Seasonality and mobility: An Integrative framework for reconstructing Kura-Araxes pastoral systems at Maxta I, Nakhchivan

Maurer, Gwendoline ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5682-3661, Frémondeau, Delphine, Ismayilova, Narmin, Ashurov, Safar, Bakhshaliyev, Veli, Aliyeva, Fidan Khalafova, Nederbragt, Alexandra, Jourdan, Anne-Lise, Wengrow, David, Wood, Rachel, Martin, Louise and Stevens, Rhiannon E. 2026. Seasonality and mobility: An Integrative framework for reconstructing Kura-Araxes pastoral systems at Maxta I, Nakhchivan. PLoS ONE 21 (4) , e0346108. 10.1371/journal.pone.0346108

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Abstract

The Kura-Araxes Culture (3500–2500 BCE) is often depicted as a homogeneous pastoralist horizon, yet its internal economic and mobility strategies remain poorly understood. This study for the first time introduces an integrative framework for reconstructing site-specific pastoral practices through a detailed case study of Maxta I (Nakhchivan). It represents the first study in the Kura-Araxes context and more broadly in the Caucasus to combine zooarchaeology, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), stable isotope analysis, and settlement data. This multi-method approach offers a comprehensive view of livestock management, seasonal movement, and socio-economic organisation. The results reveal a seasonally flexible agro-pastoral system that blends permanent settlement features with structured herd mobility, birthing seasons, and possible targeted secondary product exploitation strategies for fleece. Rather than adhering to a binary model of nomadic versus sedentary lifeways, Maxta I demonstrates how Kura-Araxes communities dynamically adapted to diverse ecological and social landscapes. This research challenges assumptions of cultural uniformity and establishes a new comparative model for understanding the diversity of pastoral strategies across Southwest Asia.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences
Publisher:	Public Library of Science
ISSN:	1932-6203
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	21 April 2026
Date of Acceptance:	13 March 2026
Last Modified:	07 Sep 2026 21:50
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/186470

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