Early Pastoral Economies and Herding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia

William Timothy Treal Taylor; Julia Clark; Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan; Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal; Jessica Thompson Jobe; William Fitzhugh; Richard Kortum; Robert N Spengler; Svetlana Shnaider; Frederik Valeur Seersholm; Isaac Hart; Nicholas Case; Shevan Wilkin; Jessica Hendy; Ulrike Thuering; Bryan Miller; Alicia R Ventresca Miller; Andrea Picin; Nils Vanwezer; Franziska Irmer; Samantha Brown; Aida Abdykanova; Daniel R Shultz; Victoria Pham; Michael Bunce; Katerina Douka; Emily Lena Jones; Nicole Boivin

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-57735-y

Early Pastoral Economies and Herding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia

William Timothy Treal Taylor, Julia Clark, Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan, Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal, Jessica Thompson Jobe, William Fitzhugh, Richard Kortum, Robert N Spengler, Svetlana Shnaider, Frederik Valeur Seersholm, Isaac Hart, Nicholas Case, Shevan Wilkin, Jessica Hendy, Ulrike Thuering, Bryan Miller, Alicia R Ventresca Miller, Andrea Picin, Nils Vanwezer, Franziska IrmerSamantha Brown, Aida Abdykanova, Daniel R Shultz, Victoria Pham, Michael Bunce, Katerina Douka, Emily Lena Jones, Nicole Boivin

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

While classic models for the emergence of pastoral groups in Inner Asia describe mounted, horse-borne herders sweeping across the Eurasian Steppes during the Early or Middle Bronze Age (ca. 3000-1500 BCE), the actual economic basis of many early pastoral societies in the region is poorly characterized. In this paper, we use collagen mass fingerprinting and ancient DNA analysis of some of the first stratified and directly dated archaeofaunal assemblages from Mongolia's early pastoral cultures to undertake species identifications of this rare and highly fragmented material. Our results provide evidence for livestock-based, herding subsistence in Mongolia during the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE. We observe no evidence for dietary exploitation of horses prior to the late Bronze Age, ca. 1200 BCE - at which point horses come to dominate ritual assemblages, play a key role in pastoral diets, and greatly influence pastoral mobility. In combination with the broader archaeofaunal record of Inner Asia, our analysis supports models for widespread changes in herding ecology linked to the innovation of horseback riding in Central Asia in the final 2nd millennium BCE. Such a framework can explain key broad-scale patterns in the movement of people, ideas, and material culture in Eurasian prehistory.

Original language	English
Article number	1001
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	10
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57735-y
Publication status	Published - 22 Jan 2020

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Taylor, W. T. T., Clark, J., Bayarsaikhan, J., Tuvshinjargal, T., Jobe, J. T., Fitzhugh, W., Kortum, R., Spengler, R. N., Shnaider, S., Seersholm, F. V., Hart, I., Case, N., Wilkin, S., Hendy, J., Thuering, U., Miller, B., Miller, A. R. V., Picin, A., Vanwezer, N., ... Boivin, N. (2020). Early Pastoral Economies and Herding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia. Scientific Reports, 10(1), Article 1001. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57735-y

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title = "Early Pastoral Economies and Herding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia",

abstract = "While classic models for the emergence of pastoral groups in Inner Asia describe mounted, horse-borne herders sweeping across the Eurasian Steppes during the Early or Middle Bronze Age (ca. 3000-1500 BCE), the actual economic basis of many early pastoral societies in the region is poorly characterized. In this paper, we use collagen mass fingerprinting and ancient DNA analysis of some of the first stratified and directly dated archaeofaunal assemblages from Mongolia's early pastoral cultures to undertake species identifications of this rare and highly fragmented material. Our results provide evidence for livestock-based, herding subsistence in Mongolia during the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE. We observe no evidence for dietary exploitation of horses prior to the late Bronze Age, ca. 1200 BCE - at which point horses come to dominate ritual assemblages, play a key role in pastoral diets, and greatly influence pastoral mobility. In combination with the broader archaeofaunal record of Inner Asia, our analysis supports models for widespread changes in herding ecology linked to the innovation of horseback riding in Central Asia in the final 2nd millennium BCE. Such a framework can explain key broad-scale patterns in the movement of people, ideas, and material culture in Eurasian prehistory.",

