Skeletons in My Cupboards? The Tale of Modern Iranian Sheep and Goat Osteological Collections from Pastoral Contexts in Ziaran and Bakhtiari
The Iranian Plateau, with its vast expanse (1,648,000 km²), its strategic position at the crossroads of major biogeographic zones, and its contrasting topography, played a pivotal role in the early domestication of animals, beginning as early as the 9th millennium BCE. These conditions fostered the development of domestic herbivores and the diversification of breeds. Despite the genetic standardization driven by modernization, mechanization, and industrial agricultural policies over the past seventy years, a wide range of sheep, goat, and cattle breeds has persisted—most notably among caprines.
Since the Neolithic, faunal assemblages from the Iranian Plateau are dominated are dominated by sheep and goats, with increasing intensity of their exploitation over time. This trend reflects a progressively stronger pastoral signature throughout the region’s archaeological record.
This long-standing focus on caprine husbandry across the plateau and its peripheries has exerted sustained anthropogenic pressure on sheep and goat populations since their domestication. Selective breeding for traits adapted to environmental, physiological, economic, or aesthetic demands has led to the creation and diversification of breeds. Today, approximately thirty traditional breeds are officially recognized across both species.
Between the 1990s and 2000s, as sustainable development and the preservation of traditional practices gained visibility in public discourse, I became increasingly aware of the need to document traditional caprine husbandry. This interest developed alongside my doctoral research in zooarchaeology. My academic training at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, within the then Associated Research Unit “Animal, Bone, and Archaeology” (now UMR BioArch), underscored the crucial role of osteological reference collections in zooarchaeological research. This awareness led to the establishment of two osteological collection projects in Iran, both presented in this blog. The first originates from Ziaran near Taleghan in northwestern Iran; the second from the Bakhtiari nomadic region in the southwest (Fig. 1).

Localisation des deux points de collecte des moutons et chèvres rustiques de Ziaran et de Bakhtiari sur une carte d’Iran issue de
© Gip Reclus – La Documentation Française Location of the two sheep and goat collection points in Ziaran and Bakhtiari on a map of Iran from © Gip Reclus – La Documentation Française
The value of modern osteological collections developed from a zooarchaeological and ethnoarchaeological perspective lies in their associated contextual data on caprine lifeways across the annual cycle. This includes information on transhumant trajectories and dietary variation between highland pastures in spring and summer and lowland areas in autumn and winter. Such data are especially relevant for isotopic studies and functional morphological analyses, enabling reconstructions of skeletal adaptations linked to herding practices.
The Ziaran Collection
In 1995, I initiated a collection program focused on various rustic sheep and goat breeds in the Ziaran region of Qazvin Province. This area is relatively close to the archaeological sites I was investigating for my doctoral research (Mashkour 2001). Situated in the Taleghan highlands at the foothills of the Alborz Mountains, Ziaran is inhabited by a sedentary population of farmers and pastoralists. Seasonal transhumance in search of pasture is still practiced, although increasingly threatened by ongoing socio-economic transformations (Fig. 2).

By selecting this region, the aim was to remain geographically close to the area studied in my doctoral project, while still operating within a traditional pastoral framework. This approach is not without critique, as it rests on the assumption of a historical continuum between past and present conditions. The underlying hypothesis—that the rusticity of local caprine breeds, in this case from the Ziaran region, implies similarity or even direct lineage with ancient populations from the adjacent Qazvin plain—cannot be substantiated without in-depth genetic analysis.
Despite this tenuous premise, our decision was constrained by logistical realities, and the project proceeded with these theoretical limitations in mind. Nevertheless, rustic breeds—though their precise histories and antiquity remain undocumented—are of particular interest as they result from long-term selection and adaptation to specific environmental, geographical, and climatic conditions.
