Mountain and meadow: A reconstruction of long-term pastoralist ecology in the Kashmir Valley

The cultural history of the Kashmir Valley in the Western Himalayas spans at least 4500 years, beginning with some of the known Neolithic Agricultural villages in the mountainous regions of the northern Indian Subcontinent. The development of agriculture in the valley, and subsequent periods of cultural expansion have been attributed to economic growth that capitalised on warm-humid climate phases in the region, often followed by periods of supposed social collapse driven by the onset of cold-arid conditions. More recently, Kashmiri archaeologists have argued that these near-Malthusian interpretations result from a methodological focus on a handful of large sites, and that the Kashmir Valley contains multiple ecological niches suitable for a wide range of economic or ecological adaptation. This study seeks to build on palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data that suggests a more complex picture of social and ecological change in the valley. Rather than using archaeological remains, this study draws on environmental signatures of pastoralist usage, enrichment or modification of environmental niches at middle and high altitudes, primarily on the western flank of the Kashmir Valley. These data include changes in pollen spectra, charcoal and fungal spore accumulation or sediment deposition that are indicative of pastoralist activity in mountain regions, and are interpreted through the lens of niche construction theory. The results indicate that pastoralist land usage in the upland areas of Kashmir was spatially and temporally discontinuous, and likely entangled with other environmental and historical processes. Stronger signatures for pastoralism often appear contemporary with drier conditions and periods of regional agricultural intensification, indicating that upland summer season herding may be an adaptive strategy to mitigate other ecological or economic pressures