Transport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the Neolithic in southwestern Asia
Abstract Feasting played an important role in cementing social bonds between prehistoric communities. At Early Neolithic Asiab, western Iran, ceremonial feasting is evidenced by the butchered skulls of nineteen wild boars (Sus scrofa), an animal that was not commonly hunted in the region at the time...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02501-z |
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| author | Petra Vaiglova Horst Kierdorf Carsten Witzel Georgina Falster Renaud Joannes-Boyau Yue Wang Jiade Wu Ian Williams Brett Knowles Yang Wu Pernille Bangsgaard Lisa Yeomans Tobias Richter Hojjat Darabi |
| author_facet | Petra Vaiglova Horst Kierdorf Carsten Witzel Georgina Falster Renaud Joannes-Boyau Yue Wang Jiade Wu Ian Williams Brett Knowles Yang Wu Pernille Bangsgaard Lisa Yeomans Tobias Richter Hojjat Darabi |
| author_sort | Petra Vaiglova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Feasting played an important role in cementing social bonds between prehistoric communities. At Early Neolithic Asiab, western Iran, ceremonial feasting is evidenced by the butchered skulls of nineteen wild boars (Sus scrofa), an animal that was not commonly hunted in the region at the time. Here we use microscopic dental growth patterns to guide geochemical analyses of five wild boar teeth from Asiab and examine the geographical scope from which the animals derived. Our dataset includes 165 stable oxygen isotope values, 107 strontium isotope ratios, and Barium concentration maps. The findings indicate that despite Asiab’s location in an environment favourable to wild boars, the animals used for ceremonial feasting originated from a wide geographical catchment, with at least some necessitating transport over substantial distance across mountainous terrain. This deepens our understanding of the effort invested by the participating pre-agricultural communities for celebrating social connectivity across the wider landscape. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-31b228e749574caf985bbb49267c7c2f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-31b228e749574caf985bbb49267c7c2f2025-08-20T04:01:42ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-07-016111210.1038/s43247-025-02501-zTransport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the Neolithic in southwestern AsiaPetra Vaiglova0Horst Kierdorf1Carsten Witzel2Georgina Falster3Renaud Joannes-Boyau4Yue Wang5Jiade Wu6Ian Williams7Brett Knowles8Yang Wu9Pernille Bangsgaard10Lisa Yeomans11Tobias Richter12Hojjat Darabi13School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National UniversityDepartment of Biology, University of HildesheimDepartment of Biology, University of HildesheimResearch School of Earth Sciences, Australian National UniversityFaculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross UniversityResearch School of Earth Sciences, Australian National UniversityResearch School of Earth Sciences, Australian National UniversityResearch School of Earth Sciences, Australian National UniversityResearch School of Earth Sciences, Australian National UniversityResearch School of Earth Sciences, Australian National UniversityGlobe Institute, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Archaeology, Razi UniversityAbstract Feasting played an important role in cementing social bonds between prehistoric communities. At Early Neolithic Asiab, western Iran, ceremonial feasting is evidenced by the butchered skulls of nineteen wild boars (Sus scrofa), an animal that was not commonly hunted in the region at the time. Here we use microscopic dental growth patterns to guide geochemical analyses of five wild boar teeth from Asiab and examine the geographical scope from which the animals derived. Our dataset includes 165 stable oxygen isotope values, 107 strontium isotope ratios, and Barium concentration maps. The findings indicate that despite Asiab’s location in an environment favourable to wild boars, the animals used for ceremonial feasting originated from a wide geographical catchment, with at least some necessitating transport over substantial distance across mountainous terrain. This deepens our understanding of the effort invested by the participating pre-agricultural communities for celebrating social connectivity across the wider landscape.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02501-z |
| spellingShingle | Petra Vaiglova Horst Kierdorf Carsten Witzel Georgina Falster Renaud Joannes-Boyau Yue Wang Jiade Wu Ian Williams Brett Knowles Yang Wu Pernille Bangsgaard Lisa Yeomans Tobias Richter Hojjat Darabi Transport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the Neolithic in southwestern Asia Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Transport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the Neolithic in southwestern Asia |
| title_full | Transport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the Neolithic in southwestern Asia |
| title_fullStr | Transport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the Neolithic in southwestern Asia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the Neolithic in southwestern Asia |
| title_short | Transport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the Neolithic in southwestern Asia |
| title_sort | transport of animals underpinned ritual feasting at the onset of the neolithic in southwestern asia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02501-z |
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