Papers by Ashleigh Haruda
Additional file 5. Integration and modularity analyses on landmarks and curves only.
Additional file 4. Study of the modularity structure.
Additional file 3. Analysis of sexual dimorphism.
Summary of the factorial MANOVA with permutation test (999 iterations) testing for calcaneus shap... more Summary of the factorial MANOVA with permutation test (999 iterations) testing for calcaneus shape difference among wild caught wild boars, traditionnal pig breeds and improved pig breeds taking into account their sex.
Additional file 1. List of the specimens.
Additional file 6. Pairwise comparisons of the effect sizes of PLS analyses for each group.
Additional file 2. Landmark definition.
Raw coordinates from 3D landmarks of <em>Ovis aries </em>astragali. These bones origi... more Raw coordinates from 3D landmarks of <em>Ovis aries </em>astragali. These bones originate from Final Bronze Age archaeological contexts from central and southeastern Kazakhstan. These relate to the article 'A new zooarchaeological application for geometric morphometric methods: Distinguishing <em>Ovis aries</em> morphotypes to address connectivity and mobility of prehistoric Central Asian pastoralists' by Haruda et al.
Details for grouping factors (GP1, GP2), bodymass (kg), age (months), sex, muscle PCSA, calcaneus... more Details for grouping factors (GP1, GP2), bodymass (kg), age (months), sex, muscle PCSA, calcaneus centroid size (C.Size) and available ranging area (m²) available for the studied specimens
Deciphering the plastic (non-heritable) changes induced by human control over wild animals in the... more Deciphering the plastic (non-heritable) changes induced by human control over wild animals in the archaeological record is challenging. We hypothesized that changes in locomotor behaviour in a wild ungulate due to mobility control could be quantified in the bone anatomy. To test this, we experimented with the effect of mobility reduction on the skeleton of wild boar (<i>Sus scrofa</i>), using the calcaneus shape as a possible phenotypic marker. We first assessed differences in shape variation and covariation in captive-reared and wild-caught wild boars, taking into account differences in sex, body mass, available space for movement and muscle force. This plastic signal was then contrasted with the phenotypic changes induced by selective breeding in domestic pigs. We found that mobility reduction induces a plastic response beyond the shape variation of wild boars in their natural habitat, associated with a reduction in the range of locomotor behaviours and muscle loads. This plastic signal of captivity in the calcaneus shape differs from the main changes induced by selective breeding for larger muscle and earlier development that impacted the pigs' calcaneus shape in a much greater extent than the mobility reduction during the domestication process of their wild ancestors.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021
Antiquity, 2021
The expansion of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates (seventh to ninth centuries AD) brought diver... more The expansion of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates (seventh to ninth centuries AD) brought diverse regions from the Indus Valley to the Eurasian Steppe under hegemonic control. An overlooked aspect of this political process is the subsequent translocation of species across ecological zones. This article explores species introduction in the early Islamic world, presenting the first archaeological evidence for domestic water buffalo in the Caucasus—identified using zooarchaeological and ZooMS methods on material from the historical site of Bardhaʿa in Azerbaijan. We contextualise these finds with historical accounts to demonstrate the exploitation of medieval marginal zones and the effects of centralised social reorganisation upon species dispersal.
BMC Ecology and Evolution, 2021
The potential of artificial selection to dramatically impact phenotypic diversity is well known. ... more The potential of artificial selection to dramatically impact phenotypic diversity is well known. Large-scale morphological changes in domestic species, emerging over short timescales, offer an accelerated perspective on evolutionary processes. The domestic horse (Equus caballus) provides a striking example of rapid evolution, with major changes in morphology and size likely stemming from artificial selection. However, the microevolutionary mechanisms allowing to generate this variation in a short time interval remain little known. Here, we use 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify skull morphological diversity in the horse, and investigate modularity and integration patterns to understand how morphological associations contribute to cranial evolvability in this taxon. We find that changes in the magnitude of cranial integration contribute to the diversification of the skull morphology in horse breeds. Our results demonstrate that a conserved pattern of modularity does not constrain...
Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2021
In the course of evolution, pecorans (i.e., higher ruminants) developed a remarkable diversity of... more In the course of evolution, pecorans (i.e., higher ruminants) developed a remarkable diversity of osseous cranial appendages, collectively referred to as “headgear,” which likely share the same origin and genetic basis. However, the nature and function of the genetic determinants underlying their number and position remain elusive. Jacob and other rare populations of sheep and goats are characterized by polyceraty, the presence of more than two horns. Here, we characterize distinct POLYCERATE alleles in each species, both associated with defective HOXD1 function. We show that haploinsufficiency at this locus results in the splitting of horn bud primordia, likely following the abnormal extension of an initial morphogenetic field. These results highlight the key role played by this gene in headgear patterning and illustrate the evolutionary co-option of a gene involved in the early development of bilateria to properly fix the position and number of these distinctive organs of Bovidae.
