Hoofprints in the sand: A study on domestic sheep (Ovis aries) from Iron Age southern Phoenicia using traditional biometric methods

The contribution of Mediterranean connectivity to morphological variability in Iron Age sheep of the Eastern Mediterranean

“…Median centroid sizes are plotted in Figure 3A, and are significantly different (P<0.001; see ANOVA table in Supplement 1a) between sites. They suggest that slightly larger sheep were present in Tell Keisan, which is a similar result to that obtained by a biometric study of the sheep remains from the site (Harding et al, 2023). The smaller size of the Dor specimens also resonates well with the results from other Levantine coastal sites in the Iron Age (Chahoud et al, 2023).…”

“…First, with respect to size, we observe a significant difference between sites, with the Cypriot LTD showing notably smaller size than the other, southern Levantine sites. The astragalus geometric morphometric results suggest that slightly larger sheep were present in Tell Keisan, which is like the result obtained by a biometric study of the sheep remains from the site (Harding et al, 2023). The smaller size of the Dor specimens also resonates well with the results from other Levantine coastal sites in the Iron Age (Chahoud et al, 2023).…”

“…First, with respect to size, we observe a significant difference between sites, with the Cypriot LTD showing notably smaller size than the other, southern Levantine sites. Within the other sites, our results do not contradict previous findings related to body size based on traditional biometric analyses (Chahoud et al, 2023;Harding et al, 2023). Second, morphological variability appears to be greater in coastal sites compared to inland sites.…”

“…Our results show a significant pairwise difference between ABM and LTD (p=0.001), but not between Dor and Keisan. A previous study echoes this finding, which analyzed astragalus proportions of inland/rough terrain and coastal/flat terrain domestic sheep in the southern Levant using an astragalus dimension index (lateral depth/greatest lateral length; distal breadth/lateral depth) (Harding et al, 2023). The proportions of astragali tended to reflect the environment from which the samples came, yet there was significant overlap in the center of the distribution which muddied any stark distinction between open and closed landscapes (Harding et al, 2023: 8, Fig.…”

“…For example, a European haplotype observed in the mitochondrial DNA of south Levantine pigs was traced back to an introduction event at the turn of the second millennium BCE (Meiri et al, 2013). Similarly, patterns of greater body size variability were observed in sheep from Iron Age coastal sites in the Levant in two recent biometric studies (Chahoud et al, 2023;Harding et al, 2023). This enhanced variability could be related to the introduction of non-local breeding stock to coastal settlements via maritime trade networks, as suggested in both studies; however, as their authors add, changes in livestock height and robusticity could also result from changes in nutrition, castration, and other herd maintenance, optimization and management practices.…”