New evidence for Bronze Age herding strategies and millet exploitation in Southern Central Asia from faunal stable isotope analysis at Kattabulak, Surkhan Darya, Uzbekistan

Abstract

The intersection of herding practices and millet exploitation is key to reconstructing the adaptive strategies of Bronze Age communities in Central Asia. This study presents new stable carbon and nitrogen data from faunal remains at the site of Kattabulak in the Surkhan Darya region of southern Uzbekistan. The isotopic signature of ovicaprids (n = 11; δ¹³C = − 18.42 ± 1.44‰; δ¹⁵N = 7.94 ± 1.68‰) and equids (n = 5; δ¹³C = − 16.56 ± 1.50‰; δ¹⁵N = 8.24 ± 1.05‰) broadly overlap with those of wild herbivores (n = 11; δ¹³C = − 17.75 ± 1.22‰; δ¹⁵N = 7.41 ± 1.77‰), suggesting free-grazing regimes, whereas markedly higher values in cattle (n = 5; δ¹³C = − 14.40 ± 1.21‰; δ¹⁵N = 9.86 ± 0.61‰) imply more sustained access to C₄ resources, potentially millet and/or its byproducts. This diversified livestock management system enabled a flexible adaptation to local ecological conditions and supported the integration of animal husbandry within the local irrigated agro-pastoral economy. The herding strategies documented at Kattabulak contrast with those known in northern Central Asia, highlighting the role of environmental conditions, socio-economic and cultural dynamic and different agricultural practices—including the presence and scale of millet cultivation—in shaping Bronze Age animal management across Eurasia.