Osteometric data and morphological observations on cattle bones from Roman period sites from pres... more Osteometric data and morphological observations on cattle bones from Roman period sites from present-day Austria suggest the arrival of a new large-sized cattle population, which has been connected with the conquest of this area by the Romans and subsequent import of a Mediterranean population. Therefore, recent documentation of some large-sized cattle remains, similar to those found in the Roman period, already from two Late Iron Age sites, one even north of the Danube, indicate an earlier presence of this cattle population together with the typical small-sized Iron Age cattle population. We applied ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis on fourteen Iron Age and Roman period cattle teeth and bones to find genetic evidence concerning possible cattle mobility. Our results show the presence of haplogroup T3, a common European haplogroup, for both large-sized (imported) and small-sized (Iron Age) cattle. For the first time in present-day Austria, our documentation of haplogroups T1 (common in cattle populations from southern Europe) and T5 (so far recorded only in Italian and some Croatian cattle populations probably due to Mediterranean influence) in the Iron Age large-sized cattle provides evidence for cattle imports from the Mediterranean already during the Iron Age.
Since the 1990s, the Schwaz-Brixlegg mining district in the Lower Inn Valley, North Tyrol, Austri... more Since the 1990s, the Schwaz-Brixlegg mining district in the Lower Inn Valley, North Tyrol, Austria, features excavations on mostly Late Bronze (LBA) to Early Iron (EIA) Age sites, focusing on the reconstruction of metallurgic activities and of all aspects related to it. This paper reviews the Schwaz-Brixlegg archaeozoological materials and compares them with those from contemporaneous mining (copper and salt) sites on the Eastern Alps, to assess diet and subsistence strategies of the early alpine, geo-resource-centered, communities. The faunal remains from Schwaz-Brixlegg document a change in diet for the Lower Inn Valley area from the LBA to the EIA exemplified by a shift from a pig-based economy to another one based on cattle and occasionally small ruminants. These species were most often brought whole to the sites and only occasionally as meat cuts (in particular, ribs). Age and sex profiles indicate that miners consumed high-quality meat. As is also documented on prehistoric min...
Dieses Buch präsentiert die archäozoologische Untersuchung von 9,000 bestimmbaren Funden aus der ... more Dieses Buch präsentiert die archäozoologische Untersuchung von 9,000 bestimmbaren Funden aus der mittelneolithischen Kreisgrabenanlage Friebritz-Süd in Niederösterreich. Nach dem Tierknochenmaterial zu schließen, basierte dieSubsistenzwirtschaft des mittelneolithischen Dorfes von Friebritz in hohem Maße auf Jagd. Der größte Anteil davon (41% des Gewichtes der Säugetierknochen) entfiel auf die Reste des Auerochsen. Die hohe Anzahl an Wildtierresten (30 verschiedene Arten) lieferte vielfältige Informationen über die lokale Ökologie und Landschaft. Es waren Arten einer locker bewaldeten, sommerwarmen Hügellandschaft mit eingestreuten Feuchtgebieten. Die Haustiere der Lengyel-Zeit glichen noch weitgehend ihren primitiven Vorgängerpopulationen aus der Linearbandkeramik. Das Hausrind dominierte unter den domestizierten Tieren mit knapp 30%. Eine Sekundärnutzung der Haustiere ist im höchsten Falle im Anfangsstadium nachweisbar. Im allgemein zeigen die archäozoologischen Ergebnisse aus der Kreisgrabenanlage Friebritz-Süd viele Ähnlichkeiten zu anderen Befunden dieser Periode. Die Tierknochen aus Friebritz-Süd, und vor allem der hohe Anteil an Auerochsen, ermöglichten schließlich die Entwicklung einer verbesserten Methodik zur Unterscheidung von Hausund Wildrind. This book presents the archaeozoological study of 9,000 identified finds from the middle Neolithic circular ditch Friebritz-Süd in Lower Austria. According to the faunal remains, the inhabitants of Friebritz based their economy to a great extent on hunting activities.
