The horse and the emergence of mobile pastoralism in the eastern steppe – MOBISTEPPE

On the Eastern Steppe of Central Asia, the period spanning the Late Bronze Age (1200–700 BCE) and the Early Iron Age (700–400 BCE) witnessed major societal changes, characterised by an increase in social differentiation and interconnectivity. The adoption of mounted pastoralism during the Late Bronze Age may have played a major role in this transformation. At that time, the horse had already been domesticated. It was harnessed, ridden, and probably used for traction, making it possible for the population to travel greater distances. The overwhelming presence of the horse in funerary and ritual monuments clearly indicates that this animal was of central importance and may have been an integrative component of ceremonial activities linking regionally distinct groups.
MOBISTEPPE aims to provide an unprecedented understanding of the role played by horses in interactions among the pastoral communities of Mongolia in the Late Bronze Age. This aim will be achieved through the multi-isotopic (C, O, Sr) analysis of the teeth of ancient horses to investigate pastoral mobility. Our hypothesis is that isotopic analysis can be used to reconstruct the size of the territory used by local human communities, and to thereby illuminate the social differentiation and multi-scalar connections among them. However, current limitations in knowledge on the incorporation of Sr isotopes into enamel, the geospatial distribution of isotopic signatures in the environment, and the availability of ancient horse material have prevented testing of this hypothesis. To remove these barriers and thus address the impact of domestic animals in the structuration of past human societies, MOBISTEPPE will combine animal feeding experiments, archaeology, movement ecology, social anthropology, and state-of-the-art isotopic and geospatial analyses and modelling. Specifically, we will (1) conduct controlled feeding experiments on sheep to document how fast the C and Sr isotopic composition of the diet is recorded in the animals’ tissues; (2) characterise and map the variability in Sr isotope values and mobility patterns of different nomadic herder families living in Central Mongolia today using GPS collars to infer the isotope record of mobility in the teeth of the modern herd animals; and (3) excavate, study, and isotopically analyse ancient horse remains from a large number of archaeological structures in that same region. Controlled feeding experiments will provide ground-breaking theoretical results that will be widely applicable in archaeology and beyond. Our work, which is set in an archaeologically rich region, will produce the first Sr isoscape in Eurasia that will be permanently stored and made freely available. This rigorous mapping and modelling approach is at the frontier of Sr isotope research and will be of great interest to the wider scientific community.
MOBISTEPPE will bridge the social, natural, and geological sciences and produce new data in at least four disciplines (archaeology, biogeochemistry, ecology, and social anthropology), which will be made available to the widest possible audience. Besides traditional activities aimed at the scientific community (publication and presentation of the scientific results, organisation of an international workshop), MOBISTEPPE contains an ambitious dissemination programme, including (1) training and teaching of students and young researchers (recruited by the project and participating in excavations) and (2) transfer of knowledge to the general public (through a public website, documentary film, miniseries, and photo exhibition).