For this project, I collaborated with Hajji Ebrahimi Ziarani, a farmer and herder who provided access to the field and his livestock. During the winters of 1996 and 1997, following the advice of Mr. Ziarani and his wife, Bolour Haseli, nine sheep and seven goats were selected from their flock. Due to climatic and environmental constraints in the region, the animals are moved seasonally between summer pastures in the Taleghan mountains and winter pastures in the Buin Zahra plain.
The sheep in Ziaran belong to the Fashandi breed, which possesses distinctive morphological features. At birth, lambs range in color from light to dark brown; by maturity, their fleece shifts to cream, light amber, or retains varying shades of brown. The head, belly, forelegs, and hind legs often remain dark, though some individuals exhibit white markings on the head or forehead. Fashandi ewes are polled, while rams have horns. Morphologically, this breed resembles the Afshari sheep. Its wool is relatively coarse but suitable for producing durable woolen goods. Fashandy sheep have fat short tail (fig. 2D).
Each animal was assigned a unique code composed of double or triple letters (e.g., CCYY, RR, TTT) to ensure individual identification. In a first phase, the skeletons of sheep and goats from Ziaran, representing various sexes and age classes, were used as a metric reference to explore morphological differences between males and females and to facilitate comparisons with archaeological material (Mashkour 2001, chap. 4, pp 129-141). This reference collection also proved useful for reassessing and testing certain morphological criteria traditionally used in zooarchaeological literature to distinguish between sheep and goats (see Boessneck 1969; Clutton-Brock et al. 1990).
The Bakhtiari Collections
The goal of establishing the Bakhtiari osteological collection was twofold: to assemble a series of sheep and goat skeletons from a traditional pastoral context in the Zagros Mountains—known for its enduring nomadic populations—and to develop an experimental framework for generating a stable isotope baseline for herd mobility. The Bakhtiari nomads are pastoralists who practice vertical transhumance. The epic story of their transhumance has become immortalised in Merian Cooper’s 1925 film Grass.
This project aimed to evaluate individual isotopic variation in animals subjected to cyclical movements between highland summer pastures (Yeylâq/Sardsir) and lowland winter pastures (Garmsir) (Mashkour 2003, Mashkour et al. 2005).
The animals collected belonged to the Chaharlang-Babâdi lineage of the Bakhtiari confederation. Bakhtiari territory extends over more than 400 km, from western Khuzestan to eastern Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari (Fig. 1). The eastern zone is highly mountainous, reaching elevations of 4,276 meters above sea level, while the western zone slopes down into the Mesopotamian lowlands of Khuzestan. Altitudinal differences between summer and winter pastures can range from 1,000 to 2,000 meters.
The Bakhtiari migrate twice a year between their summer quarters (ca. 1,500–3,000 m asl) in Kouhrang (Chehelgerd, Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari Province) and their winter quarters (ca. 500–1,000 m asl) in the plain of Lali (Masjed Soleiman, Khuzestan Province), where they typically remain from October/November to March/April depending of the climatic conditions each years (Fig. 3).

A First Set of the Collection from the Garmsir Zone in Lali (Masjed Soleiman)
During this fieldwork that went on from February to March 2001, I stayed in the village of Jamal Abad, under the jurisdiction of Lali, with the family of H.A. Jamalpour, from the Behdarvand lineage—nomads who had been settled since the 1980s. This residence enabled immediate contact with other branches of the family who continued to practice seasonal nomadism. A preliminary survey among several herders was necessary to ensure that their flocks had regularly transhumed between summer and winter pastures. We traversed vast areas and met with herders in order to assemble approximately twenty animals for the collection.
It quickly became evident that coordinating slaughtering and skeleton preparation was logistically challenging, with an average of only two animals processed per day. These operations demanded significant investment in both time and energy. In anticipation of these difficulties, I was accompanied by B. Hasseli from Ziaran—an experienced livestock breeder—who had previously assisted in assembling the Ziaran collection.
