The Secondary Exploitation of Animals in the Old World

Author(s): Andrew Sherratt

Source: World Archaeology, Vol. 15, No. 1, Transhumance and Pastoralism (Jun., 1983), pp. 90-
104
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/124640
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Thesecondaryexploitation
ofanimalsinthe
Old World

AndrewSherratt

Introduction

In thehistoricaland ethnographic record,westernEurasiaappearsas a mosaicof pastoraland

mixed-farming groupsin whichdomesticlivestock hasplayeda majorrole.Specialisedformsof
animalhusbandry havebeenadaptedto a widerangeofgeographical andeconomicconditions,
fromsteppenomadismto large-scale commerciallivestockrearing. In theperspective of pre-
history,however,thispictureis a relatively recentone. Manyof thefeatures whichnowappear
basic to theOld Worldeconomicpatternonlybecamewidespread threeorfourmillennia after
thebeginning of farming.
In a recentpaper (Sherratt1981), I drewtogetherarchaeological and archaeozoological
evidenceforthe earlyuse of thesecondaryproductsand applications of domesticanimalsin
the Old World.The hypothesis presentedwasthatdomesticated livestockwas firstusedlargely
formeat,and onlysomemillennia laterformilk,wool,riding,tractionandpacktransport. The
evidenceforeach oftheseelementswasvariedincharacter andnowhereconclusive, butseemed
to convergeon a criticalphase of changein the fourthmillennium BC, whichI labelledthe
'secondary productsrevolution'.
The purposeof thisarticleis to presentsomeadditionalinformation whichmodifiesand
confirms theseconclusions, and also to sketchthe outlinesof a generalmodelof thedevelop-
mentof animalhusbandry fromc.6000 to 2000 BC. Manyof theinnovations consideredhere
seem to have emergedin restricted partsof the NearEast,and to havebeen exchangedand
disseminatedas part of the process leading to urbanisation.Importantinteractions also
occurredwith the steppebelt,wherenew ways of life appearedat thistime,and the new
featureswhichwere introducedto temperateEurope caused a revolutionary changein the
characterof agriculture and social systemsthere.Despitethe fragmentary natureof present
evidence,therefore, it is usefulto considerthisphenomenon as a whole,sinceitselementsare
clearlyinterconnected. The datingof these featureswill firstbe discussedin a European
context,and thenconsidered as partof thepatternof development in theNearEast.

WorldArchaeology Volume15 No. 1 andpastoralism

Transhumance
i R.K.P. 1983 043-8243/83/1501-90$1.50/1
 Thesecondary ofanimalsin theOld World 91
exploitation

Use of thescratch-plough
(ard)

The best evidenceso far for the regularuse of the ploughin agriculture comes fromthe
discoveryof actual plough-marks on old land surfaces, and therecentmultiplication of such
discoveries offersthehope thatthiswilllead to a moreprecisedefinition of thedateat which
animaltraction was firstappliedtocultivation.Themostimpressive corpusofearlyplough-marks
comes from Denmark, where they have recently been comprehensively reviewedby Henrik
Thrane(1982). A dozen of theseexamplesbelongto the CordedWareperiodof the third
millennium BC, but nineteencan be datedto theEarlyor MiddleNeolithic -the TRB culture
of thefourth millennium. Ofthese,theearliestarethefourwhichbelongto theEarlyNeolithic
C phase,withanotherfivedated to thistimeor theopeningphaseof theMiddleNeolithic.
Amongthelatteris thesplendidexamplefromSnavenearDreslette, where175 squaremetres
of criss-crossfurrows havebeen exposedundera longdolmen-mound. Theseexamplescan be
datedbya seriesof radiocarbon determinationson materialofthesephasesto c. 3700-3300 BC
(see e.g. Bakker1979: 141-5). These fitwell withthedate of c. 3500 BC forfurrows in the
surface below the South Streetlongbarrow (Avebury) and other evidence (Sherratt1981:
Fig. 10.8).
Furtherwelcomeevidencecomesfromthecircum-Alpine region.In theValled'Aosta,from
phase II of the site of Saint-Martin-de-Corleans in the suburbsof Aostain northern Italy,an
area of plough-marks has beenexposedon a ritualsitebeneathNeolithiccist-graves (Mezzena
1981). The furrows are bracketedby radiocarbon datesofc. 2900 bc and 2400 bc (averagesof
sevendates:Mezzena1981: 32-3), givinga calibratedrangeof 3600-3000 BC. Theseshowan
impressive congruence withtheScandinavian dates.Slightly later,witha radiocarbondetermin-
ation of 2400 bc (= 3000 BC), is the siteof Castanedaat themouthof theCalancavalleyin
Graubunden,Switzerland, whereanotherlargearea of criss-cross furrows has been exposed
beneathan IronAgecemetery (ZindelandDeluns1980). AnotherSwisssite,Chur-Welshdorfli,
yieldedfurrows sandwiched betweenLutzenguetle (lateNeolithic)and EarlyBronzelayers,and
so datingto thelaterfourth orthirdmillennium BC (ibid.:44).
Althoughthe occurrenceof such findsis naturallydependenton the preservation of old
land surfaces,the existenceof such conditionsundermonuments datingto before3500 BC
(e.g. earthenlongbarrows) offerssome controlon thistypeof evidence:and the emerging
patternof datesbothforplough-marks andfigurines fromseveralpartsof Europeseemsto be a
convincing one.
As wellas thecontemporary iconographicevidenceforpaireddraught in theformofpottery
cart and yoke-models (listedin Sherratt1981: 264-5), thecoppermodelsof yokedoxenfrom
Bytyn'nearPoznan in Poland (Piggott1968: Plate 25) also date to around3500 BC on the
evidenceof theassociatedflatcopperaxes. Sincetheox-figures weremadebya moresophisti-
cated methodof casting(probablylost-wax)thanwas practisedin Europeat thattime,it is
possiblethattheywereimportsfroma moreadvancedareasuchas Anatolia.The possibility of
suchcontactsis suggested bya remarkable pottery vesselfromOldenburg, north-westGermany,
whichwas clearlybased on a metalprototype(Bakker1979: 123). This.evidenceof long-
distancecontactsis important fortheapparently rapidspreadof yokedtractionat thistime.
One moretypeofevidenceshouldbe noted,sinceithas sometimes beenusedto argueforan
earlieruse of ox-traction forploughing.Thisis themorphology of cattlebonesfromtheearly
fifthmillennium BC siteof VNdastra on thelowerDanubein Romania(Chetieand Mateesco
92 AndrewSherratt

