Investigating Neolithic caprine husbandry in the Central Pyrenees: Insights from a multi-proxy study at Els Trocs cave (Bisaurri, Spain).

Cristina Tejedor-Rodríguez,Íñigo García-Martínez De Lagrán,Alizé Hoffmann,Rafael Garrido-Pena,Sonia Díaz-Navarro,Manuel Rojo-Guerra,José Ignacio Royo-Guillén,Héctor Arcusa-Magallón,Marta Moreno-García,Kurt W Alt,Carlos Tornero,Leonor Peña-Chocarro,Peter F Biehl

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0244139

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, δ18O and δ13C 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.

Highlights

The history of animal husbandry in the Iberian Peninsula began as early as the sixth millennium cal
The analytical proxies followed in this paper have focused on providing a solid corpus of data to investigate the caprine farming and herd management strategies developed by the human groups that occupied the Els Trocs cave throughout the Neolithic
By discussing the results from a comprehensive and diachronic perspective we believe we can gain a better understanding of animal husbandry practices involving the use of the Pyrenean uplands and their dynamics and in turn, improve our knowledge on the Neolithisation process of this ecosystem

Summary

Introduction

The history of animal husbandry in the Iberian Peninsula began as early as the sixth millennium cal. In the case of the southern slopes of the Pyrenees, archaeological evidence of the arrival of Neolithic groups comes mainly from rock-shelters and caves, featuring tools made of polished stone, pottery vessels, cereal grains and faunal assemblages dominated by the remains of domestic animals, caprines [11, 23,24,25,26,27] among which sheep stand out. The overwhelming abundance of sheep emphasizes the great adaptive capacity of the new species to upland territories and the key part shepherding activities played in both the spread of farming and the inception of production economies in these areas [28]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion