Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication
Erinç Yurtman, Onur Özer, Eren Yüncü, Nihan Dilşad Dağtaş, Dilek Koptekin, Yasin Gökhan Çakan, Mustafa Özkan, Ali Akbaba, Damla Kaptan, Gözde Atağ, Kıvılcım Başak Vural, Can Yümni Gündem, Louise Martin, Gülşah Merve Kılınç, Ayshin Ghalichi, Sinan Can Açan, Reyhan Yaka, Ekin Sağlıcan, Vendela Kempe Lagerholm, Maja Krzewińska, Torsten Günther, Pedro Morell Miranda, Evangelia Pişkin, Müge ŞEVKETOĞLU, C. Can Bilgin, Çiğdem Atakuman, Yılmaz Selim Erdal, Elif Sürer, N. Ezgi Altınışık, Johannes A. Lenstra, Sevgi Yorulmaz, Mohammad Foad Abazari, Javad Hoseinzadeh, Douglas Baird, Erhan Bıçakçı, Özlem Çevik, Fokke Gerritsen, Rana Özbal, Anders Götherström, Mehmet Somel, İnci̇ Togan, Füsun Özer
Abstract
Sheep were among the first domesticated animals, but their demographic history is little understood. Here we analyzed nuclear polymorphism and mitochondrial data (mtDNA) from ancient central and west Anatolian sheep dating from Epipaleolithic to late Neolithic, comparatively with modern-day breeds and central Asian Neolithic/Bronze Age sheep (OBI). Analyzing ancient nuclear data, we found that Anatolian Neolithic sheep (ANS) are genetically closest to present-day European breeds relative to Asian breeds, a conclusion supported by mtDNA haplogroup frequencies. In contrast, OBI showed higher genetic affinity to present-day Asian breeds. These results suggest that the east-west genetic structure observed in present-day breeds had already emerged by 6000 BCE, hinting at multiple sheep domestication episodes or early wild introgression in southwest Asia. Furthermore, we found that ANS are genetically distinct from all modern breeds. Our results suggest that European and Anatolian domestic sheep gene pools have been strongly remolded since the Neolithic.