Inhaltsverzeichnis 3. Die Tierknochen der Grabung 1939 Erich Pucher-53 4. Die Blockwandbauten des... more Inhaltsverzeichnis 3. Die Tierknochen der Grabung 1939 Erich Pucher-53 4. Die Blockwandbauten des Salzbergtales bei Hallstatt und ihre Verwendung Fritz Eckart Barth-93 4.1 Eine archaische Zerlegemethode für Schweine-93 4.2 Zerlegungsexperimente-95 4.3 Die Blockwandbauten des Salzbergtales-97 4.4 Zur möglichen Nutzung der Blockwandbauten-106 5. Kupfersulfidüberzüge auf prähistorischen Kupfer-und Bronzeartefakten aus Hallstatt Robert Seemann (†) und Franz Brandstätter-135 5.1 Die untersuchten Fundstücke-136 5.2 Schwefelisotopenuntersuchungen-140 5.3 Interpretationen zur Bildung der Sulfidüberzüge-142
Taxonomic over-splitting of extinct or endangered taxa, due to an incomplete knowledge of both sk... more Taxonomic over-splitting of extinct or endangered taxa, due to an incomplete knowledge of both skeletal morphological variability and the geographical ranges of past populations, continues to confuse the link between isolated extant populations and their ancestors. This is particularly problematic with the genus Equus. To more reliably determine the evolution and phylogeographic history of the endangered Asiatic wild ass, we studied the genetic diversity and inter-relationships of both extinct and extant populations over the last 100,000 years, including samples throughout its previous range from Western Europe to Southwest and East Asia. Using 229 bp of the mitochondrial hypervariable region, an approach which allowed the inclusion of information from extremely poorly preserved ancient samples, we classify all non-African wild asses into nine clades that show a clear phylogeographic structure revealing their phylogenetic history. This study places the extinct European wild ass, E. ...
Two oxen skeletons from the villa rustica at Nickelsdorf (Austria)) - Two well preserved skeleton... more Two oxen skeletons from the villa rustica at Nickelsdorf (Austria)) - Two well preserved skeletons belonging to mature adult oxen dating to the Roman period, and coming from Nickelsdorf, Austria are described. Both animals, which were very similar to one another, were large and robustly built. Discrepancies arose between the withers height, calculated using various individual bones, and the height
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2007
The extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius) was a large type of cattle that ranged over alm... more The extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius) was a large type of cattle that ranged over almost the whole Eurasian continent. The aurochs is the wild progenitor of modern cattle, but it is unclear whether European aurochs contributed to this process. To provide new insights into the demographic history of aurochs and domestic cattle, we have generated high-confidence mitochondrial DNA sequences from 59 archaeological skeletal finds, which were attributed to wild European cattle populations based on their chronological date and/or morphology. All pre-Neolithic aurochs belonged to the previously designated P haplogroup, indicating that this represents the Late Glacial Central European signature. We also report one new and highly divergent haplotype in a Neolithic aurochs sample from Germany, which points to greater variability during the Pleistocene. Furthermore, the Neolithic and Bronze Age samples that were classified with confidence as European aurochs using morphological crit...
