Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41990003›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Seasonality and mobility: An Integrative framework for reconstructing Kura-Araxes pastoral systems at Maxta I, Nakhchivan.

Gwendoline Maurer, Delphine Frémondeau, Narmin Ismayilova, Safar Ashurov, Veli Bakhshaliyev, Fidan Khalafova Aliyeva, Alexandra Nederbragt, Anne-Lise Jourdan, David Wengrow, Rachel Wood and 2 more

Abstract read
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Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Gwendoline MaurerInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5682-3661
Delphine FrémondeauInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Narmin IsmayilovaOxford Nizami Ganjavi Centre, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Safar AshurovInstitute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Veli BakhshaliyevDepartment of Archaeology, Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Nakhchivan State University, Azerbaijan.
Fidan Khalafova AliyevaInstitute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Alexandra NederbragtSchool of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Anne-Lise JourdanDepartment of Earth Sciences, Bloomsbury Environmental Isotope Facility (BEIF), University College London, London, United Kingdom.
David WengrowInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Rachel WoodOxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1694-3295
Louise MartinInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Rhiannon E StevensInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Kura-Araxes Culture (3500-2500 BCE) is often depicted as a homogeneous pastoralist horizon, yet its internal economic and mobility strategies remain poorly understood. This study for the first time introduces an integrative framework for reconstructing site-specific pastoral practices through a detailed case study of Maxta I (Nakhchivan). It represents the first study in the Kura-Araxes context and more broadly in the Caucasus to combine zooarchaeology, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), stable isotope analysis, and settlement data. This multi-method approach offers a comprehensive view of livestock management, seasonal movement, and socio-economic organisation. The results reveal a seasonally flexible agro-pastoral system that blends permanent settlement features with structured herd mobility, birthing seasons, and possible targeted secondary product exploitation strategies for fleece. Rather than adhering to a binary model of nomadic versus sedentary lifeways, Maxta I demonstrates how Kura-Araxes communities dynamically adapted to diverse ecological and social landscapes. This research challenges assumptions of cultural uniformity and establishes a new comparative model for understanding the diversity of pastoral strategies across Southwest Asia.

Indexed as

Animal HusbandrySeasonsAnimalsLivestock

Identifiers

PMID41990003
PMCPMC13086362

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.