{"id":16611,"date":"2019-05-30T01:51:02","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T01:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=16611"},"modified":"2019-05-31T07:28:41","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T07:28:41","slug":"ancient-dna-is-revealing-the-origins-of-livestock-herding-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/ancient-dna-is-revealing-the-origins-of-livestock-herding-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient DNA is revealing the origins of livestock herding in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mary Prendergast<\/a>, Saint Louis University \u2013 Madrid<\/a><\/em> and Elizabeth Sawchuk<\/a>, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Visitors to East Africa are often amazed by massive herds of cattle with a gorgeous array of horn, hump and coat patterns. Pastoralism \u2013 a way of life centered around herding \u2013 is a central part of many Africans\u2019 identity. It\u2019s also a key economic strategy that is now threatened by climate change<\/a>, rising demands for meat<\/a>, urban sprawl<\/a> and land conflicts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pastoralism\u2019s roots could hold clues to help solve these modern challenges<\/a>. Studies suggest that traditional ways of managing livestock \u2013 moving around and exchanging with other herders \u2013 enabled herders to cope with environmental instability and economic change over the past several thousand years. Research is also helping scientists understand how millennia of herding \u2013 and livestock dung \u2013 have shaped East Africa\u2019s savannas and wildlife diversity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So how did pastoralism get started in Africa? Currently most archaeologists think wild ancestors of today\u2019s domestic cattle, sheep and goats were first domesticated in the \u201cFertile Crescent<\/a>\u201d of the Middle East. Archaeological research shows herding began to appear in and spread from what is now Egypt around 8,000 years ago<\/a>. By 5,000 years ago, herders were burying their dead in elaborate monumental cemeteries<\/a> near a lakeshore in Kenya. Two millennia later, pastoralist settlements were present across a wide part of East Africa<\/a> and by at least 2,000 years ago, livestock appear in South Africa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n Large herds of cattle graze near Lake Manyara in Tanzania, where they\u2019ve been a key part of the economy for 3,000 years.<\/span>
\n Mary Prendergast<\/span>, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Much remains unanswered: Did animals spread mostly through exchange, just like cash circulates widely<\/a> while people mostly stay put? Were people moving long distances with their herds, traversing the continent generation by generation? Were there many separate migrations or few, and what happened when immigrant herders met indigenous foragers? We<\/a> decided<\/a> to ask these questions using ancient DNA<\/a> from archaeological skeletons from across East Africa.<\/p>\n

Piecing together the genetic history of herders<\/h2>\n

Archaeologists study ancient people\u2019s trash \u2013 broken clay pots, abandoned jewelry, leftover meals, even feces<\/a> \u2013 but we also study the people themselves. Bioarchaeologists examine human bones and teeth<\/a> as indicators of health, lifestyle and identity. <\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s also possible to sequence ancient DNA<\/a> to look at genetic ancestry. Until recently, though, Africa has been on the sidelines<\/a> of the \u201cancient DNA revolution\u201d for a variety of reasons. Advances in DNA sequencing<\/a> have created new opportunities to study African population history.<\/p>\n