sheep lineages developed which were adapted to the diverse landscapes and climates currently inhabited by the species. With time, human selection also fostered desired traits, such as docility, higher average milk production, abundant fleece or excessive fat depots, amongst others. However, verifying their appearance in the archaeological record is quite difficult applying standard archaeozoological methods. Here we present a Geometric Morphometric (GMM) approach that can shed light on these developments. Our study compares astragali of three wild and five domestic sheep populations. They come from prehistoric contexts in SW Asia dating to the Early Neolithic, Middle Chalcolithic and Late Bronze Age as well as modern reference series housed in natural history collections. We observe that ancient and modern wild sheep share the same astragalar morphology. Moreover, domestic sheep from Middle Chalcolithic Central Anatolia still resemble closely their Neolithic SE Anatolian wild relatives. Modern sheep populations from the United Kingdom and NW Germany form a distinct cluster, whereas sheep populations from Late Bronze Age Syria and particularly modern Karakul sheep clearly position away from all of the aforementioned groups, underscoring their distinct morphology. We conclude that the phenotypes preserved in the astragalar size and shape are at the same time a reflection of the respective population's geography, chronology and genetics.
Human interference with the life cycle of wild ruminant species in the 10 th-9th millennia BCE wa... more Human interference with the life cycle of wild ruminant species in the 10 th-9th millennia BCE was essential to the 'Neolithic Revolution' in the Near East. Being a process of learning by doing, initial ruminant management must have been challenging to both founder flocks and people, but information about potential problems is hitherto lacking in the archaeological record. Here we report on a skeletal condition affecting joint health in small bovids. Detailed examination of the bone surfaces of astragalus of modern and Goitered gazelles as well as wild and domestic sheep revealed circumscribed mesoscopic lesions that we classified into five stages based on their size and properties. Our study demonstrates that intra-articular bone damage is significantly more pronounced in animals living confined to enclosures. Similar non-physiologic conditions have been evidenced in juvenile and adult sheep from early Neolithic contexts throughout Anatolia and interpreted as evidence for locomotor stress due to restricted mobility and stabling on-site. Still in the course of the early Neolithic, joint health improved significantly, implying a better mastering of sheep management over the centuries. In conclusion, pathologic profiling yields the potential for tracing initial management of captive ruminants. Apart from Southwest Asia, the meth-odological approach presented here seems appropriate for detecting similar developments in the human-animal relationship of behaviorally comparable medium-and large-sized herbivore taxa in other parts of the Old and New Worlds.
Fragestellung Die Rohmaterialversorgung im Rahmen der Metallherstellung verlangte schon sehr früh... more Fragestellung Die Rohmaterialversorgung im Rahmen der Metallherstellung verlangte schon sehr früh spe-zialisierte Formen von Abbau-und Verhüttungsplätzen sowie Unterkünften für die Bergleute. Die Mineralien, welche die gesuchten Rohstoffe enthielten, finden sich vielfach in sehr gebir-gigen und deshalb nicht selten an schwer zugänglichen Orten. Deshalb liegen die Plätze, an denen man die ersten Verarbeitungsschritte der Rohmetallherstellung durchführte, ebenfalls an eher abgelegenen Stellen. Die Bergleute und die Arbeiter dürften in der näheren Umgebung von Abbau-und Verhüttungsplätzen untergebracht gewesen sein. Aber wie wurden sie an die-sen speziellen Fundplätzen mit Nahrungsmitteln versorgt? Hat man gleichzeitig mit den Ab-bau-und Verhüttungsplätzen auch Siedlungen errichtet, in welchen Nahrungsmittel produziert, also Ackerbau und Viehzucht betrieben wurden? Oder wurden die notwendigen Nahrungsmit-tel in weiter entfernten Talsiedlungen produziert und zu den Abbau-und Verhüttungs...
This study presents the results of a major data integration project bringing together primary arc... more This study presents the results of a major data integration project bringing together primary archaeozoological data for over 200,000 faunal specimens excavated from seventeen sites in Turkey spanning the Epipaleolithic through Chalcolithic periods, c. 18,000-4,000 cal BC, in order to document the initial westward spread of domestic livestock across Neolithic central and western Turkey. From these shared datasets we demonstrate that the westward expansion of Neolithic subsistence technologies combined multiple routes and pulses but did not involve a set ‘package’ comprising all four livestock species including sheep, goat, cattle and pig. Instead, Neolithic animal economies in the study regions are shown to be more diverse than deduced previously using quantitatively more limited datasets. Moreover, during the transition to agro-pastoral economies interactions between domestic stock and local wild fauna continued. Through publication of datasets with Open Context (opencontext.org), this project emphasizes the benefits of data sharing and web-based dissemination of large primary data sets for exploring major questions in archaeology (Alternative Language Abstract S1).
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Papers by N. Pöllath
in an anthropogenic environment. Over the millennia sheep lineages developed which were adapted
to the diverse landscapes and climates currently inhabited by the species. With time, human selection also
fostered desired traits, such as docility, higher average milk production, abundant fleece or excessive fat depots,
amongst others. However, verifying their appearance in the archaeological record is quite difficult applying
standard archaeozoological methods. Here we present a Geometric Morphometric (GMM) approach that can
shed light on these developments. Our study compares astragali of three wild and five domestic sheep populations.
They come from prehistoric contexts in SW Asia dating to the Early Neolithic, Middle Chalcolithic and
Late Bronze Age as well as modern reference series housed in natural history collections. We observe that ancient
and modern wild sheep share the same astragalar morphology. Moreover, domestic sheep from Middle
Chalcolithic Central Anatolia still resemble closely their Neolithic SE Anatolian wild relatives. Modern sheep
populations from the United Kingdom and NW Germany form a distinct cluster, whereas sheep populations from
Late Bronze Age Syria and particularly modern Karakul sheep clearly position away from all of the aforementioned
groups, underscoring their distinct morphology. We conclude that the phenotypes preserved in the astragalar
size and shape are at the same time a reflection of the respective population's geography, chronology
and genetics.
in an anthropogenic environment. Over the millennia sheep lineages developed which were adapted
to the diverse landscapes and climates currently inhabited by the species. With time, human selection also
fostered desired traits, such as docility, higher average milk production, abundant fleece or excessive fat depots,
amongst others. However, verifying their appearance in the archaeological record is quite difficult applying
standard archaeozoological methods. Here we present a Geometric Morphometric (GMM) approach that can
shed light on these developments. Our study compares astragali of three wild and five domestic sheep populations.
They come from prehistoric contexts in SW Asia dating to the Early Neolithic, Middle Chalcolithic and
Late Bronze Age as well as modern reference series housed in natural history collections. We observe that ancient
and modern wild sheep share the same astragalar morphology. Moreover, domestic sheep from Middle
Chalcolithic Central Anatolia still resemble closely their Neolithic SE Anatolian wild relatives. Modern sheep
populations from the United Kingdom and NW Germany form a distinct cluster, whereas sheep populations from
Late Bronze Age Syria and particularly modern Karakul sheep clearly position away from all of the aforementioned
groups, underscoring their distinct morphology. We conclude that the phenotypes preserved in the astragalar
size and shape are at the same time a reflection of the respective population's geography, chronology
and genetics.