Integration of Linearbandkeramik cattle husbandry in the forested landscape of the mid-Holocene climate optimum: Seasonal-scale investigations in Bohemia

International audienceDomestic animals and plants were introduced to Europe from the Near East and subsequently spread acrossEurope, entailing adaptations to different environments with consequences for the biology of organisms, agropastoraltechnical systems and socio-economic organisation. Agriculture was introduced to Central Europe byLinearbandkeramik (LBK) societies between 5600 and 4900 cal. BC, in predominantly forested environments.LBK farming systems involved intensive permanent field cultivation in natural openings. Milking was practicedas evidenced from cattle mortality profiles and lipid residues in ceramics. Questions arise as to what extent LBKcattle husbandry relied on woodland, and as to whether the seasonal scarcity of fodder conditioned cattle reproductioncycles, with consequences on milk availability. Results from the δ13C and δ18O analysis of cattle toothenamel at Chotěbudice and Černý Vůl (Bohemia, Czech Republic) suggest a limited use of dense forest for cattleherding, even on a seasonal scale: cattle were kept in the open component of the forest/steppe mosaic landscape.Winter forest browsing/provision of leafy fodder was evidenced in one specimen. At Chotěbudice, cattle birthsmainly occurred over a two to three-month period, suggesting environmental constraints on cattle fertility cycles,and possibly seasonal fodder scarcity. A direct consequence of this would be a shorter period of milkavailability throughout the year