Resilience and livestock adaptations to demographic growth and technological change: A diachronic perspective from the Late Bronze Age to Late Antiquity in NE Iberia

Abstract

There are strong interactions between an economic system and its ecological context. In this sense, livestock have been an integral part of human economies since the Neolithic, contributing significantly to the creation and maintenance of agricultural anthropized landscapes. For this reason, in the frame of the ERC-StG project ’ZooMWest’ we collected and analyzed thousands of zooarchaeological data from NE Iberia. By considering these data in comparison with ecological indicators (archaeobotanical remains) and archaeological evidence (settlement characteristics and their distribution) this paper seeks to characterize changes in animal production and the relationship between people, livestock, and their environment. These methods allow for an investigation of the topic at different scales (site, zone, territory) with a broad diachronic perspective, and for consideration of orography and cultural traditions alongside climatic factors. Through this integration of various streams of evidence, we aim to better understand the structure of ancient economic systems and the way they conditioned human decision-making on animal production. Results show a shifting relationship with the territory between the Bronze Age and Late Antiquity, in which market requirements and an economic model with a higher degree of integration increasingly influenced husbandry strategies. These processes are reflected in changes in land use and forms of territorial occupation, although along different rhythms and trajectories.

Sorting the Flock: Quantitative Identification of Sheep and Goat from Isolated Third Lower Molars and Mandibles Through Geometric Morphometrics

“…Sheep and goat bones are also known to vary in size diachronically (e.g. Davis, 2008;Espinet et al, 2021;Grau-Sologestoa, 2015). From the results provided by the analysis of 143 modern specimens from 13 different breeds, we conclude that the lower third molar size has a low discriminatory power and, as such, it has a…”

The exploitation of mountain natural resources during the Iron Age in the Eastern Pyrenees: the case study of production unit G at Tossal de Baltarga (Bellver de Cerdanya, Lleida, Spain)

“…In recent years, the study of settlement and production patterns of Iron Age communities in northeastern Iberia (4th−3rd century BCE), described as "Iberians" in ancient literary sources, has increased our knowledge of the exploitation of their natural resources and the development of proto-urban societies. Studies of their diversified agricultural production, patterns of grinding and storage (Alonso and Pérez-Jordà, 2019), and livestock strategies (Colominas et al, 2020;Nieto-Espinet et al, 2021;Messana et al, 2023a,b) have identified an intensive exploitation of agro-pastoral resources. The development of urban communities has also been highlighted, suggesting that their largest sites (oppida) acted as the capitals of polities corresponding to some of the ethnic territories mentioned in the ancient written sources (civitates; Sanmartí et al, 2019).…”

ZooMS confirms geometric morphometrics species identification of ancient sheep and goat

“…Sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus) are two important species of agro-pastoral systems in the Mediterranean basin since the Neolithic and were often herded together [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. However, they possess distinct ecological [30,31] and economical properties [32][33][34][35][36], making it of prime interest to establish secure identifications of ancient specimens before studying the two species separately.…”