The Social Dimensions
[expand] The ownership of livestock created wealth inequality within communities. The families with large herds could survive bad crop years, could accumulate surplus for trade, could provide for extended…
Animal Husbandry
The Disease Management
[expand] The diseases that affected livestock required both prevention and treatment. The isolation of sick animals prevented spread to healthy stock. The quarantine of new animals before integrating them…
The Predator Management
[expand] The wolves that killed livestock created ongoing tension between pastoralists and predators. The shepherds and herders developed various defense strategies—keeping animals close to settlement at night, using livestock…
The Horses
[expand] The breeding of mountain horses emphasized sure-footedness, endurance, and cold tolerance over speed or size. The horses that could safely navigate narrow trails, that could carry loads up…
The Cattle
[expand] The larger animals required better pasture and more shelter than small ruminants, limiting their utility in highest mountain zones but making them valuable in valleys and lower slopes…
The Sheep and Goats
[expand] The small ruminants were ideal mountain livestock because they could navigate terrain too steep for cattle, could survive on vegetation too sparse for larger animals, and required less…
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY: Mountain-Adapted Livestock
Mountain-Adapted Livestock The animals that thrived in mountain conditions were not the same breeds that flourished in lowland pastures. The harsh climate, the steep terrain, the sparse vegetation, the long…