Isotopic perspectives on pastoralist mobility in the Late Bronze Age South Caucasus

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 54 (2019) 48–67

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Isotopic perspectives on pastoralist mobility in the Late Bronze Age South Caucasus

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Hannah Chazina, , Gwyneth W. Gordonb, Kelly J. Knudsonc a

Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027, USA School of Earth & Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Bateman Physical Sciences, 500 E. Tylor Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA c School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, 900 S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA b

A R T I C LE I N FO

A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Pastoralism Mobility Isotopic analysis Political complexity South Caucasus Eurasia Strontium isotopes Oxygen isotopes Carbon isotopes

Isotopic methods of studying the geographic and seasonal movements of herd animals provide new data pertinent to ongoing scholarly re-consideration of the relationships between pastoralist mobility and the development of new forms of political organization. Radiogenic strontium and mass-dependent oxygen and carbon isotope analysis on a large sample of herd animals (sheep, goats, and cattle) from Late Bronze Age (1500–1100 BC) sites in the Tsaghkahovit Plain, Armenia indicate that long-distance movements across geological zones were not common, but that animals were drinking from a range of water sources. Connecting this variation to movement is complicated by limited intra-tooth variation in δ13C values. Data from the study provide preliminary evidence for foddering. These results reveal a gap between the emphasis on mobility in theoretical models of pastoralism and political organization and the way that animal diets mediate isotopic proxies for movement. These interpretive difficulties emphasize the need to consider herds’ seasonal and geographic movement within a wider range of pastoralist practices. These findings also highlight the need for large sample sizes in isotopic investigations of pastoralist mobility, in order to accurately identify and evaluate the diversity in both geographic and seasonal movements within a single ancient pastoralist system.

1. Introduction Archaeologists, over the past decade or so, have begun to reconsider the relationship between pastoralist mobility and the development of political complexity. This re-interrogation is driven by new theoretical approaches to mobility’s potential to structure political life, as well as by a range of methodological advances that have led to a reassessment and elaboration of the evidence for pastoralist groups in the archaeological record across the globe (Honeychurch and Makarewicz, 2016; Potts, 2014; Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017; Arbuckle and Hammer, 2018; Capriles Flores and Tripcevich, 2016; Gifford-Gonzalez and Hanotte, 2011; Marshall and Hildebrand, 2002). Inferences of herd animals’ geographical and seasonal movements from isotopic analyses of teeth allow for a direct, material engagement with the study of pastoralist mobility and human-herd animal relationships. Consequently, these analyses bring new data and a specific analytical lens to bear on the question of the relationships between pastoralist mobility and the development of different forms of political organization. Previously, many scholars studying pastoralists both ethnographically and archaeologically (primarily in the Old World) saw

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mobility as an impediment to complexity, one that either prevented the development or persistence of larger political units (Lattimore, 1940; Irons, 1979; Khazanov, 1984; Kradin, 2002) or that had to be managed by sedentary populations in particular ways (cf. Rowton, 1974; Lees and Bates, 1974; Szuchman, 2009). In contrast, newer theoretical approaches to the question of pastoralist nomadism in archaeology have begun to consider the ways in which pastoralist mobility (especially long-distance seasonal migration) can foster organizational complexity and large-scale political communities (Frachetti, 2012; Honeychurch, 2015; Porter, 2012; McCorriston, 2013). These newer models offer accounts of how larger-scale political units are constructed and maintained on the basis of interactions that arise from the ecological and social need for movement between pastures. Frachetti identifies these interactions as “non-uniform” complexity (2009; 2012), a process of increasing alignments in institutions of political power across the steppe, rather than the spread of a centralized political authority. In a similar vein, Honeychurch (2015) argues that mobile pastoralists are distinguished by a particular ‘spatial politics’, which drives the ‘upscaling’ of identity and group membership to more encompassing scales without requiring centralization or

Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (H. Chazin), [email protected] (G.W. Gordon), [email protected] (K.J. Knudson).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2019.02.003 Received 9 April 2018; Received in revised form 20 January 2019 0278-4165/ © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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common feature of many pastoralist societies, this approach emphasizes the important role that human-herd animal relationships have in shaping social organization, including (but not limited to) mobility. This definition sees less of a gap between mobile or nomadic pastoralism and other more sedentary forms of animal husbandry; for instance, Arbuckle and Hammer (2018) draw no distinction in their definition of pastoralism. Many archaeologists have turned towards this second understanding of pastoralism – highlighting the necessary diversity and flexibility in strategies and orientations among pastoralists groups in the present and the past (cf. Honeychurch and Makarewicz, 2016; Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017; Szpak et al., 2014). Shifting emphasis away from seeing pastoralism as a productive system oriented around mobility, towards a “set of variable decisions and flexible strategies based on detailed knowledge of animal ecology and the local environment within specific historical contexts” (Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017, 220) seems to better account for the diversity seen in the archaeological record, as well as ethnographic studies of pastoralism. However, this leaves open the question of how to articulate theories about the political consequences and opportunities of mobility with these subtler engagements with pastoralist life (centered on human-animal interactions). Can we extend our imagination of the political potential of pastoralism beyond large-scale mobility, to encompass other aspects of the “variable decisions and flexible strategies”? How can an emphasis on human-animal relationships shift how we narrate the long-term regional histories of pastoralism, beyond noting that large-scale mobility was a later-developing phenomenon than previously thought? Within these larger debates about the relationship between models of pastoralism and models of complex political organizations, inferences from isotopic analyses offer the potential to study the movements of herd animals within landscapes directly. Here, we present a case study that demonstrates how evidence of herd movements drawn from isotopic analysis makes it possible to analyze whether pastoralist movements conform to models of nomadic pastoralism drawn from ethnographic and historical sources and to consider how pastoralist mobility may be connected to the development of political organization. Indirect evidence from archaeological survey and excavations suggests that in the Late Bronze Age (1500–1100 BCE) in the South Caucasus, the development of more complex forms of political organization did not result in the abandonment of pastoralist mobility. The analysis of radiogenic strontium and mass-dependent2 oxygen and carbon isotopes from sheep, goat, and cattle teeth from Late Bronze Age sites in the Tsaghkahovit Plain, Armenia provide data that show that pastoralist mobility in the period does not conform to classic picture of long-distance seasonal migrations. Nevertheless, the isotopic data (and the interpretive challenges that it poses) reveal the need to consider herds’ seasonal and geographic movement within a wider range of pastoralist practices. This indicates that other aspects of pastoralist production, in addition to mobility, should be incorporated into regional models of the development of more centralized forms of political organization.

sedentism. Porter (2012) has advanced a somewhat similar argument for the ancient Near East, arguing that mobility (anchored in religious and kinship identities) was a key resource for ensuring the coherence of the polity in some early Near Eastern states. These authors draw connections between mobility and political organization in pastoralist societies in two ways. First, similar to older understandings of pastoralist societies, mobility is understood as a key factor in pastoralist life and production, based on herd animals’ need to graze and seasonal and geographic shifts in pasture and water availability. The difference is that these theoretical models do not assume mobility is a hindrance to developing complex political structures. Second, and more radically, these approaches see pastoralist mobility as a political technology – connecting groups of people across distances and engendering possibilities for social cohesion, status differentiation, and political authority. At the same time, other archaeologists working in the Near East and in the Eurasian steppes have used newly gathered archaeological data to argue against the uncritical projection of ethnographic models of pastoralist nomads backwards in time (Potts, 2014; Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017; Arbuckle and Hammer, 2018; see also Anthony, 2007; Kohl, 2007). These authors caution against the tendency to fill voids in the archaeological record with stereotypical understandings of the longdistance migration of specialized pastoralists, based on ethnohistorical models from 20th century ethnography. Instead, they argue that careful consideration of a wide range of regional archaeological evidence – especially direct evidence from zooarchaeological and paleobotanical studies – suggests that long-distance pastoralist mobility was a relatively late phenomenon and that in earlier periods, pastoralist mobility took place at much smaller scales. These new accounts of pastoralists in different regional histories leaves open the possibility of re-assessing the role that pastoralism played in the development of complex forms of political organization in different regions. Both of these developments re-animate definitional debates about the relationship between pastoralism and nomadism or mobility (Honeychurch and Makarewicz, 2016; Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017; Arbuckle and Hammer, 2018). Contemporary discussions differ from previous instances of such debates (e.g. Tapper, 1979; Dyson-Hudson and Dyson-Hudson, 1980; Khazanov, 1984; Salzman, 2002; Szuchman, 2009), being less concerned with typology and more focused on the organization of mobility and its social consequences. Both the new theoretical models of nomadic pastoralism and political complexity and the re-evaluations of pastoralist mobility in regional archaeological sequences open intellectual space to consider the role that mobility (and how it is defined) plays in determining how archaeologists engage with pastoralism as a transhistorical, comparative category. Pastoralism can be defined in two ways, each grounded in a different approach to the connection between pastoralism and mobility. First, pastoralism can be envisioned as an economic or productive system that is defined by the mobility it requires. In this frame, mobility is an outcome of herd animals’ need for grass and the inherent geographical variability of pasture availability and is a defining feature of pastoralist life. Critically, this type of approach to pastoralism highlights its distinction from both sedentary plant agriculture as well as sedentary forms of animal husbandry. This approach to pastoralism underlies the tendency to assume that arid regions with a recent history of mobile pastoralism must have had a long history of nomadic pastoralism (e.g Hole et al., 1969; Alizadeh, 2009; critiqued by Potts, 2014; Arbuckle and Hammer, 2018). On the other hand, pastoralism can be defined by the specificity and intensity of human-herd animal relationships.1 While mobility is a

2. Isotopes and pastoralism The recent resurgence of the archaeological study of pastoralism, both theoretically and regionally, has been in part encouraged by a

(footnote continued) as Animal Studies). This paper is situated in the overlap between questions and ideas that have animated social zooarchaeology and some of the theoretical concerns and orientations from Animal Studies. This piece explores one aspect of how archaeological methods and data may be amenable to such theoretical interventions and, equally, the resistances that archaeological data may pose to such analyses. 2 While these are commonly referred to as stable isotopes in the literature, we prefer to use the more accurate term ‘mass-dependent’.

1 The term employed here, human-animal relationships, was chosen for its resonances with both the discussions of human and animal interactions within archaeology, as well as new approaches to the study of animals within the social sciences and humanities more broadly (often referred to as the “animal turn” or

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2 H and 18O compared to source water (Barbour et al., 2004; Cernusak et al., 2016; Helliker and Ehleringer, 2000; West et al., 2008). Its isotopic composition is influenced by source water composition, humidity and plant physiology (Cernusak et al., 2016; Rawson et al., 1977; Zundel et al., 1978; West et al., 2008). Despite these complicating factors, δ18O values as a proxy for geographical location have been successfully used to identify mobility in humans and animals (e.g. Knudson and Price, 2007; Knipper et al., 2008; Britton et al., 2009; Knudson and Tung, 2011; Knudson et al., 2012; Henton et al., 2014; Pilaar Birch et al., 2016). Mass-dependent carbon isotopes can be used to address some of the uncertainties in modeling mobility using oxygen isotopes. The ratio of carbon isotopes (δ13C) in enamel is determined by the δ13C values of ingested food (Ambrose and Norr, 1993; Lee-Thorp et al., 1989; Tieszen and Fagre, 1993). The carbon isotope composition of plants is shaped by a variety of environmental and physiological factors (Tieszen, 1991; Körner et al., 1991; Hartman and Danin, 2010). For example, C3 and C4 plants have distinct δ13C values (averaging −26‰ and −12‰, respectively), due to different processes of carbon fixing as part of photosynthesis (Farquhar et al., 1989). Carbon isotope ratios are useful in modeling mobility because of the seasonal changes in the δ13C within plants, as well as seasonal and altitudinal shifts within plants and biomes. Seasonal shifts in water availability result in higher δ13C values in C3 plants during the dry season (Hartman and Danin, 2010), in part due to physiological responses to reduced water availability (Farquhar et al., 1989). The proportion of C4 plants in a mixed C3/C4 biome shifts seasonally, with the growth of C4 plants starting later in the spring and dying back in the late summer/early autumn (Liang et al., 2002; Yamori et al., 2014). Similarly, the proportion of C4 plants in mixed C3/C4 biomes decreases with increasing altitude (Tieszen et al., 1979; Rundel, 1980; Cavagnaro, 1988; Li et al., 2009; Mo et al., 2004). High alpine meadows are C3 biomes (Tieszen et al., 1979; Rundel, 1980; Cavagnaro, 1988), and increases in altitude results in increased δ13C values in C3 plants in more humid regions (Körner et al., 1991; Sparks and Ehleringer, 1997; Marshall and Zhang, 1994), whereas in semi-arid regions highland vegetation is depleted in 13C relative to lowland vegetation (Van de Water et al., 2002; Wang and Yakir, 1995). Because of these spatial and seasonal differences, δ13C values in enamel provide a complimentary source of information on mobility. Each element has different strengths and liabilities as a proxy for pastoralist mobility. Critically, they provide independent lines of inferential evidence, since the causes of isotopic variability are unrelated between element systems. Generally, all isotopic approaches suffer from issues of equifinality in the interpretation of patterns within data sets and the interpretive potential of data varies with local geology, climate, and biomes (Price et al., 2007; Bogaard and Outram, 2013) – as well as the availability of isotopic reference data. However, multiproxy approaches have been successful in using the differences between isotopic analyses to improve the interpretation of archaeological data (e.g. Balasse et al., 2002; Knudson and Price, 2007; Knudson et al., 2012; Tornero et al., 2016; Miller and Makarewicz, 2017). This study adopts a similar approach, which was particularly necessary given the limited isotopic reference data for the South Caucasus. In addition to considering the strengths and limitations of individual isotopic analyses to illuminate pastoralist mobility in the past, archaeologists must also consider how these analytical techniques do or do not align with the theoretical frameworks used to understand pastoralist mobility. Specifically, it is critical to assess the extent to which the movements through various isoscapes (cf. Bowen, 2010; Makarewicz and Sealy, 2015; Meiggs et al., 2017) indicated through these analyses matches the concept of pastoralist landscapes (Frachetti, 2009; see also Honeychurch and Makarewicz, 2016), which figure in the newly-developing theoretical models of pastoralism and political complexity. As the review of isotopic methods above demonstrates, only certain forms of mobility may be rendered visible through isoscapes – based on

