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Inproceedings Reference Living conditions of captive baboons and their trade in ancient Egypt revealed through palaeopathological and demographic data
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Paleogenomic insights into cat domestication in ancient Egypt
Situated at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe, Egypt is considered one of the two potential cradles of cat domestication. Zooarchaeological evidence points to cat-human relationships as old as the 4th millennium BC. Later, cats were object of a cult dedicated to the goddess Bastet, and from the 1st millennium BC until the 4th century AD were mummified as votive offerings. Previous ancient DNA (aDNA) investigation showed that cats in ancient Egypt possessed two maternal lineages commonly found in modern domestic cats. Haplotype-C, which spread all over the Old World since Classical Antiquity from Northern Africa, and haplotype-A, which was associated with an earlier cat dispersal from the Levant during the Neolithic. DNA from cat mummies represents a key tool to unravel the role of Egypt as a possible independent centre of domestication, even though the retrieval of aDNA from mummified tissues has greatly been challenged by DNA preservation. Here, we show the preliminary results of aDNA analyses conducted on more than 50 Egyptian cat mummies from Beni Hassan and Gourna (Luxor), dated to the Greco-Roman period. By comparing different methods (e.g. single and double stranded genomic library construction), we provide an extensive case for screening DNA preservation in arid regions, and within different tissues, such as hair, claws, and petrous bones. We also explore the potential to gain novel insights on the dispersal of domestic cats from Egypt in Classical Antiquity through mitochondrial and genome-wide data.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Insights on zoonotic diseases in cat domestication through ancient pathogen genomics
The growing interest in paleopathogenomics and microbial archaeology of the last decade offered the chance to investigate the complex relationships between human hosts and microorganisms, making it possible to identify and characterize the etiologic agents of epidemics in our past [1]. The spread of zoonotic disease in human history was associated with the progressively closer contact with domestic animals[1]. However, the role of animal hosts in the emergence of zoonoses has been only marginally explored, the main focus of paleopathogenomic research being primarily on human hosts. Due to their pivotal role as pest control agents and their long-standing relationship with humans, cats are hosts of several zoonotic diseases representing a threat for human health. Here we present the results of the metagenomic screening for ancient pathogen identification on more than 100 ancient cat remains from different geographic locations (Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia) spanning several millennia from prehistory to historical times. Various bone substrates (teeth, postcranial skeletal elements, and petrous bones) were analyzed via shotgun sequencing and metagenomic screening with Kraken 2[2] and MetaPhlAn 4[3]. By applying strict authentication guidelines, we provide a framework of ancient microbial DNA preservation in cat remains across time and space, discussing the identification of potential zoonotic candidates. The identification of zoonotic microorganisms in ancient animals represents a yet overlooked field of research, which may offer unprecedented insights into zoonotic epidemics and inter-species transmissibility.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Paleogenomics of European wild and domestic cats
Zooarchaeological and genetic evidence from the last two decades demonstrated that domestic cats originated from the North African and Near Eastern wildcat, Felis silvestris lybica. The commensal relationship between humans and cats most likely started 11 thousand years ago (kya) in the Neolithic Levant. More recently, ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evidence suggested that domestic cats spread to Southeast Europe as early as 4400 BC, however their dispersal to the rest of Europe is controversial due to the paucity of data. Furthermore, complex scenarios of admixture between domestic and wild populations (e.g., the European wildcat F. s. silvestris and the Asian wildcat F. s. ornata) may have taken place across time, thus leaving a mtDNA-based reconstruction unsatisfactory. Here we show the preliminary results of our paleogenomic investigation from more than 150 cat remains from European archaeological sites dated from 15 kya to the 18th century AD, with a peculiar focus on the Mediterranean area. By screening the samples for endogenous cat DNA content, we provide a framework of ancient DNA preservation in cat remains across time and space. Furthermore, by generating complete mtDNAs and low-coverage nuclear genome data (ranging from 0.2- to 1.4-fold), we were able to refine the chronology of cat dispersal in the Mediterranean region, and to address questions around potential admixture patterns between wild and domestic cat populations. Our paleogenomic dataset lay the foundations for future and more in-depth analyses aimed at understanding the factors determining the evolutionary success of the domestic cat.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Using ancient DNA to identify Bos primigenius in ancient cattle remains from Belgium
