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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.
The volume integrates multiple data sources, including
ethnographic, archaeological or SIA (stable isotopic analysis) to
provide new insights on a number of heavily understudied global
locations.
Archaeology is all about how the present came into existence. Thus,
it contributes to the social understanding of crises, including
present and potential future adversities. Even diseases, such as
pandemics in past societies, were and are observed by archaeology.
Some examples can be found in this booklet. The scientists of the
Kiel Cluster of Excellence ROOTS describe human reactions in past
societies that were organized quite differently from ours. This is
precisely why it is possible to identify the basic features of
human behaviour for the management of crises. From the emergence of
agriculture more than 10,000 years ago to the Russian colonisation
of Siberia a few hundred years ago, a fundamental pattern is
becoming apparent: crises, including those caused by disease, can
only be managed by increasing diversity. Acceptance of diversity,
the introduction of new technologies and socially responsible
action have always led to the mastering of crises. It is also clear
that values can only be preserved or updated in crises through
active involvement. For example, scientists describe that when
people are passive, other social groups can easily bind power to
themselves, whereas when people actively participate, more
democratic structures can develop even in crisis scenarios. This is
the message that we take with us from the past: whether as a
forager or as a simple farmer in earliest agricultural societies,
in ancient Greece or in an early modern society - diversity and
social commitment are the components that help us to overcome
crises. Learning from the past for the present - that is the task
of international archaeology.
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