Born Free ? New Evidence for the Status of Sus scrofa at Neolithic Çayönü Tepesi (Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey)
Top Cited Papers
- 1 January 2001
- journal article
- Published by PERSEE Program in Paléorient
- Vol. 27 (2) , 47-73
- https://doi.org/10.3406/paleo.2001.4731
Abstract
A renewed analysis was undertaken of the Sus remains from all habitation phases at Neolithic Çayönü Tepesi, a site which spans more than two millennia and has been considered as among the oldest domestication sites of the pig in Western Asia. The research included age at death estimations, osteometrical analysis of both dental and postcranial material, and the recording of a dental defect (Linear Enamel Hypoplasia or LEH). The analysis revealed a diachronic trend towards younger ages at death, smaller body size, shorter dentition and an increasing frequency of LEH. The results, however, cannot easily be interpreted within the simple dichotomy of "domestic " versus "wild "populations, instead, they show gradual and slow changes and not sudden, dramatic events. This suggests a gradual intensification of the relationship between humans and Sus, a. process that started, early but developed only slowly. The data, support the hypothesis that the Sus population at and around Çayönü lived in a relationship with humans, that was intermediary between "wild" and "domestic ".Keywords
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