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

Marie  Balasse; Rosalind Gillis; Ivana Živaljević; Rémi Berthon; Lenka Kovačiková; Denis Fiorillo; Rose-Marie  Arbogast; Adrian Bălăşescu; Stéphanie  Bréhard; Éva  Á. Nyerges; Vesna Dimitrijević; Eszter Bánffy; László Domboróczki; Arkadiusz  Marciniak; Krisztian Oross; Ivana Vostrovská; Mélanie  Roffet-Salque; Sofija  Stefanovic; Maria Ivanova

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1

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

Marie Balasse^*, Rosalind Gillis, Ivana Živaljević, Rémi Berthon, Lenka Kovačiková, Denis Fiorillo, Rose-Marie Arbogast, Adrian Bălăşescu, Stéphanie Bréhard, Éva Á. Nyerges, Vesna Dimitrijević, Eszter Bánffy, László Domboróczki, Arkadiusz Marciniak, Krisztian Oross, Ivana Vostrovská, Mélanie Roffet-Salque, Sofija Stefanovic, Maria Ivanova

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

86 Downloads (Pure)

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.

Original language	English
Article number	8185
Number of pages	11
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	11
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1
Publication status	Published - 14 Apr 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was funded by the ERC Starting Grant “SIANHE” (GA 202881, PI: M. Balasse), the ERC Advanced Grant “NeoMilk” (FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202, P.I.: R.P. Evershed), the ERC Starting Grant “BIRTH” (GA640557, P.I.: S. Stefanović), the DFG “Food Cultures” project (IV 101/5-1, P.I.: M. Ivanova), the MNHN ATM “CyclO-viMed” (dir M. Balasse & S. Bréhard). M. Ivanova is currently funded by the ERC Consolidator Grant “SUSTAIN” (GA 865515, P.I.: M. Ivanova). The authors thank A. Putica, J. Vuković, J. Bulatović, V. Đorđević and B. Zorbić who provided access to the faunal material from the sites in Serbia; J. Vaquer who gave permission to sample the faunal material from Auriac; V. Voinea who gave access to the faunal material from Cheia and D. N. Popovici for allowing sampling Hârșova and Bordușani. We also thank K. Lyublyanovics (Archaeolingua Foundation) for selecting samples from Balatonszárszó-Kis-erdei-dűlő and T. Marton (Institute of Archaeology, RCH, Eöt-vös Loránd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) for checking the archaeological context of the same site. We thank M. Sanchez-Goni (EPHE, and Université de Bordeaux, EPOC), for providing references and explanations on the LBK paleoclimatic framework, and J.-D. Vigne (AASPE, CNRS-MNHN) for helpful comments.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

Keywords

biogeochemistry
environmental social sciences

Access to Document

10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1

Full-text PDF (final published version)
This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via Nature Research at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-87674-1 . Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.
Final published version, 1.43 MBLicence: CC BY

Handle.net

Persistent link

Embargoed Document

Full-text PDF (author’s accepted manuscript)
Accepted author manuscript, 1.16 MB
Request copy

Cite this

Balasse, M., Gillis, R., Živaljević, I., Berthon, R., Kovačiková, L., Fiorillo, D., Arbogast, R-M., Bălăşescu, A., Bréhard, S., Nyerges, É. Á., Dimitrijević, V., Bánffy, E., Domboróczki, L., Marciniak, A., Oross, K., Vostrovská, I., Roffet-Salque, M., Stefanovic, S., & Ivanova, M. (2021). Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making: impacts on milk availability and cheese-making. Scientific Reports, 11(1), [8185]. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1

@article{5f44504704c04e738650fcaecba95a3c,

title = "Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making: impacts on milk availability and cheese-making",

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.",

keywords = "biogeochemistry, environmental social sciences",

author = "Marie Balasse and Rosalind Gillis and Ivana {\v Z}ivaljevi{\'c} and R{\'e}mi Berthon and Lenka Kova{\v c}ikov{\'a} and Denis Fiorillo and Rose-Marie Arbogast and Adrian B{\u a}l{\u a}{\c s}escu and St{\'e}phanie Br{\'e}hard and Nyerges, {{\'E}va {\'A}.} and Vesna Dimitrijevi{\'c} and Eszter B{\'a}nffy and L{\'a}szl{\'o} Dombor{\'o}czki and Arkadiusz Marciniak and Krisztian Oross and Ivana Vostrovsk{\'a} and M{\'e}lanie Roffet-Salque and Sofija Stefanovic and Maria Ivanova",

