Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep

Kevin G Daly^{1

2}, Victoria E Mullin¹, Andrew J Hare¹, Áine Halpin¹, Valeria Mattiangeli¹, Matthew D Teasdale³, Conor Rossi¹, Sheila Geiger⁴, Stefan Krebs⁵, Ivica Medugorac^{6

7}, Edson Sandoval-Castellanos^{4

7}, Mihriban Özbaşaran⁸, Güneş Duru⁹, Sevil Gülcür⁸, Nadja Pöllath^{6

10}, Matthew Collins^{11

12}, Laurent Frantz^{4

13}, Emmanuelle Vila¹⁴, Peter Zidarov¹⁵, Simon Stoddart¹⁶, Bazartseren Boldgiv¹⁷, Ludovic Orlando¹⁸, Mike Parker Pearson¹⁹, Jacqui Mullville²⁰, Igor V Askeyev²¹, Arthur O Askeyev²¹, Oleg V Askeyev²¹, Dilyara N Shaymuratova²¹, Youri Van den Hurk²², Andrea Zeeb-Lanz²³, Rose-Marie Arbogast²⁴, Helmut Hemmer²⁵, Hossein Davoudi²⁶, Sarieh Amiri²⁶, Sanaz Beizaee Doost²⁶, Delphine Decruyenaere^{27

28}, Homa Fathi²⁶, Roya Khazaeli²⁶, Yousef Hassanzadeh²⁹, Alireza Sardari³⁰, Johanna Lhuillier³¹, Mostafa Abdolahi³², Geoffrey D Summers^{33

34}, Catherine Marro¹⁴, Veli Bahshaliyev³⁵, Rémi Berthon²⁷, Canan Çakirlar²², Norbert Benecke³⁶, Amelie Scheu³⁷, Joachim Burger³⁷, Eberhard Sauer³⁸, Liora Kolska Horwitz³⁹, Benjamin Arbuckle⁴⁰, Hijlke Buitenhuis^{22

41}, Lionel Gourichon⁴², Jelena Bulatović⁴³, Terry O'Connor⁴⁴, David Orton⁴⁴, Mindia Jalabadze⁴⁵, Stephen Rhodes⁴⁶, Michael Chazan^{46

47}, Vecihi Özkaya⁴⁸, Melinda Zeder⁴⁹, Levent Atıcı⁵⁰, Marjan Mashkour^{26

27}, Joris Peters^{4

6

10}, Daniel G Bradley¹

Affiliations

¹ Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
² UCD School of Agricultural and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Ireland.
³ Bioinformatics Support Unit, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
⁴ Institute of Palaeoanatomy, Domestication Research and the History of Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁵ Laboratory for Functional Genome Analysis (LAFUGA), Gene Center, LMU Munich, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 25, Munich, Germany.
⁶ ArchaeoBioCenter, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁷ Population Genomics Group, Department of Veterinary Sciences, LMU Munich, Martinsried, Germany.
⁸ Prehistory Department, Faculty of Letters, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Türkiye.
⁹ Department of Archaeology, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Şişli/İstanbul, Türkiye.
¹⁰ Bavarian Natural History Collections, State Collection of Palaeoanatomy Munich, Munich, Germany.
¹¹ Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹² McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, West Tower, Downing Street, Cambridge, UK.
¹³ School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
¹⁴ CNRS-UMR 5133, Maison de l'Orient et la Méditerranée, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France.
¹⁵ Institute of Prehistory, Early History and Medieval Archaeology, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
¹⁶ Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹⁷ Laboratory of Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
¹⁸ Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse (CNRS UMR 5288), Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
¹⁹ Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK.
²⁰ School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
²¹ Laboratory of Biomonitoring, The Institute of Problems in Ecology and Mineral Wealth, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Daurskaya Street, 28, Kazan, Russia.
²² Groningen Institute of Archaeology, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
²³ Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz, Dir. Landesarchäologie, Speyer, Germany.
²⁴ UMR 7044, ARCHIMEDE, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
²⁵ Anemonenweg 18, Mainz, Germany.
²⁶ Bioarchaeology Laboratory, Central Laboratory, Archaeozoology section, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
²⁷ Archéozoologie et Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements UMR 7209 du Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) et Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France.
²⁸ Department of History and Cultural Heritage, Silk Road University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, 17 University Boulevard, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
²⁹ National Museum of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
³⁰ Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, Iran.
³¹ Laboratoire Archéorient, UMR 5133 (CNRS), Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, France.
³² Department of Archaeology, Dezful Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khuzestan, Iran.
³³ ENSA Nantes, Nantes, Mauritus.
³⁴ Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa (ISAC), Chicago University, Chicago, IL, USA.
³⁵ Nakhchivan Branch of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan.
³⁶ German Archaeological Institute, Central Department, Im Dol 2-6, Berlin, Germany.
³⁷ Palaeogenetics Group Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
³⁸ School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
³⁹ National Natural History Collections, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
⁴⁰ Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁴¹ ArcheoSupport B.V., Postbus 41091, CB Groningen, Netherlands.
⁴² Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, CEPAM, Nice, France.
⁴³ Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, Box 200, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁴⁴ BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, Environment Building, University of York, Heslington, York, UK.
⁴⁵ Georgian National Museum, 3 Shota Rustaveli Ave, Tbilisi, Georgia.
⁴⁶ Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 19 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴⁷ Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁴⁸ Department of Archaeology, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Türkiye.
⁴⁹ Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
⁵⁰ Department of Sociology and Anthropology, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.

