Title: | "The initial domestication of goats (Capra hircus) in the Zagros mountains 10,000 years ago" |
Address: | "Archaeobiology Program, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0112, USA. zeder.melinda@nmnh.si.edu" |
DOI: | 10.1126/science.287.5461.2254 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 0036-8075 (Print) 0036-8075 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Initial goat domestication is documented in the highlands of western Iran at 10,000 calibrated calendar years ago. Metrical analyses of patterns of sexual dimorphism in modern wild goat skeletons (Capra hircus aegagrus) allow sex-specific age curves to be computed for archaeofaunal assemblages. A distinct shift to selective harvesting of subadult males marks initial human management and the transition from hunting to herding of the species. Direct accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates on skeletal elements provide a tight temporal context for the transition" |
Keywords: | "Aging Animal Husbandry/*history Animals *Animals, Domestic/anatomy & histology/physiology Animals, Wild/anatomy & histology Archaeology Body Constitution Bone and Bones/anatomy & histology Climate Female *Goats/anatomy & histology/physiology History, Anci;" |
Notes: | "MedlineZeder, M A Hesse, B eng Historical Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2000/03/24 Science. 2000 Mar 24; 287(5461):2254-7. doi: 10.1126/science.287.5461.2254" |