1973; Mateesco1975). On thebasisof deformation in theepiphyses of thehumerus and femur

it was suggestedthat the forelimbsof subadultanimalshad been subjectedto vertical
compression as theresultof carrying
loads. Whilethisphenomenon deservesfurther study,it
cannotby itselfbe takenas evidenceoftheuse of bovinesfortraction. Thereis thusno reason
to supposethattheploughwas in use in Europebeforethemid-fourth millennium BC. There
is thusgood agreement amongthevariouslinesof evidenceforpaireddraught (plough-marks,
modelsor drawings of oxen and carts,paired-ox
burials)to dateitsintroduction to c.3500 BC,
witha majorhorizonofchangein Europeansettlement
coinciding patterns.

Thespreadof thehorsein Europe

The patternin whichdomestichorsesspreadthrough Europefromtheiroriginon the Pontic

steppes(Sherratt1981: 272-3) is provingto be a complexone. The firsthorsesappearedin
smallnumbersin temperate Europetowardstheendofthefifth millenniumBC,and arefound
in gravesof theTiszapolgdr culturein easternHungary(Bokonyi1978: 25). Theiroccurrence
hereat thistimeis significant,forit coincideswithotherevidencefortrans-Carpathian links
suchas importedtypesof flintand statusitems(Kaczanowska1980). As Bokonyi(1978: 25)
notes,theseearlyhorseswereprobably'regarded or statussymbols'
as novelties anddidnotform
thebasisof a local breedingpopulation, sincetheydo notreappearinHungary untiltheBaden
periodand only in any numbersin the Early BronzeAge (Beaker)periodaround2500 BC.
Duringtheintervening period,in thelaterfourthand earlythirdmillennia, horsesseemto
have spreadamongelite groupsin the NorthEuropeanPlainthrough contactsbetweenlater
TRB and Badencultures.HorsebonesareknownfromtheTRB and relatedcontextsin central
Germany(Muller1978: 204), Czechoslovakia (Peske1982) and Bavaria(Driehaus1960: 88-9);
but themostconvincing evidenceoftheirdomesticstatusis theseriesofantlerobjectsrecently
interpreted by Lichardus(1980) as thecheek-pieces ofbits.Theseoccuras grave-finds on three
late TRB (Elb-Havel)sitesin the northof the DDR, on a TRB (Tiefstich) settlement in Lower
Saxony,and as strayfindsin northern France(probablyS.O.M.). Two moreexamples,from
Bernburggravesat Barbynear Schonebeckin centralGermany,are illustrated by Behrens
(1981: 13). The objectsare crescenticin sectionand about 20 cm in length, witha singlehole
throughtheirthickenedmid-section. They resemblethe findsfromSredniStog sites like
DereivkanearKiev,wherethefirstevidenceof horsedomestication occurs,and haveparallels
in somelater,BronzeAge typesfroma periodin whichmorecomplextypesof antlercheek-
pieces are known.Experimental use has demonstrated theireffectivenessas bits(Lichardus
1980: 16-19). At the type-site of Ostorf(Kr. Schwerin,DDR) theyoccurin two gravesof
maturemales,in one of whicha pairofsuchcheek-pieces wasassociatedwithrichgrave-goods
includingtwenty-two arrowheads, a stoneaxe, flints,organicandamberbeads,anda miniature
amberdouble-axe.(No bonesof horseswerefoundin the burials.)Thisevidencesuggests that
of
by3000 BC smallnumbers horseswerebeingkeptforridingbycertainelementsoftheTRB
populationin northern and centralEurope,shortlyafterthe timeat whichthe ploughfirst
cameintouse in theseareas.
Thisinitialspreadof horsesin temperate Europethuscoincideswiththeincreasing opening-
up of theeast/west corridorof the NorthEuropeanPlain,whichin thefollowing CordedWare
and Beakerperiodswas to transmit important innovationsto otherareasof Europe.It is at this
 Thesecondary ofanimalsin theOld World 93
exploitation

timethathorsesappearedmorewidelyin Europe(e.g. Ireland:vanWijngaarden-Bakker 1974:

345-7), thatthe firsthorse-burials
are found(e.g. Grosshoflein-Follik
in theAustrianBurgen-
land: Pittioni1954: 247), and thathorsebonesreachsubstantialproportionson certainsites
(e.g. Csepel-Haros
nearBudapest:Bokonyi1978). By 2000 BC horsesoccurredregularly on
BronzeAge domesticsitesin centralEurope,andwereprobablyavailableto a largerpartofthe
population.

