Seasonal shepherds' settlements in mountain areas from Neolithic to present: Aralar – Gipuzkoa (Basque country, Spain)

Aralar is a karstic mountainous landscape situated to the south of the western-most part of the Pyrenees where, apart from forests, mountain pastures are very important. We have found evidence of seasonal shepherds' settlements from the Neolithic to the present in the form of megaliths, caves and foundations of dwelling huts dating from the Bronze Age, and confirmed by radiocarbon dating. Pastoralism, apart from gathering and some hunting, enables the use of resources in these areas. The environmental, cultural and economic conditions determine the characteristics of the animal herds here. Thus, mountain areas are used in summer, when grass and nutritional resources are good but, when lignification increases, the livestock is moved lower down the valleys. More than two decades of archaeological research in this landscape has helped to understand the shepherds' way of life over time.