suite of new data produced through a variety of innovative methodologies (cf. Honeychurch and Makarewicz, 2016; Hammer and Arbuckle, 2017). Isotopic analyses have played a large role in this resurgence, due to their ability to provide data about herd movements from the direct analysis of faunal remains (Miller et al., 2017). Isotopic approaches to pastoralism, and herd movements in particular, seek to use spatial and seasonal variation in the isotopic composition of water, soil, plants, and animals (incorporated into biological materials such as bone, teeth, and hair), in order to identify and analyze a variety of aspects of human and animal activities. In isotopic studies, mobility is tracked through movement across isotopic gradients, or isoscapes (cf. Bowen, 2010; Makarewicz and Sealy, 2015; Meiggs et al., 2017). These gradients are connected to bedrock geology, global and local precipitation regimes, and local hydrology and vegetation – as mediated by biological processes within animal bodies. Consequently, the isotopic study of pastoralist mobility is necessarily and fundamentally linked to other aspects of pastoralist production, including the management of herd reproduction and diet (i.e. pasture management and foddering), through the impact that diet and birth seasonality have on the isotopic composition of tooth enamel and the timing of enamel formation, respectively. One common biogeochemical approach to studying both human and animal mobility is radiogenic strontium isotope analysis (see Bentley, 2006). Strontium, derived from the food consumed and water imbibed by an individual, is deposited in tooth enamel during its formation early in life. Differences in the ratios of strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) in bone and enamel reflect geographic variation in 87Sr/86Sr values. Radiogenic strontium values are not noticeably fractionated by biological processes (Faure, 1986; Capo et al., 1998), however the process of biopurification leads to animals in higher trophic levels showing a reduced range of variation in 87Sr/86Sr (Bentley, 2006). Nevertheless, the ratio of 87Sr to 86Sr in the water and plants consumed by herd animals largely reflects bedrock weathering (Bentley, 2006, 148). The ratio of these isotopes in bedrock varies geographically and reflects both the age and the initial chemical composition of the minerals (Faure, 1986). Spatial variation in 87Sr/86Sr values, originating in bedrock geology and subsequently reflected in the bioavailable Sr in soils and plants, is used to identify individuals that were born in different locations, giving evidence of migration and exchange in the past (for example, Britton et al., 2009; Bendrey et al., 2009; Sykes et al., 2006; Viner et al., 2010; Knudson and Tung, 2011; Meiggs et al., 2017). Mass-dependent oxygen isotopes can also be used to study mobility by utilizing differences in annual temperature and precipitation regimes along longitudinal and altitudinal gradients. The ratio of massdependent oxygen isotopes in precipitation varies seasonally, largely as a result of seasonal variation in temperature at mid and high latitudes (Dansgaard, 1964; Rozanski et al., 1993; Gat, 1996). Altitude has a similar effect (Siegenthaler and Oeschger, 1980). Nevertheless, other climatic and hydrological factors can complicate the use of δ18O values as a proxy for geographical location (see Darling et al., 1996; Darling et al., 2006; Fricke and O’Neil, 1999). For instance, high temperatures (> 20 °C) and significant amounts of rain and/or high humidity produce the “amount effect”: an unexpected depletion of δ18O values in precipitation (Dansgaard, 1964; Rozanski et al., 1993; Bard et al., 2002; Straight et al., 2004). The ratio of mass-dependent oxygen isotopes deposited in tooth enamel is correlated with the δ18O value of the meteoric water ingested via eating and drinking (Kohn et al., 1998; Luz and Kolodny, 1985; Bryant et al., 1996; Podlesak et al., 2008, 2012). However, the relationship between meteoric water and body water is mediated by the isotopic compositions of various water sources (Fricke and O’Neil, 1996; Kohn et al., 1998). Different sources vary in the degree to which they reflect seasonal changes in the isotopic compositions of meteoric water (Dansgaard, 1964; Darling et al., 1996, 2006). The isotopic composition of herd animals’ body water is also shaped by the leaf water in plants they consume. Plant leaf water is enriched in 50

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goblet (Oganesian, 1992; Smith, 2001; Rubinson, 2003), with its striking craftsmanship and scenes of tribute and sacrifice, animates the sense that the Middle Bronze Age marked a newly violent era and “that this violence was politically ordered, undertaken under the auspices of elite competition, and framed by a piratical political economy predicated on conquest, raiding, and death” (Smith et al. 2009, 28). On the other hand, scholars from Project ArAGATS, working with data from the long-term excavations of Late Bonze Age sites in the Tsaghkahovit Plain (Badalyan et al., 2014; Smith et al., 2009; Badalyan et al., 2008; Badalyan et al., 2003), have forwarded models of Late Bronze Age polities that incorporate pastoralist mobility as a possible site where political authority is exercised or authorized (Lindsay and Greene, 2013; Smith, 2015). In these models, mobile pastoralists are envisioned as potential subjects in the polity, but political authority and the development and cohesion of the polity are not generated through mobility in a landscape of pastures. Instead, the mobility of people, animals, and goods is connected to the shrines at Gegharot and their role in authorizing power and producing subjectivities (Lindsay and Greene, 2013, 708; Smith, 2015). Questions about the organization of pastoralist mobility are critical to understanding the transitions in social and political organization within the region during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. During the Middle Bronze Age, there are very few permanent settlements from this period. Instead, the archaeological landscape is dominated by large burial monuments (kurgans) (Piotrovskii, 1955; Kushnareva, 1997; Smith et al., 2009). Because of this change, it has often assumed that societies in the region transitioned to nomadic pastoralism (but see Arbuckle and Hammer (2018) for a critique). Nevertheless, due to the paucity of settlement excavations and absence in-depth studies of mobility in the Middle Bronze Age, there is little direct evidence of how, and at what scale, pastoralist mobility was organized in the period (Uerpmann and Uerpmann, 2008; Knipper et al., 2008 are an exception). In the Late Bronze Age, there is a striking change in the archaeological landscape in the region. Large hilltop, enclosed sites were constructed (with accompanying cemeteries). This has been interpreted as marking a significant change in political organization (Martirosian, 1964; Smith et al., 2009). Some authors have argued that these new forms of political organization eventually were incorporated into the Urartian polity (Smith et al., 2004, 230, 268; Smith et al., 2009, 7). These broad scale regional changes have generally been understood as heralding a reduction (or at the very least, a re-organization) of mobility in comparison to the Middle Bronze Age. Yet, there is evidence from the excavations at Gegharot and Tsaghkahovit that suggests that mobile pastoralism remained important through the Late Bronze Age (Smith et al., 2009, 398; Lindsay et al., 2010, 26; Lindsay and Greene, 2013, 701–706). The current evidence for the continued importance of mobile pastoralism in the Late Bronze Age Tsaghkahovit Plain is indirect. The imbalance between an increased number of mortuary monuments in the Late Bronze Age and the limited evidence for residential spaces within and around the hilltop sites in the Tsaghkahovit Plain (Smith et al., 2009:398; Lindsay and Greene 2013:701-703; Lindsay et al., 2010:26), has been taken as an indication that much of the Late Bronze Age population remained mobile pastoralists. Furthermore, excavations at the Tsaghkahovit Residential Complex have revealed that structures in this area of the site, used for production and storage, were intermittently used over a very short time-scale (Lindsay and Greene 2013:703-706). It has been suggested that this area was occupied short-term by mobile pastoralists. Taken together, these lines of evidence suggest that some portion of the population in the Late Bronze Age Tsaghkahovit Plain was mobile (and likely involved in pastoralist production). However, the current archaeological evidence does not provide any indication of the pattern of pastoralist mobility, either in terms of its seasonality or geographic extent. Isotopic analysis of tooth enamel can provide evidence for herd

geological, climatological, hydrological, and ecological factors as mediated through animal bodies. Potential mis-matches between isoscape and pastoralist landscape may take two forms: (1) pastoralist mobility may not be isotopically visible (due to the limitations of the underlying proxy data) or (2) isotopic variation that is present in archaeological faunal data sets may reflect a wider range of human-animal relationships that includes, but is not limited to, mobility (as mediated by animal diets). 3. Pastoralist mobility in the Late Bronze Age South Caucasus: A case study Pastoralist mobility in Late Bronze Age (LBA) societies in the South Caucasus is a case study that addresses both recent theoretical approaches to pastoralist mobility and political complexity, as well as debates about the timing and importance of long-distance mobility in the development of pastoralism. The Late Bronze Age in the South Caucasus is generally understood as a period in which there were significant changes in political and social organization, following a period of (assumed) pastoral nomadism in the Middle Bronze Age. It is an open question to what extent the political developments in the Late Bronze Age entailed a reduction or re-organization of pastoralist mobility. This article presents the results of isotopic analyses of sheep, goat, and cattle teeth from two Late Bronze Age sites (Gegharot and Tsaghkahovit) in the Tsaghkahovit Plain, Armenia. Inferences from radiogenic strontium and mass-dependent oxygen and carbon isotope analyses are used to identify geographic and seasonal movement. A large sample size, multiproxy isotopic approach, and a sampling strategy based on variables of zooarchaeological interest (species, age, archaeological context) enable this study to identify points of nuance and diversity within human-herd animal relationships, while also highlighting major trends. Moreover, this approach addresses the fact that pastoralist mobility is mediated – isotopically, as well as socially – by other aspects of human-herd animal relationships. 3.1. Regional background Questions about the connections between pastoralist mobility and the development of political complexity are key to the archaeology of the Late Bronze Age in the South Caucasus. First, they play an important role in the debate over whether the development of political complexity in the region resembles or deviates from Near Eastern models (Sherratt, 1981; Burney and Lang, 1971; Badalyan et al., 2003; Ristvet et al., 2012). Ristvet et al. (2012, 321) note that studying Late Bronze Age societies in the Caucasus challenges theoretical models developed for the Near East, mirroring the challenge that highland polities posed to Near Eastern states and empires in the past. Lindsay and Greene (2013) contend that classical Near Eastern models of the development of political complexity are inappropriate for the region (with its rich and vital pastoralist tradition), because they are premised on the idea that pastoralism is antithetical to political complexity. In contrast to the Inner Asian steppes, archaeologists working in the Southern Caucasus have not developed or adopted theoretical models that explore mobility as potential political technology – one that seeds the development of political complexity or larger social groupings. Instead, mobility is discussed in relationship to political authority and subjectification in two distinct ways. First, the striking shift in settlement patterns and mortuary practices between the Early Bronze (3500–2600 BC) and Middle Bronze (2600–1500 BC) periods is often understood as a transition to increasingly nomadic forms of pastoralism, accompanied by the development of military aristocracies (Masson, 1997, 127–32; Badalyan et al., 2003, 123; cf. Hammer, 2014, 758). In part, this interpretation is driven by lavish Middle Bronze Age burials with bronze weaponry, carts and wagons, draft animal sacrifices, and impressive crafts goods (Djaparidze, 1969; Devejyan, 1981; Areshian et al., 1977). In particular, the discovery of the Karashamb 51

