Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr variability and Bronze and Iron Ages caprine mobility on the Balearic Islands (Spain)

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the most extensive 87Sr/86Sr datasets from Late

Prehistory contexts in addition to bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr values for

baseline characterization on the Balearic Islands. A total of 149 caprine

dental enamel samples from Mallorca, Menorca, and Formentera

islands (Spain), and 35 environmental baseline samples covering the

main geologies of these islands are presented here. In addition, a

combination of strontium and oxygen sequential analysis was performed

on seven individuals from two sites that showed some of

the most diverse 87Sr/86Sr values to better understand their mobility

patterns. The main goal of this research is to provide more information

about isotopic variability of bioavailable strontium on the

Balearic Islands and livestock management during the Bronze and

Iron Ages, thus allowing us to understand how human communities

exploited their landscape and interacted with other populations.

Animal mobility. Strontium. Isotopes. Oxygen isotopes. Mediterranean archaeology. Late Prehistory.