Zooarcheological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated in Southwest Asia ∼8,500 BC. They then spread across the Middle and Near East and westward into Europe alongside early agriculturalists. European pigs were either domesticated independently or more likely appeared so as a result of admixture between introduced pigs and European wild boar. As a result, European wild boar mtDNA lineages replaced Near Eastern/Anatolian mtDNA signatures in Europe and subsequently replaced indigenous domestic pig lineages in Anatolia. The specific details of these processes, however, remain unknown. To address questions related to early pig domestication, dispersal, and turnover in the Near East, we analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA and dental geometric morphometric variation in 393 ancient pig specimens representing 48 archeological sites (from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the Medieval period) from Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Our results reveal the first genetic signatures of early domestic pigs in the Near Eastern Neolithic core zone. We also demonstrate that these early pigs differed genetically from those in western Anatolia that were introduced to Europe during the Neolithic expansion. In addition, we present a significantly more refined chronology for the introduction of European domestic pigs into Asia Minor that took place during the Bronze Age, at least 900 years earlier than previously detected. By the 5th century AD, European signatures completely replaced the endemic lineages possibly coinciding with the widespread demographic and societal changes that occurred during the Anatolian Bronze and Iron Ages.

Reliable ageing techniques for wild animals are notoriously challenging to develop because of the scarcity of sizeable collections of known-age specimens. Without such techniques it is difficult to reconstruct hunting patterns, which is a significant problem for the examination of assemblages from pre-farming cultures. This paper presents a new method, based on mandibular tooth eruption and wear, for assessing the age of fallow deer. The method was developed from a large collection (n = 156) of known-age Dama dama specimens, has been blind tested by members of the zooarchaeological community and represents a user-friendly system with the potential to generate large compatible datasets through which the dynamics of human-Dama relationships can be examined.

The Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) is currently a threatened species. However, it played an important role in many Late Glacial and Early Holocene human societies in the Near and Middle East. This is especially true of the island of Cyprus, where it was introduced at the beginning of the Neolithic and held a predominant place in human subsistence throughout Cypriot prehistory until the Bronze Age. The earliest levels of the extensive Cypriot Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Shillourokambos, occupied between 8400 and 7000 cal. BC, provided 3036 identified remains of this deer. It was possible to measure or determine the age-at-death for 1361 and 1444 remains, respectively. Analyses allow for discussions on when the fallow deer was introduced to the island of Cyprus, its origin and how populations were managed. These studies also lead to the reconstruction of acquisition and butchery techniques, as well as culinary practices, and the morphological evolution of males and females throughout time. The Persian fallow deer was introduced to Cyprus later than suids, dogs, cats, goats and cattle, and at nearly the same time as sheep, towards ca 8000 cal. BC. Despite the absence of any skeletal changes, this introduction may reflect an attempt to domesticate the fallow deer on the nearby continental mainland. However, after being introduced to the island, deer appear to have been released into the wild and hunted.