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The abstract is available here: https://uscholar.univie.ac.at/o:1636339

Appendix of: Vigne J.-D., Briois F., Guilaine J. (eds.), « Klimonas, an Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic village in Cyprus », Gallia Préhistoire & Paléorient, International Supplement 1, CNRS Éditions, Paris, 2023., Annexe de : Vigne J.-D., Briois F., Guilaine J. (dir.), « Klimonas, un village néolithique pré-céramique ancien à Chypre », Gallia Préhistoire & Paléorient, Supplément international 1, CNRS Éditions, Paris, 2023.

International audience

International audience

International audience; The exploitation of mountain ecosystems by agro-pastoral communities has played an important role in the development of these societies in the Caucasus. Providing access to raw materials such as obsidian and copper ores needed for tools, the mountains also offer herders ample pasture for their flocks. Nevertheless, in winter, these high-altitude areas seem less favourable to the permanent installation of agro-pastoral societies, notably because of the snow which prevents access to these pastures and restricts the parking of the animals. As the archaeological occupations of the mountains in Georgia are still little studied, the archaeozoological approach that we use allows us to test the hypothesis according to which zootechnical innovations allowed a more perennial settlement of societies in the mountain ecosystems during the Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age periods. To try to answer this hypothesis, the first phase of the study was devoted to recording archaeozoological remains to verify that the sites were indeed occupied by herders. The season of occupation of the sites is tested by means of cementochronology, the first results of which will be presented. Finally, measurements of isotope ratios recorded in carbonates (dental enamel) and collagen (bone) have been carried out to account for breeding practices (mobility, feeding, seasonality of births).

International audience; Au cours de la diffusion des sociétés agropastorales à travers l’Europe au Néolithique, l’élevage a été adapté aux contraintes et ressources locales, impliquant des mutations des pratiques aussi bien que de la physiologie animale. De ce fait, le calendrier de la reproduction animale fut impacté, impliquant des conséquences sur l’organisation des tâches agro-pastorales et la disponibilité saisonnière des productions. La saisonnalité des naissances des moutons anciens peut être approchée par la reconstitution du cycle saisonnier enregistré dans les molaires, par l’analyse séquentielle des rapports isotopiques de l’oxygène (δ18O) dans l’émail dentaire. Les référentiels pour déterminer la saison de naissance sont constitués par des moutons actuels. Dans un premier temps, nous présenterons une synthèse des référentiels de comparaison existants. Ceux-ci incluent deux nouveaux référentiels constitués pour l’un sur des brebis de race croisée (Ouessant x Landes de Bretagne) élevées à Quéménès (Finistère, France), pour l’autre sur des brebis de race Lacaune élevées dans le Causse du Larzac (Sud de la France) ; ils fournissent de nouvelles valeurs de références pour des naissances d’hiver, de printemps et d’automne. Dans un second temps, nous présenterons une synthèse des données relatives à la distribution des naissances (étalement et calendrier des naissances) des moutons dans des contextes européens datés des 6e-3e millénaires cal BC, pour terminer par un focus spécifique sur le Sud de la France. Par contraste avec un schéma global d’agnelage de fin d’hiver- printemps ailleurs en Europe, un agnelage automne a été observé dans des contextes néolithiques de Sud de la France. Ce caractère constitue aujourd’hui une forte identité des systèmes d’élevage sur la marge septentrionale du bassin occidental de la Méditerranée, où l’agnelage d’automne coïncide avec le maximum de la production fourragère et est prisé pour les bénéfices qu’il apporte en termes de disponibilité des productions animales à contre-saison. Son occurrence dès le Néolithique impliquerait non seulement une capacité physiologique des moutons néolithiques à réaliser une saison de reproduction longue, mais aussi une gestion intentionnelle des interactions socio-sexuelles dans le troupeau, ainsi que des ressources fourragères capables de soutenir une lactation d’automne. Nous tirerons enfin les conclusions en termes de gestion par l’homme des ressources animales et végétales, et en termes de paléoclimatologie.

International audience; The season of births in domestic herds determines the availability of animal production, the organization of agropastoral tasks and herds mobility on the annual scale. It can bemanipulated by the herder to a certain extent and it may have been so early in the history of domestication. Birth season can be investigated through the reconstruction of the seasonal cycle record in teeth, using sequential analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios in enamel. The season of birth is then determined by comparison with modern references, i.e. oxygen isotope sequences measured in the teeth from animals of knownbirth season. Such works have been conducted in particular in sheep. For those, previous modern references have mostly included winter and early spring births, the season when most births occur under temperate latitudes in Europe. In order to complete the existing framework, we have built a new reference set focusing on autumn births, occurring currently in the western Mediterranean area. This new set is composed of 27 teeth(including second and third molars) from Lacaune and Merinos ewes raised in southern France. We will explain how the set was constituted, present the data for autumn births, connect it to previous data for winter and early spring births on different sheep breeds,and discuss intra- and inter-breeds variability.

International audience; Constrained by coastlines and resource limitations, small islands tend not to be idealenvironments for mobile pastoralists. However, trade and travel exist beyond theconfines of the land, and even small island archipelagos can serve as a backdrop for themovement of large amounts of animals. Islands may also serve as naturally constrainedpastures in extensive herding strategies (i.e. using small amounts of labour per area),and their inherent resource limits can incentivize adaptations to the environment thatincrease the islands’ carrying capacities. One such example is the seasonal consumptionof seaweed by Neolithic sheep on the Orkney archipelago (Scotland), which took placefrom the moment of their first introduction to Orkney.Recent excavations at the monumental complex Ness of Brodgar (ca. 3500–2300 cal BC,part of the ‘Heart of Neolithic Orkney’ UNESCO world heritage site) have revealed largenumbers of cattle (likely over 400 tibiae) and sheep remains. Based on the number ofremains and the sheep mortality profile, it seems unlikely that all these animals wereraised close to the site, and so may have been imported from other islands of the Orkneyarchipelago.At the Ness of Brodgar, stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ18O) suggest the consumption ofseaweed in winter/spring by only 3 of 17 analysed sheep, considerably less than thearchipelago-wide average (around half of all Neolithic Orkney sheep). Could this be anindication that for the sheep brought to the affluent Ness of Brodgar, seaweedconsumptionwas not ‘necessary’? Or could a decline in seaweed-consumption be a signof wider societal changes, including a turning-away from the sea as a dietary source?

International audience; During the course of the diffusion of Neolithic agropastoral societies across Europe, animal husbandry was adapted to local constraints and resources, involving changes in practices, as well as in animal physiology. As a result, the timing of animal breeding was impacted, with consequences on the organization of agro-pastoral tasks and the seasonal availability of animal productions. Past sheep birth seasonality can be investigated through the reconstruction of the seasonal cycle recorded in molars, based on the sequential analysis of stable oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) in enamel. Modern sheep serve as comparative material to define the season of birth. First, this presentation will provide a synthesis of existing modern comparative material. Those include two new reference sets, on sheep from a Ouessant x Landes de Bretagne crossed breed raised at Kemenez (Finistère, France) and on Lacaune sheep raised in Causse du Larzac (southern France), providing new reference values for winter, spring and autumn births. Second, we will provide an overview of sheep births distribution (timing and spread of births) in European contexts dated to the 6th-3rd millennia cal BC, with a specific focus on Southern France. By contrast to late winter-spring lambing as the general rule in Europe, autumnal lambing is evidenced in Southern France as early as in the Neolithic. This character constitutes a strong identity of today’s farming practices in the northern margin of the western Mediterranean, where autumnal lambing coincides with maximal pasture availability and is prized for bringing benefits in terms of out-of-season availability of sheep products. Its occurrence in the Neolithic involved not only the physiological capacity of early sheep for enlarged breeding season, but also intentional management of females and males interactions by the herder, as well as adequate pasture resources to support lactation in the autumn. Conclusions are raised in terms of animal and vegetal resources managements and paleoclimatology.

Agropastoral societies settled in Corsica in the mid-6th millennium BC. They mainly settled along the coastal areas but their presence is also attested in the high mountains of the island's interior from the Neolithic period. The occupation of both coastal plains and mountainous areas could be linked to pastoral activity involving herds mobility. Nowadays, traditional sheep and goat breeding systems in Corsica mainly consist of dairy farming of flocks. Demographic management is mostly based on autumnal lambing, while the management of forage resources is based on seasonal grazing in a double transhumance system. The herds spend the winter on the low elevation plains, go up to mid-height elevation in the spring, and summer in high mountains. Then they make a stopover (a capicursura) in the middle mountains in the autumn, before returning to the plains for winter (impiaghjera). However, land use patterns in mountainous areas are not immutable. They may have been very different in the past and must be investigated directly from archaeological evidence. This presentation will sum up the results from ongoing research on pastoral mobility in the Neolithic and the Middle Ages in Corsica, involving sequential analysis of oxygen (δ18O), carbon (δ13C) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope ratios in caprine dental enamel from two Neolithic sites: Montlaur (4050-3500 BC) and Araguina Sennola (5th-3rd millennium BC), and two medieval sites: Litala and Rostino (14th century AD). We have observed variations in feeding over the course of the annual cycle. Carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) showed diverse patterns of seasonal changes, involving forest resources in winter as well as intriguing high-δ13C plant resources in summer (C4 plants?). Seasonal mobility of the herds was confirmed from intra-tooth variations in 87Sr/86Sr values. The results showed large intra-tooth variations, concomitant to seasonal changes in δ18O values. In addition, high inter-individual variability can be interpreted as reflecting the diversity in management and grazing patterns that characterizes these systems., Agropastoral societies settled in Corsica in the mid-6th millennium BC. They mainly settled along the coastal areas but their presence is also attested in the high mountains of the island's interior from the Neolithic period. The occupation of both coastal plains and mountainous areas could be linked to pastoral activity involving herds mobility. Nowadays, traditional sheep and goat breeding systems in Corsica mainly consist of dairy farming of flocks. Demographic management is mostly based on autumnal lambing, while the management of forage resources is based on seasonal grazing in a double transhumance system. The herds spend the winter on the low elevation plains, go up to mid-height elevation in the spring, and summer in high mountains. Then they make a stopover (a capicursura) in the middle mountains in the autumn, before returning to the plains for winter (impiaghjera). However, land use patterns in mountainous areas are not immutable. They may have been very different in the past and must be investigated directly from archaeological evidence. This presentation will sum up the results from ongoing research on pastoral mobility in the Neolithic and the Middle Ages in Corsica, involving sequential analysis of oxygen (δ18O), carbon (δ13C) and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope ratios in caprine dental enamel from two Neolithic sites: Montlaur (4050-3500 BC) and Araguina Sennola (5th-3rd millennium BC), and two medieval sites: Litala and Rostino (14th century AD). We have observed variations in feeding over the course of the annual cycle. Carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) showed diverse patterns of seasonal changes, involving forest resources in winter as well as intriguing high-δ13C plant resources in summer (C4 plants?). Seasonal mobility of the herds was confirmed from intra-tooth variations in 87Sr/86Sr values. The results showed large intra-tooth variations, concomitant to seasonal changes in δ18O values. In addition, high inter-individual variability can be interpreted as reflecting the diversity in management andgrazing patterns that characterizes these systems.

International audience; Mountainous territories represent a large part of the region both in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountains ranges. Although in the Neolithic period settlements in the highland areas are not numerous in South Caucasus, they increase during the Chalcolithic period until the establishment of villages at the beginning of the Bronze Age. Through an integrated bioarchaeological approach on lowlands, piedmonts and highland sites in Azerbaijan and Georgia, we investigate the pastoral practices of these first agropastoral societies. Were there interactions between the plains and the mountains between the Neolithic and the early Bronze Age? At what season(s) were the sites occupied by the herders? To answer these questions, the first author combines classical archaeozoology to characterize the subsistence economies of the targeted sites with biochemistry and cementochronology. Caprine and bovine teeth cementum will determine the seasons of death and consequently the seasons of occupation of the sites. Dental enamel is also used to produce isotopic ratios of oxygen and carbon (δ18O, δ13C) as well as strontium (87Sr/86Sr), for informing on the season of birth, the type of diet including the practice of foddering and finally the mode of territorial occupation through pastoral mobility.

International audience

International audience; Following a thematic day on “Service and expertise through archaeological and conservation sciences” organised by the CAI-RN network (Competences Archéométriques Interdisciplinaires - Réseau National, MITI CNRS), the members of the Steering Committee of the CAI-RN network who took part in this workshop wished to bring together and clarify in this text a certain number of the points raised during the discussion. In particular, it gives a brief definition of the terms ‘service’ and ‘expertise’ and presents the different types of structures linked to the archaeometric community and carrying out these activities. This proposal for an initial analysis of the current situation also suggests a number of thought-provoking impulses.; Suite à une journée thématique « Service et expertise par les sciences archéologiques et de la conservation » organisée par le réseau CAI-RN (Compétences Archéométriques Interdisciplinaires – Réseau National, MITI CNRS) les membres du Comité de Pilotage du réseau CAI-RN ayant participé à cette journée ont souhaité rassembler et clarifier dans ce texte un certain nombre des points évoqués lors des discussions. Ceci en donnant notamment une brève définition des termes « service » et « expertise » et en présentant les différents types de structures liées à la communauté archéométrique et réalisant ces activités. Cette proposition d’une première analyse de la situation actuelle propose aussi quelques pistes de réflexion.

An international conference focused on the beginnings of mining and metallurgy in the Caucasus was organised in Tbilisi in June 16th-19th 2016 under the auspices of the National Museum of Georgia. This conference, which was funded by the Agence nationale de la recherche (France) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), aimed at discussing the intricate relationships between the emergence of mining and metallurgy, and the shaping of late prehistoric societies in south-western Asia. The Caucasus is renowned in Near Eastern archaeology for its wealth in natural resources, in particular in metal ores: for decades, scholars have surmised a specific causal relationships between the rise of complex, hierarchical societies in the Near‑East and the development of extractive metallurgy. Metallurgy, however, is only the most visible part of the story that accounts for the dramatic changes perceptible in south‑western Asia in the course of the 5th millennium BCE. Early mining, which is not restricted to metal-ore mining, certainly also had an impact in terms of economic networks, social dynamics, settlement patterns and regional integration, not only across the Caucasus, but also in the ancient Near and Middle East. Drawing on these fundamental questions, this book explores the socio-economic, technological and environmental background that favoured the rise of systematic mining and extractive metallurgy in the Caucasus at the end of the Chalcolithic. How far was early mining linked to the spread of specific subsistence strategies such as pastoral herding? Were mined resources mainly intended for local consumption or distributed throughout the Near East, towards Anatolia, Iran or Mesopotamia? Here are some of the issues that are discussed in the present volume, which contains 21 articles written by some of the most eminent specialists in Caucasian archaeology. Un colloque international axé sur les origines de l’extraction minière et de la métallurgie dans le Caucase s’est déroulé à Tbilisi du 16 au 19 juin 2016, sous les auspices du Musée national de Géorgie. Ce colloque, financé par l’Agence nationale de la recherche (France) et la Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Allemagne), avait pour objectif d’aborder les relations entre la naissance des mines et de la métallurgie, et l’évolution des sociétés protohistoriques en Asie du Sud-Ouest. Le Caucase est connu en archéologie orientale pour sa richesse en matières premières, en particulier pour ses ressources métallifères ; pendant des décennies, les chercheurs ont présupposé l’existence d’un lien de causalité particulier entre l’émergence de sociétés complexes hiérarchisées au Proche et Moyen-Orient et le développement de la métallurgie extractive. Pourtant, la métallurgie n’est que la partie émergée d’une histoire marquée par des changements spectaculaires tout au long du V e millénaire avant notre ère. L’extraction minière, par exemple, qui ne se réduit d’ailleurs pas à l’exploitation des minerais métallifères, a certainement eu aussi un impact sur les dynamiques sociales, les structures de peuplement, l’organisation des réseaux économiques et les processus d’intégration régionale, en Orient comme dans le Caucase. Partant de ces questions fondamentales, cet ouvrage explore le contexte socioéconomique, technologique et environnemental dans lequel se sont développées la métallurgie et l’extraction minière à la fin du Chalcolithique dans le Caucase. Ainsi, dans quelle mesure les premières exploitations minières sont-elles liées à des stratégies de subsistance spécifiques, tel le pastoralisme ? Les ressources exploitées étaient-elles destinées à la seule consommation locale ? Ou bien étaient-elles aussi distribuées à travers le Proche-Orient, l’Anatolie, l’Iran ou la Mésopotamie ? Tels sont les thèmes abordés dans ce volume, qui contient 21 articles rédigés par quelques-uns des plus éminents spécialistes de l’archéologie du Caucase.