Tales of sheep in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula during the Iron Age (3rd century BC): a multi-isotope research

Identifier:  TDX:4407

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX4407

Authors:  Messana, Chiara

Abstract:
During the Iron Age, communities in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula relied on cereal cultivation and livestock husbandry for subsistence. Regarding husbandry, no data on in-life livestock management and, specifically, sheep is currently available. The latter was the predominant species during this period. To address this lacuna, this doctoral research has employed a biogeochemical approach to gain novel and in-depth insights into the livestock management strategies adopted in four relevant Catalan sites dating back to the 3rd century BC. Multi-isotopic analyses have made it possible to investigate, with direct evidence and a seasonal temporal resolution, the three core elements of any livestock system: reproduction patterns, mobility strategies, and feeding habits of sheep. Firstly, the sequential analyses of oxygen isotope values (�����18O) of the sheep's second and third molars revealed diversified reproduction patterns, with anthropogenic manipulation of both season and duration of lambing. Secondly, the combination of sequential analyses of �����18O and carbon (�����13C) values with strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in the sheep's dental enamel uncovered evidence of movement across different altitudinal and geological areas. Nevertheless, livestock mobility was not widely practised. Furthermore, the study recorded the first evidence of descending herds' mobility from the Pyrenees to the lowlands.