After centuries of human hunting, the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber had disappeared from most of i... more After centuries of human hunting, the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber had disappeared from most of its original range by the end of the 19th century. The surviving relict populations are characterized by both low genetic diversity and strong phylogeographical structure. However, it remains unclear whether these attributes are the result of a human-induced, late Holocene bottleneck or already existed prior to this reduction in range. To investigate genetic diversity in Eurasian beaver populations during the Holocene, we obtained mitochondrial control region DNA sequences from 48 ancient beaver samples and added 152 modern sequences from GenBank. Phylogeographical analyses of the data indicate a differentiation of European beaver populations into three mitochondrial clades. The two main clades occur in western and eastern Europe, respectively, with an early Holocene contact zone in eastern Europe near a present-day contact zone. A divergent and previously unknown clade of beavers from the Danube Basin survived until at least 6000 years ago, but went extinct during the transition to modern times. Finally, we identify a recent decline in effective population size of Eurasian beavers, with a stronger bottleneck signal in the western than in the eastern clade. Our results suggest that the low genetic diversity and the strong phylogeographical structure in recent beavers are artefacts of human hunting-associated population reductions. While beaver populations have been growing rapidly since the late 19th century, genetic diversity within modern beaver populations remains considerably reduced compared to what was present prior to the period of human hunting and habitat reduction.
For the first time in English, we present a summary of the international programme of excavation ... more For the first time in English, we present a summary of the international programme of excavation work carried out between 1990 and 2001 in and around the Iron Age salt-mining complex of the Diirrnberg region, south of Salzburg. First we describe the results of excavation in the prehistoric adits, and of work to locate and survey associated settlements. This is followed by a series of specialist reports embracing floral and faunal remains, palaeodiet and parasitology, leather and woodworking and other crafts. The evidence suggests that a complex inter-relationship existed between the Diirrnberg and other communities in the Alpine foreland. It is assumed that the Diirrnberg was under the control of an elite – perhaps a local dynasty whose wealth is reflected in the graves.
Eine seltene Zahnanomalie an einer subfossilen Mandibel yon Cervus elaphus L. Eine 180°-Torsion u... more Eine seltene Zahnanomalie an einer subfossilen Mandibel yon Cervus elaphus L. Eine 180°-Torsion und ungew6hnliche Gestalt des P2 im Unterkiefer eines subfossilen Rothirsches wird beschrieben. Summary A rare anomaly in a subfossil mandible of Cervus elaphus L. A 180-degrees-torsion and unusual shape of the first premolar in the lower jaw of a subfossil red-deer is described. R~sum~ Une anomalie rare sur un maxillaire subfossile de Cervus elaphus L.
Objective
In the Bronze Age Hallstatt metropolis (‘Salzkammergut’ region, Upper Austria), salt r... more Objective
In the Bronze Age Hallstatt metropolis (‘Salzkammergut’ region, Upper Austria), salt richness enabled the preservation of pork meat to sustain people’s livelihood suggesting an organized meat production industry on a yearly basis of hundreds of pigs. To pattern the geographic and temporal framework of the early management of pig populations in the surrounding areas of Hallstatt, we want to gain insights into the phylogeographic network based on DNA sequence variation among modern pigs, wild boars and prehistoric (likely) domestic pigs. Go to: Results
In this pilot study, we successfully adapted ancient DNA extraction and sequencing approaches for the analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in ten prehistoric porcine teeth specimens. Minimum-spanning network analyses revealed unique mitochondrial control region DNA haplotypes ranging within the variation of modern domestic pig and wild boar lineages and even shared haplotypes between prehistoric and modern domestic pigs and wild boars were observed.
Osteometric data and morphological observations on cattle bones from Roman period sites from pres... more Osteometric data and morphological observations on cattle bones from Roman period sites from present-day Austria suggest the arrival of a new large-sized cattle population, which has been connected with the conquest of this area by the Romans and subsequent import of a Mediterranean population. Therefore, recent documentation of some large-sized cattle remains, similar to those found in the Roman period, already from two Late Iron Age sites, one even north of the Danube, indicate an earlier presence of this cattle population together with the typical small-sized Iron Age cattle population. We applied ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis on fourteen Iron Age and Roman period cattle teeth and bones to find genetic evidence concerning possible cattle mobility. Our results show the presence of haplogroup T3, a common European haplogroup, for both large-sized (imported) and small-sized (Iron Age) cattle. For the first time in present-day Austria, our documentation of haplogroups T1 (common in cattle populations from southern Europe) and T5 (so far recorded only in Italian and some Croatian cattle populations probably due to Mediterranean influence) in the Iron Age large-sized cattle provides evidence for cattle imports from the Mediterranean already during the Iron Age.
