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

Journal article

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.

Authors: Maurer, G; Frémondeau, D; Ismayilova, N; Ashurov, S; Bakhshaliyev, V

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Journal: PLoS ONE
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 4
• Pages: e0346108
• Article number: e0346108
• Publication date: 2026-04-16
• Acceptance date: 2026-03-13
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0346108
• EISSN: 1932-6203
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• Language: English
• Keywords: Pastoralism; Context (archaeology); Seasonality; Diversity (politics); Settlement (finance); Product (mathematics); Livestock