The spreadof wool-sheep

in Europe

The basic problemin assessing thechangefromtextilesbasedon plantfibres(linenandbast)to

thosemadeof wool is one of differential preservation.Vegetablefibressurviveonlyin alkaline
contextssuch as the calcareousmudsof NeolithicSwitzerland, whilewoollenfibressurvive
onlyin acid contextssuchas theoligotrophic peat-bogsof northern Europe(althoughcarbon-
isationmaypreserve exceptional examples).
The greatabundanceof textilefindsfromSwitzerland intheperiodfrom4000 to 3000 BC
(Vogt 1937) showsthatlinenwas widelyused in the Neolithic.Afterthistime,intheCorded
Wareand EarlyBronzeAge periods,the sharpdeclinein textileremainssuggests thatit had
been largelyreplacedby wool, whichwould not be preserved in suchenvironments. On the
otherhand, thereis abundantevidencefromnorthern in
Europe(especially Denmarkand
adjacentareas:Hald 1950) thatwoollenclothwas themajortextilein use duringthe Bronze
Age,from2000 onwards.The problemis thusto identify thepointin thethirdmillennium at
whichthechange-over occurred.
An important findin thiscontextis the 'SpitzesHoch'tumulusat LatdorfnearBernburg in
centralGermany(DDR), excavatatedbyKlopfleisch in 1880. Thiscontaineda collectiveburial
withBemburg(TRB) pots and copperbeads,withina circularstonesettingcoveredby oak
planks.The burningof thiswoodencoveringhad carbonisednearlysixtytextilefragments,
whichhavebeenexaminedby Schlabow(1959). Thesehe describedas beingof'erstaunlicher
Feinheit',and consistingof 'feine,langhaarige Schafwolle'--finerthanwool fromthe Bronze
Age. However,Dr M. L. Ryder (in litt. April 1981) informsme that he examinedthis
supposedlyNeolithic'wool' in 1964, and is of theopinionthatit is flax;andcarbonised flax-
seeds occurredin the grave(Vogt 1937: 43). It seemsmostlikely,therefore, thatthislate-
fourth-millennium sampleis linen,likecontemporary Swisstextiles.
The earliestEuropeanfindof woollenfibresis the wrappingfromthe handleof a flint
dagger,foundin itsleathersheathin a peat-bogat Wiepenkathen, innorthernGermany (Cassau
1935). This fabricis particularly since it consistedof woollenthreadsthathad
interesting,
originallybeen interwoven with others,presumably linen,that had not survivedthe acid
conditions.Thisis neatlyparalleledby a contemporary Swissfind(Ruoff1981),in whichthe
converseobtained:linenfibresinterwoven withnowvanishedones,presumably of wool. The
Wiepenkathen daggercan be datedtypologically (Lomborg1973) to theearliestphaseof the
late Neolithic'DaggerPeriod',beginning around2400 BC. Moreovera recentunpublished find
of'carbonised wool fromSwitzerland can be datedto c. 2900 BC (P. Petrequin,pers.comm.).
It seemsreasonable,therefore, to suggestthatwool was introduced to north-centralEurope
sometimein theearlyto mid-third millennium (probablyin a CordedWarecontext),andwas
used in conjunctionwithlinen untilit becamethe dominanttextilefibrein the second
millennium.
94 AndrewSherratt

The evidenceset out above thussuggests

an extendedperiodof arounda thousandyears,
fromc.3 500 to 2500 BC, in whichthreeimportant reachedEurope,in theorder:
innovations
plough,horse,wool.

Theantiquity
ofdairying

One of the mostimportant questionsaboutprehistoric economiesis theoriginof milking. It