Evolutionary Biology, 2020
The process of animal domestication is a key evolutionary transition in human history, within whi... more The process of animal domestication is a key evolutionary transition in human history, within which the control of wild populations is considered a crucial first step. Yet, phenotypic changes associated with animal captivity remain challenging to document. Here, we investigated the craniofacial changes in wild boar (Sus scrofa) associated with a lifetime of growth in captivity under conditions of controlled mobility and diet. Using three-dimensional landmark-based geometric morphometrics, we assessed cranial and mandibular size and shape differences between captive and wild-caught wild boar, their link with masticatory forces, and how these plastic changes relate to traits selected in domestic pigs. We observed shape divergence associated with greater masticatory forces in captive wild boar (e.g., wider zygomatic arches, more upright mandibular rami, and reduced gonial angle) corroborating the fundamental role of biomechanical loading and constructional constraints in the skull shape changes associated with captivity. Despite their resemblance with domestic traits, these localised plastic changes follow a different phenotypic trajectory, suggesting that they did not contribute to the setup of the craniofacial morphology of current domestic breeds. A parallel increase of masticatory force in captive wild boars and domestic pigs may explain this phenotypic convergence but needs to be further explored.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020
Feralization is the process by which domestic animals return to the wild and produce self-sustain... more Feralization is the process by which domestic animals return to the wild and produce self-sustaining populations. It is often considered as a model in understanding the permanence of morphological changes associated with domestication; however, it is still unclear how much the release of anthropogenic selective pressures affects domestic traits. Here, we assessed the influence of feralization on the domestic morphological traits acquired through selective breeding using craniomandibular differences in shape and size between populations of feral pigs, wild boar and domestic pigs, using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. Our results suggest that numerous cranial and mandibular traits associated with domestication still exist in feral specimens, corroborating that domestication-induced changes in the shape of morphological elements are broadly maintained in feral populations. This is not the case for size variations, however, as the cranium is significantly smaller in feral pigs t...
Scientific Reports, 2020
We present the earliest evidence for domestic cat (Felis catus L., 1758) from Kazakhstan, found a... more We present the earliest evidence for domestic cat (Felis catus L., 1758) from Kazakhstan, found as a well preserved skeleton with extensive osteological pathologies dating to 775–940 cal CE from the early medieval city of Dzhankent, Kazakhstan. This urban settlement was located on the intersection of the northern Silk Road route which linked the cities of Khorezm in the south to the trading settlements in the Volga region to the north and was known in the tenth century CE as the capital of the nomad Oghuz. The presence of this domestic cat, presented here as an osteobiography using a combination of zooarchaeological, genetic, and isotopic data, provides proxy evidence for a fundamental shift in the nature of human-animal relationships within a previously pastoral region. This illustrates the broader social, cultural, and economic changes occurring within the context of rapid urbanisation during the early medieval period along the Silk Road.
STAR: Science & Technology of Archaeological Research, 2020
Pastoralism in Central Asia directed the utilization of natural resources, yet information on liv... more Pastoralism in Central Asia directed the utilization of natural resources, yet information on livestock management strategies remain scarce. Carbon (δ 13 C) and oxygen (δ 18 O) isotope analyses of domesticated sheep teeth are used to identify animal management strategies. Sheep from Kent exhibit an inverserelationship where low δ 18 O values coincide with high δ 13 C values, consistent with the foddering of caprines in the winter for this location which occursalongside evidence for an extended lambing season. At the high altitude encampment of Turgen, Bronze Age sheep exhibit low δ 18 O values that coincide withhigh δ 13 C values, suggesting that livestock were moved to low altitude pastures in the winter months. Iron Age sheep sequences also have an inverserelationship, where low δ 18 O values coincide with high δ 13 C values, yet high δ 13 C values in the winter suggest that livestock were foddered. Our findingsindicate variation in livestock management strategies with distinct adaptations to local ecologies.
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Papers by Ashleigh Haruda
Regardless of the apparent uniformity of the steppe ecosystem, there are in fact ranges of microclimates spread from the foothills of the Dzhungar and Tien Shan mountains to the arid steppe that borders the Aral Sea. Variations to bone morphology in these specific microclimates contribute to better survival and reproductive success. For example, changes to joints can optimize movement up vertical slopes or across flat distances. Such changes could have come about in domestic sheep and goats through selective breeding by pastoralists or simply through natural attrition.
Geometric morphometric methods, which are used to investigate fine variations in shape, were applied to zooarchaeological collections from three Late Bronze Age sites in southern and eastern Kazakhstan from different microclimates. Detailed analysis on the shape of astragali from Ovis aries and Capra hircus suggest that flocks were indeed morphologically different from each other. This hints at previously unexplored relationships between people, their flocks, and their relationship with the steppe.
A suite of settlement sites in the Talgar alluvial fan of southeastern Kazakhstan provides significant evidence of a mixed subsistence pattern that utilizes agriculture, metallurgy and mixed animal use. Preliminary evidence suggests trade and high status individuals moved through this nomadic hinterland. Additionally the cultivation of grain and diversification of domesticated animal populations suggests a settled population. Such a dramatic change in subsistence indicates that the pull of trade and power may have reached even as far as these fringes of the empire.