Restricted pasturing of domesticated cattle at a Late Neolithic settlement in Central Germany

Winter-Schuh, Christine; Schmütz, Kay; Eberle, Nils; Makarewicz, Cheryl A.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.07.015

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Allowing animals access after harvest would allow for manure to be directly distributed on cultivation plots. Crop plants may experience water stress in the final months prior to harvest and exhibit high δ 13 C values due to water stress [ 103 ], which may explain the δ 13 C values observed in sheep/goat individuals. The relatively high δ 15 N values found in sheep/goat bone collagen could reflect a foddering strategy where cereals were enriched with 15 N due to manuring regimes [ 104 , 105 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Of herds and societies—Seasonal aspects of Vinča culture herding and land use practices revealed using sequential stable isotope analysis of animal teeth

et al. 2021

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Late Neolithic Vinča communities, spread over much of central and northern Balkans during the late sixth to mid-fifth millennium BC and characterised by unusually large and densely population centres, would have required highly organised food production systems. Zooarchaeological analysis indicates that domesticate livestock were herded, but little is known about the seasonal husbandry practices that helped ensure a steady supply of animal products to Vinča farming communities. Here, we present new stable carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic measurements of incremental bioapatite samples from the teeth of domesticated livestock and wild herbivore teeth from two late Neolithic Vinča culture sites: Vinča-Belo brdo and Stubline (Serbia). Our results show a low variation overall within sheep and goats in terms of pasture type that may have been composed of seasonal halophyte plant communities, which have higher δ13C values due to the saline rich growing environments. Cattle feeding strategies were more variable and provided with supplementary forage, such as cut branches or leafy hay, during winter. The sharp distinction in the management of cattle and sheep/goat may be associated with the development of herding strategies that sought to balance livestock feeding behaviours with available forage or, more provocatively, the emergence of household-based control over cattle–an animal that held a central economic and symbolic role in Vinča societies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Of herds and societies—Seasonal aspects of Vinča culture herding and land use practices revealed using sequential stable isotope analysis of animal teeth

et al. 2021

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“…stubble fields) (cf. Winter-Schuh et al, 2018). The abrupt 759 transition from high to low δ 13 Ccarb values in Or_07 during late winter indicates a change in feeding strategy.…”

Section: Diet and Seasonalitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Heading for the hills? A multi-isotope study of sheep management in first-millennium BC Italy

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Roux

et al. 2020

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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Highlights-A multi-isotope pilot study offers a high-resolution investigation into sheep management in proto-historic Italy -Sheep exploitation at an Orientalising aristocratic residence (7th century BC) was consistent with management in the local hinterland -An Archaic Etruscan city (5th century BC) drew animals from a mosaic of iso-zones -Neither Etruscan site produced clear evidence for long-distance vertical transhumance 25

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“…Sequential sampling for δ 13 C values in cattle teeth will show seasonal changes in vegetation in freeranging cattle, with the δ 13 C curve following the δ 18 O in temperate climates. Providing cattle with fodder or moving them to different pastures during an annual cycle can change the curve [41][42][43][44][45]. Flat curves suggest a uniform food supply during tooth formation [46] and could suggest the provision of fodder.…”

Section: Theoretical Principles Behind Oxygen and Carbonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third, differences between species in physiology, metabolism, diet and enamel mineralization rates may result in dampening of isotopic sequencing in cattle compared to other species [16,68,70,73,74,78,82,83]. Low amplitudes have also been found in archaeological and modern cattle teeth from Great Britain [17,43,84,85], while higher amplitudes occur in cattle teeth from archaeological sites in Greece and Romania as well as in northwestern Europe (Great Britain, France and Germany [44,45,47,67,84]). This suggests that low amplitudes are not typical for cattle in general.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Cattle management in an Iron Age/Roman settlement in the Netherlands: Archaeozoological and stable isotope analysis

et al. 2021

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Cattle were the predominant domestic animal in the Iron Age and Roman Netherlands, yet their management is still incompletely understood. Some aspects of cattle management, such as birth season and the provision of fodder, have received little or no attention so far. This paper is the first to investigate these aspects for the Iron Age and Roman Netherlands, through a case study of the site of Houten-Castellum. The rural settlement of Houten-Castellum was inhabited from the Middle Iron Age to the Middle Roman period, allowing a comparison between the Iron Age and Roman period. Excavations at this site have yielded a large, well-preserved animal bone assemblage. This paper investigates cattle husbandry by using an integrated approach, combining a multi-isotope analysis (oxygen, carbon and strontium) with archaeozoological and archaeobotanical results from Houten-Castellum and comparing the results with archaeobotanical evidence for fodder and evidence for dairy use for the Iron Age and Roman Netherlands in general. While our data set is small and results must therefore be interpreted cautiously, there is convincing evidence for an extended birth season in the Middle Iron Age, as well as the use of fodder.

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Restricted pasturing of domesticated cattle at a Late Neolithic settlement in Central Germany

Cited by 9 publications

References 85 publications

Of herds and societies—Seasonal aspects of Vinča culture herding and land use practices revealed using sequential stable isotope analysis of animal teeth

Of herds and societies—Seasonal aspects of Vinča culture herding and land use practices revealed using sequential stable isotope analysis of animal teeth

Heading for the hills? A multi-isotope study of sheep management in first-millennium BC Italy

Cattle management in an Iron Age/Roman settlement in the Netherlands: Archaeozoological and stable isotope analysis

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