Assessing diet and animal mobility in Iron Age Languedoc, southern France: New insights from a multiproxy approach

Abstract

The societies living in the present-day Languedoc region during the Iron Age (7th-2nd c. BC) experienced a series of progressive transformations, including a demographic growth and an increase in social differentiation, affecting their economic, social and political structure. This context certainly influenced economic organisation, including farming strategies. However, the relationship between animal husbandry and the economical and political context is not completely understood in Iron Age Languedoc. Two key issues – the feeding strategies and the animal mobility in the hinterlands of Languedoc – are poor known. With the aim of providing new insights into our understanding of animal diet and mobility, we combined zooarchaeology (species representation and mortality profiles), dental microwear, dental mesowear and isotopes –strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C)– on domestic ungulates from five major Iron Age sites: Cayla de Mailhac, La Ramasse, Le Cailar, La Monédière and Lattara. The combination of these approaches enabled us to support the hypothesis of a local breeding of livestock, the animal pasture in nearby areas to the site, and the different animal management between caprines and cattle.