Rust Family Foundation: Archaeology Grants Program

Գառը՝ գարնան, ձիւնը՝ ձմռան:

Lamb in the spring, snow in the winter: 

Early seasonal herding practices in Armenia’s Ararat Plain

[RFF-2017-36]

Principal Investigators: 

Anneke Janzen, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History

Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA





Importance of the site and project:

The Southern Caucasus is a key geographic region in the spread of herding from southwestern Asia to the western steppe. The Neolithic site of Masis Blur, situated in south-western Armenia (fig.1), is to date one of the earliest Neolithic site in the Southern Caucasus with evidence for stock keeping and extensive cereal cultivation. Analysis of the carbon and oxygen stable isotope composition of livestock tooth enamel, as well as carbon and nitrogen composition of bone from both wild and domestic species, provides a detailed view of animal management strategies, including seasonal mobility and diet. Sourcing data show the acquisition of obsidian from a number of nearby mountains (e.g., Arteni, Gutanasar, Hatis, Geghasar), and may have been coincident with seasonal herding to these regions. These lines of evidence inform on how early agricultural communities in the Southern Caucasus managed their livestock and thus provide valuable insight into how herding took hold in the region.

Fig.1: Map of Armenia showing the location of Masis Blur.
 
Previous Work at the Site:

The Neolithic settlement Masis Blur lies in the Ararat plain at an elevation of 862 masl, near the ancient left bank of Hrazdan River. It was discovered and surveyed in the spring of 1969 independently by G.E. Areshian (Yerevan State University) and S. H. Sardaryan (National Museum of History of Armenia). Today, Masis Blur is a mound site only in name; its 2.5 meter-thick cultural layers that rose at the time of discovery above the modern surface of the plain were levelled in the early 1970s during the construction of a greenhouse complex in the vicinity of the site.

Following this event, S.A. Amiryan and G.E. Areshian collected artefacts and animal bones scattered on the surface. A cursory analysis of the collection allowed them to conclude that the site was linked to the Neolithic Shulaveri-Shomutepe archaeological culture of the Southern Caucasus.  In the mid-1980s a team from the Center for Archaeological Research of the Yerevan State University carried out two seasons of exploratory excavations at Masis Blur in order to determine if any cultural layers were present below the modern surface. In the course of that work they established the presence of well-preserved Neolithic layers below the present surface of the plain and a ditch dug in the north-western part of the site allowed them to determine that the cultural layers continue for over 3 meters below the surface level of 1985 (Areshian, 1986).

Today it is difficult to establish the boundaries of the settlement, but surface finds from the upper, destroyed levels consisting of obsidian artifacts, fragments of pottery, and bones spread over nearly 3 hectares; the extent of surface finds, was of course, greatly affected by ploughing activities.

In 2012 the joint Armenian-American mission under the auspices of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Yerevan (IOAE) began systematic archaeological excavations at Masis Blur. As of 2014, 188 m2 of the site’s surface had been exposed. The integration of stratigraphic analysis, radiocarbon dates, and the nature of finds allow to define at least five Late Neolithic sub-phases. Horizon I (uppermost level) dates between 5615-5490 cal. B.C., while the Horizon V dates to 5980-5945 cal. BC (fig.2). The site is thus one of the earliest sedentary communities recorded in the Southern Caucasus, whose occupation sequence has the potential to offer an important insight into the various processes that accompanied the establishment of the first farming economies in the region.

Fig.2:  Chronology of Late Neolithic sub-phases at Masis Blur

The excavations (fig.3) revealed numerous round structures measuring between 1.5 and 2 meters in diameter constructed with a plaster technique using a mixture of clay and straw. Small, roughly circular structures pertaining to various household activities or storage were built in the outdoor spaces, adjacent to these dwelling units. Based on the analysis of the archaeobotanical (Hovsepyan, 2015) and faunal evidence (Bălăşescu, 2015), it appears that the Neolithic inhabitants relied largely on domesticated plants and animals for their subsistence needs. The animal economy was based on herding, predominantly sheep, exploited for their meat and secondarily for milk. The presence of wild faunas, although in low frequencies, is evidence of an exploitation of the plain with its fluvial network (fish) and the more distant mountains (wild caprines) as well as the use of forested and wooded zones (red deer, wild boar) with less wooded and probably drier zones (gazelles and horses) (Bălăşescu, 2015).


Fig.3:  View of Masis Blur excavations.

The material culture at Masis Blur is quite rich and typical of Near Eastern Neolithic settlements. The lithic industry includes an abundance of ground stones and polished axe heads of medium and small sizes. The bone tool industry is numerous both in the number of artifacts discovered in just three seasons as well as in the variety of tool-types present in the assemblage. Objects of personal adornment made from bone, shell, and various stones have been found at the site in relative abundance. The chipped-stone industry is composed mainly of very high-quality obsidian and is based on blade production. Obsidian souring data indicate that the Neolithic populations of the Ararat Plain utilized obsidian coming from a number of highland volcanic sources located to the north and north-west of the settlement (Martirosyan-Olshansky, 2018). Acquisition of obsidian raw materials may have been coincident with seasonal movements of herd animals.


2017 Funded Research Project (RFF-2017-36):

Goals:  

-The Use of Stable Isotope Analysis to Examine Ancient Animal Management

Armenia’s diverse environment makes it an ideal setting to explore herding practices. Altitudinal movement of livestock, as well as wild ungulates may be identified through changes in carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in tooth enamel. Enamel is also not remodeled during life, and therefore preserves a record of diet over the course of tooth growth. It has been used consistently in isotopic studies of archaeological material (Wang and Cerling, 1994, Koch, et al., 1997, Balasse, et al., 2002).

Variations in δ13C values are due primarily to the proportions of C3 and C4 plants in the diet, which have different carbon-fixing pathways resulting in more enriched isotope values in C4 plants (Smith and Epstein, 1971, van der Merwe and Medina, 1991, Vogel, et al., 1978). The geographic distribution of plants is related to their photosynthetic pathways, and therefore herding of animals in particular regions can be identified using isotopic analysis (Balasse, et al., 2002, Dufour, et al., 2014, Balasse, et al., 2013). The study area is in a semi-desert vegetation zone, and dry mountainous steppes are found above 1500m in the Ararat Plain. In these climates, C3 grasses dominate higher elevation areas above 2500 masl. C4 are found seasonally, in warmer months, at low elevations (Tornero, et al. 2016, and references therein).  Several studies in recent years have employed stable isotope analysis to track animal mobility in different parts of the world, including Spain (Tornero et al. 2018), Armenia (Tornero, et al., 2016), France (Knockaert, et al., 2017), Mongolia (Makarewicz, 2017) and Kenya (Balasse and Ambrose, 2005).

While the vegetation of the Ararat Plain has not been thoroughly studied, and some changes in plant communities undoubtedly took place over the last 7000 years, archaeobotanical evidence shows many of the same wild species found on the Ararat Plain today were present in antiquity (Roman Hovsepyan, unpublished data). Some of these wild plant species are C4 plants, which would have been more abundant on the Ararat Plain in the hot and dry summer months, in contrast to areas of higher elevations which are characterized by C3 vegetation year-round. Therefore, herding practices such as moving animals from the plain to higher elevations seasonally (fig.4), can be indicated by changes in δ13C values. Foddering is usually identified in the archaeological record by the occurrence of carbon isotope ratios characteristic of plants that animals would not be able to access in the wild during the winter months, such as C4 plants (Balasse, et al., 2013, Dantas, et al., 2014, Chase, et al., 2014).

Fig.4:  Today, Yezidi herders move their herds to high-elevation pastures every summer, and to low elevations in the Ararat Plain in the winter.

To estimate the proportion of C4 plants in the diet of the archaeological specimens, δ13C values for modern vegetation were corrected by +1.4‰ to compensate for the fossil fuel effect (Cerling and Harris, 1999). The δ13C values of modern C3 and C4 plants are -26.0, -12.5‰ (Farquhar, et al., 1989). C3 plants include cold-season grasses and shrubs and trees, whereas C4 plants are generally limited to warm-season grasses.

A 13C-enrichment of 14.1‰ (ε*) exists between diet and enamel for bovids (Cerling, et al., 2003), so δ13C values of 2.9‰ and -11.9‰ indicate 100% C4 and 100% C3 diets, respectively. These estimates of diet are approximate, due to the variability in both the δ13C values of ingested plants and the exact value of the enrichment factor.