PMID: 39883774
DOI: 10.1126/science.adn2094

Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep

Kevin G Daly et al. Science. 2025.

. 2025 Jan 31;387(6733):492-497.

doi: 10.1126/science.adn2094. Epub 2025 Jan 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
² UCD School of Agricultural and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Ireland.
³ Bioinformatics Support Unit, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
⁴ Institute of Palaeoanatomy, Domestication Research and the History of Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁵ Laboratory for Functional Genome Analysis (LAFUGA), Gene Center, LMU Munich, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 25, Munich, Germany.
⁶ ArchaeoBioCenter, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
⁷ Population Genomics Group, Department of Veterinary Sciences, LMU Munich, Martinsried, Germany.
⁸ Prehistory Department, Faculty of Letters, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Türkiye.
⁹ Department of Archaeology, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Şişli/İstanbul, Türkiye.
¹⁰ Bavarian Natural History Collections, State Collection of Palaeoanatomy Munich, Munich, Germany.
¹¹ Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹² McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, West Tower, Downing Street, Cambridge, UK.
¹³ School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
¹⁴ CNRS-UMR 5133, Maison de l'Orient et la Méditerranée, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, France.
¹⁵ Institute of Prehistory, Early History and Medieval Archaeology, Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
¹⁶ Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹⁷ Laboratory of Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
¹⁸ Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse (CNRS UMR 5288), Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
¹⁹ Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK.
²⁰ School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
²¹ Laboratory of Biomonitoring, The Institute of Problems in Ecology and Mineral Wealth, Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Daurskaya Street, 28, Kazan, Russia.
²² Groningen Institute of Archaeology, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
²³ Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz, Dir. Landesarchäologie, Speyer, Germany.
²⁴ UMR 7044, ARCHIMEDE, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
²⁵ Anemonenweg 18, Mainz, Germany.
²⁶ Bioarchaeology Laboratory, Central Laboratory, Archaeozoology section, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
²⁷ Archéozoologie et Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements UMR 7209 du Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) et Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France.
²⁸ Department of History and Cultural Heritage, Silk Road University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, 17 University Boulevard, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
²⁹ National Museum of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
³⁰ Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, Iran.
³¹ Laboratoire Archéorient, UMR 5133 (CNRS), Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, Lyon, France.
³² Department of Archaeology, Dezful Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khuzestan, Iran.
³³ ENSA Nantes, Nantes, Mauritus.
³⁴ Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa (ISAC), Chicago University, Chicago, IL, USA.
³⁵ Nakhchivan Branch of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan.
³⁶ German Archaeological Institute, Central Department, Im Dol 2-6, Berlin, Germany.
³⁷ Palaeogenetics Group Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
³⁸ School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
³⁹ National Natural History Collections, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
⁴⁰ Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁴¹ ArcheoSupport B.V., Postbus 41091, CB Groningen, Netherlands.
⁴² Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, CEPAM, Nice, France.
⁴³ Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, Box 200, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁴⁴ BioArCh, Department of Archaeology, Environment Building, University of York, Heslington, York, UK.
⁴⁵ Georgian National Museum, 3 Shota Rustaveli Ave, Tbilisi, Georgia.
⁴⁶ Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 19 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴⁷ Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁴⁸ Department of Archaeology, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Türkiye.
⁴⁹ Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
⁵⁰ Department of Sociology and Anthropology, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.

PMID: 39883774
DOI: 10.1126/science.adn2094

Abstract

The origins and prehistory of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are incompletely understood; to address this, we generated data from 118 ancient genomes spanning 12,000 years sampled from across Eurasia. Genomes from Central Türkiye ~8000 BCE are genetically proximal to the domestic origins of sheep but do not fully explain the ancestry of later populations, suggesting a mosaic of wild ancestries. Genomic signatures indicate selection by ancient herders for pigmentation patterns, hornedness, and growth rate. Although the first European sheep flocks derive from Türkiye, in a notable parallel with ancient human genome discoveries, we detected a major influx of Western steppe-related ancestry in the Bronze Age.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Substances

Actions

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- Atypon
- Ovid Technologies, Inc.

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep

Affiliations

Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources