A new study addressing the diet and mobility of domestic and wild fauna from the Neolithic-Chalcolithic at the Perdigões enclosure just came out in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. In this article the authors use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data to show that the animals subsisted on a selection of C3 terrestrial resources, that there were no significant changes in animal subsistence patterns along the occupancy period of the enclosure. Based on Strontium isotopic data the authors were also able to prove that less than 5% of domesticated fauna exhibit Perdigões bioavailable strontium isotopic signal and that the majority of the animals could have browsed and grazed not further than approximately a 10-km radius from the site.
Work at Perdigões is directed by ICArEHB researcher Dr. António Valera, who is also responsible for the ‘Development of Complex Societies’ research group.
The full version of the paper can be found using this link.

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