Since the 1990s, the Schwaz-Brixlegg mining district in the Lower Inn Valley, North Tyrol, Austri... more Since the 1990s, the Schwaz-Brixlegg mining district in the Lower Inn Valley, North Tyrol, Austria, features excavations on mostly Late Bronze (LBA) to Early Iron (EIA) Age sites, focusing on the reconstruction of metallurgic activities and of all aspects related to it. This paper reviews the Schwaz-Brixlegg archaeozoological materials and compares them with those from contemporaneous mining (copper and salt) sites on the Eastern Alps, to assess diet and subsistence strategies of the early alpine, geo-resource-centered, communities. The faunal remains from Schwaz-Brixlegg document a change in diet for the Lower Inn Valley area from the LBA to the EIA exemplified by a shift from a pig-based economy to another one based on cattle and occasionally small ruminants. These species were most often brought whole to the sites and only occasionally as meat cuts (in particular, ribs). Age and sex profiles indicate that miners consumed high-quality meat. As is also documented on prehistoric min...
Dieses Buch präsentiert die archäozoologische Untersuchung von 9,000 bestimmbaren Funden aus der ... more Dieses Buch präsentiert die archäozoologische Untersuchung von 9,000 bestimmbaren Funden aus der mittelneolithischen Kreisgrabenanlage Friebritz-Süd in Niederösterreich. Nach dem Tierknochenmaterial zu schließen, basierte dieSubsistenzwirtschaft des mittelneolithischen Dorfes von Friebritz in hohem Maße auf Jagd. Der größte Anteil davon (41% des Gewichtes der Säugetierknochen) entfiel auf die Reste des Auerochsen. Die hohe Anzahl an Wildtierresten (30 verschiedene Arten) lieferte vielfältige Informationen über die lokale Ökologie und Landschaft. Es waren Arten einer locker bewaldeten, sommerwarmen Hügellandschaft mit eingestreuten Feuchtgebieten. Die Haustiere der Lengyel-Zeit glichen noch weitgehend ihren primitiven Vorgängerpopulationen aus der Linearbandkeramik. Das Hausrind dominierte unter den domestizierten Tieren mit knapp 30%. Eine Sekundärnutzung der Haustiere ist im höchsten Falle im Anfangsstadium nachweisbar. Im allgemein zeigen die archäozoologischen Ergebnisse aus der Kreisgrabenanlage Friebritz-Süd viele Ähnlichkeiten zu anderen Befunden dieser Periode. Die Tierknochen aus Friebritz-Süd, und vor allem der hohe Anteil an Auerochsen, ermöglichten schließlich die Entwicklung einer verbesserten Methodik zur Unterscheidung von Hausund Wildrind. This book presents the archaeozoological study of 9,000 identified finds from the middle Neolithic circular ditch Friebritz-Süd in Lower Austria. According to the faunal remains, the inhabitants of Friebritz based their economy to a great extent on hunting activities.
