Tooth Enamel Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Ratios Reveal Shifts in Neolithic Caprine Husbandry on the Dalmatian Coast, Croatia

ABSTRACT Stable isotope analysis of sequential samples of ancient sheep and goat tooth enamel is used to investigate feeding, breeding, and mobility strategies at Neolithic villages on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. δ 13 C values demonstrate clear enrichment of caprine diet in 13 C from the Early ( c . 8.1–7.5 kya cal. BP ) to the Middle Neolithic (7.5–7.0 kya cal. BP ). The elevated carbon isotope ratios are consistent with a diet consisting of terrestrial C 3 plants from arid environments, potentially supplemented by marine or wetland vegetation during the summer. δ 18 O values are used to model season of birth. The results suggest early examples of autumnal lambing and multiple birthing seasons were practiced by Middle Neolithic (Danilo) herders as early as 7.5 kya cal. BP. Analysis of seasonal signals in intra‐tooth carbon and oxygen isotope sequences suggests foddering was less important during the Middle Neolithic, whereas Early Neolithic (Impresso) herders routinely foddered during winter months, likely in response to seasonally dry conditions between 8.0 and 7.5 ky cal. BP . Additionally, the data provide evidence consistent with small‐scale vertical transhumance as early as the Impresso period. The results are discussed in the context of an increasing emphasis on dairying and a shift in the seasonal allocation of labor during the Middle Neolithic.