cannotbe assumedthatthiswas practised fromthebeginning of domestication (Sherratt1981:
275-82); althoughit was probablyolderthanthefirsticonographic evidenceforthepractice,
whichappearsonlyin Urukcontextsof the fourthmillennium BC. The answercan onlycome
froma large numberof faunalstudiesusingage-and sex-specific mortality estimates;and
althoughmanymoresuchstudiesare required,someinitialresultsrelevantto theearlyuse of
milkin Europewillbe notedhere.
Sakellaridis(1979) has provideddetailed data on faunal assemblagesfromNeolithic
Switzerland, and althoughsomeof thesamplesizesaresmall,someconsistent patterns emerge.
In thePfynand Cortaillodcultures(3800-3500 BC) 40 to 80 percentof thecattlesurvived to
maturity, of whichthemajority werefemale.The lack of adultmalesconfirms thattheywere
not keptas draughtanimals,andthehighproportion ofadultfemalesimpliesthepossibility of
milkingas wellas breeding stock.Althoughsomesitesof thisperiodonlyproducedimmature
animals,theveryhighproportions of adultfemalesincertainassemblages makethepracticeof
milkingquite likely.Moreover,thispatternoccursas earlyas theRoessenlevelsat Eschen-
Lutzenguetle (c.4000 BC), whereover80 percentof cattleweremorethan2-3 yearsold. A
similarpatternwas also noted forovicaprids:Cortaillodpopulationsalso contain20-60 per
centof adultanimals,mostlyfemale.Thisprecludestheiruse forwool,as predicted, butleaves
open thepossibility thatgoats,in particular,
wereused formilking. (Incidentally, sheepwere
regularlyusedas milkanimalsin northern EuropeuntiltheIndustrial Revolution, as insouthern
Europe today.) It is thus not improbablethat milkingwas beingpractisedin Europeby
4000 BC, or evenearlier,thoughtheuse of milkin NeolithicEuropeseemsto be a local rather
thana generalfeature.
How does thisfitwithotherindications as to theaitiquityof dairying? In an earlierpaper
(Sherratt1981: 276-7) I discussedthe relevanceof the restricted adult toleranceof lactose
(milk-sugar) in humanpopulations.The abilityto digestmilk,owingto thepersistence of the
enzymelactaseinto adulthood,is verylow or absentin Mongoloid,New World,Melanesian,
Australoidand Khoisanpopulations.In theNearEastit is generally low,withtheexceptionof
theBedouinof Saudi Arabia.Likewisein Africa, mostNegroidpopulations exceptpastoralists
like theFulani,Himaand Tussiareintolerant to lactose.Roughlyhalfof theinhabitants ofthe
Mediterranean countriesare intolerant,and the only populationsin whichthe majorityof
adultscan digestmilkare thoseof north-west Europe.Althoughthepracticeof milking has
some correspondence withthedistribution of lactose-tolerant
individuals,it does not depend
on theexistenceof highlevelsof lactosetolerancein thepopulation.The use ofmilkproducts
such as yoghurtand cheese(in whichthelactoseis brokendownintosimplersugars)is thus
likelyto haveprecededtheabilityto drinkmilkdirectly.
Two selectivefactorsare thuslikelyto havebeenresponsible forthepresentdistribution of
lactosetolerance.One is theadvantage, underextremeconditionson desertmargins withfew
 Thesecondary of animalsin theOld World 95
exploitation

alternativefoodsources,of beingable to consumelargeamountsof freshmilk.This doesnot

explainthehighlevelsof tolerancein northern Europe,however,and an ingenious hypothesis
to accountforthishas recently been putforward byFlatzand Rotthauwe(1977). Thisrelates
lactoseto thepromotionof calciumabsorption wherethereis a deficiency ofvitamin D, when
it is beneficialin preventingrickets.The development of lactosetolerancewouldthusparallel
the selectiveadvantagefor de-pigmentation in areas of low sunlight(since vitaminD is
producedin thebodyby UV radiation). Witha cereal-based diet,andlittlevitamin D fromfish
and liver,agricultural populationsin Europewouldhavebeenproneto calciumdeficiency and
consequentbone deformations. If milkwas available,therewouldbe a selectiveadvantage for
the prolongation of lactase activityinto adult life whichwould allow it to be consumed
directly,thushelpingto prevent rickets.
We may therefore suggestthat milkingwas probablypractisedin Europe by Neolithic
populations,and that selectivepressurein favourof milk-drinking became increasingly
important withthenorthwards spreadof agriculture. The limitedopportunities forgrazingin
theprimary forestwouldhaveinhibited thedevelopment oflargeherds,buttheabilityto keep
smallquantitiesof domesticlivestockformilkwould have been valuablein smallscattered
communities. Enlargement of thepastoralsector,andthedevelopment oflarger-scale dairying,
would have dependedon the progressof forestclearanceand in particular the changefrom
small-scalehorticulture (Sherratt1980: 316) to a largerscaleofagriculture.It is in thiscontext
thatthearrival of theploughandwool-sheep wereimportant.

and tradein thefourth

Transport and thirdmillennia
BC

Havingsurveyedthe Europeanevidenceforsecondaryexploitation, we maynow turnto the

NearEast, and in particular
to transport
animalswhichspreadonlymarginally
intoprehistoric
Europe.

Equids

As with paired draught,the use of pack animalscan be illuminated fromthe evidenceof