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Fig. 1. Map of central Armenia, showing the sites mentioned in the text. The Tsaghkahovit Plain is located in the upper left corner of the map.

inside of it (Smith et al., 2004, 22). The second midden (T19) is a deep deposit of well-preserved LBA faunal remains (around 11,000 specimens) located on the western terrace. This midden was beneath the LBA destruction layer, and consists of a number of layers of deposition with an impressive amount of animal bones, along with ceramic sherds and lithic debitage. The midden deposits are above a packed clay floor (dating to the LBA on the basis of the recovered ceramics). The third midden (SLT) was a large deposit of animal bones (around 4500), located in a clayey layer above a packed clay floor in the Tsaghkahovit Residential Complex. The floor layers beneath this midden deposit were dated across both trenches to the Late Bronze Age II period (1425–1350 BCE). The paucity of grinding stones found in these operations, suggests that this space may have been used for storage prior to being utilized as a dumping site for garbage, forming the midden in later part of the LBA occupation of the Tsaghkahovit Residential Complex (Ian Lindsay, pers. comm.).

animal movements that is currently lacking. Collecting this data is an important first step in assessing what role pastoralism, and any associated mobility, played in the political and social changes seen in the Late Bronze Age. 3.2. Archaeological context The materials included in this study come from excavations of the LBA occupation levels/areas at the site of Gegharot and Tsaghkahovit in the Tsaghkahovit Plain, Armenia (Fig. 1). In the LBA, Gegharot was a fortified hilltop site, consisting of a walled citadel and a surrounding walled terrace. While the use of space within the fortified site is not fully understood, the presence of three room identified as “shrines” is notable. These rooms contained large numbers of ceramics (highly decorated pots and bowls, ceramic pots stands/idols, stamps, manghals), objects of personal adornment, and curated deposits of animal bones, as well as features such as basins and altars (Badalyan et al., 2014). This suggests a non-quotidian function and is consistent with other assemblages from the region that have been labeled shrines (Smith and Leon, 2014). Furthermore, Gegharot appears to have been at the center of local flows of ceramics and other goods (Greene, 2013; Lindsay and Greene, 2013). Tsaghkahovit, located on the slopes of Mt. Aragats on the southern edge of the Tsaghkahovit plain, is another fortified hilltop site. Later occupations have destroyed much of the LBA contexts on the citadel, but excavations at the Tsaghkahovit Residential Complex (TRC) outside the citadel wall have revealed a series of rooms that were intermittently occupied throughout the LBA (Lindsay and Greene, 2013). These rooms appear to have been used for small-scale storage and production activities. The faunal remains analyzed in this study primarily came from midden deposits from the citadel and walled terrace at Gegharot and the TRC at Tsaghkahovit. The first midden (GeT2) is a dense concentration of animal bones (over 1200) deposited between two walls on the western citadel at Gegharot, near the western terrace shrine. This midden occupies the space between the terrace walls and rooms built

3.3. Bioavailable strontium in central Armenia Geological maps of Armenia (Maldonado and Castellanos, 2000; Kharzyan, 2005) highlight substantial variation in bedrock ages, which have the potential to introduce a range of end-point values into the ratios of biologically-available strontium isotopes for different geographical locations. The Tsaghkahovit Plain (Fig. 1) is an elevated plateau located between the northern slope of Mount Aragats (4090 masl) and the southwestern slopes of the Pambak range in central Armenia. The slopes of Mt. Aragats consist of volcanic basalts. In contrast, the Pambak range is composed of Cretaceous limestones and poryphirites, Middle Jurassic volcanogenic sedimentary rocks, and a lower Cretaceous granitoid intrusion (Smith et al., 2009:96). The southern flank of the plain, bounded by the Tsaghkunyats range, is marked by metamorphic slates, amphibolites, Paleozoic diabases, Cretaceous and Jurassic limestones, and Middle Upper Jurassic plagiogranites (Smith et al., 2009, 96). The geological diversity of the Tsaghkahovit Plain, and the Lesser Caucasus more generally, represent a challenge for the interpretation of 52

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comm.). There are a variety of sources of ground and surface water available in the Tsaghkahovit Plain. There are a large number of non-artesian springs in the plain, which result from the flow of water from higher elevations through the earth, as well as couple of small lakes. Three rivers have their source waters within and flow through the Plain. The Kasakh River collects water from the slopes of the Pambakhs and the southeastern flank of Mt. Aragats, before flowing into the Ararat Plain. The Gezaldara River collects water from the western slopes of Mt. Aragats, and the Mantash river originates from the northeastern slopes of Mt. Aragats. Both of these rivers flow into the Shirak Plain and eventually join the Arax river. Since the rivers originate in the plain, the water flowing in them is likely to reflect snow melt and precipitation from the catchment area, although seasonal trends may be damped by the timing of the influx of snow melt and by catchment buffering (Halder et al., 2015; Darling et al., 2006).

radiogenic strontium data. In the absence of a large-scale isoscape mapping project, preliminary interpretation of the data presented here uses the “baseline” approach to determining bioavailable strontium. The 87Sr/86Sr values found in plants or animals with small home ranges (modern and archaeological) are used as a proxy for the general bioavailable Sr isotopes in a geographical micro-region. This approach accounts for biopurification and the environmental mixing of strontium sources (Price et al., 2002; Bentley et al., 2004; Bentley, 2006), but may hamper interpretations depending on the level of coverage and problems of isotopic equifinality (Makarewicz and Sealy, 2015). Nevertheless, this approach is suitable for preliminary interpretation of data in regions with limited isotopic research, as long as interpretations are made conservatively. Marshall (2014) has produced preliminary baseline values for bioavailable radiogenic strontium for the Tsaghkahovit Plain. These baseline values follow the established method of defining the “local” 87 Sr/86Sr values of a region or site as the range of two standard deviations around the mean (i.e. mean ± 2σ) of the 87Sr/86Sr values of baseline samples. Modern and archaeological rodent samples (n = 9) from the Tsaghkahovit Plain had a mean 87 Sr/86Sr = 0.7077 ± 0.0007. In contrast, archaeological land snails (n = 3) from the site of Horom in the Shirak Plain had a mean 87 Sr/86Sr = 0.7084 ± 0.0001, and a single modern rodent from Aknashen in the Ararat Plain had a 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7067.

3.5. Carbon isotopes and plants in the Tsaghkahovit Plain The Tsaghkahovit Plain’s current biome is almost entirely C3 plants, with very few C4 taxa. Although no systematic survey of vegetation has been done in the region, anecdotally, the most common C4 plant species is green foxglove (Setaria viridis), a cosmopolitan weed present in small amounts in the plain (Roman Hovsepyan, pers. comm.). In addition, it is possible that another C4 plant, broomcorn millet (Panicum millaeceum), was cultivated in the Tsaghkahovit Plain during the Late Bronze Age. Charred millet seeds have been recovered from Late Bronze Age contexts at Gegharot and Tsaghkahovit (Badalyan et al., 2014). Estimates of the contribution of C4 plants to individuals’ diet are based on global figures, due to the absence of local baseline data. Kohn (2010) give the global modern average for δ13C values of C3 plants as –26.5‰ (which is in line with the values given by Winter (1981) for plants collected in the Middle East and USSR) and an absolute upper bound value for δ13C values in C3 plants at –23‰. These values must be corrected by a factor of +1.5‰ in order to account for the differences between modern and pre-industrial plant δ13C values (Friedli et al., 1986). While a diet-apatite fractionation of +14.6 ± 0.3‰ has been measured for cattle (Passey et al., 2005), there is some uncertainty in the correct fractionation value for sheep. In an experimental study, sheep fed a C3 or a mixed C3/C4 diet had a higher fractionation factor (ca. +14.0‰) than lambs and ewes fed a C4 diet (ca. +12‰) (Zazzo et al., 2010). In this study, apatite δ13C values of ∼–12‰ for cattle and between –12‰ and –14‰ for sheep represent a diet that is (more or less) 100% C3. The proportion of C3 or C4 plants in the diet are not modeled quantitatively due to the uncertainties in baseline and fractionation values.

3.4. Oxygen isotope modeling and potential water sources The continental climate of the South Caucasus region (Volodicheva 2002, 356) means that there is considerable intra-annual variation in temperature. The δ18O values for various regions in Armenia can be modeled using isoscape prediction models, in the absence of contemporary IAEA data on δ18O values in precipitation from Armenia. There are two different models (both based on worldwide historical δ18O data) currently available to generate the expected annual range of δ18O values in precipitation for the Tsaghkahovit Plain: the Online Isotopes in Precipitation Calculator (OIPC), which models the expected δ18O values in rainwater, based on latitude and altitude (Bowen and Wilkinson, 2002; Bowen and Revenaugh, 2003; Bowen et al., 2005), and the Regional Cluster-based Water Isotope Prediction (RCWIP) model, which combines regional and global isotope models to lower model uncertainty in regions lacking rich climate data (Terzer et al., 2013; International Atomic Energy Agency, 2015). For the Tsaghkahovit Plain, the OIPC model predicts an annual range in δ18O values in meteoric water of 6.5‰ (–11.0‰ to –4.5‰ δ18OVPDB) and the RCWIP predicts an annual range of 8.7‰ (–11.5‰ to –2.8‰ δ18OVPDB). There is very little data available on the region’s climate during the LBA, making it difficult to assess how good an approximation contemporary models are for the period. A small-scale study of wood charcoals from sites in the Tsaghkahovit Plain has suggested that it may have been cooler during the period (Jude et al., 2016), but this pattern conflicts with other studies in the region and the data may reflect human activity rather than climate (Messager et al., 2013; Joannin et al., 2014). The “amount effect” is unlikely to have damped the intra-individual ranges of δ18O values of the specimens in this study. When environmental temperatures are above 20 °C and there is significant rain and/ or high humidity, the abundance of 18O in rainwater decreases – sometimes considerably (Dansgaard, 1964; Rozanski et al., 1993; Bard et al., 2002; Straight et al., 2004). This is unlikely to have strongly influenced the δ18O composition of summer precipitation in the Tsaghkahovit Plain, as the bulk of the precipitation occurs in the spring, when temperatures are not above the 20 °C threshold, and monthly summer rainfall totals are low (< 50 mm) (The World Bank Group, 2017; IAMAT, 2017; cf. Higgins and MacFadden, 2004). Unpublished modern data from elsewhere in Armenia show that the δ18O values in precipitation correlates with temperature (Alexander Brittingham, pers.

3.6. Research expectations and questions This study examines pastoralist movements in the Tsaghkahovit Plain during the Late Bronze Age through the isotopic analysis of faunal teeth. We address the question of pastoralist mobility in two ways. First, through the use of multiple elements (Sr, O, and C), we attempt to characterize the seasonal and geographical aspects of herd animal movements. Second, we use the characterization of herd animal movements to assess the extent to which pastoralist mobility in this region in the Late Bronze Age conforms to the expectations of theoretical models of mobile pastoralism. We expect that animals that spent their entire lives within the Tsaghkahovit Plain would have: (1) 87 Sr/86Sr values consistent with the baseline values established by modern and archaeological proxies for bioavailable Sr, (2) ranges of δ18O values that are consistent with modeled intra-annual variation in δ18O values for the Tsaghkahovit Plain, and (3) δ13C values near –12‰ to –14‰, reflecting the predominance of C3 plants. For animals that moved long-distances, we expect 87Sr/86Sr and/or δ18O and δ13C values that are not consistent with either the bioavailable Sr or the seasonal 53

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deposited in burials (Kurgan, TsBC12) or other ritual contexts (see Table 1).

changes in the isotopic composition of precipitation and vegetation in the Tsaghkahovit Plain. In this study, we contextualize the isotopic evidence for movement within the larger question of animal diet. This is essential in order to assess the potential isotopic evidence for smaller-scale seasonal movement along altitudinal gradients (yaylag models of pastoralist mobility) and for foddering. For animals making smaller-scale seasonal movements, along an altitudinal gradient, there are two possibilities. We expect animals that grazed in higher altitude C3 pastures in the summer and in the Tsaghkahovit Plain in the winter to have damped intra-individual δ18O ranges and coincident δ18O and δ13C peaks (reflecting the impact of altitude on δ13C values in plants). For animals that grazed in the Tsaghkahovit Plain in the summer and lower altitude pastures in the winter, we expect damped intra-individual δ18O ranges and coincident δ13C maximums and δ18O minimums (reflecting the greater proportion of C4 plants at lower altitudes). Animals provided with C3 fodder in the winter are expected to have an inverse correlation between higher δ13C and lower δ18O values. Similarly, provisioning with C4 fodder will enrich δ13C values during the winter. For obligate drinkers, foddering should have limited impact on winter δ18O values. For non-obligate drinkers, foddering may contribute to damped winter δ18O values, depending on the relative impact of leaf water on body water.

