Pastoralists were a vital economic and social force in ancient societies around the globe, transforming landscapes poorly suited for agriculture into spaces of vast productive potential while simultaneously connecting mobile and sedentary communities alike across considerable distances.

Drawing from the rich archaeological records of Asia, Africa, and Europe, Isotopic Investigations of Pastoralism in Prehistory brings together the latest studies employing heavy and light stable isotopic analyses of humans and animals to investigate pastoralist diets, movement, and animal management strategies. The contributions presented in this volume highlight new methodological developments while simultaneously drawing attention to the diverse environmental factors that contribute to isotopic variation in human, plant, and animal tissues. Particular attention is paid to how pastoralist decisions regarding animal pasturing and mobility can be teased out of complex isotopic datasets, and also to the challenges in extracting information on the scales of human mobility in pastoralist landscapes.

This volume will appeal to scholars in archaeology, anthropology, and ecology, as well as those with interests in animal management.

About the Author

Alicia R. Ventresca Miller is a bioarchaeologist and stable isotope analyst at the Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel. Her research highlights connections between human societies and environments, with an emphasis on food consumption and production, tracking human mobility, and investigating livestock circulation and movement across the grasslands of Eurasia.

Cheryl A. Makarewicz is a Professor of Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry and Zooarchaeology at the Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel. Her research examines animal domestication processes in the Near East, the spread of pastoralism across Eurasia, and the role of the human-animal relationship in structuring sociopolitical interactions in pastoralist societies.

Reviews

Fourth in the 'Themes in Contemporary Archaeology' series produced by the European Association of Archaeologists, it is a solid contribution to the bookshelves of anyone interested in learning more about ways of reconstructing past seasonal mobility. Throughout each of the 10 chapters, multi-scalar approaches are employed to address a diverse range of research questions. It is a well-balanced volume, with some chapters more extensively reviewing relevant literature, model-building using modern data or presenting archaeological case studies. It should prove a useful reference volume for the libraries of those working in related research areas. The book itself is of high-quality production, with clear figures and comprehensive bibliographies.

-Suzanne E. Pilaar Birch, University of Georgia, USA

Book Information
ISBN 9781138308589
Author Alicia Ventresca Miller
Format Hardback
Page Count 164
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 884g