Earliest Radiocarbon Dates for Domesticated Animals: Europe is added to the Near East as another early center of domestication.
Abstract: Our dates show that cattle and pigs were first domesticated in Europe. Sheep, which were thought to have become extinct in Europe during the terminal Pleistocene, also appear first in Europe. However, there remains little doubt that sheep were first domesticated in the Near East or Turkey, since no wild sheep appear to have existed in Europe at the beginning of the Holocene. Dogs were domesticated in both the Near East and Europe at virtually the same time. In the Near East, Asiab, at around 8000 B.C., qualifies as the first center of goat domestication. It is also the earliest center of domestication for all animals we have dated here. Horses were first domesticated in the steppes of the Ukraine, perhaps even earlier than our dates indicate, since all of the samples found at Polling are virtually contemporaneous (Fig. 1). Undoubtedly, future research will alter the details of our overall impressions, especially after bones at earlier sites such as Nea Nikomedeia have been dated directly. But, on balance, there can be no doubt that southeastern Europe was as much an early center of domestication as the Near East was.
Publication Date: 1973-01-19 PubMed ID: 17802345DOI: 10.1126/science.179.4070.235Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research article reveals that cattle, pigs, and sheep were first domesticated in Europe, contrary to previous estimates. The study also points out that dogs were domesticated at approximately the same period in both Europe and the Near East, and horses were predominantly domesticated in the Ukrainian steppes.
Domestication of Cattle and Pigs in Europe
- The study presents that cattle and pigs were first domesticated in Europe, challenging previous theories.
- This discovery provides a new timeline for when these animals began to play a role in human societies, changing the understanding of early agricultural practices and the development of human civilization in Europe.
- The authors emphasize that these findings are supported by radiocarbon dating of animal remains, a technique that provides reliable information about when an animal lived and died.
Domestication of Sheep in Europe and the Near East
- The researchers establish that despite sheep believed to have become extinct in Europe during the terminal Pleistocene, they appear first in Europe based on the study’s dating.
- However, they conclude that sheep were probably first domesticated in the Near East or Turkey, since there seems to be no existence of wild sheep in Europe at the beginning of the Holocene.
Domestication of Dogs in Europe and the Near East
- The study reveals that dogs were domesticated in both the Near East and Europe at virtually the same time, challenging the centralization perspective of domestication.
Goat Domestication in the Near East
- The study recognizes Asiab, in the Near East, from around 8000 B.C., as the first center of goat domestication.
- This location is also referred to as the earliest center of domestication for all animals included in the study.
Horse Domestication in the Ukraine
- The researchers’ data suggest that horses were first domesticated in the steppes of the Ukraine, possibly earlier than their dates show.
- This conclusion is based on the nearly contemporaneous nature of all of the horse samples found at a location known as Polling.
Future Research
- The authors recognize the dynamic aspect of historical research and admit that future studies might modify the findings they present, after bones at earlier sites such as Nea Nikomedeia have been dated directly.
- Nevertheless, they emphasize the undeniable significance of southeastern Europe as an early center of animal domestication, with a role as significant as that of the Near East.
Cite This Article
APA
Protsch R, Berger R.
(1973).
Earliest Radiocarbon Dates for Domesticated Animals: Europe is added to the Near East as another early center of domestication.
Science, 179(4070), 235-239.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.179.4070.235 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Asouti E, Baird D, Kabukcu C, Swinson K, Martin L, García-Suárez A, Jenkins E, Rasheed K. The Zagros Epipalaeolithic revisited: New excavations and 14C dates from Palegawra cave in Iraqi Kurdistan.. PLoS One 2020;15(9):e0239564.
- Kapoor A, Simmonds P, Gerold G, Qaisar N, Jain K, Henriquez JA, Firth C, Hirschberg DL, Rice CM, Shields S, Lipkin WI. Characterization of a canine homolog of hepatitis C virus.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011 Jul 12;108(28):11608-13.
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