Hitomi HONGO

My research focuses on the changes in the interactions between humans and animals throughout human history. Since many of the important domesticates originated in West Asia, the transition from hunting and gathering to food production that laid foundation for the development of agro-pastoral society has always been an important research topic in zooarchaeological research in this region. I have investigated the initial processes of ungulate domestication at early sedentary villages as well as the spread of domestic animals using animal bone remains from archaeological sites in Turkey, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. In my research, collaboration with specialists in the fields of molecular genetics, environmental science, and cultural anthropology is essential. In this project, I will investigate the process of the spread of domestic ungulates into southern Levant, colonization of dry steppes outside of the Fertile Crescent by groups of humans with domestic caprines, and the origin of nomadic pastoralism.

Selected publications
・Hongo, H. (2014) "Cayonu Tepesi: Bioarchaeology." In Smith, C. Ed. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. pp. 1188-1194, Springer Reference. (査読有）
・Arbuckle, B.S., Price, M.D., Hongo, H. & Oksuz, B.　(2016)　“Documenting the initial appearance of domestic cattle in the Eastern Fertile Crescent (northern Iraq and western Iran).” Journal of Archaeological Science 72: 1-9.
・Itahashi, Y., Miyake, Y., Maeda, O., Kondo, O., Hongo, H., Van Neer, W, Chikaraishi, Y., Ohkouchi, N. & Yoneda, M. (2017) “Preference for fish in a Neolithic hunter-gatherer community of the upper Tigris, elucidated by amino acid δ15N analysis.” Journal of Archaeological Science 82, 40-49.2.
・Frantz, L.F. et al (2019) “Ancient pigs reveal a near complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe.” PNAS August 27, 2019 116 (35) 17231-17238 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1901169116
・Hongo, H., Arai, S., Takahashi, R., Gundem, C.Y. (In press) “Transition to food production suspended ?a remarkable development in the Eastern Upper Tigris Valley, Southeastern Anatolia. “ In Peters, J. et. al (eds) Animals: Cultural Identifiers in Ancient Societies?, pp.151-168, DOAB.
・Price, M. and Hongo, H. (in press) The Archaeology of Pig Domestication: Methods, Models, and Case Studies. Journal of Archaeological Research.