Exploring Contemporary Pastoral Variability through Stable Isotope Analysis in the Turkana Basin, Kenya

In some1 contexts, the term “pastoralism” still invokes a perception of unchanging specialized dietary reliance on herd animals. This is despite the fact that research from across multiple disciplines has emphasized pastoral economic heterogeneity and its spatial and temporal variability, consistent with shifting contextual factors. While diverse accounts attest to dynamic subsistence strategies, direct dietary assessments of the complex interactions between herding and cultivating groups in pastoralist contexts and in terms of seasonal subsistence have been limited. This paper uses stable carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and hydrogen (δ2H) isotope analysis of modern human hair from the Turkana of northern Kenya, as well as hair from their herd animals, to explore differences in diet between herders and riverside cultivators—communities involved in different economic activities that are nevertheless part of a single broader sociocultural grouping. Sampling during the wet and dry seasons also facilitates exploration of adaptive responses to precipitation change. Limited dietary differences between more specialized herders and riverside cultivators support views of pastoralism as a highly dynamic adaptive strategy, with greater reliance on herd animals only on a seasonal basis.