The evolution of dual meat and milk cattle husbandry in Linearbandkeramik societies.

Rosalind E Gillis,Hana Nohálová,Alexander Anders,László Domboróczki,Emilie Guthmann,Ivana Vostrovská,Joachim Pechtl,Stéphanie Bréhard,Arkadiusz Marciniak,Lenka Kovačiková,Rose-Marie Arbogast,Jean-Denis Vigne,Anne Tresset

doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.0905

Abstract

Cattle dominate archaeozoological assemblages from the north-central Europe between the sixth and fifth millennium BC and are frequently considered as exclusively used for their meat. Dairy products may have played a greater role than previously believed. Selective pressure on the lactase persistence mutation has been modelled to have begun between 6000 and 4000 years ago in central Europe. The discovery of milk lipids in late sixth millennium ceramic sieves in Poland may reflect an isolated regional peculiarity for cheese making or may signify more generalized milk exploitation in north-central Europe during the Early Neolithic. To investigate these issues, we analysed the mortality profiles based on age-at-death analysis of cattle tooth eruption, wear and replacement from 19 archaeological sites of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture (sixth to fifth millennium BC). The results indicate that cattle husbandry was similar across time and space in the LBK culture with a degree of specialization for meat exploitation in some areas. Statistical comparison with reference age-at-death profiles indicate that mixed husbandry (milk and meat) was practised, with mature animals being kept. The analysis provides a unique insight into LBK cattle husbandry and how it evolved in later cultures in central and western Europe. It also opens a new perspective on how and why the Neolithic way of life developed through continental Europe and how dairy products became a part of the human diet.

Highlights

Milk production and consumption in prehistoric societies has been a centre of debate for decades [1,2,3], primarily owing to the majority of human populations being lactose intolerant after weaning, when the lactase enzyme production is switched off [4]
The analysis provides a unique insight into LBK cattle husbandry and how it evolved in later cultures in central and western Europe
Could dairying have played a role in the spread of the Neolithic following the Danubian route, where cattle were dominant? Does the discovery of pottery sieves with evidence of milk lipids in the late sixth millennium in Poland [16,17] reflect an isolated regional peculiarity for cheese making, or does it indicate a more generalized milk exploitation in north-central Europe during the early Neolithic? Here, we address these issues by studying cattle age-at-death data from 19 sites from the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture

Summary

Introduction

Milk production and consumption in prehistoric societies has been a centre of debate for decades [1,2,3], primarily owing to the majority of human populations being lactose intolerant after weaning, when the lactase enzyme production is switched off [4]. The archaeological sites of Bercy (late fifth millennium BC, France) and Popina-Bordusani (late fifth millennium BC, Romania) were chosen as models of post-lactation slaughter This has been proposed to be a model for dairy management in prehistoric herds, given that traditional cattle breeds do not release into the cistern without stimulation by suckling or the presence of the calf or a substitute [54]. The results proved that animals within the post-lactation slaughter peak were weaned [55,56], providing indirect evidence that cattle were managed for milk These profiles are characterized by relatively high slaughter in age class 6–15 months and may represent a slaughter of young adults for meat production, for example, in age classes 15–26 and 26–36 months. As a hunting profile is similar to a meat-focused one, there may be issues of equifinality, as the provision of meat by farmers may be a result of diverse management practices or treatment of domesticated herds as property

Results

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion