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Dear All,

Abstracts are now being accepted for Session H23, *The isotope ecology of
migration: Reconstructing mammalian ethology and its implications for
prehistoric human mobility and decision-making *at INQUA 2015, which will
take place from 27 July– 2 August 2015 in Nagoya, Japan (www.inqua2015.jp).

Session Description:

Throughout prehistory, the seasonal density, distribution, and movement of
animals would have influenced forager decisions regarding what to eat,
where to live, how long to stay there, and when to move. The behavior of
migratory species, including large-bodied herbivores moving in herds,
likely played a significant role in human mobility strategies. Projecting
modern herbivore ethology into the past is problematic for both extant and
extinct species, but stable isotope analysis has emerged as a valuable tool
for detecting evidence of migration and seasonal movement. In particular,
analysis of oxygen, carbon, and strontium of ancient mammal teeth and bone
has the ability to generate robust datasets that can be used to reconstruct
migratory behavior, integral to archaeological interpretations of
human-animal-environment interactions. Proxy datasets created by the
analysis of modern herbivore populations are critical for assessing the
relationships between the isotopic signals recorded by teeth in different
environments and variables such as temperature, precipitation, moisture
availability, and animal diet and physiology. To that end, this session
invites papers dealing with datasets from both modern and ancient mammal
populations that seek to advance or critique current methods for detecting
and reconstructing migratory behavior of herds and individuals using stable
isotope analysis as well as papers that integrate these analyses with other
types of neo- and paleoecological data.

Abstracts must be submitted before midnight (GMT) *December 20, 2014*, at
the following link:
http://convention.jtbcom.co.jp/inqua2015/call_for_abstracts.html

Please feel free to contact me before submitting your abstract to discuss
the session.

With best wishes,

Suzanne Pilaar Birch (session organizer)

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Dr. Suzanne E. Pilaar Birch

Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Department of Geography
University of Georgia
Athens, GA, 30602 USA

Website: uga.academia.edu/SuzannePilaarBirch
Twitter: @suzie_birch