4.1. Sample preparation for strontium isotope and elemental concentration analyses For radiogenic strontium isotope analysis, three enamel samples (4–6 mg) were collected from the same lobe on each M2: one sample near the cementum-enamel junction (CEJ), one near the top of the crown, and one in the middle of the crown. On the M1s, one sample was collected at the CEJ. The enamel samples were dissolved in nitric acid (0.5 M HNO3). Major, minor, and trace elemental concentrations, including uranium (U), were measured on a quadrupole inductivelycoupled plasma mass spectrometer (Q-ICP-MS) at the W.M. Keck Foundation Laboratory for Environmental Biogeochemistry at Arizona State University, using matrix-matched standards and a multi-element internal standard. Strontium was purified and separated from the sample matrix using the automated prepFAST system (Romaniello et al., 2015). Radiogenic strontium isotopes were measured on a Neptune multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) at the W.M. Keck Foundation Laboratory for Environmental Biogeochemistry at Arizona State University, where SRM-987 (international standard) exhibited 87Sr/86Sr = 0.710237 ± 0.000036 (2σ, n = 38), after normalization of 86Sr/88Sr to a value of 0.1194 to correct for instrumental mass fractionation.

4. Materials & methods This study analyzes the radiogenic strontium and mass-dependent oxygen and carbon isotopes in sheep, goat and cattle teeth. Second molars (M2s) were selected from 25 mandibles (see Tables 1 and 2). Second molars were selected because: (a) M2s show less inter-individual variation than third molars in both timing of overall tooth development (Zazzo et al., 2010, 3584) and the horizontal position of maximum δ18O values for modern sheep born in the same season (Blaise and Balasse, 2011, 3088); (b) M2s are unlikely to be affected by weaning (Balasse, 2003; see also Evans et al., 2007); and (c) it enables comparison with previous studies on similar data sets in nearby regions (Meiggs, 2009; Henton, 2012). Limiting the range of inter-individual variation in tooth formation by selecting only M2s simplifies the identification of seasonal movements from the carbon and oxygen data. Only teeth with > 20 mm of enamel were included in the sample, as a pilot study indicated that seasonal isotopic signals were too truncated to interpret in teeth with smaller crown heights (cf. Tornero et al., 2013, 4058). In addition, 16 first molars (M1) were selected from animals killed in the first year of life and included in the analysis of 87 Sr/86Sr values (Table 1). This age group was excluded from the massdependent oxygen and carbon isotope analysis because the M2 is not fully formed. The faunal assemblages from Gegharot and the Tsaghkahovit Residential Complex contained a large number of mandibles retaining second molars. As such, this study was able to employ a sampling strategy using both species and age at death as factors. The majority of mandibles selected were from sheep (Ovis aries), with the rest from goats (Capra hirca) and cattle (Bos taurus), reflecting the relative representation of species from the sites’ faunal assemblages (Badalyan et al., 2014; Chazin, 2016). Sheep and goat mandibles were identified using the criteria proposed by Halstead et al. (2002). Only complete and nearly complete tooth rows were assessed, in order to address the limitations of the method (Zeder and Pilaar, 2010). The large number of sheep mandibles from these assemblages meant that sample selection was stratified by archaeological context, as well as age at death, whereas cattle and goat mandibles were stratified only by age at death. Additional mandibles from special contexts, such as the shrine contexts at Gegharot and a group of kurgan burials near Gegharot, were also included in the study. The majority of teeth analyzed (Ovis: n = 22, Capra: n = 4, Bos: n = 5) were selected from midden contexts at Gegharot (GeT2, T19) and Tsaghkahovit (SLT). The remainder (six M1s and three M2s) were selected from animals

4.2. Sample preparation for oxygen and carbon isotope analyses For oxygen and carbon isotope analysis, 8–15 intra-tooth samples were drilled incrementally along a single lobe of the crown. Each sample consisted of a band of enamel 1–2 mm thick, drilled across the entire width of the lobe, producing a 10 mg sample of enamel powder. Samples were treated with a 2% bleach (NaOCl) solution for 24 h to remove any organics from the sample, and then with 0.1 M acetic acid (CH3COOH) for 24 h in order to remove any diagenetic carbonates. Ratios of mass-dependent oxygen and carbon isotopes in archaeological hydroxyapatite carbonate (δ18Ocarbonate (VPDB), δ13C carbonate (VPDB)) were measured using a Thermo-Finnigan Delta V Advantage isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) equipped with a Thermo-Finnigan Gas Bench II at the Colorado Plateau Stable Isotope Laboratory at Northern Arizona University. Accuracy and precision of the measurements were checked using the international standard NBS 18, along with laboratory standards. Over the period of analysis, the 25 NBS 18 standards gave a mean δ13C value of –5.02‰ ± 0.18 (1σ) (expected value –5.01‰) and a mean δ18O value of –22.99‰ ± 0.29 (1σ) (expected value –23.01‰). The NBS 18 mean within runs = –4.99‰ to –5.05‰ for δ13C and was –22.99‰ for δ18O. Oxygen and carbon isotope ratios are reported relative to the V-PDB (Vienna PeeDee belemnite) carbonate standard and are expressed in per mil (‰) (Craig, 1961; Coplen, 1995). 5. Results The results of the biogeochemical analysis of archaeological faunal enamel samples in this study are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. Trace element concentration data were analyzed and all samples had uranium levels well below Kohn et al.’s (2013, 1695) 0.001 ppm value for modern herbivore enamel. This suggests that there has been relatively little diagenetic alteration of the enamel and that the original strontium, oxygen, and carbon signatures have been retained. 5.1.

87

Sr/86Sr results

The vast majority of 87Sr/86Sr measurement from analyzed samples fall within the “local” baseline range for bioavailable strontium defined for the Tsaghkahovit Plain (0.7077 ± 0.0007; see Fig. 2). There is one clear outlier (ACL-6220), a sub-adult goat (Capra hircus) recovered from 54

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Table 1 Strontium and trace element results. Lab Number

Bone ID

Individual

Species

Age Class

Context

Tooth type

U (ppb)

Distance from CEJ

87

Sr/86Sr

ACL-6203 ACL-6204 ACL-6205 ACL-6206 ACL-6207 ACL-6208 ACL-6209 ACL-6210 ACL-6211 ACL-6212 ACL-6213-P ACL-6213-Q ACL-6213-R ACL-6214-K ACL-6214-L ACL-6214-M ACL-6215-P ACL-6215-Q ACL-6215-R ACL-6216-O ACL-6216-P ACL-6216-Q ACL-6217-K ACL-6217-L ACL-6217-M ACL-6218-J ACL-6218-K ACL-6218-L ACL-6219-L ACL-6219-M ACL-6219-N ACL-6220-L ACL-6220-M ACL-6220-N ACL-6221-K ACL-6221-L ACL-6221-M ACL-6222-K ACL-6222-L ACL-6222-M ACL-6223-K ACL-6223-L ACL-6223-M ACL-6224-K ACL-6224-L ACL-6224-M ACL-6225-K ACL-6225-L ACL-6225-M ACL-6226-K ACL-6226-L ACL-6226-M ACL-6227-K ACL-6227-L ACL-6227-M ACL-6228-H ACL-6228-I ACL-6228-J ACL-6229-I ACL-6229-J ACL-6229-K ACL-6230-K ACL-6230-L ACL-6230-M ACL-6231-K ACL-6231-L ACL-6231-M ACL-6232-K ACL-6232-L ACL-6232-M ACL-6233-J ACL-6233-L ACL-6233-M ACL-6234-K

CA-ARGE-T19.533.25 CA-ARGE-T19.107.611 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.66 CA-ARGE-T19.107.68 CA-ARGE-T19.530.105 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.14 CA-ARGE-T19.531.6 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.55 CA-ARGE-T19.531.11 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.85 CA-ARGE-T19.107.581 CA-ARGE-T19.107.581 CA-ARGE-T19.107.581 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.434 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.434 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.434 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.392 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.392 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.392 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.395 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.395 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.395 CA-ARGE-T19.107.579 CA-ARGE-T19.107.579 CA-ARGE-T19.107.579 CA-TS-SLT10.6.569 CA-TS-SLT10.6.569 CA-TS-SLT10.6.569 CA-ARGE-T19.107.210 CA-ARGE-T19.107.210 CA-ARGE-T19.107.210 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.236 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.236 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.236 CA-ARGE-T19.107.55 CA-ARGE-T19.107.55 CA-ARGE-T19.107.55 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.230 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.230 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.230 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.90 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.90 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.90 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.1 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.1 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.1 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.8 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.8 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.8 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.30 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.30 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.30 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.223 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.223 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.223 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.249 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.249 CA-ARGE-GeT2.23.249 CA-ARGE-T19.533.7 CA-ARGE-T19.533.7 CA-ARGE-T19.533.7 CA-ARGE-T19.107.42 CA-ARGE-T19.107.42 CA-ARGE-T19.107.42 CA-ARGE-T19.107.249 CA-ARGE-T19.107.249 CA-ARGE-T19.107.249 CA-ARGE-T19.107.92 CA-ARGE-T19.107.92 CA-ARGE-T19.107.92 CA-ARGE-T19.514.6 CA-ARGE-T19.514.6 CA-ARGE-T19.514.6 CA-ARGE-T19.533.1

ACL-6203 ACL-6204 ACL-6205 ACL-6206 ACL-6207 ACL-6208 ACL-6209 ACL-6210 ACL-6211 ACL-6212 ACL-6213 ACL-6213 ACL-6213 ACL-6214 ACL-6214 ACL-6214 ACL-6215 ACL-6215 ACL-6215 ACL-6216 ACL-6216 ACL-6216 ACL-6217 ACL-6217 ACL-6217 ACL-6218 ACL-6218 ACL-6218 ACL-6219 ACL-6219 ACL-6219 ACL-6220 ACL-6220 ACL-6220 ACL-6221 ACL-6221 ACL-6221 ACL-6222 ACL-6222 ACL-6222 ACL-6223 ACL-6223 ACL-6223 ACL-6224 ACL-6224 ACL-6224 ACL-6225 ACL-6225 ACL-6225 ACL-6226 ACL-6226 ACL-6226 ACL-6227 ACL-6227 ACL-6227 ACL-6228 ACL-6228 ACL-6228 ACL-6229 ACL-6229 ACL-6229 ACL-6230 ACL-6230 ACL-6230 ACL-6231 ACL-6231 ACL-6231 ACL-6232 ACL-6232 ACL-6232 ACL-6233 ACL-6233 ACL-6233 ACL-6234

Bos Bos Capra Capra Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Bos Capra Capra Capra Capra Capra Capra Capra Capra Capra Capra Capra Capra Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis

Ia Ia Ia Ia Ia Ia Ia Ia Ia Ia Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib II II II II II II III III III III III III Ib Ib Ib II II II II II II III III III Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib II II II III III III Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib II II II II II II II II II II

T19 T19 GeT2 T19 T19 GeT2 T19 GeT2 T19 GeT2 T19 T19 T19 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 T19 T19 T19 SLT SLT SLT T19 T19 T19 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 T19 T19 T19 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 GeT2 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19

M1 M1 M1 M1 M1 M1 M1 M1 M1 M1 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2

0.003 0.005 0.008 0.005 0.003 0.003 0.009 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.004 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.000 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.000 0.001 0.001 0.000 0.001 0.001 0.000 0.001 0.004 0.007 0.012 0.016 0.002 0.003 0.005 0.005 0.004 0.004 0.003 0.004 0.006 0.001 0.002 0.005 0.003 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.005 0.001 0.001 0.012 0.028 0.058 0.038 0.011 0.013 0.022 0.023 0.003 0.005 0.007 0.012 0.004

− − − − − − − − − − 3.5 21 41.1 7.2 15.2 25.4 3.9 19.7 37.4 5 22 40 5.6 15.1 23.7 8.2 14.9 21.8 2.5 15.1 25 2.8 11.2 22.2 3 12.3 21 2.9 11.8 21.6 5.1 13.3 24 3.5 11.1 21.2 5 12.9 24.9 7.1 16.9 27.2 3.9 15.9 30.9 2.7 9.1 17.3 3.1 11.3 19.6 5.5 20 36.7 4.5 16.1 27 5.6 14 24.4 4 23.5 11.6 2.7

