Investigating sheep mobility at Montale, Italy, through strontium isotope analyses

In recent years, extensive archaeological studies have provided us with new knowledge on wool and woollen textile production at the Terramare site of Montale, in the Po plain, northern Italy. The large number of textile tools, and of zooarchaeological evidence suggesting intense sheepherding, hints at Montale being a specialized centre of wool production during the local Middle and Recent Bronze Age. The aim of our study has been to investigate, by means of strontium isotope analyses, whether engagement in this economic activity was facili tated by mobile herding practices or by regional/interregional exchange/trade of animals. To this aim, we conducted 75 strontium isotope analyses of tooth enamel from 36 zoo-archaeological remains of as many sheep/ goat individuals from all the 11 archaeological phases identified at Montale and of four from the neighbouring early Middle Bronze Age site of Baggiovara. We also created a multi-proxy baseline from environmental samples of the region around Montale to interpret the results of the analyses from the sheep/goat teeth. Strontium isotope analyses have proven to be a powerful tool for the investigation of mobility when relevant and well-established baselines are available; our results hint at sheep herded to a consistent extent in the territory surrounding the respective sites. The data obtained in this study support earlier works suggesting that the territory around Montale had a significant pastoral vocation