Forest Ecosystems and Evolution of Cattle Husbandry Practices of the Earliest Central European Farming Societies

Abstract

Stable isotope signatures of domesticates found on archaeology sites provide information about past human behaviour, such as the evolution and adaptation of husbandry strategies. A dynamic phase in cattle husbandry evolution is during the 6th millennium BCE, where the first cattle herders of central Europe spread rapidly through diverse forested ecological niches, where little is known about pasturing strategies. Here we investigate cattle pasturing and foddering practices using a multi-regional dataset of stable isotope values (δ13C and δ18O; compound-specific stable isotopic analysis δ15N-amino acids and δ13C-dairy fats) measured from cattle bone and teeth, and pottery residues from early farming contexts, and palaeoenvironmental information. Our analysis reveals that farmers practiced different pasturing strategies with the intensive use of forested ecosystems in some areas for both graze and seasonal forage. We propose that the diversity of strategies is related to the adaptation of herding to new environments, which had a positive impact on cattle breeding and milk availability for human consumption.

Determination of Arginine δ15N Values in Plant and Animal Proteins by Gas Chromatography–Combustion–Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry

“…The method described herein was applied to reference plant foliage proteins, as well as modern reference and archaeological cattle dentine collagen (Table S1) for which the other AA δ 15 N values have previously been reported. − These were chosen to provide example applications in ecologically and archaeologically relevant samples. Briefly, Lolium perenne ( L. perenne ) plant ( n = 5) and reference cattle ( n = 4) samples were sourced from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) National CapabilityNorth Wyke Farm Platform, Rothamsted Research, Devon, UK () to enable comparisons between cattle and plants that constituted their diet.…”

Early Pastoralism in Central European Forests: Insights from Ancient Environmental Genomics

“…Initially, domesticated animals were kept in proximity to agricultural settlements, typically located on loess soils conducive to cultivation. However, the Late Neolithic (sometimes referred to as Eneolithic ~6.4 -4.2 kyr BP) witnessed the advent of forest grazing, facilitating a full expansion of pastoralism across varied Central European environments (3)(4)(5)(6)(7). By the Bronze Age (~4.1 kyr BP), rich and diverse broadleaf mosaics transitioned into the comparatively species-poor structure that continues to define many Central European forests today (8)(9)(10).…”

A Time to Sow, a Time to Reap: Modifications to Biological and Economic Rhythms in Southwest Asian Plant and Animal Domestication

“…Unfortunately, the available data do not enable disentangling climatic and cultural factors affecting calving aseasonality, but provisioning of winter foddering would likely have been necessary [91]. Such provisioning was apparently met through forest pasturing by LBK societies [125]. Year-round cattle breeding would have enabled a constant supply of raw milk.…”