0.70759 0.70756 0.70754 0.70756 0.70751 0.70768 0.70743 0.70754 0.70753 0.70763 0.70740 0.70751 0.70731 0.70748 0.70751 0.70748 0.70761 0.70761 0.70761 0.70727 0.70730 0.70747 0.70735 0.70731 0.70727 0.70718 0.70708 0.70703 0.70763 0.70766 0.70763 0.70675 0.70730 0.70732 0.70749 0.70749 0.70759 0.70771 0.70754 0.70767 0.70767 0.70752 0.70755 0.70776 0.70768 0.70757 0.70765 0.70753 0.70756 0.70734 0.70758 0.70764 0.70736 0.70760 0.70780 0.70798 0.70795 0.70795 0.70764 0.70764 0.70755 0.70757 0.70750 0.70753 0.70768 0.70743 0.70731 0.70752 0.70760 0.70759 0.70760 0.70760 0.70758 0.70703

(continued on next page) 55

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Table 1 (continued) Lab Number

Bone ID

Individual

Species

Age Class

Context

Tooth type

U (ppb)

Distance from CEJ

87

Sr/86Sr

ACL-6234-L ACL-6234-M ACL-6235-I ACL-6235-J ACL-6235-K ACL-6236-H ACL-6236-I ACL-6236-J ACL-6237-K ACL-6237-L ACL-6237-M ACL-6238-K ACL-6238-L ACL-6238-M ACL-6239-K ACL-6239-L ACL-6239-M ACL-6240-K ACL-6240-L ACL-6240-M ACL-6241-J ACL-6241-K ACL-6241-L ACL-6242-K ACL-6242-L ACL-6242-M ACL-6243-I ACL-6243-J ACL-6243-K ACL-6244-I ACL-6244-J ACL-6244-K ACL-6245 ACL-6246 ACL-6247 ACL-6248 ACL-6249 ACL-6250 ACL-6251-K ACL-6251-L ACL-6251-M ACL-6252-K ACL-6252-L ACL-6252-M ACL-6253-J ACL-6253-K ACL-6253-L

CA-ARGE-T19.533.1 CA-ARGE-T19.533.1 CA-ARGE-T19.107.64 CA-ARGE-T19.107.64 CA-ARGE-T19.107.64 CA-ARGE-T19.532.28 CA-ARGE-T19.532.28 CA-ARGE-T19.532.28 CA-TS-SLT14.5.59 CA-TS-SLT14.5.59 CA-TS-SLT14.5.59 CA-TS-SLT10.6.774 CA-TS-SLT10.6.774 CA-TS-SLT10.6.774 CA-TS-SLT14.5.208 CA-TS-SLT14.5.208 CA-TS-SLT14.5.208 CA-TS-SLT10.6.806 CA-TS-SLT10.6.806 CA-TS-SLT10.6.806 CA-TS-SLT10.6.900 CA-TS-SLT10.6.900 CA-TS-SLT10.6.900 CA-TS-SLT14.5.192 CA-TS-SLT14.5.192 CA-TS-SLT14.5.192 CA-TS-SLT14.5.202 CA-TS-SLT14.5.202 CA-TS-SLT14.5.202 CA-TS-SLT14.5S.13 CA-TS-SLT14.5S.13 CA-TS-SLT14.5S.13 CA-ARGE-K1.10.53 CA-ARGE-K2.108.118 CA-ARGE-K2.109.111 CA-ARGE-T22.16.12 CA-TS-TSBC12.B02.10.1 CA-TS-TSBC12.B02.10.96 CA-ARGE-T22.16.5 CA-ARGE-T22.16.5 CA-ARGE-T22.16.5 CA-ARGE-T27.60.29 CA-ARGE-T27.60.29 CA-ARGE-T27.60.29 CA-TS-TSBC12.B02.10.37 CA-TS-TSBC12.B02.10.37 CA-TS-TSBC12.B02.10.37

ACL-6234 ACL-6234 ACL-6235 ACL-6235 ACL-6235 ACL-6236 ACL-6236 ACL-6236 ACL-6237 ACL-6237 ACL-6237 ACL-6238 ACL-6238 ACL-6238 ACL-6239 ACL-6239 ACL-6239 ACL-6240 ACL-6240 ACL-6240 ACL-6241 ACL-6241 ACL-6241 ACL-6242 ACL-6242 ACL-6242 ACL-6243 ACL-6243 ACL-6243 ACL-6244 ACL-6244 ACL-6244 ACL-6245 ACL-6246 ACL-6247 ACL-6248 ACL-6249 ACL-6250 ACL-6251 ACL-6251 ACL-6251 ACL-6252 ACL-6252 ACL-6252 ACL-6253 ACL-6253 ACL-6253

Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Ovis Capra Capra Capra

II II III III III III III III Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib Ib II II II II II II II II II II II II III III III Ia Ia Ia Ia Ia Ia II II II Ib Ib Ib Ia Ia Ia

T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 T19 SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT SLT Kurgan Kurgan Kurgan Shrine TsBC12 TsBC12 Shrine Shrine Shrine Shrine Shrine Shrine TsBC12 TsBC12 TsBC12

M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M1 M1 M1 M1 M1 M1 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2 M2

0.006 0.009 0.007 0.007 0.011 0.012 0.003 0.003 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.001 0.002 0.002 0.006 0.002 0.002 0.003 0.002 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.004 0.003 0.001 0.002 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.005 0.005 0.007 0.001 0.062 0.081 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.023 0.009 0.035

14.5 26.2 3.5 12.2 22.3 2 10.2 16.3 4.2 16 27.8 6 16.9 28.6 6.6 17.7 30.4 3.2 14.6 27.4 3.8 14.7 25.9 3.3 15.7 26.9 2.4 10.6 20.4 2.5 10.6 19.2 − − − − − − 4.8 19 32.7 3.5 14.1 26.5 5 14.7 25.8

0.70710 0.70698 0.70750 0.70761 0.70757 0.70763 0.70763 0.70760 0.70723 0.70739 0.70720 0.70715 0.70715 0.70724 0.70707 0.70695 0.70724 0.70696 0.70716 0.70707 0.70714 0.70717 0.70707 0.70702 0.70702 0.70719 0.70737 0.70742 0.70692 0.70723 0.70733 0.70707 0.70755 0.70747 0.70743 0.70763 0.70744 0.70785 0.70743 0.70752 0.70754 0.70765 0.70761 0.70757 0.70746 0.70695 0.70743

variation in carbon isotopes was much more restricted, ranging from 0.4‰ to 1.9‰ for all individuals (except one specimen with an intratooth range of 5.6‰).

a midden (GeT2) at Gegharot. Individuals recovered from the Tsaghkahovit Residential Complex (across species and age categories) had a lower mean 87Sr/86Sr value (0.7072) than those recovered from other contexts (KW χ2 = 52.058, df = 5, p = 5.25e10). This result is unlikely to reflect diagenetic contamination by the burial environment, as the baseline values for archaeological and modern rodent samples from the site of Tsaghkahovit cluster on the higher end (0.7079 ± 0.0005) of the overall range for the Tsaghkahovit Plain. This suggests that the animals recovered from the TRC may have eaten a different diet (with different range of 87Sr/86Sr inputs) than the animals recovered from other archaeological contexts in the Tsaghkahovit Plain.

6. Discussion 6.1. Assessing intra-individual and intra-tooth variation in 87Sr/86Sr values The vast majority of samples fell within the “local” baseline for bioavailable strontium in the Tsaghkahovit Plain. This suggests that the majority of the individuals analyzed did not make geographical movements that crossed into regions with substantially different bedrock geologies. Based on inspection of geological maps (Maldonado and Castellanos, 2000; Kharzyan, 2005), regions with significantly different bed rock geologies include the Ararat Valley to the south and the northern Alaverdi region of Armenia. In the Ararat Valley, younger Quaternary rock types are likely to produce lower baseline 87Sr/86Sr values, an inference that is consistent with the low measured 87Sr/86Sr ratio from a sample from Aknashen. In the north, Cretaceous and Jurassic bedrock formations near Alaverdi suggest that the local bioavailable strontium values would be higher than the Tsaghkahovit Plain. Currently, the data from this analysis do not provide strong

5.2. δ18O & δ13C results The ranges of mean, minimum, and maximum δ18O values for sheep, goats, and cattle are listed in Table 3. Most of the sequences of δ18O values measured across the M2s show a sinusoidal pattern, reflecting the seasonal cycling of δ18O values in ingested water (Figs. 3 and 4). Intra-tooth variation in δ18O values (range) varied widely between individuals, ranging from 0.9‰ to 11.3‰. The ranges of mean, minimum and maximum δ13C values for sheep, goats, and cattle are also listed in Table 3. In contrast to the oxygen results, intra-tooth 56

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 54 (2019) 48–67

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Table 2 Mass-dependent oxygen and carbon isotope analysis results. Laboratory Number

Distance from CEJ (mm)

d18OVPDB (‰)

d13CVPDB (‰)

Laboratory Number

Distance from CEJ (mm)

d18OVPDB (‰)

d13CVPDB (‰)

ACL-6213-A ACL-6213-B ACL-6213-C ACL-6213-D ACL-6213-E ACL-6213-F ACL-6213-G ACL-6213-H ACL-6213-I ACL-6213-J ACL-6213-K ACL-6213-L ACL-6213-M ACL-6213-N ACL-6213-O ACL-6214-A ACL-6214-B ACL-6214-C ACL-6214-D ACL-6214-E ACL-6214-F ACL-6214-G ACL-6214-H ACL-6214-I ACL-6214-J ACL-6215-A ACL-6215-B ACL-6215-C ACL-6215-D ACL-6215-E ACL-6215-F ACL-6215-G ACL-6215-H ACL-6215-I ACL-6215-J ACL-6215-K ACL-6215-L ACL-6215-M ACL-6215-N ACL-6215-O ACL-6216-A ACL-6216-B ACL-6216-C ACL-6216-D ACL-6216-E ACL-6216-F ACL-6216-G ACL-6216-H ACL-6216-I ACL-6216-J ACL-6216-K ACL-6216-L ACL-6216-M ACL-6216-N ACL-6217-A ACL-6217-B ACL-6217-C ACL-6217-D ACL-6217-E ACL-6217-F ACL-6217-G ACL-6217-H ACL-6217-I ACL-6217-J ACL-6218-A ACL-6218-B ACL-6218-C ACL-6218-D ACL-6218-E ACL-6218-F ACL-6218-G ACL-6218-H ACL-6218-I ACL-6219-A

3.3 5.4 9.7 12.3 13.9 16 17.7 19.9 23.1 25 28.9 30.9 33 35.9 39.6 4.9 7.1 9 11.3 13.9 15.9 17.6 20 22.3 24 2.5 4.6 6.7 8.8 11.6 13.5 15.6 18.5 21 23.7 26.2 29.1 31.8 34.3 37.4 2.2 4.4 6.6 9 12.1 14.5 17.6 20 23.4 26.5 29.8 33.1 36.8 39.7 3 5 7.7 9.4 11.7 14.3 17 19.3 21.9 24.7 2.4 4.1 6.4 8.9 11.4 14 16.6 19 21.2 0.8

−10.4 −10.0 −10.1 −9.2 −9.3 −8.7 −9.3 −7.8 −7.3 −8.0 −8.3 −8.9 −9.1 −10.1 −10.4 −13.7 −13.0 −12.7 −13.4 −13.2 −13.6 −13.6 −13.2 −13.4 −12.8 −8.6 −7.9 −7.6 −6.8 −6.5 −5.1 −4.6 −5.2 −6.0 −7.2 −7.1 −8.2 −8.4 −8.9 −9.6 −8.2 −8.0 −8.6 −7.5 −7.2 −6.6 −6.6 −5.8 −5.8 −5.2 −6.2 −5.6 −5.3 −6.1 −8.6 −7.5 −6.9 −6.1 −5.6 −3.9 −3.2 −3.9 −4.6 −5.4 −6.6 −6.0 −5.8 −5.2 −4.1 −3.6 −4.2 −2.7 −3.3 −8.6

