An archaeological discovery in the Pyrenees of Huesca has identified for the first time livestock management strategies and animal feeding practices that demonstrate how the first societies in high mountain areas, at the beginning of the Neolithic, already developed complex livestock and agricultural activities. They were not limited to the transhumance of sheep and goats. The study has integrated, for the first time, archaeological analysis. The research, coordinated by the UAB and with the participation of the CSIC, the University of Évora and the Government of Aragon, has also documented how the economic importance of the park in the Huesca area dates back to the Neolithic.
Researchers from the Archaeozoology Laboratory and the High Mountain Archeology Group of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the University of Évora (Hércules Laboratory), the Institució Milà i Fontanals-CSIC and the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Government of Aragon have characterized, for the first time, the livestock practices and feeding strategies of herds of domestic animals in high mountain areas during the ancient Neolithic, specifically in the archaeological site of Coro Trasito (Sobrarb, Aragón). These investigations have provided new elements for the study and complexity of the neolithization processes in the central Pyrenees.
The study developed by the research team has focused on evaluating animal ecology, livestock management strategies and animal feeding practices implemented by the first societies settled in high mountain areas (more than 1,500 meters above sea level). ). To do so, the team has integrated for the first time in high mountain contexts the analysis of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in bone collagen - the study of these two isotopes can be used to understand the diet and position in the food chain of the animals – with the archaeozoological analyzes of the animal remains of the time. Thanks to this integration, it has been possible to document different management and feeding strategies between herds.
The results obtained have shown that the herds of these first settlers were small and consisted of a few individuals of each species: cows, goats, sheep and pigs and destined for the use of meat and milk. Additionally, they have documented the increased economic importance of the pig during the Neolithic.
The presence in some of the cases studied of different modes of food management of the herds, with access to different pastures and the possible contribution of forage, mainly from leftover agricultural products, show how the livestock practices developed in the settlement of Coro Trasito were consolidated at the beginning of the Neolithic and related to agricultural practices. The study also shows that the herds were adapted to the environmental conditions of the cave.
The results of the archaeozoological, isotopic and archaeological analyzes have shown that the inhabitants of Coro Trasito mainly took advantage of domestic resources. Furthermore, the presence of transformation activities related to dairy products and fats and the existence of storage structures inside the cave indicates the complexity of the neolithization processes in the central Pyrenees and how these areas were quickly integrated into a larger economic system. broad and complex.
