Resource depression, climate change, and mountain sheep in the eastern Great Basin of western North America

Fisher, Jacob L.; Valentine, Benjamin

doi:10.1007/s12520-013-0124-9

Cited by 34 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Additionally, at high elevation sites, melt water from surface snow (accumulated over winter at the time of the year when d 18 O values are the lowest) and also potentially from glacial ice (deposited in colder times over the Last Glacial Maximum and with considerably lower d 18 O values [Bhatia et al, 2011]), would provide wild sheep with 18 O-depleted water in spring and summer (Fisher and Valentine, 2013). Consequently, the expected vertical trajectories of wild sheep with winter, is difficult to evaluate given the uncertainties in (1) the relative contribution of the different potential water sources at high elevation sites e spring/summer precipitations, snow melt, glacial ice melt, (2) and how much those would be 18 O-depleted compared to water sources in the valley in winter.…”

Section: Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The altitudinal mobility of wild sheep at the Epigravettian site of Kalavan 1 (Lesser Caucasus, Armenia): Evidence from a sequential isotopic analysis in tooth enamel

Tornero

Balasse

Bălășescu³

et al. 2016

Journal of Human Evolution

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Kalavan 1 is an Epigravettian hunting campsite in the Aregunyats mountain chain in northeastern Armenia (Lesser Caucasus). The site lies at an elevation of 1640 m in a bottleneck that controls the descent into the Barepat Valley from the alpine meadows above. The lithic and faunal assemblages show evidence of the production of hunting weapons, the hunting and targeting of wild sheep (Ovis orientalis), and the constitution of animal product reserves. A seasonal occupation of the site was proposed within a model of occupation by Epigravettian hunter-gatherers that involved a search for obsidian resources in high altitude sources from the spring to the summer and settling at Kalavan 1 at the end of summer or during autumn to coincide with the migration of wild herds from the alpine meadows to the valley. A key parameter of this model is wild sheep ethology, with a specifically seasonal vertical mobility, based on observations from contemporary mouflon populations from the surrounding areas. In this study, the vertical mobility of Paleolithic wild sheep was directly investigated through sequential isotope analysis (δ(18)O, δ(13)C) in teeth. A marked seasonality of birth is suggested that reflects a physiological adaptation to the strong environmental constraints of this mountainous region. Most importantly, a recurrent altitudinal mobility was demonstrated on a seasonal basis, which confirms that wild sheep migrated from lowland areas that they occupied in the winter and then moved to higher altitude meadows during the summer. Last, low inter-individual variability in the stable isotope sequences favors a hypothesis of accumulation for these faunal remains over a short time period. Overall, this new dataset strengthens the previous interpretations for Kalavan 1 and contributes to an understanding of the pattern of occupation of mountain territories by Epigravettian communities.

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Section: Principlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The altitudinal mobility of wild sheep at the Epigravettian site of Kalavan 1 (Lesser Caucasus, Armenia): Evidence from a sequential isotopic analysis in tooth enamel

Tornero

Balasse

Bălășescu³

et al. 2016

Journal of Human Evolution

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“…Those were interpreted as reflecting vertical mobility towards high elevation alpine meadows in the summer and midlands to lowlands in the winter. The reason for this opposition could not be ascertained, and two hypotheses were considered: (i) a higher relative proportion of C 4 plants in the lowlands would have created summer and the highest in the winter, was also described in historic mountain sheep (Ovis canadensis) from central Utah (Fisher and Valentine, 2013). Although this hypothesis deserves careful consideration, it does not seem to apply to our study area.…”

Section: Interpretation Of the Archaeological Datasetsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Sequential analysis in tooth enamel gives access to the animal's isotopic history with an infra-annual resolution (Bryant et al, 1996a, b;Fricke and O'Neil, 1996), potentially revealing seasonal altitudinal mobility. This approach has been successfully applied to detect the vertical movements of wild and domestic small stock in East Africa (Balasse and Ambrose, 2005), North America (Fisher and Valentine, 2013), the Peruvian Andes (Goepfert et al, 2013) and Armenia (Tornero et al, 2016). These works demonstrated that the isotopic 'mountain signature' varies from one place to another depending on the environmental and climatic contexts: in mixed C 3 -C 4 plants areas, a key parameter may be the decreasing relative proportion of C 4 plants with altitude, whereas in places where C 3 plants dominate, the focus is on the altitudinal effect inducing increasing d 13 C values in plants and decreasing d 18 O values in precipitations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mountain adaptation of caprine herding in the eastern Pyrenees during the Bronze Age: A stable oxygen and carbon isotope analysis of teeth