Each animal was systematically weighed and measured to record maximum biometric data while still alive. With great regret and sorrow, animals were then slaughtered according to Islamic ritual by a male member of the community, as women were not permitted to perform this task. The unusual daily activity, along with the large quantities of meat, required careful and diplomatic distribution within the extended family, given its high social and economic value.
The defleshed skeletons and whole bones were cooked, after which the remaining meat was removed—primarily by women and children—for consumption and reuse in communal meals. These gatherings were not only efficient for processing but also provided a convivial social setting.
The Second Set of the Collection from the Yeylâq Zone at Biregun/Kouhrang (Chelgerd)
Six months later, a second expedition conducted between August and September 2001, aimed to complete the initially planned number of skeletons. Bakhtiari nomads typically prefer to sell their fattened animals at the end of the summer, just before descending from the high pastures to their wintering grounds. This time, we traveled far from Lali—approximately 400 km—to the Chelgerd and Kouhrang region, specifically to the locality of Biregun, in order to locate the camp of other nomadic members of the Babâdi community.
After two days of trekking, we reached the camp and stayed for three days, surveying the region, meeting herders, and purchasing the remaining animals. Prices had understandably increased due to the seasonal fattening of the livestock. Furthermore, as we had faced difficulties in Lali obtaining a balanced sample of both sheep and goats, and of both sexes, this second collection focused on acquiring more males, including intact and castrated individuals.
Each animal was assigned a name. For this collection, a more systematic coding scheme was adopted to indicate both the provenance and species at a glance: LLOA or LLCH (for Lali Ovis aries or Capra hircus) from the lowlands, and KROA or KRCH (for Kouhrang Ovis aries or Capra hircus) from the uplands, followed by a numerical identifier.
Once this “scientific herd” was assembled, we traveled to the village of Oregun, at the eastern fringe of Bakhtiari territory near Isfahan, to stay with the uncle of my guide’s wife, from the Haftlang lineage. There, we were generously hosted by the family of H.Q. Estaki, who assisted in the preparation of the osteological material (Fig. 4).

A brief anecdote: Two days after our arrival in Oregun, we were visited by the local gendarmerie. During an intense round of questioning, we learned that we were suspected of livestock theft. To resolve the situation, I had no choice but to present the macerating skeletons—already strongly imbued with the pungent odor of papain. This rather vivid demonstration evidently discouraged the officers from pursuing the investigation any further.
Skeletal Preparation Protocols
After the disarticulation of the carcasses, the meat was removed and the skeletons were boiled, then macerated in a papain enzyme solution to ensure thorough cleaning of the bones. The enzyme was activated using ambient temperatures, ranging between a minimum of 30°C and a maximum of 60°C. In addition to the skeletons, horns, hooves, and livers were also preserved for subsequent osteological, isotopic, and DNA analyses. The preparation process—collection, cleaning, recording, and documentation—required several months of intense fieldwork to render the collection suitable for scientific use.
Use of the Collection Over the Years
Between the two field operations conducted from 1995 to 2001, a total of 45 individuals from the Fashandi and Bakhtiari breeds, of various ages and sexes, were assembled. Although the sample is not perfectly balanced in terms of sex and age distribution (Fig. 5), it represents a unique resource belonging to region. These skeletons are currently housed in the Laboratory of Bioarchaeology at the Central Laboratory of Tehran University.

The osteological collection and metric analyses
These collections have been regularly utilized after their constitution in various academic research projects and scientific publications. Initially, both collections were fully measured and morphologically documented: the Ziaran collection as part of my doctoral thesis (Mashkour 2001), and the Bakhtiari collection in the Master’s thesis of Azadeh Mohaseb (2003). To date, this remains the only comprehensive morphometric dataset available for these Iranian domestic breeds.
These biometric data have since served as a modern reference for comparative analyses with archaeological and contemporary assemblages. In numerous zooarchaeological studies, the metric data from these two collections have been used as modern analogs for understanding ancient populations on the Iranian Plateau, notably through Log Size Index (LSI) analyses. These datasets are cited in multiple theses and articles, including: Mashkour 2001, 2020, Mohaseb 2003, Mohaseb 2011, Davoudi 2017, Davoudi & Mashkour 2019, Davoudi et al 2019, Decruyenaere et al 2024, Mashkour et al 2020, Mashkour et al 2022.
