Determining sheep birth seasonality by analysis of tooth enamel oxygen isotope ratios: The late stone age site of Kasteelberg (South Africa)
Determining sheep birth seasonality by analysis of tooth enamel oxygen isotope ratios: The late stone age site of Kasteelberg (South Africa)
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DOI：
10.1006/jasc.2002.0833
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发表时间：
2003-02-01
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Leigh, SR
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Balasse, M;Smith, AB;Leigh, SR
家畜的出生时间受环境和遗传变量的调节，也可以由牧民操纵。因此，在史前背景下很难预测出生人口的分布。通过牙内牙釉质氧同位素比值的高分辨率分析，研究了南非Kasteelberg遗址史前绵羊的出生季节性。结果显示有两个出生季节，可能是秋季和春季。这可能反映了雌性一年产羊不止一次，或者将羊群细分为不同的群体，计划在一年中的不同时间分娩。这一结果对全年的食物供应、绵羊在自给自足经济中的作用、人类社区的居住流动战略以及利用绵羊死亡率曲线来解释考古遗址的占领季节具有重要意义。(C)2002爱思唯尔科学有限公司。保留所有权利。
Timing of birth of domestic animals is regulated by environmental and genetic variables, and can also be manipulated by the herder. For this reason it is difficult to predict birth distribution in a prehistoric context. Birth seasonality of prehistoric sheep from the site of Kasteelberg, South Africa, was investigated by high resolution intra-tooth analysis of enamel oxygen isotope ratios. The results show two birth seasons, probably in autumn and spring. This may reflect females lambing more than once a year, or subdivision of the flock into groups where births were scheduled at different times of the year. This result has important implications for food availability throughout the year, the role of sheep in the subsistence economy, residential mobility strategy of the human community and use of sheep mortality profiles for interpretation of season of occupation of archaeological sites. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.