Knockaert

Balasse

Rendu³

et al. 2018

Quaternary International

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Pastoral activities in the northeastern Pyrenees increased substantially during the Bronze Age, raising the question of the modalities of occupations in zones where the snow cover limited access to grasslands for a significant part of the year. The present study explores how stable isotope analysis may characterize the adaptation of husbandry to mountain environments through herding strategies, including the vertical mobility of livestock. It also addresses the broader issue of the occupation of territories by Bronze Age communities in the Western Mediterranean area, focusing on possible links between coastal plains and mountainous areas. For this purpose, sequential stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses were conducted on caprines' teeth from the mountain site of Llo (Pyr en ees-Orientales, 1630 m asl, Middle Bronze Age) and the permanent coastal site of Portal-Vielh (H erault, 0 m asl, Late Bronze Age). An exploratory analysis was also conducted on modern sedentary and transhumant ewes to investigate the effect of altitudinal mobility on enamel oxygen isotope values. The range of d 18 O values measured in modern and archaeological caprines raised in mountain zones was lower than the one measured in the lowland caprines, while no significant difference could be observed in the range of d 13 C values. Co-variations between d 13 C and d 18 O sequences reveal the most information. The positive correlation observed in all instances at low elevation sites was not the leading pattern at Llo, where a variety of schemes could be observed, including opposite d 13 C and d 18 O sequences. This opposition could not be explained by a reversal of the d 18 O cycle due to vertical mobility. Other causes could involve changes in the pattern of variation of d 13 C values, potentially linked to human responses to the local constraints, including vertical mobility and/or foddering. Portal-Vielh delivered a fully lowland signal. At Llo, although a full adaptation to a mountain environment seems clear, the question of the vertical mobility of the livestock cannot be resolved at the moment. Most importantly, Llo was characterized by a high inter-individual variability in the co-variation of d 13 C and d 18 O profiles, reflecting great plasticity of the husbandry practices on the inter-annual scale. This could have been a key to the adaptation to these marginal environments. The apparent disjunction between the coastal and mountain settlements, as far as herd trajectory is concerned, must be reaffirmed by further investigations in a larger number of sites.

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“…Unlike bones, which continually remodel, the main constituents of teeth (dentin, enamel, cementum) form incrementally and thus have the potential to provide a timeline of element exposure. Incremental sequential sectioning of enamel has been successfully applied to zooarchaeological specimens such as to infer seasonality, husbandry practices, and animal trade networks through examining short-term shifts in 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isotopic composition (Balasse et al 2002 ; Bendrey et al 2009 ; Viner et al 2010 ; Fisher and Valentine 2013 ; Chase et al 2014 ; Price et al 2017b ; Evans et al 2019 ). This approach of sequentially sampling TEs within dental increments for 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isotope analysis is less commonly seen in archaeological studies on humans, with rare exceptions (e.g.…”

Section: Resurgence Of Trace Element Analysis? Techniques With Growinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical overview and new directions in bioarchaeological trace element analysis: a review

Simpson

Cooper

Swanston

et al. 2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Given their strong affinity for the skeleton, trace elements are often stored in bones and teeth long term. Diet, geography, health, disease, social status, activity, and occupation are some factors which may cause differential exposure to, and uptake of, trace elements, theoretically introducing variability in their concentrations and/or ratios in the skeleton. Trace element analysis of bioarchaeological remains has the potential, therefore, to provide rich insights into past human lifeways. This review provides a historical overview of bioarchaeological trace element analysis and comments on the current state of the discipline by highlighting approaches with growing momentum. Popularity for the discipline surged following preliminary studies in the 1960s to 1970s that demonstrated the utility of strontium (Sr) as a dietary indicator. During the 1980s, Sr/Ca ratio and multi-element studies were commonplace in bioarchaeology, linking trace elements with dietary phenomena. Interest in using trace elements for bioarchaeological inferences waned following a period of critiques in the late 1980s to 1990s that argued the discipline failed to account for diagenesis, simplified complex element uptake and regulation processes, and used several unsuitable elements for palaeodietary reconstruction (e.g. those under homeostatic regulation, those without a strong affinity for the skeleton). In the twenty-first century, trace element analyses have been primarily restricted to Sr and lead (Pb) isotope analysis and the study of toxic trace elements, though small pockets of bioarchaeology have continued to analyse multiple elements. Techniques such as micro-sampling, element mapping, and non-traditional stable isotope analysis have provided novel insights which hold the promise of helping to overcome limitations faced by the discipline.

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Resource depression, climate change, and mountain sheep in the eastern Great Basin of western North America

Cited by 34 publications

References 77 publications

The altitudinal mobility of wild sheep at the Epigravettian site of Kalavan 1 (Lesser Caucasus, Armenia): Evidence from a sequential isotopic analysis in tooth enamel

The altitudinal mobility of wild sheep at the Epigravettian site of Kalavan 1 (Lesser Caucasus, Armenia): Evidence from a sequential isotopic analysis in tooth enamel

Mountain adaptation of caprine herding in the eastern Pyrenees during the Bronze Age: A stable oxygen and carbon isotope analysis of teeth

Historical overview and new directions in bioarchaeological trace element analysis: a review

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