Maurer, Gwendoline; (2024) Tracing 3rd millennium BCE migrants to the Levant using Zooarchaeology, Stable Isotope Analysis and ZooMS. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The Kura-Araxes archaeological complex emerged in the Early Bronze Age in the South Caucasus and Eastern Anatolia, expanding into Iran and the Upper Euphrates Valley by the early 3rd millennium BCE, and subsequently reaching the Amuq plain and Southern Levant. Characterised by distinct material culture, it is often viewed as culturally conservative, lacking monumental architecture, and associated with nomadic pastoralism. However, few of these labels are based on zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical, or isotopic studies. There is a need for more extensive archaeological research to understand the Kura-Araxes as undifferentiated, egalitarian, small-scale pastoralists. Establishing a clear understanding of the economic and social practices in the Caucasus and regions like the Southern Levant is crucial for comprehending the complex’s spread across Southwest Asia. The main goal of this thesis is to identify and characterise the Kura-Araxes’ animal-based subsistence and land-use strategies in the Southern Levant and Caucasus. This involves examining their influence on Kura-Araxes spread, mobility, persistence, and cultural coexistence in the Early Bronze Age. This is achieved through the zooarchaeological analysis, ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry), and sequential stable isotope analysis of animal bones from four sites: Tel Bet Yerah and Tel Yaqush in the Southern Levant, Maxta I in Nachkcivan, and Janavartepe in Azerbaijan.

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