The emergence of social complexity in the Southern Levant during the Chalcolithic (c. 4500–3600 cal. BC) was intimately tied to intensification in animal management. For the first time, secondary products such as milk and wool were intensively exploited, supplying communities with increasingly diverse foodstuffs and raw materials for craft production and exchange, but the precise herding practices underlying these new production strategies are unknown. Here, we explore the role of multi-species livestock pasturing through carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis of animal bones from Marj Rabba (Har Hasha’avi, West) in the Lower Galilee (ca. 4600–4200 cal. BC). Isotopic results suggest different pasturing/foddering of sheep compared with goats. Cattle were largely pastured locally, but high δ¹³C values in some animals indicate access to the Jordan River Valley (the Ghor in Arabic), where major Chalcolithic settlements were situated. This may indicate some cattle were moved along regional Chalcolithic exchange networks established for other prestige objects, such as copper. Finally, we provide evidence for moderate ¹⁵N enrichment in pigs relative to herbivorous livestock indicates. Possible interpretations include consumption of nuts (esp. acorns), household refuse containing animal protein, and/or fattening pigs on grain. Although an interpretation that requires further exploration, grain foddering of pigs would complement the zooarchaeological data for early slaughter, which suggests intensive meat production at Marj Rabba. It might also help explain why pig husbandry, as a drain on grain stockpiles, was gradually abandoned during the Bronze Age. Taken together, the isotopic and zooarchaeological data indicate an economy in transition from a non-specialized, household-based Neolithic economy to one in which the production of agrarian wealth, including animal secondary products, was beginning to emerge.

中文翻译：

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牧草，牧草和石器时代的复杂社会的发展：Marj Rabba畜牧业的同位素观点

铝质石器时代（约公元前4500-3600年），南黎凡特社会复杂性的出现与动物管理的加强密切相关。首次大量开发了牛奶和羊毛等次要产品，为社区提供了越来越多样化的食品和原材料，用于手工艺品的生产和交换，但是这些新生产策略所基于的精确放牧方法尚不清楚。在这里，我们通过对下加利利地区（约公元前4600年至4200年）Marj Rabba（西哈里哈哈阿维）的动物骨骼进行碳和氮同位素分析，探索了多种动物在放牧中的作用。同位素结果表明，与山羊相比，绵羊放牧/放牧不同。牛人大多在当地放牧，但高δ ¹³一些动物的C值表示可以进入约旦河谷（阿拉伯语的Ghor），那里是主要的石器时代的聚居地。这可能表明一些牛沿着为其他声望物品（例如铜）建立的区域石器时代的交换网络迁徙。最后，我们提供了适度的^15的证据相对于草食性牲畜，猪中的氮富集表明。可能的解释包括食用坚果（尤其是橡子），含有动物蛋白的家庭垃圾和/或在谷物上给猪增肥。尽管这种解释需要进一步探索，但猪的谷物饲料将补充早期屠宰的动物考古学数据，这表明Marj Rabba的肉类生产密集。这也可能有助于解释为什么在青铜时代逐渐放弃了畜牧业，这是谷物库存的一种浪费。综合起来，同位素和动物考古学数据表明，一种经济正在从非专业的，以家庭为基础的新石器时代经济过渡到开始出现的农业财富生产，包括动物副产品。