Armenia’s climate is highly seasonal, with harsh, cold winters and hot summers at lower elevations. Summer temperatures generally range between 25˚C and 42˚C and winter temperatures between -10˚C and -15˚C. The valley receives less than 114mm of annual rainfall (Hewsen 2004, Adanalyan and Gevorgyan 2010). Sampling enamel sequentially along the growth axis of high-crowned teeth can show variability in oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O values), reflecting a cyclic seasonal pattern as more enriched oxygen isotope ratios are recorded in enamel mineralized during warmer seasons (Fricke and O'Neil 1996). We recognize that seasonal changes in δ18O values in herbivore tooth enamel may be confounded by altitudinal variations of meteoric water (Gonfiantini et al. 2001) as well as 18O-depleted water from melting snow. However, Tornero, et al. (2016) demonstrated that δ18O values show substantial seasonal variation even with altitudinal mobility in wild caprines in northern Armenia. Carbon isotope ratios are less variable, but lower δ13C values co-occur with high δ18O values, indicating that wild caprines accessed more C3 plants during their treks up to higher elevations during the summer months (Tornero, et al., 2016).

Finally, our study also includes stable isotope analysis of bone collagen from domestic livestock as well as a range of wild species. Because of the paucity of cattle teeth for sequential sampling, we include this dataset to inform more on herding practices in the past. The δ13C values of bone collagen are generally 5% higher than those of plants, though this fractionation can vary as carbon collagen is mainly derived from dietary protein (Jim, et al., 2004, Ambrose and Norr, 1993).

Materials and Methods

Fauna from Horizon V (5980-5945 cal. BC) and Horizon IV (5895-5725 cal. BC) were selected for analysis to explore early herding practices and to track shifts in land use and animal management strategies.

Fig.5:  A modern sheep tooth sampled for stable isotope analysis (ARM-Ovis-1-M3).

Teeth from 10 individual sheep and 3 individual cattle were sequentially sampled to assess seasonal patterns in diet, mobility, and birth (table 1). A single gazelle tooth (a migratory species) was also analyzed as a comparison of wild animal behavior. Modern sheep (fig.5) provide a comparison to the archaeological data. Mandibles from two individuals were collected from Yazidi herders who move their flocks from the Ararat Plain in the winter to the mountains in the summer (fig.4). 


Table 1: Summary of δ13C and δ18O values from sequentially sampled teeth.


Dental remains of wild fauna and cattle are lacking, so bone collagen was analyzed from 69 specimens to broadly compare herding environments. Lagomorphs (n=5), presumably from near the site, provide baseline δ15N values for the area around Masis Blur. While we focused primarily on caprines and cattle, we also analyzed wild fauna for comparison, to assess human hunting strategies, and to provide a baseline for interpreting human diet. We expanded our samples of bone collagen to include all horizons. This is because all taxa except for caprines are in low abundances.

Teeth were sequentially sampled in Yerevan at the Institute of Archaeology and at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA. All samples were run at the Stable Isotopes Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Stable isotope ratios of tooth enamel are reported as delta (δ) values relative to an international standard: for carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in enamel, and carbon isotope ratios in collagen this is Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite, and for nitrogen isotope ratios in collagen this is air. Values are reported using the (‰) notation, where δ(‰) =  
and R is the heavy/light isotope ratio for a particular element.

Findings and Research Summary:

Five lagomorph specimens were sampled to identify a local nitrogen isotope baseline for the area around Masis Blur. They display a wide range of values, from 3.7 to 8.5‰. The range in δ13C values reflect dietary differences among individuals (fig.6).

Fig.6: Biplot of δ13C and δ15N bone collagen data from all specimens analyzed by taxonomic group. Note that “Caprine” includes Ovis aries, Capra hircus, and one specimen not identifiable to either Ovis or Capra.

δ13C values of livestock range from -16.0‰ to -20.3‰ among cattle and -17.2‰ to -19.5‰ among caprines. These values point to a predominantly C3 diet with minor C4 input.  One cattle specimen exhibits high δ13C and δ15N values (MB Bos 1, also discussed below), and appears to be herded in a very different area than other livestock, likely a more warm and arid region.

MB Ovis 13 also exhibits unusually high δ15N values for an herbivore– it clusters with the Canis specimens in Figure 1f. Its collagen δ13C values are in line with other caprines. This individual’s third molar was also sequentially sampled, and the pattern of δ13C and δ18O values is not clearly negatively co-varying as most other specimens (see below). Also, bone remodels continuously over the individual’s life, whereas tooth enamel does not. It is possible that MB Ovis 13 was herded in similar ways as the other caprines from the site, but later in life (after formation of the third molar) was kept in a more arid region, perhaps on the Ararat Plain, thus accounting for its higher δ15N values.
 
Overall, collagen isotope data indicate that caprines and cattle were generally herded in the same environments, as indicated by the broad overlap in the 95% confidence intervals in both δ13C and δ15N values (fig.7). However, it is clear that caprines were managed more consistently in the same way than cattle, as indicated by their narrow range in δ13C values.