A groupof terracottas
figurines. fromsouthern Palestineis thefirstknownindication of theuse
of the donkey.The earliestare fromthe Ghassulian(Late Chalcolithic)period,of the fifth
millennium BC, whileotherscomefromEB 1 contexts, equivalentto theEgyptianGerzeanand
Protodynasticperiodsof the fourthmillennium BC. Froma Ghassuliancontextin a tombat
Giv'atoyimis a smalldonkeyfigurewithtwo globularcontainers (pots?baskets?)highon its
back (Kaplan 1969). It is paralleledby otherfigurinesfromGhassulianritualcentres:a bull
carrying'churns'fromEn-gedi(Ussishkin1980: 35), and a womanwitha 'churn'on herhead,
and a ramwithconicalvesselson its back,fromGilat(Alon 1976). The bestrepresentation of
a packdonkeycomesfroman EB 1 tombat TelAzor(norfarfromTelAviv)alongwitha copper
daggeranda predynasticEgyptian palette(DruksandTsaferis1970). It carries
twotallcontainers.
A somewhatsimilarfigureof a donkey,brokenfromthe rimof a vessel,comesfromCyprus
and belongsto theEB 3 periodat theendof thethirdmillennium (Sherratt1981: Fig. 10.11).
The contextof these early figurines fromPalestineis interesting:the Late Chalcolithic
Ghassulianculturesaw a majorexpansionin theNegevandSinai,associatedwithan expansion
96 AndrewSherratt

of tradeand metallurgical activity(Rothenberg1970), and the formation of linksacrossthe

arid partof southemPalestinewiththe culturesof predynastic Egypt,wheremetalobjects
appear in the Gerzean(Naqada II). These routesbecameincreasingly important duringthe
periodof formation of the Egyptianstate.Loaded donkeysappearon therockdrawings of
UpperEgypt(Winckler1939), and in Protodynastic representations of tradeor tributescenes.
Egyptianinterest in the Levantis indicatedby the occurrence of tradedobjects(and eventhe
hieroglyph of Narmeron a sherdfromTel'Erany)and thissphereof influencein southern
Palestineparallelsthe interaction zone aroundthe earlyMesopotamian states,indicatedfor
exampleby the of
occurrence proto-Elamite tabletson theIranianplateau.TheseEgyptian land
routesbasedon packtransport weresuperseded fromthefifth dynasty onwardsbythedevelop-
mentof effective maritime transport and bulktradeby sea (Marfoe1981). The scopeof these
earliercontactswasclearlydependent ontheexistenceofdomestic donkeys usedas packanimals.
Faunal evidenceshowsthatthedonkeywas presentin bothPalestineand UpperEgyptat
least fromthe fourthmillennium onwards,and the evidenceof the figurines thatit
suggests
came to be important locallyamongsemi-pastoralist groupsin southern Palestine,perhapsfirst
in transporting milkand milk-products, and in carrying rarematerialsfromdistantextraction
sites.The growingdemandfromexpandingpopulationsin theNile valley,however,gaveit a
broadersignificance withintheexpandingnetworkof traderoutes.Thisspreadofinnovations
in transport (forexampletheuse of thesail,whichalso cameintowideruse duringthistime:
Sherratt1982) took featuresformerly important in localnichesandgavetheman international
rolein theexpanding relations
betweenearlycomplexsocietiesandtheirperipheries.
The donkeywas introduced to theAegeanduringthe thirdmillennium, occurringbothat
LernaandinTroyIV (Gejvall1969, 1946),andis thuslikelyto havespreadwidelythrough the
NearEast duringthisperiod.Tracingthisspreadis complicated, however,by thedifficulty of
distinguishing donkeyfromthe remainsof otherequidswhichwerepresentin thisregion.A
further complicating elementis the probability of hybridisation betweenthevariousequids.
Thesecomplexities havebeen comprehensively assessedbyJurisZarins(1976) in a workwhich
is a fundamental sourceof information on thisquestion.Centralto histhesisis thecontention
thatonagers,although huntedandoccasionally tamed,wereunlikely to havebeendomesticated
in the same sense as the donkey.However,onager-like equids such as thoseshownpulling
battle-carson the 'standardof Ur'mightwellrepresent hybrids, eitherwithdonkeysor perhaps
evenwithhorses.The use of theonager,therefore, bothas a traction andridinganimal,seems
to be secondaryto the use of otherequids,and mayrepresent local attemptsto extendthe
stock of a rareand valuableimportedspeciesby the developing techniquesof hybridisation
witha locallyabundantequid.
This raisesthe further questionof the date at whichhorsesspreadin theNearEast. The
earliestreportedspecimensare fromAnatoliaand north-west Iran(Late Chalcolithic andEBA
specimensfromNor?untepeandGeoytepe),thoughthesemayrepresent localwildpopulations
withinthe natural distribution of the species. Apparentlydomestichorses appeared at
Korucatepe,TroyVI and Serviaonlytowardstheendof thethirdmillennium. Therearesome
suggestions, however,thatdomestichorsesmayperhapshavebeenpresentin southern Iranin
the fourthmillennium: Zarins(1976) notes identifications fromTal i Iblis,Choga Mishand
perhapsSusa, and thepossibility thatboththebone plaque fromSusa and thefamousproto-
Elamitetablet(Scheil1923: P1.XVII) mayrepresent horses(or theirhybrids).
Horsesbecamemorewidespread in theNearEast in thesecondhalfof thethirdmillennium,
 Thesecondary
exploitation
ofanimalsin theOld World 97

whenthe earlierformsof solid-wheeled cartswererefinedby wayof thecross-bar andspoked

