A calf for all seasons? The potential of stable isotope analysis to investigate prehistoric husbandry practices
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Publication date
2011-08Keyword
Stable isotope analysisTooth enamel
Bone collagen
Intra-tooth sampling
Cattle husbandry
Dairying
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© 2011 Elsevier. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.Peer-Reviewed
YesOpen Access status
openAccessAccepted for publication
21/03/2011
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Show full item recordAbstract
The Early Bronze Age barrows at Irthlingborough and Gayhurst in central England are notable for the large number of cattle (Bos taurus) remains associated with their human Beaker burials. Previous work using strontium isotope analysis has indicated that most of the cattle analysed, and one aurochs (Bos primigenius), were of local origin (Towers et al. 2010). In this study, stable isotope analysis of enamel and bone was carried out to investigate whether the mature cattle had experienced similar husbandry practices, climate and environment. Bulk carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope analysis of collagen suggested most were consuming similar sources of plant protein from environments probably local to the sites and this was supported by high resolution intra-enamel carbon isotope profiles. Oxygen isotope profiles indicated the aurochs and most of the cattle experienced similar climatic regimes: the only exception being an animal with a non-local strontium isotope ratio. However, a comparison of seasonality profiles of the local animals using estimated tooth formation times showed that there was no consistency in season of birth: the animals appeared to have been born throughout the year. Cattle can breed throughout the year but it requires considerable human effort and intervention to successfully overwinter young stock; it is therefore unlikely to have been carried out without good reason and benefit if winters were harsh. One reason is to ensure a continuous supply of milk. Measuring oxygen isotope profiles to identify year-round calving may thus be a potential indicator of dairying economies.Version
Accepted manuscriptCitation
Towers J, Jay M, Mainland I et al (2011) A calf for all seasons? The potential of stable isotope analysis to investigate prehistoric husbandry practices. Journal of Archaeological Sciences. 38(8): 1858-1868.Link to Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.030Type
Articleae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.030