Sex in the city: Uncovering sex-specific management of equine resources from prehistoric times to the Modern Period in France. (February 2022)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Sex in the city: Uncovering sex-specific management of equine resources from prehistoric times to the Modern Period in France. (February 2022)
- Main Title:
- Sex in the city: Uncovering sex-specific management of equine resources from prehistoric times to the Modern Period in France
- Authors:
- Clavel, Benoît
Lepetz, Sébastien
Chauvey, Lorelei
Schiavinato, Stéphanie
Tonasso-Calvière, Laure
Liu, Xuexue
Fages, Antoine
Khan, Naveed
Seguin-Orlando, Andaine
Der Sarkissian, Clio
Clavel, Pierre
Estrada, Oscar
Alioğlu, Duha
Gaunitz, Charleen
Aury, Jean-Marc
Barme, Maude
Bodu, Pierre
Olive, Monique
Bignon-Lau, Olivier
Castel, Jean-Christophe
Boudadi-Maligne, Myriam
Boulbes, Nicolas
Bourgois, Alice
Decanter, Franck
Foucras, Sylvain
Frère, Stéphane
Gardeisen, Armelle
Jouanin, Gaëtan
Méla, Charlotte
Morand, Nicolas
Nieto Espinet, Ariadna
Perdereau, Aude
Putelat, Olivier
Rivière, Julie
Robin, Opale
Salin, Marilyne
Valenzuela-Lamas, Silvia
Vallet, Christian
Yvinec, Jean-Hervé
Wincker, Patrick
Orlando, Ludovic
… (more) - Abstract:
- Highlights: Magdalenian horse hunt not focused on isolated bachelors. Iron Age and gallo-Roman sacrificial rituals have been preferentially oriented to male horses. During Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern Period, cities are largely dominated by horse males. In rural contexts, females and subadults of both sexes were maintained to sustain production demands. Abstract: Sex identification from fragmentary archeozoological assemblages is particularly challenging in the Equid family, including for horses, donkeys and their hybrids. This limitation has precluded in-depth investigations of sex-ratio variation in various temporal, geographic and social contexts. Recently, shallow DNA sequencing has offered an economical solution to equine sex determination, even in environments where DNA preservation conditions is not optimal. In this study, we applied state-of-the-art methods in ancient DNA-based equine sex determination to 897 osseous remains in order to assess whether equal proportions of males and females could be found in a range of archeological contexts in France. We found Magdalenian horse hunt not focused on isolated bachelors, and Upper Paleolithic habitats and natural traps equally balancing sex ratios. In contrast, Iron Age sacrificial rituals appeared to have been preferentially oriented to male horses and this practice extended into the Roman Period. During Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern Period, cities emerged as environments largely dominated byHighlights: Magdalenian horse hunt not focused on isolated bachelors. Iron Age and gallo-Roman sacrificial rituals have been preferentially oriented to male horses. During Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern Period, cities are largely dominated by horse males. In rural contexts, females and subadults of both sexes were maintained to sustain production demands. Abstract: Sex identification from fragmentary archeozoological assemblages is particularly challenging in the Equid family, including for horses, donkeys and their hybrids. This limitation has precluded in-depth investigations of sex-ratio variation in various temporal, geographic and social contexts. Recently, shallow DNA sequencing has offered an economical solution to equine sex determination, even in environments where DNA preservation conditions is not optimal. In this study, we applied state-of-the-art methods in ancient DNA-based equine sex determination to 897 osseous remains in order to assess whether equal proportions of males and females could be found in a range of archeological contexts in France. We found Magdalenian horse hunt not focused on isolated bachelors, and Upper Paleolithic habitats and natural traps equally balancing sex ratios. In contrast, Iron Age sacrificial rituals appeared to have been preferentially oriented to male horses and this practice extended into the Roman Period. During Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern Period, cities emerged as environments largely dominated by horse males. This strong sex-bias was considerably reduced, and sometimes even absent, in various rural contexts. Combined with previous archaeozoological work and textual evidence, our results portray an urban economy fueled by adult, often old, males, and rural environments where females and subadults of both sexes were maintained to sustain production demands. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Journal of archaeological science. Volume 41(2022)
- Journal:
- Journal of archaeological science
- Issue:
- Volume 41(2022)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 41, Issue 2022 (2022)
- Year:
- 2022
- Volume:
- 41
- Issue:
- 2022
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2022-0041-2022-0000
- Page Start:
- Page End:
- Publication Date:
- 2022-02
- Subjects:
- Ancient DNA -- Archaeozoology -- Horse -- Donkey -- Mule -- Iron Age -- Roman Period -- Middle Ages -- Hunting -- Husbandry -- Breeding -- City
Archaeology -- Periodicals
Archaeology -- Research -- Periodicals
930.1 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/2352409X ↗
http://www.sciencedirect.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103341 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 2352-409X
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 21046.xml