Repositori URV

Author, as appears in the article.: Tejedor-Rodriguez, Cristina; Moreno-Garcia, Marta; Tornero, Carlos; Hoffmann, Alize; Garcia-Martinez de Lagran, Inigo; Arcusa-Magallon, Hector; Garrido-Pena, Rafael; Ignacio Royo-Guillen, Jose; Diaz-Navarro, Sonia; Pena-Chocarro, Leonor; Alt, Kurt W; Rojo-Guerra, Manuel

Department: Història i Història de l'Art

URV's Author/s: Tornero Dacasa, Carlos

Keywords: Valley Third molar Survival rate Spain Sheep Sediment Seasonality Radiocarbon Population size Population productivity Physiology Perinatal mortality Parasitology Oxygen-18 Oxygen isotopes Oxygen 18 Oxygen Ovum Ovis Nonhuman Neolithic Nematode Nematoda Morphological distinctions Molar, third Mandibular teeth Male Isotope analysis Isolation and purification Human History, ancient History Herd Growth, development and aging Goat breed Goat Fossils Fossil Female Dynamics Controlled study Cohort analysis Chemistry Caves Cave Carbon-13 Carbon isotopes Carbon 13 Carbon Breeding Birth Bayes theorem Autumn Artiodactyla Article Archeology Archaeology Animals Animal husbandry Animal Age Adult

Abstract: Sheep remains constitute the main archaeozoological evidence for the presence of Early Neolithic human groups in the highlands of the Southern Pyrenees but understanding the role of herding activities in the Neolithisation process of this mountain ecosystem calls for the analysis of large and well-dated faunal assemblages. Cova de Els Trocs (Bisaurri, Huesca, Spain), a cave located at 1564 m a.s.l on the southern slopes of the Central Pyrenees, is an excellent case study since it was seasonally occupied throughout the Neolithic (ca. 5312-2913 cal. BC) and more than 4000 caprine remains were recovered inside. The multi-proxy analytical approach here presented has allowed us to offer new data elaborating on vertical mobility practices and herd management dynamics as has not been attempted up until now within Neolithic high-mountain sites in the Iberian Peninsula. For the first time, delta O-18 and delta C-13 stable isotope analyses offer direct evidence on both the regular practice of altitudinal movements of sheep flocks and the extended breeding season of sheep. Autumn births are recorded from the second half of the fifth millennium cal. BC onwards. Age-at-death distributions illustrate the progressive decline in caprine perinatal mortality together with the rising survival rate of individuals older than six months of age and the larger frequency of adults. This trend alongside the 'off-season' lambing signal at the implementation of husbandry techniques over time, probably aiming to increase the size of the flocks and their productivity. Palaeoparasitological analyses of sediment samples document also the growing reliance on herding activities of the human groups visiting the Els Trocs cave throughout the Neolithic sequence. In sum, our work provides substantial arguments to conclude that the advanced herding management skills of the Early Neolithic communities arriving in Iberia facilitated the anthropisation process of the subalpine areas of the Central Pyrenees.

Thematic Areas: Zootecnia / recursos pesqueiros Sociology Sociología Serviço social Saúde coletiva Química Psychology Psicología Planejamento urbano e regional / demografia Odontología Nutrição Multidisciplinary sciences Multidisciplinary Medicine (miscellaneous) Medicina veterinaria Medicina iii Medicina ii Medicina i Materiais Matemática / probabilidade e estatística Linguística e literatura Letras / linguística Interdisciplinary research in the social sciences Interdisciplinar Human geography and urban studies History & philosophy of science Historia Geografía Geociências General medicine General biochemistry,genetics and molecular biology General agricultural and biological sciences Farmacia Environmental studies Ensino Engenharias iv Engenharias iii Engenharias ii Engenharias i Enfermagem Educação física Educação Economia Direito Demography Comunicação e informação Ciências sociais aplicadas i Ciências biológicas iii Ciências biológicas ii Ciências biológicas i Ciências ambientais Ciências agrárias i Ciência política e relações internacionais Ciência de alimentos Ciência da computação Biotecnología Biology Biodiversidade Biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology (miscellaneous) Astronomia / física Arquitetura, urbanismo e design Archaeology Antropologia / arqueologia Anthropology Agricultural and biological sciences (miscellaneous) Administração, ciências contábeis e turismo Administração pública e de empresas, ciências contábeis e turismo

licence for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Author's mail: carlos.tornero@urv.cat

Record's date: 2024-07-27

Papper version: info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Licence document URL: https://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/

Papper original source: Plos One. 16 (1):

APA: Tejedor-Rodriguez, Cristina; Moreno-Garcia, Marta; Tornero, Carlos; Hoffmann, Alize; Garcia-Martinez de Lagran, Inigo; Arcusa-Magallon, Hector; Garrid (2021). Investigating Neolithic caprine husbandry in the Central Pyrenees: Insights from a multi-proxy study at Els Trocs cave (Bisaurri, Spain). Plos One, 16(1), -. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244139

Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Journal publication year: 2021

Publication Type: Journal Publications