Emergence and intensification of dairying in the Caucasus and Eurasian steppes

When Pontic–Caspian steppe populations first began dairying and how their animal management strategies may have influenced their mobility and subsequent migrations remain poorly known. From the Mesolithic through the Eneolithic, populations living in the southern Russian plain and Caucasus region primarily hunted local wild game, which included aurochs (Bos primigenius), saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), red deer (Cervus elaphus), tarpan (Equus ferus), onager (Equus hemionus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa), as well as birds, fish and molluscs28,29,30,31. Animal husbandry of domesticated sheep (Ovis aries), goats (Capra hircus), cattle (Bos taurus) and pigs (Sus scrofa) spread to the North Caucasian steppe from Anatolia during the fifth millennium BC by either a circum-Pontic route28 or by crossing the Caucasus mountains from the south32,33,34,35. By the mid-fifth millennium BC, agropastoralists of the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture in Ukraine were regularly interacting with steppe populations north of the Black Sea36, and Eneolithic populations genetically related to South Caucasian and Anatolian agropastoralist groups had become established in the North Caucasus piedmont steppe32,33,37 and were part of a broader Mesopotamian interaction sphere38,39.

Click to expand...

North of the Caucasus mountains, within a geographically and culturally contiguous region that encompasses the piedmont zone, steppe and southern Russian plain, we analysed dietary proteins within the dental calculus proteomes of 27 individuals, including three Eneolithic, 23 Bronze Age and one Early Iron Age individual. Overall, we identified milk proteins in 96% of individuals (n = 26) (Fig. 1c) and observed high levels of milk protein PSMs per individual (mean 47 ± 27; Supplementary Data 3), with milk peptides often being among the most abundant peptides identified in the dental calculus proteomes. Among Eneolithic individuals, two of three were positive for milk proteins. The oldest individual from this region in our study, PG2001 from the piedmont site of Progress 2 and dated to 4338–4074 BC, indicates that dairying has been a feature of the region’s economy since at least the late fifth millennium BC. During the fourth and third millennia BC, we observed a continued reliance on dairying among all analysed Maykop and Steppe Maykop individuals (ca. 3900–2900 BC; n = 7), both in the piedmont and steppe zones as well as in all Yamnaya individuals (ca. 3300–2500 BC; n = 3). Notably, we detected only Ovis milk proteins at Eneolithic, Early Maykop, Late Maykop, Steppe Late Maykop and early Yamnaya sites, suggesting that dairying was a specialized activity focused on sheep during the fourth and fifth millennia BC (Fig. 3a,b). At the start of the early third millennium BC, we identified a broad shift in pastoralist practices towards more diversified dairying based on sheep, goat and cattle milk (Fig. 3c,d). Milk proteins from these three ruminant species were identified among individuals associated with the late Yamnaya (ca. 2850–2500 BC; n = 1), NCC (ca. 2800–2400 BC; n = 4), Catacomb (ca. 2800–2400 BC; n = 1), late NCC (ca. 2200–1650 BC, n = 1) and Lola/post-Catacomb (ca. 2200–1650 BC; n = 6) cultures, with most individuals having consumed the dairy products of two or three different animal milks in the form of sheep and goat milk, sheep and cattle milk or sheep, goat and cattle milk (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Data 3). Finally, during the Early Iron Age (eighth–fifth centuries BC), we observed the incorporation of horse (Equus) milk into the dairy economy (Fig. 3e), with Ovis, Capra, Bos and Equus milk proteins identified in the dental calculus of individual MK5018.

Click to expand...

In the Oka–Volga–Don region, we analysed dietary proteins within the dental calculus proteomes of seven individuals dating from the Eneolithic through the Middle Bronze Age (Fig. 1c and Supplementary Data 3). Despite excellent protein recovery, no milk proteins were detected in an individual from the Neolithic–Bronze Age site of Ksizovo 6, dating to 5837–5670 BC, nor from individuals associated with the Sredny Stog culture (n = 2) at the Eneolithic–Bronze Age site of Vasilevsky Kordon 27, dating to ca. 3600–3100 BC. Milk proteins were also absent from individual RAV002, dating to 3514–3356 BC, and from two Middle Bronze Age individuals from the Shagara cemetery, dating to 2572–1893 BC. Only an individual at the site of Rovenka tested positive for milk proteins. This individual, RVK001, was associated with a late Catacomb culture site, dating to 2339–2148 BC, and was positive for sheep (Ovis), goat (Capra) and cattle (Bovinae) milk proteins (Fig. 1c).

Click to expand...

Anfänger said:

Next time, Angela.

I think the origin of domesticated animals in the steppe because of this paper is up to debate now.



They are a little vague but by circum-pontic they probably mean from the European farmers? ... so they are not 100% sure if domesticated animals were from the south (Caucasus) or from the west (Europe).

Sheep based pastoralism and dairying

In the Caucasus and Southern Steppe:



In the steppes Oka-Volga-Don:



This is interesting, apparently late Sredny Stog and earlier steppe cultures were not focused on milk at all while Maykop/Steppe Maykop/Eneolithic southern steppe and early Yamanya all practiced sheep dairying.

Another thought... maybe domesticated animals came from both sides, Europe and Caucasus, the European side was more focused on meat and animal sacrifices while the Caucasus side was more sheep based pastoralist including dairying.

Click to expand...

Angela said:

I think perhaps the only way they could be more definitive is by studying the animal remains themselves to see if there are differences in heredity based on the sources, i.e. cultures like Cucuteni and other farmer cultures, or the Caucasus.

It's interesting because the Balkan Neolithic was reliant on all these animals, i.e. sheep, goats, and cows as well, although the cow was highly prized, especially for feasting. To the best of my recollection a lot of it was dependent on local conditions as to the percentage of which animal's bones were highest at which site. I also think the dairy remains they found certainly included cow's milk.

I think I'm leaning toward the sheep, at least, coming from the Caucasus. Sheep and goats can thrive almost anywhere, although goats in particular are very destructive of the grass.

I don't know if you remember it, but we discussed in the past whether the J "Southern" CHG/Iran Neo "like" people went onto the steppe before or after the domestication of sheep and goats south of the Caucasus. Even if they weren't yet domesticated when they started their migration, trade routes could certainly have brought them.

ED. I see you edited your post. So, some domesticated animals, including sheep, could have been brought in from Europe, and some over the Caucasus.

Click to expand...

Sample ID / genetic sex (M/F): PG2001 / M
Find location: Progress 2
Country: Russia
Associated label in publication: Eneolithic steppe
Date: 4991-4178 BCE (C14)
MtDNA haplogroup (mother): I3a
Y-DNA haplogroup (father): R1b1
Reference: Wang et al. 2018
Colour group: EHG
Comments: c. 63% EHG-related and 37% CHG-related ancestry (not from Majkop)

Click to expand...

Subsequent attempts to clarify the agropastoralist economy using stable isotope analysis41,48 have yielded equivocal results as to whether dairying was an Eneolithic or Bronze Age innovation in the North Caucasus. Here, through the identification of taxonomically informative peptides from the milk-specific protein BLG, we confirmed sheep milk consumption by Eneolithic individuals at the sites of Progress 2 and Kurganny 1. Notably, we found that dairy consumption was evident among individuals lacking Anatolian ancestry, such as PG200133, demonstrating that the adoption of dairying by North Caucasian transitional foragers was already underway during the late fifth millennium BC, which precedes Yamnaya expansions by a millennium.

Click to expand...