author = "Taylor, {William Timothy Treal} and Julia Clark and Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan and Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal and Jobe, {Jessica Thompson} and William Fitzhugh and Richard Kortum and Spengler, {Robert N} and Svetlana Shnaider and Seersholm, {Frederik Valeur} and Isaac Hart and Nicholas Case and Shevan Wilkin and Jessica Hendy and Ulrike Thuering and Bryan Miller and Miller, {Alicia R Ventresca} and Andrea Picin and Nils Vanwezer and Franziska Irmer and Samantha Brown and Aida Abdykanova and Shultz, {Daniel R} and Victoria Pham and Michael Bunce and Katerina Douka and Jones, {Emily Lena} and Nicole Boivin",

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Taylor, WTT, Clark, J, Bayarsaikhan, J, Tuvshinjargal, T, Jobe, JT, Fitzhugh, W, Kortum, R, Spengler, RN, Shnaider, S, Seersholm, FV, Hart, I, Case, N, Wilkin, S, Hendy, J, Thuering, U, Miller, B, Miller, ARV, Picin, A, Vanwezer, N, Irmer, F, Brown, S, Abdykanova, A, Shultz, DR, Pham, V, Bunce, M, Douka, K, Jones, EL & Boivin, N 2020, 'Early Pastoral Economies and Herding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia', Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, 1001. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57735-y

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AU - Taylor, William Timothy Treal

AU - Clark, Julia

AU - Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav

AU - Tuvshinjargal, Tumurbaatar

AU - Jobe, Jessica Thompson

AU - Fitzhugh, William

AU - Kortum, Richard

AU - Spengler, Robert N

AU - Shnaider, Svetlana

AU - Seersholm, Frederik Valeur

AU - Hart, Isaac

AU - Case, Nicholas

AU - Wilkin, Shevan

AU - Hendy, Jessica

AU - Thuering, Ulrike

AU - Miller, Bryan

AU - Miller, Alicia R Ventresca

AU - Picin, Andrea

AU - Vanwezer, Nils

AU - Irmer, Franziska

AU - Brown, Samantha

AU - Abdykanova, Aida

AU - Shultz, Daniel R

AU - Pham, Victoria

AU - Bunce, Michael

AU - Douka, Katerina

AU - Jones, Emily Lena

AU - Boivin, Nicole

PY - 2020/1/22

Y1 - 2020/1/22

N2 - While classic models for the emergence of pastoral groups in Inner Asia describe mounted, horse-borne herders sweeping across the Eurasian Steppes during the Early or Middle Bronze Age (ca. 3000-1500 BCE), the actual economic basis of many early pastoral societies in the region is poorly characterized. In this paper, we use collagen mass fingerprinting and ancient DNA analysis of some of the first stratified and directly dated archaeofaunal assemblages from Mongolia's early pastoral cultures to undertake species identifications of this rare and highly fragmented material. Our results provide evidence for livestock-based, herding subsistence in Mongolia during the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE. We observe no evidence for dietary exploitation of horses prior to the late Bronze Age, ca. 1200 BCE - at which point horses come to dominate ritual assemblages, play a key role in pastoral diets, and greatly influence pastoral mobility. In combination with the broader archaeofaunal record of Inner Asia, our analysis supports models for widespread changes in herding ecology linked to the innovation of horseback riding in Central Asia in the final 2nd millennium BCE. Such a framework can explain key broad-scale patterns in the movement of people, ideas, and material culture in Eurasian prehistory.

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DO - 10.1038/s41598-020-57735-y

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