Beyond the herd
Investigating livestock feeding strategies in the Iron Age Iberian Peninsula (3rd c. BC) through a multi-isotope analysis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5254383 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chiara Messana (0000-0002-6188-9603, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social), C Tornero (0000-0002-2870-8989, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social), L Colominas (0000-0001-6838-5814, Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 16-16 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1866-9557 • E-ISSN: 1866-9565 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12520-024-02116-z |
| PMID | 39735685 |
| OpenAlex | W4405792669 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 93 |
During the Iron Age, north-eastern Iberian communities relied on crop cultivation and animal husbandry for their subsistence. The latter was mainly focused on caprine, with sheep being prominent due to their suitability to the Mediterranean climate, orography, and environment. Despite the pivotal role of sheep in livestock husbandry, information on Iberian communities' feeding strategies for this species is limited. To address this lacuna, this study investigates the livestock feeding habits at four Catalan sites dating back to the 3rd century BC: Mas Castellar de Pontós, Tossal de Baltarga, Sant Esteve d'Olius, and Turó de la Rovira. Bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses (δ13C and δ15N) of bone collagen and sequential carbon and oxygen analyses (δ13C and δ18O) of dental enamel were performed on 74 remains (43 bones, 31 teeth) from 51 sheep. Additionally, 153 bone remains from other domestic and wild species from the four sites were analysed. Our results revealed the complex and adaptive livestock feeding strategies of Iron Age Iberian populations. Sheep exhibited minimal diet variations, mainly consuming C3 plants across the four sites. Nevertheless, their feeding habits changed seasonally depending on pasture availability and settlement requirements. The other main domestic species were subject to individualised and variable feeding strategies within the same settlement. This diversified feeding management unveiled the complex and adaptive nature of the husbandry practices employed by Iron Age Iberian communities. Finally, the extensive number of remains analysed provides the first data on livestock feeding strategies for the Middle/Late Iron Age in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula
Agriculture · Agroforestry · Animal husbandry · Archaeology · Biology · Foal · Forage · Geography · Iron Age · Livestock · Mediterranean climate · Pasture · Peninsula · Subsistence agriculture · Ecology · Forestry
Teeth
Stable Isotope Analysis
The isotope record of short- and long-term dietary changes in sheep tooth enamel
Carbon isotope fractionation between diet and bioapatite in ungulate mammals and implications for ecological and paleoecological studies
Stepwise enrichment of 15N along food chains
Oxygen isotopes in mammal bone phosphate
Complexities of nitrogen isotope biogeochemistry in plant-soil systems
Fractionation of oxygen isotopes between mammalian bone-phosphate and environmental drinking water
Carbon isotope compositions of terrestrial C3 plants as indicators of (paleo)ecology and (paleo)climate
Isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2 inferred from carbon in C4 plant cellulose
Carbon Isotope Discrimination and Photosynthesis
Experimental Evidence for the Relationship of the Carbon Isotope Ratios of Whole Diet and Dietary Protein to Those of Bone Collagen and Carbonate
Stable Isotope Compositions of Biological Apatite
Ice core record of the 13C/12C ratio of atmospheric CO2 in the past two centuries
Variations in the 13C/12C ratios of plants in relation to the pathway of photosynthetic carbon dioxide fixation
Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals
New Method of Collagen Extraction for Radiocarbon Dating
Postmortem preservation and alteration of in vivo bone collagen isotope ratios in relation to palaeodietary reconstruction
Nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of bone collagen from marine and terrestrial animals
The exploitation of mountain natural resources during the Iron Age in the Eastern Pyrenees
Between valleys, plateaus, and mountains
Early husbandry practices in highland areas during the Neolithic
Milk and meat exploitation, autumn lambing and use of forest resources in Neolithic Corsican sheep farming systems (fifth to third millennia cal BC)
Isotopic reconstruction of human diet at the Roman site (1st-4th c. AD) of Carrer Ample 1, Barcelona, Spain
Analysis of seasonal mobility of sheep in Iron Age Catalonia (north-eastern Spain) based on strontium and oxygen isotope analysis from tooth enamel
Assessing diet and animal mobility in Iron Age Languedoc, southern France
Sheep husbandry in the early Neolithic of the Pyrenees
Seasonality and season of birth of modern and late Neolithic sheep from south-eastern France using tooth enamel δ18O analysis
Stable isotope evidence for salt-marsh grazing in the Bronze Age Severn Estuary, UK
Archaeological herbivore δ13C and δ34S provide a marker for saltmarsh use and new insights into the process of 15N-enrichment in coastal plants
The impact of manuring on nitrogen isotope ratios in cereals
Natural variations in the carbon isotope values of plants
Collagen turnover and isotopic records in cortical bone
Assessing the reliability of criteria used to identify postcranial bones in sheep, Ovis, and goats, Capra
Assessing the reliability of criteria used to identify mandibles and mandibular teeth in sheep, Ovis, and goats, Capra
Manuring and stable nitrogen isotope ratios in cereals and pulses
Stable Isotope Evidence for Similarities in the Types of Marine Foods Used by Late Mesolithic Humans at Sites Along the Atlantic Coast of Europe
Coast–inland mobility and diet in the Danish Mesolithic and Neolithic
Seasonality and season of birth in early Eneolithic sheep from Cheia (Romania)
Bone Collagen Quality Indicators for Palaeodietary and Radiocarbon Measurements
Inferring animal husbandry strategies in coastal zones through stable isotope analysis
Preparation and characterization of bone and tooth collagen for isotopic analysis
Kill-off Patterns in Sheep and Goats
Investigating Seasonality and Season of Birth in Past Herds
The diet‐body offset in human nitrogen isotopic values
Stable isotopes and dietary adaptations in humans and animals at pre-pottery Neolithic Nevallı Çori, southeast Anatolia
Collagen turnover in the adult femoral mid‐shaft
Dogs that Ate Plants
Early sheep herd management in the inland of the Iberian Peninsula
Isotopic biogeochemistry (13C,15N) of fossil vertebrate collagen
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human and animal diet in Africa
Dogs and foxes in Early-Middle Bronze Age funerary structures in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula
Livestock management at the Late Iron Age site of Baltarga (eastern Pyrenees)
Choose what suits you best
Lost in transition
Integrative approaches to the study of animal management practices during the Neolithic of South Iberian Peninsula
Traditional ecological knowledge among transhumant pastoralists in Mediterranean Spain
Food management of early introduced caprine and bovine herds in the early Neolithic site of La Draga (Banyoles)
Trophic level isotopic enrichment of carbon and nitrogen in bone collagen
Reconstructing dietary and environmental history from enamel isotopic analysis
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |