Investigating Past Livestock Mobility Using δ34S Stable Isotopes: Three Preliminary Case Studies From Prehistoric Croatia

Abstract

The benefit of including sulfur (δ34S) stable isotopes in studies of past human diet and migration is increasingly clear, but δ34S analyses remain underutilized in addressing other patterns of mobility, animal management, and environmental change in the archaeological record. Here we evaluate the ability of δ34S isotope values to act as proxies for prehistoric environments in three distinct regions of Croatia: northern Dalmatia, Lika, and central Croatia. We then assess if δ34S isotope values can highlight differences in herding and management practices of livestock in these areas, specifically those that encourage the movement of herds into various parts of the landscape (e.g., transhumance vs. localized grazing). Analysis of faunal stable isotope values from these geographically diverse sites constitute the first step in building an environmental database for Croatia and addressing questions of how δ34S can be applied to questions about animal husbandry in the archaeological record.

Keywords

• sulfur
• stable isotopes
• zooarchaeology
• transhumance
• croatia