−10.4 −10.8 −10.9 −10.6 −10.7 −10.7 −11.3 −11.5 −11.0 −11.5 −11.6 −11.0 −10.9 −11.0 −10.9 −11.4 −11.2 −11.6 −11.2 −11.0 −10.9 −10.7 −10.7 −10.2 −10.3 −10.2 −10.1 −10.2 −10.1 −9.8 −10.1 −9.9 −10.2 −10.2 −10.8 −10.4 −10.6 −10.6 −10.3 −10.2 −10.8 −10.7 −10.7 −10.6 −10.7 −10.8 −10.5 −10.5 −10.5 −10.5 −11.3 −11.2 −11.2 −11.4 −10.9 −10.7 −11.3 −11.0 −11.2 −11.3 −11.5 −11.3 −11.4 −11.3 −10.5 −10.7 −10.4 −10.5 −10.8 −10.5 −10.8 −11.1 −10.9 −11.7

ACL-6229-C ACL-6229-D ACL-6229-E ACL-6229-F ACL-6229-G ACL-6229-H ACL-6230-A ACL-6230-B ACL-6230-C ACL-6230-D ACL-6230-E ACL-6230-F ACL-6230-G ACL-6230-H ACL-6230-I ACL-6230-J ACL-6231-A ACL-6231-B ACL-6231-C ACL-6231-D ACL-6231-E ACL-6231-F ACL-6231-G ACL-6231-H ACL-6231-I ACL-6231-J ACL-6232-A ACL-6232-B ACL-6232-C ACL-6232-D ACL-6232-E ACL-6232-F ACL-6232-G ACL-6232-H ACL-6232-I ACL-6233-A ACL-6233-B ACL-6233-C ACL-6233-D ACL-6233-E ACL-6233-F ACL-6233-G ACL-6233-H ACL-6233-I ACL-6234-A ACL-6234-B ACL-6234-C ACL-6234-D ACL-6234-E ACL-6234-F ACL-6234-G ACL-6234-H ACL-6234-I ACL-6234-J ACL-6235-A ACL-6235-B ACL-6235-C ACL-6235-D ACL-6235-E ACL-6235-F ACL-6235-G ACL-6235-H ACL-6236-A ACL-6236-B ACL-6236-C ACL-6236-D ACL-6236-E ACL-6236-F ACL-6236-G ACL-6237-A ACL-6237-B ACL-6237-C ACL-6237-D ACL-6237-E

6.4 9.1 11.7 14.2 16.8 19.9 2.5 6.2 9.5 13.6 16.3 19.9 23.5 26.8 30.9 35 3.2 6 8.9 11.8 14.4 16.4 18.8 22.4 24.8 27.3 3.7 6.4 9.4 12.2 14.7 17.3 20 22.9 25.6 2.8 5.3 8 10.4 13.4 16 18.5 21 23.8 1.5 4.4 7.1 10.1 12.7 15.9 18.8 21.4 24.4 26.8 1.2 3.6 6 8.5 11.4 14.6 17.2 20.2 1.6 3.9 6.8 9.1 11.7 14.4 17 2.5 4.5 6.9 10.1 12.4

−10.8 −8.2 −9.6 −9.3 −8.6 −6.2 −6.0 −3.8 −3.1 −1.9 −5.4 −7.6 −8.6 −9.4 −7.7 −7.1 −5.3 −3.4 −3.1 −3.4 −4.8 −5.9 −8.5 −9.7 −9.1 −9.1 −9.4 −8.4 −6.1 −4.6 −3.4 −3.9 −2.4 −4.3 −6.5 −7.9 −5.2 −3.6 −3.1 −2.5 −3.2 −4.7 −6.4 −7.9 −8.9 −6.8 −4.5 −2.7 −2.8 −3.5 −4.7 −8.0 −10.2 −11.5 −5.9 −9.6 −9.7 −6.9 −4.6 −3.3 −2.9 −3.3 −8.0 −4.0 −2.2 −1.9 −2.7 −5.9 −8.0 −4.6 −3.9 −7.2 −9.8 −11.6

−11.6 −11.7 −11.1 −11.5 −11.5 −11.1 −10.9 −11.0 −11.3 −11.6 −11.2 −10.9 −10.7 −10.6 −10.5 −10.4 −10.8 −11.2 −11.5 −12.1 −12.2 −11.7 −11.6 −11.3 −11.3 −11.2 −11.1 −11.1 −11.0 −10.5 −10.3 −11.4 −11.2 −11.4 −11.3 −10.3 −10.6 −11.0 −11.5 −11.7 −11.9 −12.0 −11.5 −11.3 −11.1 −11.2 −11.3 −11.3 −11.5 −11.6 −11.7 −11.6 −11.4 −11.2 −11.0 −10.8 −10.6 −10.8 −10.9 −11.3 −11.6 −11.8 −11.3 −10.9 −10.7 −11.0 −11.1 −11.3 −11.3 −10.6 −9.6 −7.9 −6.5 −5.9

(continued on next page) 57

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Table 2 (continued) Laboratory Number

Distance from CEJ (mm)

d18OVPDB (‰)

d13CVPDB (‰)

Laboratory Number

Distance from CEJ (mm)

d18OVPDB (‰)

d13CVPDB (‰)

ACL-6219-B ACL-6219-C ACL-6219-D ACL-6219-E ACL-6219-F ACL-6219-G ACL-6219-H ACL-6219-I ACL-6219-J ACL-6219-K ACL-6220-A ACL-6220-B ACL-6220-C ACL-6220-D ACL-6220-E ACL-6220-F ACL-6220-G ACL-6220-H ACL-6220-I ACL-6220-J ACL-6220-K ACL-6221-A ACL-6221-B ACL-6221-C ACL-6221-D ACL-6221-E ACL-6221-F ACL-6221-G ACL-6221-H ACL-6221-I ACL-6221-J ACL-6222-A ACL-6222-B ACL-6222-C ACL-6222-D ACL-6222-E ACL-6222-F ACL-6222-G ACL-6222-H ACL-6222-I ACL-6222-J ACL-6223-A ACL-6223-B ACL-6223-C ACL-6223-D ACL-6223-E ACL-6223-F ACL-6223-G ACL-6223-H ACL-6223-I ACL-6223-J ACL-6224-A ACL-6224-B ACL-6224-C ACL-6224-D ACL-6224-E ACL-6224-F ACL-6224-G ACL-6224-H ACL-6224-I ACL-6224-J ACL-6225-A ACL-6225-B ACL-6225-C ACL-6225-D ACL-6225-E ACL-6225-F ACL-6225-G ACL-6225-H ACL-6225-I ACL-6225-J ACL-6226-A ACL-6226-B ACL-6226-C ACL-6226-D

3.5 5.8 8.2 10.7 12.5 14.4 16.7 19.4 22 25.1 2.7 4.8 7 9.5 11.3 13.4 15.8 18.6 21 23.1 26.7 1.8 4.7 6.6 8.7 11.3 13.3 16.2 18.5 20.7 24.4 1.6 3.9 6.6 9.3 11.7 14.2 17 20 22.4 25.1 2.4 4.9 7.6 10.3 12.9 15.3 17.6 20 23.3 25.4 2.2 4.5 6.7 9.3 11.4 13.4 16 18.5 21.4 23.7 3.9 6.6 9.4 12.2 13.6 15.8 19 21 23.9 26.2 3.4 6 8.8 11.6

−6.2 −3.9 −2.2 −0.6 −1.4 −3.0 −4.0 −6.6 −7.4 −8.0 −5.9 −3.8 −2.9 −2.0 −3.0 −3.3 −3.9 −6.1 −7.6 −7.0 −6.2 −6.1 −10.5 −10.9 −8.5 −6.9 −5.6 −4.8 −2.9 −3.6 −5.2 −3.5 −8.2 −7.5 −5.3 −5.4 −3.6 −3.1 −3.0 −3.9 −6.2 −2.5 −3.9 −6.5 −8.9 −9.3 −8.8 −9.2 −7.3 −4.9 −2.6 −0.1 −0.9 −2.9 −5.0 −7.9 −9.8 −10.8 −11.2 −11.3 −9.1 −6.7 −4.1 −2.4 −4.6 −6.3 −8.2 −9.5 −9.4 −8.5 −7.1 −1.2 −0.7 −2.0 −5.5

−11.7 −11.0 −10.7 −11.1 −11.6 −11.8 −11.7 −11.7 −11.7 −11.5 −10.5 −11.1 −11.1 −11.8 −11.7 −11.7 −11.9 −11.5 −11.5 −11.5 −11.5 −11.4 −11.0 −11.6 −11.6 −11.7 −11.9 −12.2 −12.7 −12.4 −12.5 −11.6 −11.0 −11.2 −11.7 −12.1 −11.8 −12.2 −12.1 −12.4 −11.6 −11.9 −12.0 −11.8 −12.1 −11.7 −11.9 −11.6 −11.8 −11.8 −11.3 −10.3 −10.4 −10.3 −10.2 −10.3 −10.1 −10.3 −10.4 −10.6 −10.4 −9.2 −10.2 −10.4 −10.8 −11.0 −10.8 −11.0 −10.7 −10.6 −10.6 −11.7 −12.0 −11.8 −11.6

ACL-6237-F ACL-6237-G ACL-6237-H ACL-6237-I ACL-6237-J ACL-6238-A ACL-6238-B ACL-6238-C ACL-6238-D ACL-6238-E ACL-6238-F ACL-6238-G ACL-6238-H ACL-6238-I ACL-6238-J ACL-6239-A ACL-6239-B ACL-6239-C ACL-6239-D ACL-6239-E ACL-6239-F ACL-6239-G ACL-6239-H ACL-6239-I ACL-6239-J ACL-6240-A ACL-6240-B ACL-6240-C ACL-6240-D ACL-6240-E ACL-6240-F ACL-6240-G ACL-6240-H ACL-6240-I ACL-6240-J ACL-6241-A ACL-6241-B ACL-6241-C ACL-6241-D ACL-6241-E ACL-6241-F ACL-6241-G ACL-6241-H ACL-6241-I ACL-6242-A ACL-6242-B ACL-6242-C ACL-6242-D ACL-6242-E ACL-6242-F ACL-6242-G ACL-6242-H ACL-6242-I ACL-6242-J ACL-6243-A ACL-6243-B ACL-6243-C ACL-6243-D ACL-6243-E ACL-6243-F ACL-6243-G ACL-6243-H ACL-6244-A ACL-6244-B ACL-6244-C ACL-6244-D ACL-6244-E ACL-6244-F ACL-6244-G ACL-6244-H ACL-6251-A ACL-6251-B ACL-6251-C ACL-6251-D ACL-6251-E

15.6 18.3 21.4 24.1 27.4 2.5 5.3 8 11.3 14.1 16.8 20.5 23.7 26.9 28.9 2.7 5.5 9.2 11.9 14.7 17.7 20.9 25 28.4 31.8 1.8 4.6 7.9 11 13.8 17.1 20 22.1 24.8 27.3 2 4.9 7.3 10.5 13 15.6 18.3 21 24 1.6 4.9 7.7 10.6 13.5 16.4 19.1 22 25.3 28.1 1.4 3.9 6.1 8.5 11.6 14.2 17.1 20 2 4.4 6.5 9.5 12.3 15.4 18.1 20.7 2.3 5.2 8.7 12.6 15.4

−12.3 −11.8 −10.1 −7.9 −5.3 −4.0 −3.2 −4.2 −5.9 −7.7 −9.1 −9.6 −9.3 −8.2 −8.1 −5.1 −4.0 −3.5 −2.9 −3.6 −5.0 −8.0 −9.4 −9.4 −8.2 −7.6 −4.9 −2.6 −2.2 −2.4 −5.4 −6.2 −8.1 −8.9 −9.5 −7.9 −6.2 −4.8 −3.2 −2.6 −2.8 −5.1 −8.6 −10.3 −8.4 −5.4 −4.6 −3.6 −3.9 −4.7 −7.2 −9.5 −11.4 −11.1 −7.2 −5.7 −3.8 −3.7 −3.5 −4.7 −6.6 −8.4 −8.8 −9.4 −7.5 −4.4 −2.4 −1.4 −2.1 −3.4 −8.5 −4.8 −1.5 −1.8 −2.8

−5.3 −5.1 −5.5 −6.5 −8.0 −11.4 −11.7 −11.7 −11.8 −11.8 −11.8 −11.6 −11.6 −11.7 −11.4 −11.3 −11.1 −11.3 −11.5 −11.8 −11.8 −11.6 −11.6 −11.4 −11.1 −11.8 −11.8 −11.7 −11.7 −11.8 −12.0 −11.7 −11.6 −11.3 −11.8 −11.3 −11.3 −11.0 −11.4 −11.4 −11.7 −11.7 −11.5 −11.0 −12.1 −11.9 −11.9 −11.9 −12.1 −11.9 −12.0 −11.5 −11.4 −11.3 −10.9 −11.0 −11.2 −11.6 −12.0 −12.0 −12.1 −11.8 −11.2 −11.4 −11.3 −11.2 −11.2 −11.2 −11.6 −11.6 −11.0 −11.0 −11.3 −11.8 −12.0