Inhaltsverzeichnis 3. Die Tierknochen der Grabung 1939 Erich Pucher-53 4. Die Blockwandbauten des... more Inhaltsverzeichnis 3. Die Tierknochen der Grabung 1939 Erich Pucher-53 4. Die Blockwandbauten des Salzbergtales bei Hallstatt und ihre Verwendung Fritz Eckart Barth-93 4.1 Eine archaische Zerlegemethode für Schweine-93 4.2 Zerlegungsexperimente-95 4.3 Die Blockwandbauten des Salzbergtales-97 4.4 Zur möglichen Nutzung der Blockwandbauten-106 5. Kupfersulfidüberzüge auf prähistorischen Kupfer-und Bronzeartefakten aus Hallstatt Robert Seemann (†) und Franz Brandstätter-135 5.1 Die untersuchten Fundstücke-136 5.2 Schwefelisotopenuntersuchungen-140 5.3 Interpretationen zur Bildung der Sulfidüberzüge-142
Taxonomic over-splitting of extinct or endangered taxa, due to an incomplete knowledge of both sk... more Taxonomic over-splitting of extinct or endangered taxa, due to an incomplete knowledge of both skeletal morphological variability and the geographical ranges of past populations, continues to confuse the link between isolated extant populations and their ancestors. This is particularly problematic with the genus Equus. To more reliably determine the evolution and phylogeographic history of the endangered Asiatic wild ass, we studied the genetic diversity and inter-relationships of both extinct and extant populations over the last 100,000 years, including samples throughout its previous range from Western Europe to Southwest and East Asia. Using 229 bp of the mitochondrial hypervariable region, an approach which allowed the inclusion of information from extremely poorly preserved ancient samples, we classify all non-African wild asses into nine clades that show a clear phylogeographic structure revealing their phylogenetic history. This study places the extinct European wild ass, E. ...
Two oxen skeletons from the villa rustica at Nickelsdorf (Austria)) - Two well preserved skeleton... more Two oxen skeletons from the villa rustica at Nickelsdorf (Austria)) - Two well preserved skeletons belonging to mature adult oxen dating to the Roman period, and coming from Nickelsdorf, Austria are described. Both animals, which were very similar to one another, were large and robustly built. Discrepancies arose between the withers height, calculated using various individual bones, and the height
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2007
The extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius) was a large type of cattle that ranged over alm... more The extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius) was a large type of cattle that ranged over almost the whole Eurasian continent. The aurochs is the wild progenitor of modern cattle, but it is unclear whether European aurochs contributed to this process. To provide new insights into the demographic history of aurochs and domestic cattle, we have generated high-confidence mitochondrial DNA sequences from 59 archaeological skeletal finds, which were attributed to wild European cattle populations based on their chronological date and/or morphology. All pre-Neolithic aurochs belonged to the previously designated P haplogroup, indicating that this represents the Late Glacial Central European signature. We also report one new and highly divergent haplotype in a Neolithic aurochs sample from Germany, which points to greater variability during the Pleistocene. Furthermore, the Neolithic and Bronze Age samples that were classified with confidence as European aurochs using morphological crit...
After centuries of human hunting, the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber had disappeared from most of i... more After centuries of human hunting, the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber had disappeared from most of its original range by the end of the 19th century. The surviving relict populations are characterized by both low genetic diversity and strong phylogeographical structure. However, it remains unclear whether these attributes are the result of a human-induced, late Holocene bottleneck or already existed prior to this reduction in range. To investigate genetic diversity in Eurasian beaver populations during the Holocene, we obtained mitochondrial control region DNA sequences from 48 ancient beaver samples and added 152 modern sequences from GenBank. Phylogeographical analyses of the data indicate a differentiation of European beaver populations into three mitochondrial clades. The two main clades occur in western and eastern Europe, respectively, with an early Holocene contact zone in eastern Europe near a present-day contact zone. A divergent and previously unknown clade of beavers from the Danube Basin survived until at least 6000 years ago, but went extinct during the transition to modern times. Finally, we identify a recent decline in effective population size of Eurasian beavers, with a stronger bottleneck signal in the western than in the eastern clade. Our results suggest that the low genetic diversity and the strong phylogeographical structure in recent beavers are artefacts of human hunting-associated population reductions. While beaver populations have been growing rapidly since the late 19th century, genetic diversity within modern beaver populations remains considerably reduced compared to what was present prior to the period of human hunting and habitat reduction.
