Животные в погребально-поминальном обряде скифов левобережья Нижнего Днестра III-II вв. до н. э (original) (raw)

2022, CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo

Animals in the funerary rite of the Scythians on the left bank of the Lower Dniester in the 3 rd-2 nd centuries BC The article publishes the results of the study of the archaeozoological collection from the Scythian barrows and graves of the 3 rd-2 nd centuries BC on the left bank of the Lower Dniester. The materials are presented in various categories-sacrificial food, the remains of funeral feasts, animals accompanying the owners and antler inventory, and testify to the changes that have taken place in the funerary rites of the Scythian of the Lower Dniester region. When choosing sacrificial food, preference was given to the left front part of the carcasses of horses, the front parts of the carcasses of a domestic bull with a slight predominance of the left side and the right front part of the carcasses of sheep. A significant predominance of domestic bull meat (65.2 %) was noted, which may be an indicator of the low social status of a significant part of the population and reflect the process of the Scythians settling. A decrease in the portion of sacrificial meat is also noticeable-they were limited only to the lower part of the shoulder blade of a domestic bull, cutting the bone across a little above the neck. Sheep meat was used as sacrificial food in 20.3 % of all burials with sacrificial food. The sheep were not of particularly large sizes (54.7-65.4 cm), remaining within the parameters of the sheep of the steppe zone of the North Black Sea region of the Early Iron Age. Horses belonged to the groups above average height (18.2 %), medium height (63.6 %) and undersized (18.2 %), moving mainly with fast gaits (72.7 %). The slow type of movement was characteristic of only 18.2 %, and the mixed one was characteristic of 9.1 % of the individuals. As accompanying animals, adult horses were more often used, less often were used young animals, old and yearlings, and foals were used extremely rarely. Horses with massive first phalanges, formed in a cooler and more humid climate, could have been obtained by the Scythians on the left bank of the Lower Dniester from other regions. At the same time, the mixing of signs of different types of movement (gaits) of horses indicates the absence of targeted breeding work focused on breeding horses strictly "under the saddle". The further development of funerary rite with the use of dogs is noticeable, associated both with an increase in their number in the process of settling the Scythians, and with external influences, mainly from the Thracians. The buried were mostly accompanied by adults, older than 2 years, animals (77.3 %), whose height at the withers varied from 46.7 cm to 63.9 cm. The study of the dogs' bones in a number of cases made it possible to identify intravital injuries, as well as injuries that caused death. Pigs were used in the funeral rite very seldom-the bones of two individuals of the domestic pig were found in the funeral feasts of two barrows. The marsh turtle is also rare-the shells and bones of two turtles were found in two burials. Turtles, as well as single finds of a red deer, a hare, and a snake, may be associated with the social status of the buried. The antler and red deer antler inventory studied earlier makes it possible to expand the list of animal species by adding to it the elk, wild boar, wolf and birds-eagle, golden eagle and white-tailed eagle (?). Archaeological materials from Scythian graves and barrows of the 3 rd-2 nd centuries BC on the left bank of the Lower Dniester thus demonstrate a number of changes that testify to the ongoing differentiation of the Scythian society, the transition of part of the population to a semi-sedentary way of life and the perception of external cult practices. Elena Sekerskaya, Vitalij Sinika Animalele în ritualurile funerare și comemorative ale sciților din stânga Nistrului Inferior în secolele III-II a.Chr. În articol sunt publicate rezultatele studiului colecției arheozoologice din complexele funerare scitice din secolele III-II a.Chr. de pe malul stâng al Nistrului Inferior. Materialele sunt reprezentate de diferite categorii de obiecte: hrană sacrificată, resturi ale triznelor funerare, animale care îşi însoțeau gazdele şi unelte osoase − şi atestă schimbările care au avut loc în riturile funerare ale sciților din regiunea Nistrului Inferior. Елена Секерская, Виталий Синика Животные в погребально-поминальном обряде скифов левобережья Нижнего Днестра III-II вв. до н. э.