animals. In the process of transhumance,the migration of humans and animals
takes place as movement between pastures located at varying altitudes. Typically,
during the warmer summer months, whentemperaturesare warmer and vegeta-
tion is available, herds are moved to higher locales. Herders, often with their entire
extended families, move with their animals and take up residence at these places,
living in either temporary shelters that may be relocated from pasture to pasture,
or in more permanent buildings that are used at the samelocationfrom year to
year. In late summer or early fall, again depending on the elevation of the pasture
being utilized, the herd is moved downslope to a lower elevation, where tempera-
tures at night are still tolerable to both human and beast, and sufficient plant
material is available to maintain the herd. This process may continue over several
weeks or even months, as pastureland at progressively lower altitudes is used in a
step-by-step fashion, until the lowest land is reached during the coldest period of
the year. The animals are kept at this location until warming temperatures in the
spring allow for the use of higher grazing land, at which time the cycle begins
anew. The most common animals involved in the process of transhumance are
sheep and cattle, but other grazing animals may also be moved between elevations.
Many people across the globe practice transhumance, and pastoralists continue
to employ this process even in technologically advanced economies—it is not
strictly confined to developing regions of the world. In France and Spain sheep
and goats are moved seasonally, and transhumance involving dairy cattle remains
quite common in some European countries, especially Switzerland, Austria, and
the Scandinavian countries. The historical record indicates that the practice of
transhumance was common by the early Middle Ages and may have originated in
alpine Europe as early as the Bronze Age. Some famous elements of the cultural
geography of this region are connected to the use of mountain pastures, such as
the use of the alphorn and yodeling, both of which almost certainly originated as
means of communication between shepherds separated by wide distances. Only
later did these forms of long-distance communication acquire artistic musical
expression, with numerous melodies and songs emerging as part of thefolk culture
of Switzerland, Germany, Austria, andother alpine areas of Central Europe.
Modern technology has altered some of the characteristics of transhumance in
developed regions. For example, in some economically developed countries, those
keeping flocks at high elevations during the summer are supplied via helicopter
deliveries, whereas for centuries the traditional system relied on a supply system
of mounted riders, who would periodically bring provisions to the herdsmen in
the mountain pastures. Despite modern adaptations, the basic characteristics of
transhumance remain a way of life for thousands of people across the globe.348 Transhumance