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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2021

Resolution and limits of isotopic approaches to puzzle out seasonal herd mobility. A modern case study from Azerbaijan

Résumé

Herd mobility is a key parameter of many agro-pastoral strategies. Sequential variations of oxygen, carbon and strontium isotope ratios in ruminant teeth are commonly used for characterizing herd mobility along altitudinal gradients and across geological areas. To what extent is the variation and covariation of isotopic ratios along a tooth actually reflecting vertical and geological mobility? The interpretation of such data fom archaeological material widely depends on our ability to answer to this question. Few modern baselines are available to assess covariation of oxygen and carbon isotope ratios along the tooth of modern sheep experiencing vertical mobilities. There are no such baselines for the covariation of strontium, oxygen and carbon isotope ratios. Our study aimed at analyzing the variation and covariation of isotope ratios of oxygen, carbon, and strontium in the teeth and guard hair of domestic ruminants experiencing different pastoral mobilities along altitudinal gradients and across geological areas. We sampled lower molars from one cow and 17 sheep, as well as the guard hair from five goats, all grazing in different mountainous areas of Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan, Ganja-Qazakh, and Lankaran regions) at least part of the year. Our results suggest that the covariation of the isotope ratios of oxygen and carbon allow to spot easily the specimens moving seasonally between the plains and the highlands and also between the subalpine zone and the highland meadows. To a lesser extent it is possible to sort two-staged annual mobility from four-staged annual mobility. The variations in strontium isotope ratios during the period of enamel formation also adequately reflect seasonal mobility but it deeply depends on the number of samples analyzed along the tooth crown. These results allow us to interpret isotope ratio variations in archaeological domestic ruminant teeth in order to analyze the role of herd mobilities in past agro-pastoral communities.
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Dates et versions

hal-03447167 , version 1 (24-11-2021)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-03447167 , version 1

Citer

Rémi Berthon, Julia Giblin, Marie Balasse, Marjan Mashkour, Michaël Thévenin, et al.. Resolution and limits of isotopic approaches to puzzle out seasonal herd mobility. A modern case study from Azerbaijan. EAA 2021 Widening horizons, Sep 2021, Kiel (Visioconférence), Germany. ⟨hal-03447167⟩
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