Alpine cattle management during the Bronze Age at Ramosch-Mottata, Switzerland

Based on a series of new radiocarbon dates we examine the vertical mobility of cattle in the Alps by means of strontium isotope analysis on samples from the prehistoric settlement of Ramosch-Mottata (Canton of Grisons, Switzerland). By identifying variations in the strontium isotope ratios of high-crowned cattle molars, we investigate the seasonal use of alpine pastures (vertical transhumance) and changes in cattle husbandry practices between the early and later stages of the site's occupation. Combined with the evidence of multiple high-altitude sites, indications of dairying and ethnoarcheological observations, we see an economic shift and a reorganization of domestic animal exploitation from the early to the late Bronze/early Iron Age in the Alps. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.