Fig.7: Means and 95% confidence intervals of δ13C and δ15N values for cattle and caprines from bone collagen.

Moving onto wild species, one auroch (Bos primigenius) specimen was sampled, the only one identified as such in the assemblage. Aurochs are the wild progenitors to domestic cattle. While more data from aurochs are needed, the similarity in δ13C and δ15N values in the auroch and cattle indicate that they were utilizing roughly similar environments.

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) specimens display lower δ13C than do domestic livestock, reflecting their dietary preference for browse. They also display low δ15N values, indicating these animals were taken from environments different from where cattle and caprines were kept. Given their preference for browse, this would align with occupying more wooded habitats.

The single equid specimen displays some of the lowest δ13C and δ15N values, at -20.4‰ and 3.7‰, respectively. The equid’s very low δ13C values indicates a near 100% C3 diet. Given their strict preference for grass, the animal likely spent its life in the alpine prairies at high elevations, where C3 grasses dominate.

Two gazelles were sampled. One gazelle specimen exhibits extremely high δ13C and δ15N values, and another has values that are in line with livestock (fig.6). Little is known about mobility of gazelles in the early-mid Holocene of the Southern Caucasus, and these data suggest they occupied a range of environments.

The two foxes (Vulpes vulpes) also have high δ15N values, reflecting primarily carnivorous diets. The foxes may be compared to dogs (Canis familiaris) specimens sampled from the site. Canis specimens show a wide spread in δ15N values, reflecting a diverse diet that likely included feeding upon refuse. Indeed a number of faunal remains show evidence of carnivore gnawing.

Both wild and domestic suids were identified by the original faunal analyst, but many suid remains are not identifiable due to their fragmentary nature. Two wild boars were sampled, and both yielded  δ13C values of -20.0‰ and δ15N values 7.8‰ to 8.8‰. Two suids that could not be identified as wild or domestic based on size or morphology were also sampled. One yielded isotope values similar to the two wild boars, and the other is a clear outlier, with a δ13C value of -17.4 and a very high δ15N value of 13.1‰. This specimen may be interpreted as a domestic pig feeding on human refuse.

Temporal patterns:
 
Individuals were selected from Horizons I through V to assess if there were any broad diachronic trends in herding practices. Fig.8 demonstrates that no clear diachronic temporal pattern exists, partly because only a few specimens were sampled from each horizon. However, it is noteworthy that nearly all livestock δ13C collagen values fall within -17 and -20‰, suggesting rather consistent herding practices through time.

fig.8: Boxplot of cattle and caprine collagen δ13C values per horizon. Opaque circles represent actual data points.


Seasonality:

Cattle and caprines exhibit very similar δ13C and  δ15N values. More detail regarding herd management strategies can be revealed through analysis of sequentially sampled tooth enamel.  Teeth from nine caprines, three cattle, and one gazelle were sequentially sampled to assess seasonal patterns in diet, and thus, practices.

We sequentially sampled and analyzed tooth enamel from two modern sheep that were moved seasonally from low elevations in the winter to high elevations in the summer. ARM Ovis 1 was kept in Ashtarak in the winter, which is situated between the Ararat plain and Mt. Aragats mountains and sits at 1110 masl. It was kept in Alagaz in the summer at around 2400 masl. ARM Ovis 3 was kept in Ararat in the winter, in the southeastern part of the Ararat plain, near the Armenia-Turkey border. In the summer it was moved up to the alpine meadows above 2400 masl, around 8 km to the north and north west of the city of Jermuk.

The modern sheep were also foddered with hay that was stored during the summer months. It is not known if all the hay consumed during winter was from the Ararat Plain, as truckloads of fodder are often driven down from nearby mountains to the Ararat Plain for the winter. These two practices, altitudinal mobility and foddering with summer grasses, account for the slight rise in δ13C values in the winter and their subsequent drop in the summer when δ18O values are higher.
 
Fig.9: Modern sheep that were herded at high altitudes in the summer. ARM Ovis 1 (only the M3 was sampled) was kept in Alagaz in the summer and Ashtarak in the winter. ARM Ovis 3 (the M2 and M3 were sampled) was kept in Jermuk in the summer and in Ararat in the winter.