note = "Funding Information: This study was funded by the ERC Starting Grant “SIANHE” (GA 202881, PI: M. Balasse), the ERC Advanced Grant “NeoMilk” (FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202, P.I.: R.P. Evershed), the ERC Starting Grant “BIRTH” (GA640557, P.I.: S. Stefanovi{\'c}), the DFG “Food Cultures” project (IV 101/5-1, P.I.: M. Ivanova), the MNHN ATM “CyclO-viMed” (dir M. Balasse & S. Br{\'e}hard). M. Ivanova is currently funded by the ERC Consolidator Grant “SUSTAIN” (GA 865515, P.I.: M. Ivanova). The authors thank A. Putica, J. Vukovi{\'c}, J. Bulatovi{\'c}, V. {\D}or{\d}evi{\'c} and B. Zorbi{\'c} who provided access to the faunal material from the sites in Serbia; J. Vaquer who gave permission to sample the faunal material from Auriac; V. Voinea who gave access to the faunal material from Cheia and D. N. Popovici for allowing sampling H{\^a}rșova and Bordușani. We also thank K. Lyublyanovics (Archaeolingua Foundation) for selecting samples from Balatonsz{\'a}rsz{\'o}-Kis-erdei-d{\H u}l{\H o} and T. Marton (Institute of Archaeology, RCH, E{\"o}t-v{\"o}s Lor{\'a}nd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) for checking the archaeological context of the same site. We thank M. Sanchez-Goni (EPHE, and Universit{\'e} de Bordeaux, EPOC), for providing references and explanations on the LBK paleoclimatic framework, and J.-D. Vigne (AASPE, CNRS-MNHN) for helpful comments. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s).",

year = "2021",

month = apr,

day = "14",

doi = "10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1",

language = "English",

volume = "11",

journal = "Scientific Reports",

issn = "2045-2322",

publisher = "Springer Nature",

number = "1",

}

Balasse, M, Gillis, R, Živaljević, I, Berthon, R, Kovačiková, L, Fiorillo, D, Arbogast, R-M, Bălăşescu, A, Bréhard, S, Nyerges, ÉÁ, Dimitrijević, V, Bánffy, E, Domboróczki, L, Marciniak, A, Oross, K, Vostrovská, I, Roffet-Salque, M, Stefanovic, S & Ivanova, M 2021, 'Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making: impacts on milk availability and cheese-making', Scientific Reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 8185. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1

TY - JOUR

T1 - Seasonal calving in European Prehistoric cattle and its impacts on milk availability and cheese-making

T2 - impacts on milk availability and cheese-making

AU - Balasse, Marie

AU - Gillis, Rosalind

AU - Živaljević, Ivana

AU - Berthon, Rémi

AU - Kovačiková, Lenka

AU - Fiorillo, Denis

AU - Arbogast, Rose-Marie

AU - Bălăşescu, Adrian

AU - Bréhard, Stéphanie

AU - Nyerges, Éva Á.

AU - Dimitrijević, Vesna

AU - Bánffy, Eszter

AU - Domboróczki, László

AU - Marciniak, Arkadiusz

AU - Oross, Krisztian

AU - Vostrovská, Ivana

AU - Roffet-Salque, Mélanie

AU - Stefanovic, Sofija

AU - Ivanova, Maria

N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded by the ERC Starting Grant “SIANHE” (GA 202881, PI: M. Balasse), the ERC Advanced Grant “NeoMilk” (FP7-IDEAS-ERC/324202, P.I.: R.P. Evershed), the ERC Starting Grant “BIRTH” (GA640557, P.I.: S. Stefanović), the DFG “Food Cultures” project (IV 101/5-1, P.I.: M. Ivanova), the MNHN ATM “CyclO-viMed” (dir M. Balasse & S. Bréhard). M. Ivanova is currently funded by the ERC Consolidator Grant “SUSTAIN” (GA 865515, P.I.: M. Ivanova). The authors thank A. Putica, J. Vuković, J. Bulatović, V. Đorđević and B. Zorbić who provided access to the faunal material from the sites in Serbia; J. Vaquer who gave permission to sample the faunal material from Auriac; V. Voinea who gave access to the faunal material from Cheia and D. N. Popovici for allowing sampling Hârșova and Bordușani. We also thank K. Lyublyanovics (Archaeolingua Foundation) for selecting samples from Balatonszárszó-Kis-erdei-dűlő and T. Marton (Institute of Archaeology, RCH, Eöt-vös Loránd Research Network, Centre of Excellence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) for checking the archaeological context of the same site. We thank M. Sanchez-Goni (EPHE, and Université de Bordeaux, EPOC), for providing references and explanations on the LBK paleoclimatic framework, and J.-D. Vigne (AASPE, CNRS-MNHN) for helpful comments. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).

PY - 2021/4/14

Y1 - 2021/4/14

N2 - 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.

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.

KW - biogeochemistry

KW - environmental social sciences

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1

DO - 10.1038/s41598-021-87674-1

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

C2 - 33854159

SN - 2045-2322

VL - 11

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

IS - 1

M1 - 8185

ER -

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

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Handle.net

Embargoed Document

Fingerprint

Cite this