The origin and spread of stock-keeping in the Near East and Europe

In western Eurasia we know that the earliest evidence for domestic farmyard animals occurs around 10,000 years ago. We also know that farming then spread westwards through Europe over the subsequent millennia, arriving in the far west and north of Europe some 6,000 years ago. For decades there have been major debates as to the nature of this spread, with many basic questions still remaining largely unanswered. The objective of this major research project, which has been funded for four years by the AHRC, is to address these questions. We are carrying out the largest and most systematic survey of published/archived archaeological animal bone data ever undertaken in order to re-examine the evidence for the origins of stock-keeping in the Near East and its spread into Europe during the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic periods, c.12,000 to 6,000 years ago. The basis for our study is a comprehensive database of selected animal bone data from relevant sites. Analysis of these collated datesets will enable us to:
• establish the key characteristics of early Neolithic animal exploitation economies through time and over broad and geographic regions;
• understand the key factors that account for variation in early Neolithic animal exploitation;
• explore possible variations in husbandry and hunting strategies that developed as Neolithic herding economies spread from their area/s of origin;
• assess the speed of spread of livestock farming across Europe;
• look for possible adaptive changes in husbandry and hunting practices;
• and to investigate the evidence for local indigenous domestication.