wheelsintothehorse-drawn chariot.Thisseemsto havetakenplaceon thenorthern edgeof the
fertilecrescent,fromSyriaand Anatoliato north-west Iran. Thereare no examplesof bits
fromthisearlyperiod,and the animalswerecontrolledby a nosebandor ring.The further
development of chariotrytookplaceon thesteppeswiththeirlongertradition ofhorsemanship,
including use of thebit.It was probablyfromthissourcethatchariotsreachedEuropearound
2000 BC, wheretheirpresenceis shownbymodelsofspokedwheelsin theOtomanicultureof
easternHungaryand Romania.These are associatedwitha characteristic styleof compass-
decoratedboneworkforcheek-pieces and (?) whip-caps,thathassomeanalogieson thesteppe.
ProfessorPiggott (1983) has recently
pointedout thattheoccurrence offeaturesof thisstylein
theMycenaeshaft-graves around1600 BC probablyrepresents the arrivalofthistechnological
complex in Greece,therebyreversing the directionof a long-heldhorizonof 'Mycenean
influence'(Vladar 1973). Such penetration fromthe steppesof chariotry and horse-rearing
expertise(withits technicalvocabulary)probablytook place in a widearc aroundtheolder
of theNearEast in theearlysecondmillennium,
civilisations whereit is reflectedforinstance
in theappearanceof Indo-European minorities suchas themaryannu (Drower1969).

Camels

Returning briefly to theearlystagesof urbanisation in the fourthmillennium, it is possibleto

suggestthatthe domestication of the camelcloselyparalleledthatof the donkey,but in a
complementary area. Two species are involved,the Bactrianand the Arabiancamel or
dromedary. Although thereis no unambiguous evidenceforthedomesticstatusofeitheranimal
beforethesecondmillennium, indicationsofitspresenceon settlements, togetherwiththelong
overlandrouteswhichcame intouse in the fourthmillennium on theIranianplateau,suggest
thatit was alreadyin use as a transport animal.Tosi (1974) has suggestedan earlyfocusofuse
of theBactriancamelat siteslikeShahr-i Sokhtain Seistan,whereitsbones,dungandhairhave
beeh identified, and this area shows close culturallinkswithTurkmenia,wherefigurines
suggestthat it may have been used as a tractionanimal(Sherratt1981: 275; Massonand
Sarianidi1972: plate36; Bulliet1975). Seistanis linkedsouthwards to theareaofKermanand
the Makrari, wherethereare further indicationsof the presenceof the Bactriancamel(e.g.
Zeuner1955: see nowalso Compagnoni andTosi 1978).
On the othersideof theGulf,the Omanpeninsulawas partof thesameinteraction-sphere
(probablythehistorical Magan),andtherearefourth-millennium camelbonesat HiliandUmm
an-Nar,whilerepresentations on grave-stonesshowthatthespeciespresentwasthedromedary
(Ripinski1975; Zarins1978). The camelalso occursat Bahrain(Dilmun).It is thuspossible
thatdomestication of the two speciesoccurredin the developing zone of long-distance trade
contactson oppositesidesof theGulf,linkedto thegrowing urbanareaof Mesopotamia. While
theinitialfocusofcamel-domestication mayhavebeeninsomelocalisedareaofIran,itachieveda
majorsignificance withintheexpanding network of fourth-millenniumtraderoutes.Thesetrade
routesdid not at thistimeextendto westernArabia,and the relatively slow spreadof the
dromedary mayreflecttheundeveloped natureof thishinterlanduntilthefirstmillennium BC.
The Bactriancamel,however,seemsto have undergonea majordispersalas a transport
animalin the thirdmillennium. Camelbonesappearon Harappansites(Ratnagar1981: 173),
98 AndrewSherratt

and somewhatlateron Andronovositesin centralAsia,wheretheymaybe linkedto drawings

of camelspullingcartsin theMinusinsk depression(Bulliet1975: 185). Theymayevenhave
penetrated by way of thePonticsteppesintoEuropein thethirdmillennium: fabricsidentified
as camel-hair havebeennotedat Maikopin theCaucasus(Gimbutas1956: 60) andcamelbones
in barrowson the Ponticsteppesand at Gurbaneqti east of Bucharestin Romania(Rosetti
1959: 802). It is clear thatthe steppesacted as an important secondaryaxis of dispersal,
as
withothersecondary of
forms animalexploitation.
In summary, therefore, the fourthand thirdmillenniasaw theemergence and dispersalof
threemajormeansof transport beginningin threemajorzones fromnorthto south:riding,
wheeledvehiclesand pack transport. These techniques,and the domesticspecieson which
theywerebased,spreadand interacted bothwithintheNearEast andon itssteppehinterland.

ofsecondary
The origins animalexploitation

Previoussectionshavereviewedevidenceforthewidespread appearanceofsecondary usesand

