Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making

2021
Authors
Balasse, Marie
Gillis, Rosalind
Živaljević, Ivana

Berthon, Remi
Kovacikova, Lenka
Fiorillo, Denis
Arbogast, Rose-Marie
Balasescu, Adrian

Brehard, Stephanie
Nyerges, Eva A.
Dimitrijević, Vesna

Banffy, Eszter
Domboroczki, Laszlo
Marciniak, Arkadiusz
Oross, Krisztian
Vostrovska, Ivana
Roffet-Salque, Mélanie

Stefanović, Sofija

Ivanova, Maria
Article (Published version)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Present-day domestic cattle are reproductively active throughout the year, which is a major asset for dairy production. Large wild ungulates, in contrast, are seasonal breeders, as were the last historic representatives of the aurochs, the wild ancestors of cattle. Aseasonal reproduction in cattle is a consequence of domestication and herding, but exactly when this capacity developed in domestic cattle is still unknown and the extent to which early farming communities controlled the seasonality of reproduction is debated. Seasonal or aseasonal calving would have shaped the socio-economic practices of ancient farming societies differently, structuring the agropastoral calendar and determining milk availability where dairying is attested. In this study, we reconstruct the calving pattern through the analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios of cattle tooth enamel from 18 sites across Europe, dating from the 6th mill. cal BC (Early Neolithic) in the Balkans to the 4th mill. cal BC (Middle ...Neolithic) in Western Europe. Seasonal calving prevailed in Europe between the 6th and 4th millennia cal BC. These results suggest that cattle agropastoral systems in Neolithic Europe were strongly constrained by environmental factors, in particular forage resources. The ensuing fluctuations in milk availability would account for cheese-making, transforming a seasonal milk supply into a storable product.
Source:
Scientific Reports, 2021, 11, 1Publisher:
- Nature Research, Berlin
Funding / projects:
- SIANHE: Stable isotope investigations on the adaptations of Neolithic husbandry to the diverse climatic and environmental settings of Eastern, Central and Western Europe (EU-202881)
- DFG "Food Cultures" projectGerman Research Foundation (DFG) [IV 101/5-1]
- MNHN ATM "CyclOviMed"
- SUSTAIN: Sustainability of Agriculture in Neolithic Europe (EU-865515)
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1
ISSN: 2045-2322
PubMed: 33854159
WoS: 000640601800019
Scopus: 2-s2.0-85104442811
Institution/Community
Arheologija / ArchaeologyTY - JOUR AU - Balasse, Marie AU - Gillis, Rosalind AU - Živaljević, Ivana AU - Berthon, Remi AU - Kovacikova, Lenka AU - Fiorillo, Denis AU - Arbogast, Rose-Marie AU - Balasescu, Adrian AU - Brehard, Stephanie AU - Nyerges, Eva A. AU - Dimitrijević, Vesna AU - Banffy, Eszter AU - Domboroczki, Laszlo AU - Marciniak, Arkadiusz AU - Oross, Krisztian AU - Vostrovska, Ivana AU - Roffet-Salque, Mélanie AU - Stefanović, Sofija AU - Ivanova, Maria PY - 2021 UR - http://reff.f.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3350 AB - Present-day domestic cattle are reproductively active throughout the year, which is a major asset for dairy production. Large wild ungulates, in contrast, are seasonal breeders, as were the last historic representatives of the aurochs, the wild ancestors of cattle. Aseasonal reproduction in cattle is a consequence of domestication and herding, but exactly when this capacity developed in domestic cattle is still unknown and the extent to which early farming communities controlled the seasonality of reproduction is debated. Seasonal or aseasonal calving would have shaped the socio-economic practices of ancient farming societies differently, structuring the agropastoral calendar and determining milk availability where dairying is attested. In this study, we reconstruct the calving pattern through the analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios of cattle tooth enamel from 18 sites across Europe, dating from the 6th mill. cal BC (Early Neolithic) in the Balkans to the 4th