Early Neolithic high mountain settlers were already carrying out complex livestock and farming activities, finds study

DECEMBER 21, 2023

by Autonomous University of Barcelona



Tucas (Huesca, Spain). The arrow indicates Coro Trasito cave. Below: Entrance to Coro Trasito cave. (B) Plan view of Coro Trasito cave, showing the location of the 2011 and 2013 test-pit and the area of the extended excavation. The isocotes indicate every 20 cm. Credit: Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fearc.2023.1309907



An archaeological find in the Huescan Pyrenees allowed researchers to identify for the first time livestock management strategies and feeding practices that demonstrate how the first high mountain societies at the start of the Neolithic period were already carrying out complex livestock and farming activities, instead of being limited to the transhumance of sheep and goats.

The study, published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, is the first to combine carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis with archaeozoological analyses. The study, coordinated by the UAB and including the involvement of the CSIC, the University of Évora and the Government of Aragon, also documented how the economic importance of pigs in the Huescan region dates back to the Neolithic.

The research on management strategies and use of animal resources in high mountain areas during the Early Neolithic, approximately 6,500 to 7,500 years ago, was conditioned by the presumption that human occupancy of these regions were mainly seasonal and that economic practices focused greatly on making use of wild resources.

With regard to livestock rearing, the role of sheep and goat transhumance in high mountain areas has stood out traditionally, while only a marginal role has been given to other livestock activities, in which the temporary maintenance of these animal flocks has been highlighted.

More:
https://phys.org/news/2023-12-early-neolithic-high-mountain-settlers.html