productsin thefourth millennium BC. How farbackmaytheseinnovations be traced,andwhat
weretheirareasof origin?
The earliestformsof cerealcultivationin theNearEastwerecloselytiedto restricted areas
of seasonallymoistsoil (Sherratt1980),requiring minimal soilpreparation. Neolithicsitesfirst
proliferatedin thescatteredenvironments wheresuchcultivation could takeplace.Expansion
beyondtheselimitstook place in theEarlyChalcolithic (sixthmillennium in
BC), particularly
two sortsof location.Samarrancultivators on the fansof easternIraq (on or beyondthe
present200-mmisohyet)pioneeredtheuse of water-spreading byconstructing channelsacross
braidedstreams(Oates and Oates 1976). At thesametime,Hassunafarmers expandedon the
brownsteppesoilsof northern Iraq (withinthe 200-mmisohyet).The latterarea offeredfew
opportunities forirrigation;and whileprecipitation at thattimemayhavebeenhigher, it is
likelythatgreatersoil preparation wouldhavebeen necessaryforcereal-growing. Sincecattle
were at that time becomingwidespreadon lowlandsites,the preconditions for traction
cultivationwere present.Althoughthe firstrepresentations of ploughsoccur in southern
Mesopotamiaonly in the fourthmillennium (Sherratt1981: 266), it is likelythat(as with
ploughswerefirstdevelopedwithinGreaterMesopotamia
irrigation) in thepreceding millennia.
Theseconsiderations wouldpointto an originin northern Iraq in thesixthorfifth millenniaBC.
Althoughthisinnovation wasprobablya basicelementin thespreadofirrigation-cultivation
on the alluvialplain of Mesopotamia,it maynot havebeen widelyused outsidethelowland
area. At thisstageit is likelyto have been a localisedfeatureof cultivation systemswhere
sufficientnumbersof cattle were available,and thereweresharpcontrastsin the typeof
animalhusbandry in adjacentregions.For instance,faunalassemblages fromtheKermanshah
regionof westernIran showthatdownto themid-fifth millennium BC theanimaleconomy
therewasbasedon meat,principally juvenilegoatandgazelle(Davis 1982).
Duringthe Late Chalcolithic (fifthmillennium BC), at thesametimeas majoragricultural
expansionwas takingplace in the alluvialplain in the Ubaid period,therewas a further
development of animaleconomieson thefringes ofMesopotamia. In Kermanshah theeconomy
withthe appearanceof cattleand an increasein sheep,whichnow becamemore
diversified,
important thangoats(Davis 1982). Moreover, thesheepwerenowkeptto a greater age,and it
 Thesecondary
exploitation
ofanimalsin theOld World 99

is likelythatwool and milkwerebeingused forthe firsttime.Wool-sheep may havebeen

presentin thisareafroman earlierdate,sincetheSarabfigurine (Bokonyi1974: Fig.44) seems
to indicatethe V-shapedstaplesof hairymediumwool (M. L. Ryder,pers.comm.).Wool-
bearingsheepprobablyspreadfromthe Zagrosto thelowlandsteppeandsemi-desert margins
wheresignificant changeswerealso takingplace in the fifthmillennium. In southernPalestine
and Sinaithecolonisationof new areasin theGhassulian wasassociatedwitha similarincrease
in the importanceof sheep,and the infilling of the area betweenPalestineand Egyptwas
important inlinkingtheNilevalleywithdevelopments in westernAsia.
The spreadof new features withinthefertile crescentcreatedsomeofthepreconditions for
the urbanisationwhich took place in the The
fourthmillennium. conjunctionof expanding
populationson thealluviumusingirrigation and ploughagriculture, withtheopportunities for
long-distance trade,resultedin attemptsto securedirectsuppliesof metal,stoneand wood.
The growinginfluenceof lowlandMesopotamiaand Egyptaffecteda wide hinterland, as
tradingpartners andcolonieswereestablished areasofPalestine,
in resource-rich Syriaand Iran,
usingbothrivertransport on theNileand Euphratesand land routeswithdonkeys(Palestine)
andcamels(Iran).The sledge,probablyusedsincetheinvention of theplough,wastransformed
by the Sumeriansinto the wagonor cart by the additionof wheels,as shownin theUruk
pictograms (Piggott1968); and equidswereused as tractionanimalsforthefirsttimeto pull
in theEarlyDynasticperiod.
battle-cars
In the larger-scaleeconomiesof lowlandMesopotamiait became possibleto supporta
specialisedpastoralsectorin the intersticesof the irrigatedland. Herdsof dairycattlewere
kept in marshyareas (as shownby dairying sceneswithreedhuts),whilewool flockswere
maintainedpartlyby stubble-grazing. Animal-keeping beganto move(like thecultivation of
treecropswhichalso beganat thistime)fromthiesphereof subsistence to thatofcommodity
production, and manufacturing industry basedon woolprovidedtextilesforexport.Secondary
products hadbecomean essentailpartof theurbaneconomy.

Europeand thesteppes

The variouselementsof secondaryanimalexploitation thathad appearedin differentpartsof

theNearEast weredispersedon a largescale by thedevelopment oflong-distancetraderoutes
aroundthe primary urbancentres.The processopenedup a widerhinterland, fromAnatolia
throughthe Caucasusto Iran,in whichlocal communities -Troy,Maikop,Altyntepe-were
developedby widercontacts.The openingup of thismountainarcmadepossiblefurther links
with the Mediterranean, temperateEurope and the steppes.The spreadof Near Eastem
technologiesto thiswiderperipheryis wellillustrated
bymetallurgy.Arsenicalalloyingand the
two-piecemouldappearedin the fourthmillennium in Greece,easternEuropeand thePontic
area,at aboutthesametimeas thetraction ,complex,equidsandwool-sheep.
EasternEurope lay open to contactsin two directions:fromtheAegean,and aroundthe
northemmarginof the Black Sea; and it seemslikelythatboth routesplayeda rolein the
appearanceof thesenew features.The datingevidencediscussedin the firstsectionsuggests
thatthefirstelementto be adoptedin Europewastheplough,together withthecartorwagon.
The connectionswhich are evidentin potterytypesbetweenBaden, Ezero and westem
Anatoliapresentthe possibilitythatthisinnovationreachedcentralEuropefromAnatolia.
100 AndrewSherratt

