Pastoralism and Emergent Complex Settlement in the Middle Bronze Age, Azerbaijan: isotopic analyses of mobility strategies in transformation.

Autor: Nugent SE; University of Oxford, Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion, Oxford, UK.; University of Oxford, School of Anthropology & Museum Ethnography, Oxford, UK.; St. Benets' Hall, Oxford, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: American journal of physical anthropology [Am J Phys Anthropol] 2020 Jan; Vol. 171 (1), pp. 120-141. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Nov 05.
DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23956
Abstrakt: Objectives: This article explores the scale and seasonal patterns of mobility at the complex settlement site of Qızqala during the Middle Bronze Age (2400-1,500 BCE). By integrating human bone, teeth, and environmental samples this research tests the hypothesis of the persistent importance of community-wide seasonal pastoral transhumance during the early formation of complex settlement systems of the South Caucasus.
Methods: This research applies stable oxygen and radiogenic strontium isotope analyses on incremental samples of human tooth enamel, bulk tooth enamel, and bone to resolve mobility patterns. Sequential and bulk sampling techniques elucidate seasonal and residential mobility behaviors. Extensive environmental isotope samples of plant and water were collected through regional survey and establish local and regional isotopic baselines, which are compared to human isotope analysis results.
Results: Qızqala individuals exhibit low isotopic variability compared to regional contemporaries. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios from human remains indicate seasonal and residential isotopic variability within the baseline ranges of local landscapes. δ 18 O values display erratic patterns, but correspond to seasonal variability with fluctuations between highland and lowland altitudinal zone baseline values.
Conclusions: Results suggest that isotopic analysis of multiple elements and sequential enamel samples offers finer resolution on the complexities of human mobility strategies and elucidate the daily lives of often overlooked mobile populations. Higher resolution of individual mobility reveals shared routine behaviors that underscore the importance of diverse social collaborations in forming complex polities in the South Caucasus.
(© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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