mill. cal BC (Middle Neolithic) in Western Europe. Seasonal calving prevailed in Europe between the 6th and 4th millennia cal BC. These results suggest that cattle agropastoral systems in Neolithic Europe were strongly constrained by environmental factors, in particular forage resources. The ensuing fluctuations in milk availability would account for cheese-making, transforming a seasonal milk supply into a storable product. PB - Nature Research, Berlin T2 - Scientific Reports T1 - Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making IS - 1 VL - 11 DO - 10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1 ER -
@article{ author = "Balasse, Marie and Gillis, Rosalind and Živaljević, Ivana and Berthon, Remi and Kovacikova, Lenka and Fiorillo, Denis and Arbogast, Rose-Marie and Balasescu, Adrian and Brehard, Stephanie and Nyerges, Eva A. and Dimitrijević, Vesna and Banffy, Eszter and Domboroczki, Laszlo and Marciniak, Arkadiusz and Oross, Krisztian and Vostrovska, Ivana and Roffet-Salque, Mélanie and Stefanović, Sofija and Ivanova, Maria", year = "2021", abstract = "Present-day domestic cattle are reproductively active throughout the year, which is a major asset for dairy production. Large wild ungulates, in contrast, are seasonal breeders, as were the last historic representatives of the aurochs, the wild ancestors of cattle. Aseasonal reproduction in cattle is a consequence of domestication and herding, but exactly when this capacity developed in domestic cattle is still unknown and the extent to which early farming communities controlled the seasonality of reproduction is debated. Seasonal or aseasonal calving would have shaped the socio-economic practices of ancient farming societies differently, structuring the agropastoral calendar and determining milk availability where dairying is attested. In this study, we reconstruct the calving pattern through the analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios of cattle tooth enamel from 18 sites across Europe, dating from the 6th mill. cal BC (Early Neolithic) in the Balkans to the 4th mill. cal BC (Middle Neolithic) in Western Europe. Seasonal calving prevailed in Europe between the 6th and 4th millennia cal BC. These results suggest that cattle agropastoral systems in Neolithic Europe were strongly constrained by environmental factors, in particular forage resources. The ensuing fluctuations in milk availability would account for cheese-making, transforming a seasonal milk supply into a storable product.", publisher = "Nature Research, Berlin", journal = "Scientific Reports", title = "Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making", number = "1", volume = "11", doi = "10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1" }
Balasse, M., Gillis, R., Živaljević, I., Berthon, R., Kovacikova, L., Fiorillo, D., Arbogast, R., Balasescu, A., Brehard, S., Nyerges, E. A., Dimitrijević, V., Banffy, E., Domboroczki, L., Marciniak, A., Oross, K., Vostrovska, I., Roffet-Salque, M., Stefanović, S.,& Ivanova, M.. (2021). Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making. in Scientific Reports Nature Research, Berlin., 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1
Balasse M, Gillis R, Živaljević I, Berthon R, Kovacikova L, Fiorillo D, Arbogast R, Balasescu A, Brehard S, Nyerges EA, Dimitrijević V, Banffy E, Domboroczki L, Marciniak A, Oross K, Vostrovska I, Roffet-Salque M, Stefanović S, Ivanova M. Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making. in Scientific Reports. 2021;11(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1 .
Balasse, Marie, Gillis, Rosalind, Živaljević, Ivana, Berthon, Remi, Kovacikova, Lenka, Fiorillo, Denis, Arbogast, Rose-Marie, Balasescu, Adrian, Brehard, Stephanie, Nyerges, Eva A., Dimitrijević, Vesna, Banffy, Eszter, Domboroczki, Laszlo, Marciniak, Arkadiusz, Oross, Krisztian, Vostrovska, Ivana, Roffet-Salque, Mélanie, Stefanović, Sofija, Ivanova, Maria, "Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making" in Scientific Reports, 11, no. 1 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1 . .