Seasonal practices of prehistoric pastoralists from the south of the Russian plain based on the isotope data of modern and archaeological animal bones and plants

Abstract

The isotopic composition of bones from domesticated pasture-fed animals with low tolerance of water restrictions (δ13C, δ15N) offers a possibility to reconstruct seasonal pasture and grazing management practices that prevailed in the south of the Russian Plain throughout time (the Bronze and the Early Iron Ages, 3000calBCE–200calCE). Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic values of the contemporary local steppe and North Caucasus pasture plants and pasture-fed animals with low tolerance of water restrictions as well as archaeological plants are used as proxies of animal forage. The results of the isotopic composition of archaeological pasture-fed animals demonstrate that the variation in the nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of the bones of such animals is affected by climatic factors and climate fluctuations. Differences in the isotopic composition of the plants growing in the pastures of the ecosystems exploited in different seasons and different adaptive skills of domesticated animals also impacted on the isotopic composition of animal bones.Animal grazing practices used by mobile pastoral groups change through time; the exploited local pastoral areas were expanded to include new pastures located far away from the core local pastoral area because of changes in seasonal pasture herbage yield and climate fluctuations. The steppe pastoral groups are assumed to have exploited not only steppe grasslands but also maritime and North Caucasus piedmont pastures.