A biometric meta-study of the emergence of caprine management in the northern and southern Levant.

Using body size diminution as a proxy for animal management, we compiled and analyzed an extensive database of published caprine biometric data spanning the Epipaleolithic through Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN; 24,000-8400 cal BP) periods to investigate the origin of stock-keeping in the northern and southern Levant. In the northern Levant, a widespread and significant drop in body size by the MPPNB supports the rapid emergence of sheep management. Goat diminution was more gradual, with significant drops in body size in the MPPNB, LPPNB and FPPNB. Sheep are nearly absent in our southern Levant sample, prior to the MPPNB. The small body size of PPNB sheep suggests that they underwent diminution prior to their arrival. In contrast, goat body size diminution followed a gradual trajectory, declining significantly in both the MPPNB and LPPNB, consistent with a local management scenario. Biometric data thus support the hypotheses that sheep were managed in the north before spreading south in the MPPNB, while goat management emerged more or less simultaneously in both regions. Animal management did not follow a uniform trajectory, but responded to local conditions and demands. The large measurement database compiled for this study is unprecedented in size and is provided here to facilitate data sharing.