Sheep-herding by humans dates back 11,000 years – study – RTÉ News
Work & Technology CorrespondentSheep have been intertwined with human livelihoods for over 11,000 years, according to new research.As well as meat, their domestication led to humans being nourished by their protein-rich milk and clothed by warm, water-resistant fabrics made from their wool.An international team of researchers led by geneticists from Trinity College Dublin and zooarchaeologists from LMU Munich and the Bavarian State Collections of Natural History (SNSB) has deciphered the prehistoric cultural trajectory of the species.The project analysed 118 genomes recovered from archaeological bones dating across 12 millennia and stretching from Mongolia to Ireland.The earliest sheep-herding village in the sample in central Turkey has genomes that seem ancestral to later populations in the wider region, confirming an origin in captures of wild mouflon sheep over 11,000 years ago.By 8,000 years ago, in the earliest European sheep populations, the team found evidence that farmers were deliberately selecting their flocks – in particular for the genes coding for coat colour.Along with a similar signal in goats, this is the earliest evidence for human moulding of another animal’s biology and shows that early herders, like today’s farmers, were interested in the beautiful and unusual in their animals.Ad Astra Assistant Professor at UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology Dr Kevin Daly is the first author on the research article that has just been published in leading international journal Science.”One of our most striking discoveries was a major prehistoric sheep migration from the Eurasian steppes into Europe during the Bronze Age,” Dr Daly said.”This parallels what we know about human migrations during the same period, suggesting that when people moved, they brought their flocks with them,” he added.Leader of the research and Professor of Population Genetics in Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology Dan Bradley said the research demonstrates how the relationship between humans and sheep has evolved over millennia.”From the early days of domestication through to the development of wool as a crucial textile resource, sheep have played a vital role in human cultural and economic development,” Professor Bradley said.This research was funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant, a research grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), and by a Research Ireland Pathway Programme award.Work & Technology Correspondent© RTÉ 2025. RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland’s National Public Service Media. RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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Source: https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2025/0128/1493925-trinity-college-sheep-herding/
