The fauna of Tell Nebi Mend (Syria) in the Bronze and Iron Age—a diachronic overview. Part 1: Stability and change—animal husbandry

Abstract

Caroline GrigsonThe analysis of the large sample of domestic animal bones excavated from Tell Nebi Mend in northwest Syria shows that there was remarkably little change in patterns of husbandry from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age, probably due to the propinquity of the River Orontes. Although the most numerous bones were those of sheep and goats, estimates of body weight suggest that cattle were of greater importance in the economy. Camels were present in the Iron Age levels and unexpectedly also in Late Bronze Age II contexts; the latter seem to be the earliest domestic camels known from the northern Syria.

Ancient cattle genomics, origins, and rapid turnover in the Fertile Crescent

“…S1). During this period, depictions and osteological evidence for B. indicus also appear in the region (9,13). In contrast to autosomal data, but similar to earlier work (14), we find persistence of B. taurus mitochondria, suggesting introgression may have been mediated by bulls (Fig.…”

“…Sites with a genotyping rate less than 99% and a minor allele frequency less than 1% were then removed. After filtering the position catalogue comprised 13,452,190 SNPs. The modern animal dataset used here comprised only individual genomes which are publicly available or which were sequenced in this study.…”

Livestock management in the Northern Levant during the first millennium BCE

“…It was reoccupied in the Iron Age. The faunal remains were recovered from LBA and IA I to III domestic buildings and deposits (Grigson, 2015).…”

“…In contrast, the zebu was identified at the site based on gracile feet and the presence of bifid vertebrae for the LBA. In addition, it occurs at Nebi Mend in the Late Bronze Age (Grigson, 2015). At Kamid el Loz, the hypothesis of the presence of three distinct types or breeds at these sites has been suggested: the zebu (Bos cf.…”

Stable Isotopes and Herding Strategies in Middle Uruk Period in Tell Humeida (Syrian Euphrates Valley)

“…There were few data to directly compare its dimensions with those of undoubtedly domestic sheep. For example, at Tell Halula [67], domestic sheep were smaller (Figure S1, Supplementary Materials), but it was also true that there was a long time jump between that site (7000 BC) and Tell Humeida, and the size of the domestic sheep tended to increase as husbandry and management techniques became more sophisticated [68]. This specimen, in any case, could be from a wild animal.…”