Early husbandry practices in highland areas during the Neolithic: the case of Coro Trasito cave (Huesca, Spain)

Abstract

Research on animal management strategies in high mountain areas during the early Neolithic (5,700–4,500 cal BC) has been conditioned by the presumption that human occupations in highland areas had a prominent seasonal character and the economic practices focused mainly on the exploitation of wild resources. The results obtained in the framework of research developed recently on settlement dynamics during the early Neolithic in the highland areas indicate the existence of relatively permanent occupations and the exploitation of domestic resources. Regarding livestock, the role of caprine transhumance in highland areas has been highlighted traditionally, conferring a marginal role to husbandry activities and emphasizing principally the temporary maintenance of herds of sheep and goats. In this study, we use the archaeozoological data and δ13C and δ15N stable isotopes composition of the faunal bones collagen to characterize the husbandry practices in Coro Trasito cave (Huesca, Spain). The results obtained demonstrated the presence of diverse herd foddering strategies within husbandry practices characterized by taxonomic diversity and multipurpose exploitation suggests that during the Neolithic, Coro Trasito cave played a more complex role than sheepfold. Moreover, the presence of the four main domestic species indicates the adaptation of herds of Coro Trasito to the cave environment, flocks with diverse dietary needs and reproductive behaviors. The results are discussed with an integrated analysis of the data related to animal management strategies in highland areas (more than 1,500 m. asl) during the early Neolithic, in particular in the central Pyrenees area. This study offers new elements to study the complexity of neolithization processes in the central Pyrenees and how these areas were quickly integrated into a broader economic system.

Combining traceological analysis and ZooMS on Early Neolithic bone artefacts from the cave of Coro Trasito, NE Iberian Peninsula: Cervidae used equally to Caprinae

“…The faunal remains corresponding to the chronology focused on in this study, approximately 4,900–4,700 cal BCE, [ 34 , 37 , 38 ] reveal a significant dominance of domestic taxa including Ovis aries / Capra hircus , Sus domesticus , and Bos taurus ( Fig 3A ). Among these, the O .…”

“…Pendants crafted from carnivore canine teeth also increase in numbers from the Early to the Late Neolithic throughout the Iberian Peninsula [ 82 , 88 ]. The usage of Cervidae in the bone tool production, projectile points being exclusively made of this taxon at Coro Trasito, might therefore display an essential and standardised practice way of life, though maybe not habitual as the wild fauna bone portion constitutes around 10%, whereof around 5% can be attributed to Cervidae [ 34 ]. It is also worth speculating whether Cervidae and Cervinae, most likely C .…”

“…Typologically, the cultural layers could be dated to the Early Neolithic and Bronze Age, as confirmed by radiocarbon dating [ 29 , 30 , 32 ]. Concerning the Neolithic strata, various phases or occupation patterns have been suggested [ 32 – 34 ], nevertheless, anthropic activities have been dated to approximately 5,300 to 4,400/4,360 cal BCE.…”

“…aries and B . taurus had access to cultivated fields or the supply of crop surpluses based on the enriched δ 15 N values [ 34 ].…”

“…Anatomical and taxonomic identification was carried out using the reference collection of the Laboratori d’Archaeozoologia de la Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. Specimens that could not be taxonomically identified, were classified by size group accounting for data from previous zooarchaeological studies [ 34 ]. Large mammals were considered to correspond to cattle or similar-sized species, large-medium mammals to C .…”