(continued on next page) 58

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Table 2 (continued) Laboratory Number

Distance from CEJ (mm)

d18OVPDB (‰)

d13CVPDB (‰)

Laboratory Number

Distance from CEJ (mm)

d18OVPDB (‰)

d13CVPDB (‰)

ACL-6226-E ACL-6226-F ACL-6226-G ACL-6226-H ACL-6226-I ACL-6226-J ACL-6227-A ACL-6227-B ACL-6227-C ACL-6227-D ACL-6227-E ACL-6227-F ACL-6227-G ACL-6227-H ACL-6227-I ACL-6227-J ACL-6228-A ACL-6228-B ACL-6228-C ACL-6228-D ACL-6228-E ACL-6228-F ACL-6228-G ACL-6229-A ACL-6229-B

13.7 16.9 19.7 22.2 26.1 28.5 2.4 5.1 7.6 10.6 13.4 16.4 19.6 22.8 26.4 30.3 2.1 5.2 8 10.5 13.8 16.7 19.8 0.5 3.7

−6.3 −8.4 −9.7 −10.2 −9.2 −8.1 −4.6 −2.9 −3.2 −3.3 −4.4 −3.3 −4.2 −4.6 −4.7 −4.6 −8.7 −10.1 −7.4 −4.5 −3.2 −2.5 −0.5 −12.3 −11.5

−11.5 −11.5 −11.1 −11.2 −10.6 −10.6 −11.5 −11.1 −11.3 −11.6 −11.9 −12.3 −12.3 −12.2 −12.4 −12.2 −11.5 −11.7 −10.8 −11.0 −10.8 −11.0 −11.3 −11.6 −11.8

ACL-6251-F ACL-6251-G ACL-6251-H ACL-6251-I ACL-6251-J ACL-6252-A ACL-6252-B ACL-6252-C ACL-6252-D ACL-6252-E ACL-6252-F ACL-6252-G ACL-6252-H ACL-6252-I ACL-6252-J ACL-6253-A ACL-6253-B ACL-6253-C ACL-6253-D ACL-6253-E ACL-6253-F ACL-6253-G ACL-6253-H ACL-6253-I

19.1 21.3 24.2 28 30.9 1.9 4.7 8 10.9 13 15.2 17.8 21 23.8 26.4 1.5 4.3 7.4 11.4 13.5 16.2 18.9 21.6 24.7

−4.9 −6.9 −8.4 −8.8 −8.8 −6.5 −8.2 −8.8 −9.7 −10.1 −9.9 −7.3 −6.2 −3.8 −2.9 −6.6 −7.3 −9.1 −8.3 −8.8 −10.5 −9.2 −6.8 −4.7

−11.9 −11.7 −11.7 −11.4 −11.1 −11.6 −11.5 −11.0 −10.8 −10.7 −10.5 −10.4 −10.6 −10.4 −10.5 −12.0 −11.8 −11.7 −11.0 −10.7 −10.9 −11.0 −11.1 −11.2

Balasse et al., 2003; Balasse et al., 2012; Tornero et al., 2016; Makarewicz et al., 2017; Makarewicz and Pederzani, 2017). For most individuals, intra-tooth δ18O ranges are similar to the estimated intraannual variation in δ18O values from the global precipitation models (OPIC: 6.5‰, RWICP: 8.7‰; see Table 4). Five individuals had graphs that did not show the expected seasonal pattern (Fig. 5). Four of these individuals have the lowest intra-individual δ18O ranges (ACL-6214, 6216, 6218, 6227), ranging from 0.9‰ to 3.9‰. One individual, ACL-6213, showed the expected sinusoidal variation but had a low intra-annual range (3.1‰). In contrast, ACL-6229 did not show the expected sinusoidal curve but has an intraindividual δ18O range (6.1‰) that is consistent with modeled seasonal variation in δ18O values. In addition, ACL-6224 (Fig. 3) shows sinusoidal variation in δ18O values across the sampled tooth but has an unusually high intra-individual δ18O range (11.3‰). The carbon isotope results from this assemblage reveal that the diet of most individuals was dominated by C3 plants, regardless of season. Using ∼–12‰ for cattle and between –12‰ and –14‰ for sheep as a cut-off value for the apatite δ13C value reflecting a pure C3 diet, the vast majority of measured δ13C values from the study that the animals sampled ate a C3-dominant diet. This is consistent with the local C3dominant plant community. These results also indicate that millet was not predominantly being used as a fodder crop in the Tsaghkahovit Plain in the Late Bronze Age. Within the consistency of C3-dominant diets, further homogeneity is seen in the lack of marked seasonal variation in δ13C values within individual teeth. With the exception of ACL-6237, intra-individual ranges of δ13C values were between 0.4‰ and 1.9‰. No significant differences in the intra-individual δ13C ranges were detectable between species, in part because of the small number of cattle and goats in the sample (cattle: 0.7–1.4‰, sheep: 0.4–5.6‰, goats: 1.1–1.9‰). The small ranges of δ13C values are consistent with the 1–2‰ seasonal variation in δ13C values of C3 plants (Smedley et al., 1991; Hartman and Danin, 2010), with enriched δ13C values in the dry or summer season and depleted values in the wet/winter season. While time averaging of seasonal signals within enamel is expected to dampen seasonal signals, the intra-individual ranges for sheep are lower than those reported in other studies for both wild and domesticated, free-grazing sheep with a predominately C3 diet in non-arid environments: wild sheep in Paleolithic Armenia (2.1–3.3‰) (Tornero

evidence for seasonal migrations to areas near the Ararat Plain or to northeastern Armenia, but the strontium data alone cannot determine whether animals were moved to areas outside of the Tsaghkahovit Plain where bioavailable strontium ratios are similar. Moreover, these results do not necessarily rule out seasonal vertical movements in the areas around the plain. Although outside the scope of the current study, the resolution of the strontium isoscape for the region could be increased in the future, taking advantage of advances in the modeling of Sr isoscapes based on bedrock geology and local hydrology (e.g. Bataille and Bowen, 2012). Large-scale isoscape modeling would enable more robust interpretations of strontium data from archaeological samples from the region (Bowen, 2010; West, 2010; Meiggs et al., 2017; Makarewicz and Sealy, 2015). One individual, ACL-6220, a sub-adult goat (Capra hircus) had radiogenic strontium values that were inconsistent with the “local” bioavailable strontium range. The 87Sr/86Sr values recorded in the earlier-forming parts of the tooth suggest that ACL-6220 was born in Tsaghkahovit Plain (or another isotopically-similar region) and then, towards the end of the formation of the M2, moved into an isotopicallydistinct region. The low value for the last sample (0.7068) suggests that ACL-6220 may have moved south into the Ararat Valley at the end of the first year of its life. The shift in 87Sr/86Sr values occurs as δ18O values are decreasing and δ13C values are increasing, suggesting cooling temperatures along with an increase in C4 or water-stressed C3 plants in the diet. The inverse relationship between δ18O and δ13C values is the opposite of what would be expected for free-grazing year-round in the Tsaghkahovit Plain and indicates a warmer, more arid climate (where winter grazing would include C4 plants and water-stressed C3 plants), which would be consistent with a move to the Ararat Plain. 6.2. Assessing intra-individual and intra-tooth variation in δ18O and δ13C values The majority of individuals sampled show a pattern of sinusoidal variation in δ18O values, reflecting seasonal changes in the oxygen isotope composition of ingested water (Figs. 3 and 4). While the timeaveraging introduced by enamel formation and the sampling procedure likely damps the seasonal variation in δ18O values to an extent (Balasse, 2003; Zazzo et al., 2005), it does not eliminate the sinusoidal shape produced by seasonal temperature changes in temperate climates (e.g. 59

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Fig. 2. Plot of 87Sr/86Sr results for (a) sheep and (b) cattle and goats. The dotted red lines indicate the local baseline (mean ± 2 sd) for the Tsaghkahovit Plain. Intratooth samples from M2s are plotted with the sample from the earliest-forming enamel (furthest from the cementum-enamel junction) on the left and the sample from the latest-forming enamel (closest to the CEJ) on the right. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

diet. Taking the oxygen and carbon results together, the data for most animals do not preclude spending the first year of their life in the Tsaghkahovit Plain or another area that has a similar Sr baseline and is at roughly the same altitude. The δ18O ranges for most individuals were in line with the expected values for the Tsaghkahovit Plain, and the very limited variation in δ13C doesn’t provide evidence to suggest that these animals were moving along an altitudinal gradient during the year. However, there is less inter-annual variation in carbon isotopes than would be expected for free-grazing animals in a C3 biome, which suggests that there is something that is unusual about these animals’ dietary patterns.

et al., 2016), domesticated sheep and goats at Middle Chalcolithic Kösk Höyük (1.0–2.9‰) (Makarewicz et al., 2017), and domesticated sheep in Neolithic France (1.5–2.7‰) (Balasse et al., 2012). This may reflect the consumption of a comparatively homogeneous diet (in terms of carbon isotope composition). While there are currently no theoretical models or experimental data exploring this aspect of herd animal diets, the data suggest that these individuals consumed a diet that had lower variation in the factors impacting δ13C values in plants: plant physiology, humidity, temperature, and the portion of plant consumed (leaf vs. stem) (Tieszen, 1991; Körner et al., 1991; Heaton, 1999; Hartman and Danin, 2010). This homogeneity can be interpreted as either the result of foddering practices or other factors impacting herd animal Table 3 Ranges of mean, minimum and maximum δ18O and δ13C values.

Bos Ovis Capra

Minimum δ18O

Maximum δ18O

Mean δ18O

Minimum δ13C

Maximum δ13C

Mean δ13C

−4.6‰ to –13.7‰ −4.6‰ to − 12.3‰ −7.6‰ to − 10.9‰

−2.8‰ to − 12.8‰ −0.1‰ to − 6.2‰ −0.6‰ to − 4.8‰

−4.6‰ to − 13.3‰ −4.0‰ to − 9.6‰ −4.7‰ to − 8.0‰

−11.6‰ to − 10.8‰ −12.2‰ to − 10.6‰ −12.7‰ to − 11.8‰

−9.8‰ to − 10.7‰ −5.1‰ to − 11.4‰ −10.5‰ to − 11.0‰

−10.5‰ to − 11.8‰ −10.2‰ to − 11.9‰ −7.1‰ to − 11.7‰

60

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Fig. 3. δ18O & δ13C results for sheep with sinusoidal intra-annual variation in δ18O. Filled triangles represent δ18O values and open circles represent δ13C values. Graphs are plotted on the same axes: left-hand y-axis (δ13C) = − 5.0‰ to −13.0‰, right-hand y-axis (δ18OVPDB) = − 14.0‰ to 0.0‰; x-axis (distance from the CEJ) = 0–35 mm).

61

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Fig. 4. δ18O & δ13C results for (a) goats and (b) cattle with sinusoidal intra-annual variation in δ18O. Filled triangles represent δ18O values and open circles represent δ13C values. Graphs are plotted on the same axes: left-hand y-axis (δ13C) = − 5.0‰ to −13.0‰, right-hand y-axis (δ18OVPDB) = − 14.0‰ to 0.0‰; x-axis (distance from the CEJ) = 0–35 mm for goats and 0–40 mm for cattle).

