Revisiting the emergence of pastoralism in the Altai Mountains through interactions between local hunter-gatherer and Afanasievo communities

Abstract

The Altai Mountains represent a critical region for the earliest trans-Eurasian dispersals of bovid domesticates. However, settlement data from Altaic hunter-gatherer communities and incoming pastoralists remain rare, which precludes understanding the subsistence transitions and associated cultural dynamics underlying the spread of pastoralism to Inner Asia. Here, we report new radiocarbon dates and analysis of archaeological deposits, suggesting previously unrecognized inter-community interactions in the Altai Mountains. We have launched the Rise of Altai Mountain Pastoralism Project (RAMPP) to examine the emergence of livestock herding in the Russian Altai by focusing on new excavations and biomolecular methods on ancient faunal remains.