Aurochs (Bos primigenius) are the wild ancestors of the domesticated taurine cattle (Bos taurus). During the Holocene, populations of aurochs gradually declined until their extinction at the turn of the 17th century. DNA data suggest that domestic cattle in Europe descended from Near East aurochs that were domesticated and brought to Europe by the first farmers during the Neolithic period. Hybridization occurred more recently in Europe between domestic cattle and local wild aurochs. Most aurochs can be distinguished from domestic cattle osteometrically, but large-sized domestic cattle may be misidentified as aurochs. Based on mitochondrial DNA, most European aurochs differ from domestic cattle (haplogroup “P” versus “T”). With the aim to provide new data on the former distribution of aurochs in Europe, we used mitochondrial DNA to identify large bovid bones attributed to aurochs and dating from Epipaleolithic to medieval times. DNA was extracted from the bones of 11 specimens from Belgium in an ancient DNA lab. Shotgun DNA sequencing provided raw reads comprising 0.02-10% of endogenous DNA. For three samples, reads covered 74-98% of the bovid mitochondrial genome and enabled the identification of one aurochs from the Bronze Age (haplogroup “P”) and two cows from Roman and medieval times (haplogroup “T”). Among the other samples (covering 2-18% of the mitogenome), three Roman specimens could be assigned to the haplogroup “T” based on a few diagnostic positions. This study provides the first mitogenomic data for a Belgian aurochs and contributes to the identification of exceptionally large Roman bovid remains.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Exploring the Morphometric Characteristics of sheep breeds in the Ancient Near East
The multidisciplinary project Evosheep studies the origin and evolution of ancient sheep breeds by means of archaeozoology, geometric morphometrics, genetics, iconography and epigraphy in the ancient Near East from the six millennium BCE. This approach conducted on ancient breeds is completed by work on modern breeds from Near and Middle East and East Africa to provide new biometric and genetic reference records more adequate than European races for further scientific research. This osteological reference offers a measurement baseline for comparison with the archaeological data to explore the diversity patterns of the different domestic sheep populations across the Ancient Near East. This paper compares the diversity of sizes, allometry, and body parts proportions of sheep from archaeological assemblages using the Log Size Index, the Log Shape Ratio, and multivariate analyses. This study will focus on Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites from the Levant, Mesopotamia, Iran, and South Caucasus.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference How ‘Shaun the sheep’ looked like in the past? Evolution and archaeological diversity of sheep morphotypes in Southwest Asia
Sheep husbandry has played a leading role in the economy of human societies over the last 10 millennia. While archaeological research focused on the study of early husbandry practices, little is known about the emergence and morphological evolution of sheep breeds. To what extent ancient sheep bones could help to understand this change and identifying the factors behind it? To answer these questions, we used 3D geometric morphometrics methods on 260 astragalus of modern and archaeological sheep from Southwest Asia and East Africa. Ancient sheep bones have been recovered from forty-two archaeological sites covering seven millennia of economic and cultural transformations, between the 8th and the 1st millennium BC. We have explored morphometric diversity of sheep bones, first according to biotic and abiotic factors on well-documented modern osteological collections and second, according to environmental, chronological and socio-economical contexts on modern and ancient bones. Our first results indicate significant differences in the variation of astragalus shape between modern and archaeological sheep in correlation with ecological and chronocultural factors.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Paleogenetic analysis of cat mummies from ancient Egypt
Situated at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe, Egypt is considered one of the two potential cradles of cat domestication (Felis catus). Here, cats most likely developed their relationship with humans with a dual role. In fact, on the one hand Egyptian iconography depicts cats as skilled hunters, and on the other hand as companion animals, quietly sitting under the chairs of noble people and as guardians of the deceased (Yoyotte & Vernus, 2005). Egyptian cats were object of a cult dedicated to the goddess Bastet, and from the 1st millennium BC until the 4th century AD were mummified as votive offerings. Previous ancient DNA (aDNA) investigation (Ottoni 2017) showed that cats in ancient Egypt possessed two maternal lineages commonly found in modern domestic cats. Haplotype-C, which spread all over the Old World since Classical Antiquity from Northern Africa, and haplotype-A, which was associated with an earlier cat dispersal from the Levant during the Neolithic. DNA from cat mummies represents a key tool to unravel the role of Egypt as a possible independent centre of domestication, despite the fact that the retrieval of aDNA from mummified tissues has greatly been challenged by DNA preservation. Here, we show the preliminary results of aDNA analyses conducted on more than 50 Egyptian cat mummies from Beni Hassan and Gourna (Luxor), dated to the Greco-Roman period. By comparing different methods (e.g. single and double stranded genomic library construction), we provide an extensive case for screening DNA preservation in arid regions, and within different tissues, such as hair, claws, and petrous bones. We also explore the potential to gain novel insights on the dispersal of domestic cats from Egypt in Classical Antiquity through mitochondrial and genome-wide data.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Inproceedings Reference Varanidé, Saniwa orsmaelensis, de l'Eocène basal du Nord-Ouest de l'Europe
Saniwa est un genre éteint de lézard varanidé de l’Eocène européen et nord-américain et taxon frère du groupecouronne Varanus. Jusqu’à maintenant, seule une espèce, Saniwa orsmaelensis était rapportée en Europe, dans l’Eocène basal de Dormaal, Belgique. Cette espèce, originellement nommée par Louis Dollo il y a presqu’un siècle, est le plus ancien varanidé d’Europe. Malheureusement, le matériel diagnostique était limité à quelques vertèbres, décrites assez brièvement et non figurées, si l’on excepte une vertèbre dorsale désignée comme lectotype. Nous décrivons et illustrons ici de nouveaux spécimens de Dormaal ainsi que du Quesnoy, Bassin de Paris, France, incluant des restes crâniens (maxillaire, dentaires et pariétal), permettant de confirmer la validité de ce taxon européen. Ces nouveaux spécimens permettent en effet de nouvelles comparaisons avec l’espèce-type Saniwa ensidens, de l’Eocène moyen des formations de Bridger et de Green River, Wyoming, Etats-Unis et permettent d’amender la diagnose de S. orsmaelensis. La présence de S. orsmaelensis est restreinte à l’Eocène inférieur du Nord-Ouest de l’Europe et son origine géographique n’est pas encore certaine car Saniwa apparait simultanément en Amérique du Nord en Europe. La présence relativement brève des lézards varanidés dans le Paléogène Européen pourrait résulter des rapides changements environnementaux aux alentours du Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum qui ont permis de nombreux échanges fauniques dans l’hémisphère nord. Cependant, le sens de ces migrations n’est pas encore connu. Par ailleurs, les considérations paléogéographiques liées à la distribution du genre Saniwa suggèrent une origine asiatique bien qu’une origine africaine ne puisse être complètement exclue. Ce résumé est une contribution au projet réseau Belspo Brain BR/121/A3/PalEurAfrica financé par le Bureau de la Politique Scientifique Belge.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Inproceedings Reference La locomotion des mésonychidés européens (Mesonychia, Mammalia): Born to run ?
Les Mesonychia appartiennent à un groupe éteint de mammifères prédateurs à sabots. Diversifiés (plus de 20 genres actuellement répertoriés ; Szalay et Gould 1966 ; Rose 2006), ils sont connus dans l’ensemble de la Laurasia (Asie, Europe, Amérique du Nord), du Paléocène inférieur à l’Oligocène inférieur. Les Mesonychia sont séparés en deux familles : Hapalodectidae et Mesonychidae (Szalay et Gould 1966; Solé et al. 2018). Ces derniers ont connu deux événements radiatifs : au Paléocène, avec la diversification des clades de « Dissacus », et au début de l’Éocène, avec l’apparition de mésonychidés spécialisés regroupés, notamment, dans le clade Mesonyx (Solé et al., 2018). Les Mesonychidae étaient présents en Europe à partir du Paléocène supérieur (Thanétien) jusqu’à la fin de l’Éocène inférieur (Yprésien). Deux genres, « Dissacus » et Pachyaena, y ont été identifiés. Mis à part Pachyaena gigantea (Vaugirard, France, début de l’Yprésien) et « Dissacus » europaeus (Cernay et Berru, France, Thanétien tardif), décrits respectivement par Boule (1903) et Thewissen (1991), les mésonychidés européens ont été décrits à partir d’éléments dentaires. Cependant, ces dernières années, plusieurs éléments dentaires et postcrâniens ont été découverts dans les localités de l’Éocène inférieur de Palette (France ; MP7) et de La Borie (France ; MP8+9). Nous avons récemment étudié ces nouveaux restes, mais également révisé ceux du P. gigantea de Vaugirard, décrits mais uniquement partiellement représentés au début du 20ème siècle (Boule 1903). Leur description comparative permet de reconstruire l’évolution de la locomotion des mésonychidés européens et d’inclure ces nouvelles données morphologiques dans la matrice portant sur les parentés au sein des Mesonychia récemment améliorée par Solé et al. (2018). Les analyses phylogénétiques (en parcimonie standard et en bayésien « tip dating » mettent en évidence un clade regroupant la plupart des espèces européennes : ceci permet d’imaginer qu’un groupe de mésonychidés a évolué de manière endémique en Europe. Nous proposons de réutiliser un nom de genre proposé par Lemoine (1891) pour l’une des espèces de ce clade : Hyaenodictis. Il regroupe dorénavant cinq espèces auparavant référées au genre « Dissacus ». Concernant l’écologie, nous concluons que Hyaenodictis raslanloubatieri (La Borie) et Hyaenodictis rougierae (Palette) étaient dorsostables, digitigrades spécialisés et coureurs, alors que P. gigantea était plantigrade – bien qu’également coureur. Les différences de posture et de masse corporelle de ces deux genres reflètent une différence de niche écologique ne corroborant pas l’hypothèse selon laquelle Pachyaena aurait pu être remplacé écologiquement par Hyaenodictis au cours de l’Yprésien. Ce nouveau matériel postcrânien de mésonychidés européens permet de constater une convergence avec certains mésonychidés nord-américains appartenant au clade Mesonyx. Des similitudes morphologiques (e.g., disparition du foramen de l’astragale) liées à une même locomotion sont en effet observées sur les deux continents.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019