A multiproxy approach to identify occupation and mobility patterns of a pastoral community of the late fourth millennium at Arslantepe (Period VI B1).

The paper discusses pastoralism within the context of a case study at Arslantepe (Malatya) in Eastern Turkey during Period VI B1. which dates to the end of the fourth millennium BCE. This period saw significant changes in the settlement’s architecture and occupation patterns following the destruction of the Uruk period’s monumental palatial complex. The paper employs a multiproxy as well as a multiscalar approach, integrating material culture, geoarchaeological, and bioarchaeological evidence. The results reveal that the community in VI B1 practiced both transhumant pastoralism reaching as far as the highlands of East and Central Anatolia and small-scale farming. This suggests that the community had a mobile lifestyle while maintaining a connection to the settlement.