There were a few animals that showed patterns in δ18O values, δ13C values, or both that were not in line with the expected pattern for an animal residing in the Tsaghkahovit Plain year-round. Of the five animals that did not show the expected seasonal variation in the δ18O values, four were cattle (ACL-6213, 6214, 6216, and 6218). Cattle are obligate drinkers and consequently, the isotopic composition of body water in cattle is heavily influenced by imbibed water (rather than leaf water from ingested food) (Sponheimer and Lee-Thorp, 1999). ACL6213 showed seasonal variation, but damped relative to the expected intra-annual range for the Tsaghkahovit Plain. ACL-6214 and 6216 both had very low ranges for δ18O values and lacked clear seasonal peaks. ACL-6218 had a somewhat higher range of δ18O values but did not show the expected seasonal variation across the sampled enamel. The δ13C data for these individuals do not show a clear seasonal pattern, making it hard to interpret what might be the cause of the damping and lack of clear seasonal signals in the oxygen data. These patterns may be a result of imbibing water from isotopically-stable sources or from a combination of seasonal sources that damped temperature variations, rather than altitudinal mobility. For the Tsaghkahovit Plain, it is not immediately clear what are the potential sources of isotopically-stable water. Generally, large lakes, artesian and

karstic springs, and artesian wells are isotopically stable, due to the long-term mixing of inputs (Darling et al., 2006). The Tsaghkahovit Plain is not located near an area with karstic geology (Volodicheva 2002, 352–4), and many of the springs in the plain are non-artesian, drawing water from higher elevations rather than an underground aquifer. The rivers in the plain, being headwaters, are unlikely to be the source of isotopically-stable water (Halder et al., 2015; Darling et al., 2006). Given the high elevation and substantial snowfall in the Tsaghkahovit Plain and surrounding mountains, some of the surface (rivers) and ground waters (non-artesian springs) may have lower than predicted δ18O values, as the water from snowmelt would retain “winter” (i.e. depleted) δ18O values. Water samples taken from four springs in and around the plain in August 2014 had an average δ18OVPDB value of –11.1 (s.d. = 0.7), which is very similar to the predicted δ18O values for winter months (December and January) from the OIPC and RWICP models. This suggests that these springs are being fed primarily by snowmelt from higher elevations. Until a thorough mapping of the seasonal isotopic composition of source waters of the region is undertaken, it is not possible to identify specific sources of isotopicallymixed water. It is also important to note that there is no clear way, in

Table 4 Intra-tooth ranges (‰) of δ18O for sheep, cattle, and goats. Lab Number

Intra-tooth range

Lab Number

Intra-tooth range

Lab Number

Intra-tooth range

Lab Number

Intra-tooth range

Lab Number

Intra-tooth range

ACL-6213 ACL-6214 ACL-6215 ACL-6216 ACL-6217 ACL-6218 ACL-6219

3.1 0.9 4.9 3.4 5.5a 3.9 8.0

ACL-6220 ACL-6221 ACL-6222 ACL-6223 ACL-6224 ACL-6225 ACL-6226

5.6 8.0 5.2 6.8a 11.3 7.1 9.5

ACL-6227 ACL-6228 ACL-6229 ACL-6230 ACL-6231 ACL-6232 ACL-6233

1.8 9.6a 6.1a 7.5 6.5 7.0a 5.4a

ACL-6234 ACL-6235 ACL-6236 ACL-6237 ACL-6238 ACL-6239 ACL-6240

8.8a 6.8 6.1a 8.4a 6.4 6.5 7.3

ACL-6241 ACL-6242 ACL-6243 ACL-6244 ACL-6251 ACL-6252 ACL-6253

7.7a 7.9 4.9a 8.0 7.3 7.2 5.7

a

Indicates that the intra-tooth range is an underestimate of intra-annual variation due to missing maximum or minimum δ18O value for the annual cycle. 62

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Fig. 5. δ18O & δ13C results for animals with non-sinusoidal intra-annual variation in δ18O. Filled triangles represent δ18O values and open circles represent δ13C values. Graphs are plotted on the same axes: left-hand y-axis (δ13C) = − 5.0‰ to −13.0‰, right-hand y-axis (δ18OVPDB) = − 14.0‰ to 0.0‰; x-axis (distance from the CEJ) = 0–35 mm for sheep and goats and 0–40 mm for cattle).

the absence of confirmation of altitudinal mobility through δ13C data, to differentiate the consumption of isotopically-depleted groundwater from springs in the plain (originating from snowmelt at higher elevations) and the theorized damping of the seasonal variation in δ18O values resulting from vertical movements. Drinking isotopically-depleted snowmelt would result in more depleted δ18O values across the entire year, in contrast to the isotopicallymixed water sources (such as lakes, artesian springs, and wells) where seasonal inputs are averaged across many years. Thus, it is possible that the much lower δ18O values for ACL-6214 (–13.7‰ to –12.8‰) and ACL-6213 (–10.4‰ to –7.3‰) may reflect the consumption of highaltitude snowmelt. In contrast, the higher δ18O values for ACL-6216 (–8.6‰ to –5.2‰) and ACL-6218 (–6.6‰ to –2.7‰) may reflect access to other isotopically-averaged water sources. However, it is not at all clear what combination of water sources would produce the pattern of variation seen in ACL-6218, in part because it is not clear what portions of the annual cycle is represented by the sampled enamel and the carbon data do not help to disambiguate between possibilities. For sheep, as non-obligate drinkers, unexpected variation in δ18O values may be driven by imbibed water sources (as discussed above) or by diet. Leaf water is enriched in 18O relative to precipitation, although this is shaped by source water composition, humidity and plant physiology and varies between taxa (Barbour et al., 2004; Cernusak et al., 2016; Helliker and Ehleringer, 2000). Thus, the amount of grass relative to shrubs and forbs in the diet of sheep and goats, and how that changes seasonally, impacts the isotopic composition of body water, along with

other source waters imbibed. However, since all of the sheep with unusual δ18O data (ACL-6224, 6227, 6229) also had limited variation in the δ13C data, we cannot securely assign this difference to leaf water, which should also introduce differences in δ13C values (Cernusak et al., 2009). What we can conclude at this point is that these individuals were drinking water, and potentially eating foods, that differed from the rest of the sheep in the study. Lastly, the lack of seasonal variation in intra-tooth δ13C values reduces the utility of comparisons between δ18O and δ13C data to interpret movement patterns. However, there were a small number of animals where there was sufficient seasonal variation in both δ18O values and δ13C values to make a comparison. All four of these individuals, ACL-6225 (Ovis), 6233 (Ovis), 6221 (Capra), and 6237 (Ovis), showed inverse patterns in δ18O and δ13C values, in contrast to the expected simultaneous peaks for δ18O in meteoric water and δ13C in vegetation in the Tsaghkahovit Plain (Teeri, 1979; Liang et al., 2002; Yamori et al., 2014). There are three possible explanations for this inverse correlation between δ13C and δ18O values. First, the inverse correlation of higher δ13C and lower δ18O values during the winter months may be the result of the provisioning with fodder collected during the summer, which would have been 13C enriched due to the presence of C4 and/or waterstressed C3 plants. This has been documented for domesticated sheep in semi-arid grasslands in Mongolia (Makarewicz and Pederzani, 2017). The second possible explanation is that the lower δ13C values in the summer months reflect grazing in higher alpine pastures, which have 63

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feeding and/or sheep with known biographies would be needed to test this hypothesis. Human modification and control of herd animal diet (via foddering and other practices) exist on a spectrum of practices that intersect with pastoralist mobility in different ways. Multiproxy isotopic studies where diet and water sources mask seasonal and altitudinal variation in meteoric water and plants cannot be assumed to be evidence of sedentarization or the absence of mobility. Foddering is practiced by both sedentary agropastoralists and by nomadic herders. Different water sources may or not be connected to mobility at a variety of scales. This case study indicates that models for the relationship between pastoralist practices and the development of new forms of political organization in the Late Bronze Age South Caucasus will need to incorporate other aspects of pastoralist production, such as foddering and other ways of managing animal diets, along with thinking about the role that pastoralist mobility played in shaping politics. The large number of animals included in this analysis highlights the variation within the isotopic life histories of different animals in an archaeological assemblage. None of this diversity appears to be limited to animals of a particular species, age at death, or archaeological context. These differences likely result from different management patterns reflecting a range of factors: environmental conditions, physiological differences based on species, age, and sex, and herders’ decisions about production and herd management. This study highlights the need for larger data sets in isotopic studies of pastoralist mobility and the need to structure sampling design to adequately capture potential diversity. This is particularly relevant to understanding the development of (or movement away from) long distance or large-scale pastoralist mobility in a regional sequence. While re-evaluations of regional archaeological sequences that assess the direct and indirect evidence for pastoralist mobility are important, this study shows the necessity of moving away from viewing such evidence in a binary way – as either evidence of only nomadic pastoralism or only sedentary herding (e.g. Arbuckle and Hammer, 2018). It may be more important to think about how such evidence may show diversity in movement patterns within assemblages and sites. Key to this is sampling teeth using other variables of archaeological interest, such as archaeological context, species, and age at death (Chazin, 2016) and marshalling multiple kinds of data. Finally, the necessary connections between animals’ imbibed water and diet and the isotopic evidence for pastoralist movements in this case study highlights the importance of considering mobility within the broader framework of human-animal relationships within pastoralism. These connections will need to be further explored, within both methodological approaches to isotopic investigations of pastoralism, as well in theoretical understandings of how pastoralism is connected to political complexity in ancient pastoralist societies.

fewer C4 plants (Tieszen et al., 1979; Rundel, 1980; Cavagnaro, 1988) than the plants consumed during the winter months. However, given the low numbers of C4 plants expected in the summer for the Tsaghkahovit Plain, it is unlikely that winter grazing in the Tsaghkahovit Plain would have a sufficient quantity of C4 plants in the Tsaghkahovit Plain to produce a contrast with higher elevation sites. The last possibility is that it reflects an increase in the proportion of grasses in the winter graze as grasses are enriched relative to shrubs and forbs (Smedley et al., 1991; Dodd et al., 1998). Wild sheep in areas of desert-steppe in Mongolia have been observed to increase the proportion of grass in their winter diets (Wingard et al., 2011). It is unclear whether similar patterns would be applicable to sheep grazing the much less arid climate of the Tsaghkahovit Plain. Overall, this evidence tentatively suggests that some individuals may have been foddered with C3 plants cut during the summer months, retaining enriched δ13C values. Only ACL-6237, a sheep slaughtered at 1–2 years of age and recovered from a midden at Gegharot, appears to have consumed a considerable amount of C4 plants. Both the δ18O and δ13C curves show sinusoidal variation, however the highest δ13C values come at the same point as the lowest δ18O values. This suggests that ACL-6237 was being foddered over winter, with the fodder being composed of a much higher percentage of C4 plants than is expected in the Tsaghkahovit Plain in any season. This individual may have been foddered using a cultivated C4 plant (perhaps millet) or by cut wild hay from another region with more C4 grasses. 7. Conclusions The data presented here allow us to begin to address the question of the role that seasonal and geographical mobility played in the organization of pastoral practices in the Late Bronze Age Tsaghkahovit Plain. The results from the radiogenic strontium isotope analysis suggest that large-scale regional movements, especially south into the Ararat Plain were not common. The strontium evidence does not preclude geographic or vertical seasonal mobility within isotopically-similar regions. However, the information that mass-dependent oxygen isotopes can bring to this issue is ambiguous. There is evidence that a small number of individuals were getting their water from sources (potentially both surface and ground waters) that were isotopically distinct from those used by the main group of animals. It is unclear to what extent this can be interpreted as evidence for movement, and if it can, what geographic or seasonal patterns and scales of movement it is evidence of. Some of the difficulty in interpreting the isotopic evidence in this case study is a result of the unusually low levels of variation in intratooth δ13C values. The lack of clear seasonal signals means that the carbon isotope data cannot serve to help interpret patterns seen in the δ18O data, which is generally a critical component of modeling seasonal mobility along altitudinal gradients. These results highlight how much the isotopic variability being linked to movement in archaeological models is mediated by animal diet. While the study was designed to reveal evidence of animal movements, the results here suggest that foddering may have played a role in pastoralist production in the Late Bronze Age Tsaghkahovit Plain. There is one individual that shows evidence of being foddered with grasses that have a higher C4 content than expected for the Tsaghkahovit Plain, whereas the Sr and δ18O data indicate residence in the Plain (or a similar locale). Moreover, there are a small number of individuals who may have been foddered with C3 grasses in the winter. Lastly, the overall lack of intra-tooth variation in δ13C values in sheep, compared to other free grazing sheep in non-arid environments, suggests that, in general, the sheep in this study were eating a more restricted and/or homogenous diet. Currently, it is not clear what sort of diet (and/or husbandry practices) would produce this pattern. Tentatively, the lower levels of variation may suggest greater human control over animal food or movements. Future studies with controlled

Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation [grant number 8998] and the University of Chicago Social Sciences Division. The authors would like to thank Ruben Badalyan and Adam T. Smith for access to the faunal materials from the Project ArAGATS excavations. In addition, many thanks go to Ariel Anbar and the staff and faculty at the W.M. Keck Foundation Laboratory for Environmental Biogeochemistry for laboratory access and expertise, and to Emily Schach and Kristen Nado at the Archaeological Chemistry Laboratory at Arizona State University for their assistance and advice throughout the project. We are also grateful to the reviewers for their thoughtful suggestions.

Appendix A. Supplementary material Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2019.02.003. 64

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