However,a stepperouteis also possible,and thisis mostlikelyforwool-sheep, and certain

forthehorse.
The open landscapeof thePonticsteppespresenteda moreimmediate opportunity foran
increasedscale of animal-keepingthandid theforested conditionsof temperate Europe.The
truesteppeshad been avoided by earlyfarmers, and theirnativepopulationconsistedof
groupslivingby fishing
riverine andkeepingdomesticlivestock, mainlycattle(Bibikova1975).
Duringthe laterfourthmillennium thesepopulationsmadeincreasing use of theinterfluves,
constructing the characteristic
pit-gravesunderroundtumuli.Althoughnot nomadic,this
increasinglypastoralemphasiswas promotedby the use of the horse,whichwas locally
domesticated, and the cart whichwas adoptedfromneighbouring Caucasiangroups.These
populationsexpandedboth eastwards,towardsthesteppesof centralAsia,and westwards to
intrudeuponsedentary groupsineasternEurope.
agricultural
By the earlythirdmillennium, thereis evidencethatsomeof thesegroupshad penetrated
as faras easternHungary, wheretheysettledmainlyin areasabandonedby local agricultural
groups,probablybecauseof increasing (Ecsedy1979; Sherratt
salination 1982-3). At thesame
timethe sheep populationsin thisarea of centralEuropeshowan increasein size (Bokonyi
theiruse forsecondary
1974) whichis likelyto reflect products.Thisbridgehead seemsto have
actedas a pointof dispersal
bothforwool-sheep andforthehorse,whichspreadintotheNorth
EuropeanPlainwherethesandyareasof thismorainic landscapewerebeingincreasingly opened
up byploughcultivation.
Up to thispoint,thelivestockeconomiesoftemperate Europehad beenconstrained by the
limitedareas of forestclearancecreatedby Neolithiccultivation. The introduction of the
scratch-ploughin the fourthmillennium madepossiblea radicalchangein thecharacter ofland
use,inwhichan extensive strategyreplacedsmall-scalehorticultural
systems. The largerareasof
fallowand abandonedland createdby thismoreextensiveformof agriculture madepossible
an expansionin theuse of livestock,includingboth dairycattleand subsequently wool-sheep.
This majortransformation in the characterof Europeanagriculture had profoundeffectson
economyand social structure,beginning thepatternwhichwasto characterise theBronzeAge.

Conclusion

The development of economiesbased on secondary animalexploitationthusbeganas a mosaic

of individualinnovations, mostlyin the semi-arid areas of the Near East. It was a response
to the problemof adaptingearly formsof farming to new environments, especiallyopen
landscapeswhereit was possibleto maintainlargerquantitiesof livestock.Theseinnovations
came togetherduringthe period of rapid economicchangeleadingto the rise of urban
communities, and weredisseminated by theexpansionof traderouteslinkingtheearlystates
withtheirresource-rich hinterlands.
The introduction of thesenewelementsto thePonticsteppesaccelerated thelocal develop-
mentof pastoraleconomies,alreadyusingthe domestichorse.Thiszone becamea majorarea
of secondarydevelopment carrying
and dispersal, thenew elementsbothintocentralAsiaand
into easternEurope.In the forestedconditionsof temperateEurope,livestock-keeping had
been restricted in scale by the limitedarea of grazing;but the introduction of the plough
initiateda moreextensivetypeof agriculture thatcould supporta largerpastoralcomponent.
 Thesecondary
exploitation
ofanimalsin theOld World 101

The Carpathian centreof dispersalforsteppeelementsin Europe,

Basinactedas an important
and itslinksto theNorthEuropeanPlaincarriedadvancedtypesofstock-raisingto theAtlantic
seaboardbythethirdmillennium BC.

Noteon dates

All datesin thisarticleare calibratedradiocarbon thetableprovidedby R. M.

dates,following
ClarkinAntiquity, 49, 265-6.

Acknowledgments

I am gratefulto manycolleagueswhohavebroughtnew materialto myattention,

especially
JimLewthwaite to RogerMooreyforhisfrequent
and JohnWatson,andparticularly adviceon
NearEasternmatters.

4.i. 1983 AshmoleanMuseum

University
of Oxford

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Abstract

Sherratt,A. G.
The secondaryexploitationof animalsin the Old World

This paper considers the range of evidence for the secondary uses and products of animals:
traction,transport,wool and milk. It suggeststhat early farmingpopulations used livestock
mainly for meat, and that other applications were explored as agriculturalists
adapted to new
conditions,especiallyin the semi-aridzone. Innovationsin differentpartsof the Near East were
exchanged and disseminated as part of the process leading to urbanisation.Their dispersal
affectedboth the steppe belt, which saw a markedincrease in population, and also temperate
Europe, where agriculturewas revolutionisedby more extensive methods of farmingand
landscape clearance.