Domestic herbivore mobility and herd management at Bronze Age Politiko-Troullia, Cyprus

Abstract

This study presents stable isotope analysis of carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) from goat, sheep, and cattle teeth excavated from the Bronze Age village of Politiko-Troullia, Cyprus. The δ¹⁸O of local water sources and converted δ¹⁸O_{drinking water} values are used to demonstrate the dietary inputs for goats as compared to those for sheep and cattle. We infer the browsing and grazing behavior of these taxa to reflect different herd management strategies implemented by agropastoral villages during the development of pre-urban Bronze Age society. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values suggest higher mobility and a more diverse diet for goats in contrast to more constrained ranges and dietary supplementation for sheep and cattle. These conclusions augment our interpretations of animal management at Politiko-Troullia based on previous osteological and isotopic analysis of faunal remains from the site. We contextualize our findings with those of closely comparable faunal and isotopic studies of herd management at contemporaneous Bronze Age settlements.