Human mobility amid emerging sedentism in the central Zagros: laser ablation strontium isotope analysis at early Neolithic Bestansur, Iraqi Kurdistan

Ragazzon, G., Matthews, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8316-4312, Milton, J. A., van Acken, D., Raeuf Aziz, K. and Pryor, A. J. E. (2026) Human mobility amid emerging sedentism in the central Zagros: laser ablation strontium isotope analysis at early Neolithic Bestansur, Iraqi Kurdistan. Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, 5. 1818214. ISSN 2813-432X doi: 10.3389/fearc.2026.1818214

Abstract/Summary

The Neolithic of Southwest Asia (c. 10,000–5,200 BCE) is associated with increasing residential stability alongside resource domestication processes. Yet, the trajectories of sedentism varied widely, with balances between sedentary and mobile behaviors contextually driven by subsistence needs, cultural practices and expanding interaction networks. In the Central Zagros, a key area for early domestication and settled life, the role of human mobility in shaping resource procurement and community structure remains underexplored. To investigate this, high-resolution laser ablation strontium isotope analysis was applied to 101 human teeth (41 individuals) from Bestansur (Iraqi Kurdistan), a major 8th-millennium BCE center in the region, using a life-course approach. The results, supported by new, multi-proxy baseline data, delineate a largely local community with multi-generational ties to the site, while providing possible evidence for the exploitation of di�erent foraging locales. Challenging rigid dichotomies between mobile hunter-gatherers and settled farmers, the integration of isotopic and contextual data enables consideration of diverse landscape use amid emerging sedentism, o�ering direct insights into Early Neolithic community make-up. Additionally, it contributes to the characterization of strontium isotope variability in a region with sparse isotope records, providing grounds for discussions of mobility and landscape use that transcend specific chronological boundaries.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/129523
Identification Number/DOI	10.3389/fearc.2026.1818214
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
Uncontrolled Keywords	Central Zagros, human mobility, laser ablation, neolithic, strontium isotope analysis
Publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
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