Pastoralists were a vital economic and social force in ancient societies around the globe, transforming landscapes poorly suited for agriculture into spaces of vast productive potential while simultaneously connecting mobile and sedentary communities alike across considerable distances.

Drawing from the rich archaeological records of Asia, Africa, and Europe, Isotopic Investigations of Pastoralism in Prehistory brings together the latest studies employing heavy and light stable isotopic analyses of humans and animals to investigate pastoralist diets, movement, and animal management strategies. The contributions presented in this volume highlight new methodological developments while simultaneously drawing attention to the diverse environmental factors that contribute to isotopic variation in human, plant, and animal tissues. Particular attention is paid to how pastoralist decisions regarding animal pasturing and mobility can be teased out of complex isotopic datasets, and also to the challenges in extracting information on the scales of human mobility in pastoralist landscapes.

This volume will appeal to scholars in archaeology, anthropology, and ecology, as well as those with interests in animal management.

Fourth in the 'Themes in Contemporary Archaeology' series produced by the European Association of Archaeologists, it is a solid contribution to the bookshelves of anyone interested in learning more about ways of reconstructing past seasonal mobility. Throughout each of the 10 chapters, multi-scalar approaches are employed to address a diverse range of research questions. It is a well-balanced volume, with some chapters more extensively reviewing relevant literature, model-building using modern data or presenting archaeological case studies. It should prove a useful reference volume for the libraries of those working in related research areas. The book itself is of high-quality production, with clear figures and comprehensive bibliographies. -Suzanne E. Pilaar Birch, University of Georgia, USA