Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 47 (2) 2019   DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2019.47.2.033-039

Annotation:  Late Middle and Early Upper Paleolithic of the Eastern Adriatic and the Problem of the Regional Midd Insight into Ceramic Technologies at the Maikop Site of Ust-Dzheguta, Karachay-Cherkessia Chalcolithic and Bronze Age (4th to 3rd Millennia BC) Burials with Gold Ornaments in the Caucasian M Archaeozoological Studies at Konoplyanka, the Southern Trans-Urals Burials in Anthropomorphic Jars in the Philippines The Tamga Signs of the Turkic Nomads in the Altai and Semirechye: Comparisons and Identifi cations Belt Sets of the “Redikar Type” in Medieval Cemeteries of the Volga Finns An Assemblage from a Medieval Burial at Lake Parisento, Gydan Peninsula, the Arctic Zone of Western Finds of Medieval Coins from Eski-Yurt, Crimea Children’s Games in the Sociocultural Space of a Siberian Town: Historical and Archaeological Contex On the Methodology of Studying Palimpsests in Rock Art: The Case of the Shalabolino Rock Art Site, The Use of Remote Sensing, Geophysical Methods and Soil Analysis in the Study of Sites Disturbed by Miklouho-Maclay’s Legacy in Russian- and English-Language Academic Research, 1992–2017 Remnants of the Snake Cult Among the Khakas (Late 19th to Mid 20th Century) “Taiga” and “River” Components in the Nanai Socio-Tribal Organization at Lake Bolon, the Lower Amur The Armenian Epic Poem “Daredevils of Sassoun” and the Mahabharata: Similarity of the Ethnographic S Antemortem Cranial Injuries in the Altai Mountains Pastoralists of the Scythian and Xiongnu-Sarmatia   

Archaeozoological Studies at Konoplyanka,
the Southern Trans-Urals

A.Y. Rassadnikov

Institute of History and Archaeology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kovalevskoi 16, Yekaterinburg, 620990, Russia

Konoplyanka is a fortified settlement associated with the Sintashta culture and dating to 1920-1745 cal BC. The faunal sample was studied with regard to standard traits and pathology analysis, rather recently adopted in Russian archaeozoological studies. The results are relevant not only to ancient herd composition and age at slaughter but also to the animals’ states of health. The analysis of pathologies provides information about the herders’ skills and the housing of domestic ungulates. Ethnographic data relating to the modern grazing management system in the same area and information received from herdsmen are widely used. This makes it possible to assess the carrying capacity of the land, and to arrive at a more accurate reconstruction of the pastoral economy. Osteophagy among the domestic ungulates is analyzed, and the phenomenon is discussed in the context of settlement archaeology. The study has shown that animal husbandry was the predominant subsistence strategy. Results of pathology analysis indicate a high level of herding skills. The cattle were used as draft animals. Osteophagy attests to places where animals were kept. The predominant system was homestead herding, all or most animals being likely kept within the settlement throughout the year.

Keywords: Bronze Age, Sintashta culture, archaeozoology, animal pathology, ungulate osteophagy, draft cattle