For the first time in English, we present a summary of the international programme of excavation ... more For the first time in English, we present a summary of the international programme of excavation work carried out between 1990 and 2001 in and around the Iron Age salt-mining complex of the Diirrnberg region, south of Salzburg. First we describe the results of excavation in the prehistoric adits, and of work to locate and survey associated settlements. This is followed by a series of specialist reports embracing floral and faunal remains, palaeodiet and parasitology, leather and woodworking and other crafts. The evidence suggests that a complex inter-relationship existed between the Diirrnberg and other communities in the Alpine foreland. It is assumed that the Diirrnberg was under the control of an elite – perhaps a local dynasty whose wealth is reflected in the graves.
Eine seltene Zahnanomalie an einer subfossilen Mandibel yon Cervus elaphus L. Eine 180°-Torsion u... more Eine seltene Zahnanomalie an einer subfossilen Mandibel yon Cervus elaphus L. Eine 180°-Torsion und ungew6hnliche Gestalt des P2 im Unterkiefer eines subfossilen Rothirsches wird beschrieben. Summary A rare anomaly in a subfossil mandible of Cervus elaphus L. A 180-degrees-torsion and unusual shape of the first premolar in the lower jaw of a subfossil red-deer is described. R~sum~ Une anomalie rare sur un maxillaire subfossile de Cervus elaphus L.
Objective
In the Bronze Age Hallstatt metropolis (‘Salzkammergut’ region, Upper Austria), salt r... more Objective
In the Bronze Age Hallstatt metropolis (‘Salzkammergut’ region, Upper Austria), salt richness enabled the preservation of pork meat to sustain people’s livelihood suggesting an organized meat production industry on a yearly basis of hundreds of pigs. To pattern the geographic and temporal framework of the early management of pig populations in the surrounding areas of Hallstatt, we want to gain insights into the phylogeographic network based on DNA sequence variation among modern pigs, wild boars and prehistoric (likely) domestic pigs. Go to: Results
In this pilot study, we successfully adapted ancient DNA extraction and sequencing approaches for the analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in ten prehistoric porcine teeth specimens. Minimum-spanning network analyses revealed unique mitochondrial control region DNA haplotypes ranging within the variation of modern domestic pig and wild boar lineages and even shared haplotypes between prehistoric and modern domestic pigs and wild boars were observed.
Uploads
Papers by Erich Pucher
In the Bronze Age Hallstatt metropolis (‘Salzkammergut’ region, Upper Austria), salt richness enabled the preservation of pork meat to sustain people’s livelihood suggesting an organized meat production industry on a yearly basis of hundreds of pigs. To pattern the geographic and temporal framework of the early management of pig populations in the surrounding areas of Hallstatt, we want to gain insights into the phylogeographic network based on DNA sequence variation among modern pigs, wild boars and prehistoric (likely) domestic pigs.
Go to:
Results
In this pilot study, we successfully adapted ancient DNA extraction and sequencing approaches for the analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in ten prehistoric porcine teeth specimens. Minimum-spanning network analyses revealed unique mitochondrial control region DNA haplotypes ranging within the variation of modern domestic pig and wild boar lineages and even shared haplotypes between prehistoric and modern domestic pigs and wild boars were observed.
In the Bronze Age Hallstatt metropolis (‘Salzkammergut’ region, Upper Austria), salt richness enabled the preservation of pork meat to sustain people’s livelihood suggesting an organized meat production industry on a yearly basis of hundreds of pigs. To pattern the geographic and temporal framework of the early management of pig populations in the surrounding areas of Hallstatt, we want to gain insights into the phylogeographic network based on DNA sequence variation among modern pigs, wild boars and prehistoric (likely) domestic pigs.
Go to:
Results
In this pilot study, we successfully adapted ancient DNA extraction and sequencing approaches for the analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in ten prehistoric porcine teeth specimens. Minimum-spanning network analyses revealed unique mitochondrial control region DNA haplotypes ranging within the variation of modern domestic pig and wild boar lineages and even shared haplotypes between prehistoric and modern domestic pigs and wild boars were observed.