ABSTRACT

Current debates about pastoralists’ role in the development of complex forms of political organization in the ancient Near East and the Caucasus revolve around questions about pastoralist production and mobility. This study investigates sheep birth seasonality at Late Bronze Age (1500–1100 b.c.) sites in the Tsaghkahovit Plain, Armenia, using ${\delta }^{18}$O data from the incremental analysis of tooth enamel and zooarchaeological age at death data. Incorporating age at death data in sampling and analysis, and analyzing larger datasets, makes it possible to use birth seasonality data to examine the organization of pastoralist production, labor, and mobility. Analysis reveals that sheep were born across multiple seasons (80% of the annual cycle) in the Tsaghkahovit Plain and that there are significant differences in the birth seasonality of sheep slaughtered at different ages. The data suggest that herders in the Tsaghkahovit Plain were actively manipulating sheep reproduction by both constraining and expanding it.

摘要

当前关于牧民在古代近东和高加索地区复杂形式的政治组织发展中的作用的争论围绕着牧民生产和流动性问题展开。在青铜时代晚期（1500至1100年本研究探讨羊诞生季节性BC）在Tsaghkahovit平原，亚美尼亚的网站，使用${\delta }^{18}$O 来自牙釉质增量分析的数据和死亡数据时的动物考古年龄。将死亡年龄数据纳入抽样和分析，并分析更大的数据集，可以使用出生季节性数据来检查牧民生产、劳动力和流动的组织。分析表明，Tsaghkahovit 平原绵羊跨多个季节（年周期的 80%）出生，不同年龄屠宰的羊的出生季节存在显着差异。数据表明，Tsaghkahovit 平原的牧民通过限制和扩大绵羊繁殖来积极操纵绵羊繁殖。