One gazelle tooth was sequentially sampled. Gazelle populations in the Southern Caucasus have not been studied through these methods, but the variation in δ18O and δ13C values suggest a pattern of altitudinal mobility as well. The tooth is very worn, and therefore the whole range of seasonal variation is not revealed, but gazelles obtain most of their water from vegetation, and the peak in δ18O values may be much higher than the highest value in fig.10. The amplitude in variation in δ13C values in this gazelle specimen is greater than what is seen in the modern caprines (but is closer to wild sheep reported in Tornero et al. 2016), suggesting that indeed winter foddering with C3 and C4 plants contributes to dampened variability in the modern caprines carbon isotope ratios.
 
Fig.10: Sequentially sampled gazelle tooth.
 

Cattle:

MB Bos 1 has a substantial rise in δ13C values, indicating an increase in the consumption of C4 plants over the period of tooth growth. This coincides with a rise in δ18O values, indicating that the animal stayed at low elevations during the summer.  A high δ13C value of -2.9 represents a nearly 60% C4 diet. While δ18O values are variable closer to the enamel-root-junction, they appear to be declining, yet δ13C values still increase during this period. This may represent the continual growth of C4 plants in the autumn, or the storage of C4 plants by herders and foddering.

MB Bos 2 has lower δ13C values than MB Bos 1, and exhibits a clear negatively co-varying pattern in the occlusal half of the tooth, demonstrating increased C3 grass consumption in summer.

Fig.11: Sequentially sampled cattle teeth.

 This pattern, similar to that of modern caprines, suggests this animal was herded to higher elevations in the summer. The slight rise in δ13C values as δ18O values decrease may indicate some foddering with stored C4 grasses in the winter. MB Bos 3 shows yet another, very different pattern. Despite substantial variation in δ18O values, δ13C values are relatively constant, but co-vary positively with δ18O values near the occlusal half of the tooth, and then appear to negatively co-vary near the enamel-root junction. It is possible that seasonal herding practices may have been variable for the individuals managing this cattle specimen.

Most caprines display substantial intra-tooth variation in δ18O and δ13C values, which, in all specimens except for Ovis 2, covary negatively (figs.12A+B). This pattern reflects mobility to higher elevations dominated by C3 plants in the summer, and movement to lower elevations in the winter, where caprines were likely foddered with some stored C4 plants.

Fig.12A (top): Sequentially sampled caprine teeth from Horizon V.

Fig.12B (bottom): Sequentially sampled caprine teeth from Horizon IV.

Ovis 2 stands out as it has lower δ13C values than the other caprines. This is also the only specimen that exhibits clear positive covariation between δ18O and δ13C values. Interestingly, it also exhibits the lowest δ13C values of all sampled caprines (fig.13). This pattern may also be present in MB Ovis 13, but there is not sufficient data clearly identify the herding strategies for that specimen.

In general, δ18O values are more consistent in their amplitude of variation among individual from Horizon V. This likely reflects animals that were herded within several years of one another. Specimens from Horizon IV, interestingly, come from a single locus characterized by a number of caprine mandibles. Yet, these individuals have much more variable stable isotope ratios (fig.13). This could represent more inter-annual variability in climate during Horizon IV.


Fig.13: Means and ranges of variation in δ13C values (left) and δ18O values (right) of sequentially sampled teeth.

Conclusion:

Carbon and oxygen stable isotope data from sequentially sampled teeth show that caprines were herded very consistently, even in the earliest known period of occupation. Masis Blur herders had established foddering and altitudinal mobility to maintain sheep herds on the Ararat Plain. One sheep, MB Ovis 2, from Horizon IV, was not managed this way. It is possible that it was kept year-round at low elevations, possibly as a potential source of food for people who remained in the plain in the summers.

Cattle do not show such consistent patterns, likely representing more idiosyncratic management strategies by individual herding units or families. Similarly, carbon isotope data from bone collagen show a much more regimented herding scheme for caprines than for cattle at the site. Our study demonstrates that even as early herding developed in the Southern Caucasus, pastoral management of livestock, particularly caprines, was well-integrated into these new environments.

Finally, stable isotope data from bone collagen of wild fauna indicate that while the occupants of Masis Blur engaged in fairly organized caprine herding, they hunted animals in a range of environments. Stable isotope data from carnivores also support dogs feeding upon refuse at the site, as indicated by carnivore damage on faunal material. 

Upcoming Publication and Future Research

This study will be submitted to a journal for publication, including a discussion of the zooarchaeological data and contextualizing these data into a broader discussion of Neolithic lifeways in the Southern Caucasus. These data certainly warrant further research into herding strategies in the Southern Caucasus. This study will form the basis for future work using strontium isotope data to track mobility of humans and livestock.


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