The mobility of shepherds in the Upper Pyrenees

This paper investigates ancient pastoral mobility in a high mountain area of the Pyrenees. Firstly, modern transhumant routes were analysed using GIS tools in order to understand possible determinant factors (such as terrain slope and altitude, water courses and possible nodes) in the layout of a ro...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Garcia Casas, David|||0000-0003-3490-9450, Gassiot Ballbè, Ermengol|||0000-0003-0457-4805
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:281849
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/281849
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2023.07.007
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:GIS
Least-cost paths
Pastoralism
Pyrenees
Transhumant routes
Descripción
Sumario:This paper investigates ancient pastoral mobility in a high mountain area of the Pyrenees. Firstly, modern transhumant routes were analysed using GIS tools in order to understand possible determinant factors (such as terrain slope and altitude, water courses and possible nodes) in the layout of a route used for seasonal livestock movements. The observations obtained were then used to model optimal paths which may have been used by ancient shepherds. Subsequently, an analysis was made of the spatial relationship between the simulated paths and the dispersion pattern of archaeological sites in two time periods: Late Antiquity-Medieval (3rd-14th centuries AD) and Modern-Contemporary (18th-20th centuries AD). The results show significant differences in the spatial distribution of the sites throughout both periods in terms of accessibility and proximity to possible pathways. This variability provides information concerning historical changes in the social structure of pastoral alpine landscapes over long periods of time.