#domestication

#domestication

Geese - Not Chicken - Were the First Birds Domesticated by Man 7,000 Years AgoIt turns out that chickens didn’t come first, huh!  A new study of preserved goose bones revealed that these animals were domesticated as early as 7000 years ago in China. This means that they are the first bird to be taken care of. Hokkaido University Museum’s Masaki Eda and a team of experts excavated Tianluoshan, a Stone Age village between about 7000 and 5500 years old in east China. Out of the total of 232 bones at the location, four of them belonged to immature geese, which suggests that they hatched at the village. In addition, the adult geese bones were observed to have been locally bred and were all almost the same size. This implies captive breeding. The evidence suggests that the geese were the first bird to be domesticated, while the chicken is a strong contender, there has been a dispute over when and where this happened (and no direct evidence to suggest the timeline for chicken domestication). Image credit: Pedro da Silva#geese #history #domestication #animals

DNA Extracted From 1,600-Year-Old Sheep Leg Found In Salt MineSheep are one of the first animals domesticated by humans, but not much is known about the details of sheep husbandry in ancient civilizations.Now, we have a bit more information on this topic. A team of researchers recently retrieved a well preserved sheep leg from the Chehrabad salt mine in Iran. It's over 1,600 years old but thanks to the salt, there was even still skin and fur present on it and scientists were able to take some of its DNA for their study.Usually, DNA breaks down quickly as enzymes in the cells degrade the strands in a chemical reaction which involves water. The high concentration of salt sequesters the water molecules, thus preventing them from breaking down the DNA strands.So, what did the scientists find out? Genetic analysis showed that the breed of sheep was that of a fat-tailed variety, which lacked the gene for a woolly coat. This breed of sheep was most likely raised for meat or milk, instead of fleece. Research fellow Kevin Daly said, "This study shows us that the people of Sasanian-era Iran may have managed flocks of sheep specialized for meat consumption, suggesting well developed husbandry practices."#sheep #sheepdomestication #fossil #mummy #mummified #saltmine #DNA #archaeology #genetics #domesticationImage: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum and Zanjan Cultural Heritage Centre, Archaeological Museum of Zanjan