Reconstructing carcass processing related to elk (Alces alces) exploitation during the Late Mesolithic: The case of Zamostje 2 (Central Russia (original) (raw)

Zamostje 2 is an open-air site, discovered in a bog in central Russia and excavated by V. Lozovski from 1989. It is basically a border of an habitation and fishing zone, partially with a waste area. This deposit is characterised by a successive stratigraphy of Late Mesolithic to Neolithic, linked to an assemblage unusually preserved because of humid conditions. This study aims to establish the "chaine op eratoire" of butchery in the Late Mesolithic (7900 ± 180 BPe7050 ± 60 BP) of elk, which is the most represented species. A quantitative analysis of human traces was performed in order to identify the different phases of acquisition, processing, and consumption of resources provided by the elk.