Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Migratory Behavior of Ungulates Using Isotopic Analysis of Tooth Enamel and Its Effects on Forager Mobility

Abstract

Zooarchaeological and paleoecological investigations have traditionally been unable to reconstruct the ethology of herd animals, which likely had a significant influence on the mobility and subsistence strategies of prehistoric humans. In this paper, we reconstruct the migratory behavior of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and caprids at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the northeastern Adriatic region using stable oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel. The data show a significant change in δ18O values from the Pleistocene into the Holocene, as well as isotopic variation between taxa, the case study sites, and through time. We then discuss the implications of seasonal faunal availability as determining factors in human mobility patterns.

A long hard road… Reviewing the evidence for environmental change and population history in the eastern Adriatic and western Balkans during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene

“…Although an exhaustive survey of all Mesolithic faunal assemblages found along the eastern Adriatic coast lies beyond the remits of this paper (but see Pilaar Birch, 2012), the data presented here point towards a recurrent pattern, characterised by a marked preference for wild caprids such as chamois and ibex, red and roe deer, and wild boar (Pilaar Birch et al, 2016;Pilaar Birch and Miracle, 2015, in press, Miracle, 2001, 2007. In numerous instances, faunal assemblages also include a range of fishes and other aquatic animals, suggesting that marine and riverine resources contributed in some way to the diet of early Holocene foragers.…”

“…The Adriatic was a large coastal plain (van Andel and Shackleton, 1982) and sea level was approximately 130m below present day (Lambeck et al, 2002(Lambeck et al, , 2004. The four main ungulate species exploited in the Paleolithic throughout temperate Europe were red deer, horse, aurochs/bison, and reindeer, which occur in large numbers, high density, have a large body size and high reproduction rates, and are known to migrate on a seasonal basis in some cases (Britton et al, 2011, Gamble, 1986, Pellegrini et al, 2008, Pilaar Birch et al, 2016. These were followed in relative abundance by roe deer, chamois/ibex, elk, and to a lesser extent, musk ox (Gamble, 1986).…”

Oxygen isotopes in bioarchaeology: Principles and applications, challenges and opportunities

“…The intra-tooth profiles of such animals, whether domestic or wild, should deviate from the seasonal sinusoid δ 18 O curve of a stationary animal and exhibit substantially reduced intra-tooth δ 18 O variability, as has been demonstrated in modern comparative work (Britton et al, 2009) and, on this basis, argued for in archaeological case studies (Henton, 2012;Henton et al, 2014Henton et al, , 2010Pellegrini et al, 2008;Pilaar Birch et al, 2016). On the basis of this, mobility against the season has been proposed for some sheep from the pre-ceramic layers of Çatalhöyük (Henton, 2012;Henton et al, 2010), Late Upper Palaeolithic red deer in the northeaster Adriatic region (Pilaar Birch et al, 2016), as well as to some degree for red deer in the Epigravettian of northern Italy (Pellegrini et al, 2008). In an alternative approach, a higher level of inter-animal variability in δ 18 Obioapatite has been put forward as an indicator of transhumant activities, due to animals having access to water outside of the 'local' range (Mashkour, 2003).…”

“…In summer, this can be achieved by moving to a higher latitude or a higher altitude, both of which entails relocation to areas characterised by comparatively low δ 18 O values in environmental water (Bowen and Wilkinson, 2002;Dansgaard, 1964;Rozanski et al, 1993). The intra-tooth profiles of such animals, whether domestic or wild, should deviate from the seasonal sinusoid δ 18 O curve of a stationary animal and exhibit substantially reduced intra-tooth δ 18 O variability, as has been demonstrated in modern comparative work (Britton et al, 2009) and, on this basis, argued for in archaeological case studies (Henton, 2012;Henton et al, 2014Henton et al, , 2010Pellegrini et al, 2008;Pilaar Birch et al, 2016). On the basis of this, mobility against the season has been proposed for some sheep from the pre-ceramic layers of Çatalhöyük (Henton, 2012;Henton et al, 2010), Late Upper Palaeolithic red deer in the northeaster Adriatic region (Pilaar Birch et al, 2016), as well as to some degree for red deer in the Epigravettian of northern Italy (Pellegrini et al, 2008).…”

Seasonal records of palaeoenvironmental change and resource use from archaeological assemblages

“…Mollusc shells, fish otoliths and faunal teeth in particular are routinely preserved in the archaeological record. Many archaeological sites contain freshwater, marine, terrestrial and estuarine mollusc shells, and freshwater, marine, and estuarine otoliths likely to be refuse from foraging and fishing activities (Andrus 2011;Colonese et al 2011;Prendergast and Stevens 2014;Disspain et al 2016;Twaddle et al 2016), and faunal teeth and antler likely to be the result of hunting activities (Hillson, 2005;Pryor et al 2016;Reade et al 2016Reade et al , 2018Pilaar-Birch et al 2016;Stevens and O'Connell 2016). These archives are particularly relevant to reconstructing human-environment interaction as their presence in archaeological sites is generally the result of foraging, fishing, and hunting activities (thus live-collection).…”