Browsing by Author "Horwitz, Liora Kolska"
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- Exploring the Later Stone Age at a micro-scale: new high-resolution excavations at Wonderwerk CavePublication . Rhodes, Sara; Goldberg, Paul; Ecker, Michaela; Horwitz, Liora Kolska; Boaretto, Elisabetta; Chazan, MichaelIn 2018, we initiated renewed excavation of the Later Stone Age (LSA) deposits at Wonderwerk Cave. Here we describe the goals and initial results of the first two seasons of excavation, including the first micromorphological description of these deposits. We employed a small-scale excavation technique to emphasize precision recording and limit the destruction of sensitive deposits. Our preliminary results indicate that meaningful patterns in material culture records and paleoecological proxy materials can be derived from such investigations. Bioturbation of the LSA deposits is widespread in our micromorphological samples, suggesting that some postdepositional movement of the sediment occurred but did not impact overall stratigraphic integrity. This is supported by the radiocarbon chronology (derived from various material records), which indicates that this movement had a limited effect on the material record. Three technocomplexes (the Kuruman/Oakhurst, Wilton, and Historic) were identified in the new Wonderwerk lithic material record, alongside increasing evidence for a period of intensified use and/or occupation of the site during the Wilton - a pattern previously identified by the F. Thackeray's and A. Thackeray's 1970s excavations. New radiocarbon ages support previous determinations placing the timing of this intensification at ca. 6200 years cal BP. Faunal and ostrich eggshell records also support previous findings, confirming an anthropogenic origin for the faunal remains and suggesting that different pathways of OES bead production were employed at the site at different times. The presence of herbivore dung and associated spherulites in a micromorphology thin section provides a new potential line of evidence to support the Thackeray's tentative suggestion for sheep herding at the site ca. 2000 years BP. While this evidence is far from conclusive, it suggests that the Wonderwerk Cave LSA record may have a role to play in resolving the timing of the adoption of sheep by hunter-gatherers on the Ghaap Plateau. Our work on the LSA at Wonderwerk Cave serves as a touchstone within the more regionally focused Northern Cape Archaeology and Ecology Project (NCAEP) - an international and interdisciplinary research project studying the LSA paleoenvironment of the South African arid interior. Ultimately, NCAEP is designed to produce a multi-proxy diachronic climatic record of the Northern Cape firmly situated within new and existing radiocarbon chronologies.
- The genomic history of Iberian horses since the last Ice AgePublication . Garrido, Jaime Lira; Tressières, Gaétan; Chauvey, Lorelei; Schiavinato, Stéphanie; Calvière-Tonasso, Laure; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Southon, John; Shapiro, Beth; Bataille, Clément; Birgel, Julie; Wagner, Stefanie; Khan, Naveed; Liu, Xuexue; Rodanés, José María; Millán, Jesús V. Picazo; Giralt, Josep; Alonso, Natàlia; Aguilera, Isidro; Orsingher, Adriano; Trentacoste, Angela; Payà, Xavier; Morán, Marta; Eres, María Pilar Iborra; Albizuri, Silvia; Lamas, Silvia Valenzuela; Santandreu, Imma Mestres; Caixal, Montserrat Duran; Principal, Jordi; Huguet, Jordi Farré; Esteve, Xavier; Pasqual, Mireia Pedro; Sala, Nohemi; Pablos, Adrián; Martín, Patricia; Vergès, Josep Maria; Portero, Rodrigo; Arias, Pablo; Peredo, Roberto Ontañón; Detry, Cleia; Luís, Cristina; Cardoso, João Luis; Maeir, Aren M.; Valente, Maria João; Grau, Elena; Poles, Vicent Estall i; Llorens, Joaquín Alfonso; González, Ana Miguélez; Gardeisen, Armelle; Cupitò, Michele; Tecchiati, Umberto; Bradley, Daniel G.; Horwitz, Liora Kolska; González, Esther Rodríguez; Espinet, Ariadna Nieto; Bover, Pere; Entrecanales, Rosa Ruiz; Estallo, Ignasi Garcés; Fragoso, Joaquín Jiménez; Celestino, Sebastián; Orlando, LudovicHorses have inhabited Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal) since the Middle Pleistocene, shaping a complex history in the region. Iberia has been proposed as a potential domestication centre and is renowned for producing world-class bloodlines. Here, we generate genome-wide sequence data from 87 ancient horse specimens (median coverage = 0.97X) from Iberia and the broader Mediterranean to reconstruct their genetic history over the last ~26,000 years. Here, we report that wild horses of the divergent IBE lineage inhabited Iberia from the Late Pleistocene, while domesticated DOM2 horses, native from the Pontic-Caspian steppes, already arrived ~1850 BCE. Admixture dating suggests breeding practices involving continued wild restocking until at least ~350 BCE, with IBE disappearing shortly after. Patterns of genetic affinity highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and Antiquity, with continued impact extending thereafter, particularly during the colonization of the Americas.
