Life in the cradle of Civilization: preliminary results from an isotopic study on human and animal remains to explore mobility at Abu Tbeirah (Iraq)

Abu Tbeirah is an Early Dynastic Sumerian site dated to the second half of III Millennium BC, located about 15 Km NE of Ur (Nasiriya, Dhi Qar province, Southern Iraq). As suggested by cuneiform tablets, Southern Mesopotamia was characterised by an exchange of goods both within and outside the alluvial plain. The archaeological evidence suggests that mobility was not only a lower-class prerogative but it also involved higher-class individuals. Since 2012, Abu Tbeirah has been subject to excavation by an Iraqi-Italian archaeological mission, the f irst foreign mission allowed to enter Iraq after the Gulf War. The soil in this region exhibits high salinity, and archaeological layers feature bituminous surfacings, typical of the Fertile Crescent. For these reasons, bones are prone to taphonomical phenomena bringing the alteration of collagen. Enamel, being substantially less prone to diagenesis, emerges as a reliable source for isotopic analysis. Despite indirect evidence depicting human mobility in Southern Mesopotamia, systematic direct investigations, such as isotope analysis, have been limited. Only one study applied 87Sr/86Sr isotope to analyse two individuals from the royal cemetery of Ur but with low resolution, another study employing 87Sr/86Sr and 18O/16O (δ ‰) focused on cattle from the same cemetery. In light of these challenges, we employ a multi-isotopic approach, including isotopic proxies such as 18O/16O (δ ‰) and 87Sr/86Sr to investigate potential non locality phenomena and different types of herd and animal management using tooth enamel. These represent the first multi-isotopic approach inquiring about human mobility in an archaeological site from southern Mesopotamia. Results show a great homogeneity in the values of humans and a greater variability in animal data.