The osteological collection and morphometric geometric analyses
In 2017, the EvoSheep project (ANR, France), directed by Emmanuelle Vila, provided an opportunity to revisit and expand the use of these collections. The project—“First zootechnical innovations in Southwest Asian societies (5th–1st millennia B.C.): origin and development of sheep breeds”—included the creation of several modern reference collections from traditional mobile and sedentary flocks in Lebanon and Ethiopia (Chahoud and Vila 2021, Vila and Amane 2022). The Ziaran and Bakhtiari collections were also incorporated into this broader comparative framework to support advanced morphometric research.
Within this context, more sophisticated analyses were conducted beyond standard linear measurements, using Geometric morphometrics (GMM) 2D or 3D. 2D GMM analyses were applied to the petrosal bones of the skull (Bader et al. 2022), while 3D GMM analyses focused on the astragalus bones (Vuillien 2022, Vuillien et al. 2025 et Submitted.).
The Bakhtiari herds and the osteological scientific collection in art
Finally, in May 2025, the Bakhtiari collection and the story and context of its constitution inspired a student in graphics with an interest in scientific drawings. She depicted a romantic scene of a Bakhtiari pastoral-nomad peacefully drinking tea while watching his beloved on a horseback behind the grazing flock near the foothills of the mighty Zardkouh. Garance Coppens used ancient Iranian miniature technics (Tash’ir) to create the illustration (Fig. 6).

Conclusion
To the best of our knowledge, this osteological collection of sheep and goat skeletons remains a unique resource in Iran. The ethnographic survey of these caprine herds and the morphological study undertaken represent an important contribution to the documentation and preservation of an increasingly threatened biocultural heritage.
Ideally, this project should have been extended to cover the full range of rustic breeds across Iran—many of which are now endangered due to modernization, rural depopulation, policies of breed improvement and productivity, and the voluntary or enforced sedentarization of nomadic communities, the traditional stewards of pastoralism in the region.
This project, while limited in scope, marks a crucial starting point and clearly calls for institutional support to be expanded into a national initiative. Preserving the (bio)diversity and genetic heritage of these rustic breeds—accumulated over centuries—is a fundamental goal that projects of this nature seek to achieve.
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my deep gratitude to late Hajji Ebrahimi Ziarani and his wife Bolour Hasseli for their generous hospitality and invaluable assistance during the 1995 fieldwork in Ziaran. Their experience and support were essential to the successful collection of the Ziaran material and later the assistance of B. Haseli for the Bakhtiari collection. I am also sincerely thankful to Eric Pellé (CNRS/MNHN) for his guidance and shared expertise during the early phase of the project in Ziaran.
For the Bakhtiari collection, I am grateful to the Fyssen Foundation for funding the fieldworks in 2001 and the research in 2002. I extend my thanks to Dr. Haeedeh Laleh, then Director of the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Tehran, whose support was instrumental in facilitating the Iranian side of the Fyssen project. Finally, I am particularly indebted to Emmanuelle Vila who invited me to join the ANR Evosheep project and gave the opportunity to value even more these osteological collections.
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L’autrice
Marjan Mashkour is researcher at the CNRS UMR 7209 (BioArch)- BioArchéologie, Interactions Sociétés Environnements – MNHN and the Archaeozoology section, Bioarchaeology Laboratory, Central Laboratory, University of Tehran, Iran.
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Marjan Mashkour (20 juin 2025). Skeletons in My Cupboards? The Tale of Modern Iranian Sheep and Goat Osteological Collections from Pastoral Contexts in Ziaran and Bakhtiari. Bioarchéologies. Consulté le 15 avril 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/146ai

