Archaeological and archaeogenetic evidence points to the Pontic–Caspian steppe zone between the Caucasus and the Black Sea as the crucible from which the earliest steppe pastoralist societies arose and spread, ultimately influencing populations from Europe to Inner Asia. However, little is known about their economic foundations and the factors that may have contributed to their extensive mobility. Here, we investigate dietary proteins within the dental calculus proteomes of 45 individuals spanning the Neolithic to Greco-Roman periods in the Pontic–Caspian Steppe and neighbouring South Caucasus, Oka–Volga–Don and East Urals regions. We find that sheep dairying accompanies the earliest forms of Eneolithic pastoralism in the North Caucasus. During the fourth millennium bc, Maykop and early Yamnaya populations also focused dairying exclusively on sheep while reserving cattle for traction and other purposes. We observe a breakdown in livestock specialization and an economic diversification of dairy herds coinciding with aridification during the subsequent late Yamnaya and North Caucasus Culture phases, followed by severe climate deterioration during the Catacomb and Lola periods. The need for additional pastures to support these herds may have driven the heightened mobility of the Middle and Late Bronze Age periods. Following a hiatus of more than 500 years, the North Caucasian steppe was repopulated by Early Iron Age societies with a broad mobile dairy economy, including a new focus on horse milking.

Malgré le grand nombre de fouilles menées sur des sites de la culture Kura-Araxe (3500-2400 av. J.-C.) dans le Sud Caucase depuis 1940, aucune synthèse n’a été réalisée sur les pratiques funéraires des populations. Cet article présente donc un essai de synthèse en intégrant les données des fouilles anciennes et récentes avec un nouveau regard, celui de l’archéothanatologie. Sur l’ensemble du Sud Caucase, 111 sites où la présence de sépultures est attestée ont été recensés. Les sépultures ont pu être réparties en six catégories : les cistes, les tombes construites de formes variables, les tombes en fer à cheval, les tombes en fosse sans signalement, les tombes signalées en surface par des petits amas de pierres et les kourganes. Des cartes de répartition des sites ont été établies en fonction des différents types de tombes identifiés et des modes de dépôt des défunts. Les méthodes de l’archéothanatologie ont permis de mieux appréhender les modes de dépôt et de mettre en évidence des gestes insoupçonnés.

Several samples coming from the recently discovered (February 2019) Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age Chovdar necropolis in Azerbaijan were analysed using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. The analysis allowed a preliminary classification of the samples in eight groups based on their composition, obtained from the XRF spectra using the fundamental parameter method. A more detailed classification was then obtained using the graph clustering method.

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