Herd mobility is a zootechnical practice used to provide better pasture to the animals or to exploit specific territories. Vertical herd mobility for instance allows for the exploitation of mountainous areas during the warm season. Highland pastures are of better quality during the summer than the ones of the plains. Vertical herd mobility is also a medium for a stronger investment of human communities into the mountainous areas. The question of the appearance of vertical herd mobility in the South Caucasus and Iranian Highlands is still a matter of debate. In this presentation we suggest that the variation of carbon and oxygen isotope ratios recorded during several months in caprines tooth enamel can be a proxy for vertical herd mobility. We also infer intra-annual mobility between different geological areas from variations in strontium isotope ratios. Using the results from isotopic analyses performed on sheep and goat teeth from several archaeological settlements we investigate the evolution of pastoral mobilities in a diachronic perspective. Abst