- New Insights on an Old Excavation: Re-visiting the Late Middle Palaeolithic Site of Far’ah II, North-western Negev, IsraelPublication . Goder-Goldberger, Mae; Gilead, Isaac; Horwitz, Liora Kolska; Sánchez-Romero, Laura; Paixão, EduardoRevisiting collections from old excavations with new research objectives and analytical tools brings them to life and integrates them into evolving models of human-landscape interactions. This paper examines hominin behaviour and adaptations at the late Middle Palaeolithic open air camp site Far'ah II, dated to similar to 49 ka by analyzing the spatial patterning of assemblages from the 1976-1978 excavation seasons. This was facilitated by the large area excavated and the fact that all lithics and most bones larger than 2.5 mm were recorded using three dimensional coordinates. Examining the refitted flint sequences highlights the use of variable technological systems, including the Levallois unidirectional convergent method. Use wear on the ground stone tools suggests they were used for knapping as well as food processing, and the faunal assemblage reflects a wide range of species that were consumed on-site. By combining lithic refitting studies and spatial mapping of artefact and bone distribution using GIS, we have dissected the occupation history and demonstrate that the living floor defined during the excavations actually consists of at least two different occupation events, that partially overlap in the central area of the site. This analysis demonstrates that Far'ah II was probably a favoured locality, revisited by Middle Palaeolithic hominins due to its proximity to a rich mosaic of habitats.
- The genomic history and global expansion of domestic donkeysPublication . Todd, Evelyn T.; Tonasso-Calvière, Laure; Chauvey, Loreleï; Schiavinato, Stéphanie; Fages, Antoine; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Clavel, Pierre; Khan, Naveed; Pérez Pardal, Lucía; Patterson Rosa, Laura; Librado, Pablo; Ringbauer, Harald; Verdugo, Marta; Southon, John; Aury, Jean-Marc; Perdereau, Aude; Vila, Emmanuelle; Marzullo, Matilde; Prato, Ornella; Tecchiati, Umberto; Bagnasco Gianni, Giovanna; Tagliacozzo, Antonio; Tinè, Vincenzo; Alhaique, Francesca; Luis Cardoso, João; Valente, Maria João; Telles Antunes, Miguel; Frantz, Laurent; Shapiro, Beth; Bradley, Daniel G.; Boulbes, Nicolas; Gardeisen, Armelle; Horwitz, Liora Kolska; Öztan, Aliye; Arbuckle, Benjamin S.; Onar, Vedat; Clavel, Benoît; Lepetz, Sébastien; Vahdati, Ali Akbar; Davoudi, Hossein; Mohaseb, Azadeh; Mashkour, Marjan; Bouchez, Olivier; Donnadieu, Cécile; Wincker, Patrick; Brooks, Samantha A.; Beja-Pereira, Albano; Wu, Dong-Dong; Orlando, LudovicDonkeys transformed human history as essential beasts of burden for long-distance movement, especially across semi-arid and upland environments. They remain insufficiently studied despite globally expanding and providing key support to low- to middle-income communities. To elucidate their domestication history, we constructed a comprehensive genome panel of 207 modern and 31 ancient donkeys, as well as 15 wild equids. We found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys that supports a single domestication in Africa similar to 5000 BCE, followed by further expansions in this continent and Eurasia and ultimately returning to Africa. We uncover a previously unknown genetic lineage in the Levant similar to 200 BCE, which contributed increasing ancestry toward Asia. Donkey management involved inbreeding and the production of giant bloodlines at a time when mules were essential to the Roman economy and military.
