Morphometric and genetic evidence for cattle imports from the Mediterranean into present-day Austria during the Iron Age

Autor(en)
Konstantina Saliari, Christina Amory, Erich Draganits, Peter C. Ramsl, Bendeguz Tobias, Erich Pucher, Walther Parson
Abstrakt

Osteometric data and morphological observations on cattle bones from Roman period sites from present-day Austria suggest the arrival of a new large-sized cattle population, which has been connected with the conquest of this area by the Romans and subsequent import of a Mediterranean population. Therefore, recent documentation of some large-sized cattle remains, similar to those found in the Roman period, already from two Late Iron Age sites, one even north of the Danube, indicate an earlier presence of this cattle population together with the typical small-sized Iron Age cattle population. We applied ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis on fourteen Iron Age and Roman period cattle teeth and bones to find genetic evidence concerning possible cattle mobility. Our results show the presence of haplogroup T3, a common European haplogroup, for both large-sized (imported) and small-sized (Iron Age) cattle. For the first time in present-day Austria, our documentation of haplogroups T1 (common in cattle populations from southern Europe) and T5 (so far recorded only in Italian and some Croatian cattle populations probably due to Mediterranean influence) in the Iron Age large-sized cattle provides evidence for cattle imports from the Mediterranean already during the Iron Age.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Geologie, Institut für Urgeschichte und Historische Archäologie
Externe Organisation(en)
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NHM), Medizinische Universität Innsbruck, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW)
Journal
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Band
48
Anzahl der Seiten
12
ISSN
2352-409X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103842
Publikationsdatum
04-2023
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
107009 Archäozoologie, 106013 Genetik, 106054 Zoologie, 601003 Archäologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Archaeology, Archaeology
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/8b0d8b75-57fd-4263-a65c-2057fb3739ac