roghayeh R rahimi sorkhani

Current genetic data are equivocal as to whether goat domestication occurred multiple times or was a singular process. We generated genomic data from 83 ancient goats (51 with genome-wide coverage) from Paleolithic to Medieval contexts throughout the Near East. Our findings demonstrate that multiple divergent ancient wild goat sources were domesticated in a dispersed process that resulted in genetically and geographically distinct Neolithic goat populations, echoing contemporaneous human divergence across the region. These early goat populations contributed differently to modern goats in Asia, Africa, and Europe. We also detect early selection for pigmentation, stature, reproduction, milking, and response to dietary change, providing 8000-year-old evidence for human agency in molding genome variation within a partner species.

Soha Chay Tepe is located on the right bank of the Sojasrud River and lies within the province of Zanjan, in
Western Iran. During excavation, one cultural period and two architectural phases have been distinguished,
contemporary to the Middle Chalcolithic period (Dalma tradition). More complex activities in Chalcolithic
period are well studied and accepted by researchers, however analyzing pottery according to stylistic attributes
revealed more details about systematic pottery production of this period in the west of Iran. A total of 96 pottery
samples was chemically analyzed with portable XRF device in order to detect clustering pattern. Results have
revealed meaningful similarities concerning composition between the sampled groups in regards to their decoration
style. It showed that the potters of Soha Chay Tepe might have made distinct operation decisions for their
various pottery style productions. Portable XRF with relative internal calibration used in this study confirmed
that it has high potential in compositional studies of ceramic regarding to more detailed questions.