- Widespread horse-based mobility arose around 2200 BCE in EurasiaPublication . Librado, Pablo; Tressières, Gaetan; Chauvey, Lorelei; Fages, Antoine; Khan, Naveed; Schiavinato, Stéphanie; Calvière-Tonasso, Laure; Kusliy, Mariya A; Gaunitz, Charleen; Liu, Xuexue; Wagner, Stefanie; Der Sarkissian, Clio; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine; Perdereau, Aude; Aury, Jean-Marc; Southon, John; Shapiro, Beth; Bouchez, Olivier; Donnadieu, Cécile; Collin, Yvette Running Horse; Gregersen, Kristian M; Jessen, Mads Dengsø; Christensen, Kirsten; Claudi-Hansen, Lone; Pruvost, Mélanie; Pucher, Erich; Vulic, Hrvoje; Novak, Mario; Rimpf, Andrea; Turk, Peter; Reiter, Simone; Brem, Gottfried; Schwall, Christoph; Barrey, Éric; Robert, Céline; Degueurce, Christophe; Horwitz, Liora Kolska; Klassen, Lutz; Rasmussen, Uffe; Kveiborg, Jacob; Johannsen, Niels Nørkjær; Makowiecki, Daniel; Makarowicz, Przemysław; Szeliga, Marcin; Ilchyshyn, Vasyl; Rud, Vitalii; Romaniszyn, Jan; Mullin, Victoria E; Verdugo, Marta; Bradley, Daniel G; Valente, Maria J; Telles Antunes, Miguel; Ameen, Carly; Thomas, Richard; Ludwig, Arne; Marzullo, Matilde; Prato, Ornella; Bagnasco Gianni, Giovanna; Tecchiati, Umberto; Granado, José; Schlumbaum, Angela; Deschler-Erb, Sabine; Mráz, Monika Schernig; Boulbes, Nicolas; Gardeisen, Armelle; Mayer, Christian; Döhle, Hans-Jürgen; Vicze, Magdolna; Kosintsev, Pavel A; Kyselý, René; Peške, Lubomír; O'Connor, Terry; Ananyevskaya, Elina; Shevnina, Irina; Logvin, Andrey; Kovalev, Alexey A; Iderkhangai, Tumur-Ochir; Sablin, Mikhail V; Dashkovskiy, Petr K; Graphodatsky, Alexander S; Merts, Ilia; Merts, Viktor; Kasparov, Aleksei K; Pitulko, Vladimir V; Onar, Vedat; Öztan, Aliye; Arbuckle, Benjamin S; McColl, Hugh; Renaud, Gabriel; Khaskhanov, Ruslan; Demidenko, Sergey; Kadieva, Anna; Atabiev, Biyaslan; Sundqvist, Marie; Lindgren, Gabriella; López-Cachero, F Javier; Albizuri, Silvia; Trbojević Vukičević, Tajana; Rapan Papeša, Anita; Burić, Marcel; Rajić Šikanjić, Petra; Weinstock, Jaco; Asensio Vilaró, David; Codina, Ferran; García Dalmau, Cristina; Morer de Llorens, Jordi; Pou, Josep; de Prado, Gabriel; Sanmartí, Joan; Kallala, Nabil; Torres, Joan Ramon; Maraoui-Telmini, Bouthéina; Belarte Franco, Maria-Carme; Valenzuela-Lamas, Silvia; Zazzo, Antoine; Lepetz, Sébastien; Duchesne, Sylvie; Alexeev, Anatoly; Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav; Houle, Jean-Luc; Bayarkhuu, Noost; Turbat, Tsagaan; Crubézy, Éric; Shingiray, Irina; Mashkour, Marjan; Berezina, Natalia Ya; Korobov, Dmitriy S; Belinskiy, Andrey; Kalmykov, Alexey; Demoule, Jean-Paul; Reinhold, Sabine; Hansen, Svend; Wallner, Barbara; Roslyakova, Natalia; Kuznetsov, Pavel F; Tishkin, Alexey A; Wincker, Patrick; Kanne, Katherine; Outram, Alan; Orlando, Ludovic; Cardoso, João LuisHorses revolutionized human history with fast mobility. However, the timeline between their domestication and their widespread integration as a means of transport remains contentious. Here we assemble a collection of 475 ancient horse genomes to assess the period when these animals were first reshaped by human agency in Eurasia. We find that reproductive control of the modern domestic lineage emerged around 2200 BCE, through close-kin mating and shortened generation times. Reproductive control emerged following a severe domestication bottleneck starting no earlier than approximately 2700 BCE, and coincided with a sudden expansion across Eurasia that ultimately resulted in the replacement of nearly every local horse lineage. This expansion marked the rise of widespread horse-based mobility in human history, which refutes the commonly held narrative of large horse herds accompanying the massive migration of steppe peoples across Europe around 3000 BCE and earlier. Finally, we detect significantly shortened generation times at Botai around 3500 BCE, a settlement from central Asia associated with corrals and a subsistence economy centred on horses. This supports local horse husbandry before the rise of modern domestic bloodlines.