Ethno-archaeo(zoo)logical studies of a present-day transhumant system in the Greater Caucasus Mountains

Résumé En

In South Caucasus, despite complex and transhistorical pastoral cultures, studies on this theme remain locally partial, and rarely diachronic. Our respective interests in the relationship between transhumant pastoral mobility led us to collaborate on a mission in Khevsureti (Georgia) in July 2022. We will present here the stakes of this ethno-archaeozoological collaboration in order to elaborate methodological approaches in favor of the studies of extensive pastoralism in high mountains. Three themes will allow a progressive analysis of the relationships between contemporary transhumant cultures and the great diversity of traces that this way of life leaves or does not: consumption, production and habitation. This paper will therefore highlight the complexity of the modern Georgian pastoral system, in parallel with the methodological importance of taking into consideration the quantity of information lost over a long period of time, and finally discuss the methods used in archaeo(zoo)logy in order to get as close as possible to past lifestyles.