Bony labyrinth taxonomic identification and long-term evolution of livestock in the Southwest and Central Asia

Abstract Southwest and Central Asia were pivotal regions for the domestication and dispersal of domestic herbivores. Here we investigate long-term variation in bony labyrinth morphology of domestic bovids (sheep, goats and cattle) across the last 10 000 years. We focused on the osseous cavity of the inner ear, located within the petrous bone. We analysed semicircular canal (SC) size and shape using micro-computed tomography and geometric morphometrics (GMM) on 78 modern reference specimens and 234 archaeological petrous bones from 51 sites spanning the Iranian Plateau, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Indus Valley. Bony labyrinth morphometrics yielded a strong taxonomic signal, enabling species-level identification of 228 out of 234 specimens and revealing greater diversity than anticipated. Comparative analyses further documented contrasting, nonlinear diachronic trajectories in SC size and shape among sheep, goats and cattle, reflecting species-specific responses to domestication and long-term herd management. Together, these results demonstrate that bony labyrinth GMM provides a robust, non-destructive framework for taxonomic identification and evolutionary inference and underscore how long-term, interdisciplinary approaches can capture the complex, nonlinear dynamics of animal domestication across the longue durée.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Royal Society Open Science
Published
2026-10-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.261493
Primary Topic
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Bony labyrinth taxonomic identification and long-term evolution of livestock in the Southwest and Central Asia

Safoora Kamjan, Delphine Decruyenaere, Alisher Begmatov, Thomas R. Stöllner et al.
Royal Society Open Science
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
article

Bony labyrinth taxonomic identification and long-term evolution of livestock in the Southwest and Central Asia

Safoora Kamjan, Delphine Decruyenaere, Alisher Begmatov, Thomas R. Stöllner, Hitomi Hongo, Ali A. Vahdati, Homa Fathi, Hossein Davoudi, Zurab Makharadze, Mohsen Javeri, Haeedeh Laleh, Nicole Boenke, Azadeh Fatemeh Mohaseb, Elena Rova, Niloufar Moghimi, Rémi Berthon, Fereidoun Biglari, Jamal K. Mirzaakhmedov, Adeline Vautrin, Hosseinali Kavosh, Irina Gambashidze, Rocco Rante, Marina Puturidze, Zahra Lorzadeh, Renaud Lebrun, Julien Cuny, Marjan Mashkour, Emmanuelle Vila, Aurore Didier, Roya Khazaeli, Abolfazl Aali, Jacopo Bruno, Ali Shojaee-Esfahani, M. M. Saidov, Catherine Marro, Romain Péronnet, Jebrael Nokandeh, Karyne Debue, Allowen Evin, Dmitriy Voyakin, Raffaele Biscione, Kamal Taheri, Mohammad Hossein Azizi Kharanaghi, Yasmine St. Martin, Akbar Abedi, Sanaz Beizaee Doost, Teramura Hirofumi, Morteza Khanipour, Bruno Genito, Eberhard W. Sauer, Sarieh Amiri, Liangren Zhang, D. V. Sorokin, Akira Tsuneki, Adeline Hemelsdaël, Tomomi Murakami, Gennadiy Bogomolov, Alisher Sandiboev, Agathe Guignet, Roghayeh Rahimi Sorkhani, Ahmad Aliyari, Babak Rafiei-Alavi, Amridin Berdimuradov, Reza Naseri, Iulon Gagoshidze, Sobir Raimkulov, Asma A. Khiljee, Ali Sajadi
article en

Abstract

Abstract Southwest and Central Asia were pivotal regions for the domestication and dispersal of domestic herbivores. Here we investigate long-term variation in bony labyrinth morphology of domestic bovids (sheep, goats and cattle) across the last 10 000 years. We focused on the osseous cavity of the inner ear, located within the petrous bone. We analysed semicircular canal (SC) size and shape using micro-computed tomography and geometric morphometrics (GMM) on 78 modern reference specimens and 234 archaeological petrous bones from 51 sites spanning the Iranian Plateau, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Indus Valley. Bony labyrinth morphometrics yielded a strong taxonomic signal, enabling species-level identification of 228 out of 234 specimens and revealing greater diversity than anticipated. Comparative analyses further documented contrasting, nonlinear diachronic trajectories in SC size and shape among sheep, goats and cattle, reflecting species-specific responses to domestication and long-term herd management. Together, these results demonstrate that bony labyrinth GMM provides a robust, non-destructive framework for taxonomic identification and evolutionary inference and underscore how long-term, interdisciplinary approaches can capture the complex, nonlinear dynamics of animal domestication across the longue durée.

Royal Society Open ScienceVol. 13(10)
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), Tbilisi State University (GE), University of Kashan (IR), Zabol University (IR), Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (IR), Museum of London Archaeology (GB), University of Naples - L'Orientale (IT), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Samarkand State University named after Sharof Rashidov (UZ), Academy of Sciences Republic of Uzbekistan (UZ), Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT), University of Tsukuba (JP), Ca' Foscari University of Venice (IT), University of Georgia (US), University of Groningen (NL), The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI (JP), Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University (PK), Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (DE), University of Tehran (IR), Iran National Science Foundation (IR), Islamic Azad University of Kermanshah (IR), Georgian National Museum (GE), Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (IR), Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch (IR), Samarkand Institute of Economics and Service (UZ), National Museum of Ethnology (JP), Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (FR), Samarkand Institute of Veterinary Medicine (UZ), Isfahan University of Art (IR), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (FR), Health Protection and Research Organisation (AF), World Health Organization - Afghanistan (AF), Archéologies et Sciences de l’Antiquité (FR), Kermanshah University of Technology (IR), Institut d'Histoire du Temps Présent (FR), Archéorient (FR), Louvre (FR), North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences (IR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), University College London (GB), University of Mazandaran (IR), Tabriz Islamic Arts University (IR), Nanjing University (CN), Ruhr University Bochum (DE), University of Edinburgh (GB), University of Zanjan (IR)
Openalex Percentile: Top 14%
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.