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The secular and sacred roles of dogs at Botai, North Kazakhstan
... No que respeita a "partes", o crânio e as partes apendiculares do esqueleto (mais as patas e menos as caudas) parecem ser os elementos mais recorrentes, com claro predomínio do primeiro. De facto, começam a ser vários os exemplos da deposição de crânios de cães destacados do corpo, numa prática que se estende até à Eurásia, onde o carácter cerimonial da mesma tem sido assumido (Olsen, 2000). Na Península Ibérica, e para além do já citado caso do Camino de las Yeseras, os crânios de cães surgem isolados no Fosso 3 do Sector I dos Perdigões (Valera, 2008a De facto, nos últimos anos, tem sido sublinhada a necessidade de que esta "proliferación de animales en depósitos y recintos de sanjas debe ser abordada, holisticamente, dentro de episódios deposicionales de maior envergadura, donde también, los restos humanos y los enseres participan relacionalmente" (Márquez Romero, 2006). ...
... A questão da deposição de animais é indissociável do papel e estatuto que lhes é conferido na vida e na morte, ou seja, antes e depois da deposição. No caso dos cães, como Olsen (2000) sublinha, raramente existe um único tipo de relação homem/cão numa dada sociedade e a deposição final do corpo (ou de partes) destes animais apenas revelará uma parte dos papeis que o animal desempenhou em vida e na morte. Na realidade, a complexidade interpretativa resulta, em grande medida, da variedade de papeis que o cão, ao contrário de muitos outros animais, terá desempenhado entre estas comunidades e das relações específicas, próximas e múltiplas que se estabeleceram entre ele e o Homem, as quais foram responsáveis pela diversidade contextual em que o cão aparece (ou em que está ausente). ...
... E como acima já se referiu, na Pré-História Recente o tratamento concedido aos cães (mas também a outros animais) aproxima-se frequentemente do concedido aos restos humanos. Por isso, a interpretação contextual deve basear-se em processos de escavação que lhe dediquem cuidados semelhantes aos que são dedicados os contextos sepulcrais humanos (Olsen, 2000), atendendo a questões como orientação do animal, posição do corpo, partes representadas, natureza da articulação dessas partes, evidências de manipulação, atributos dos indivíduos (idade, sexo, tamanho, morfologia, patologias) e, naturalmente, associações contextuais e processos tafonómicos. O alargamento do número de contextos registados e analisados detalhadamente poderá, então, evidenciar padrões regionais que permitam dar maior consistência às inferências produzidas. ...
... The lack of a common vocabulary for dog mortuary treatment, particularly regarding what is meant by the term 'dog burial', has led to widely varying interpretations of archaeological dog remains. The 'special' deposition of dogs, especially when codeposited with humans, has led to many different interpretations, including: a valuable companion (Jennbert 2003) or household member (Fahlander 2008), a cenotaph (Larsson 1990a), a shaman (Strassburg 2000), symbolic protection (Munt and Meiklejohn 2007), and a foundation offering (Olsen 2000). Given this range of interpretations, the development of a uniform terminology seems overdue. ...
... Numerous dogs, some partially complete and some represented by only a few elements, were excavated from Eneolithic Botai in Kazakhstan, where they had been deposited under floors, in wall pits or to the west of building entrances. These too have been referred to as dog burials (Olsen 2000). From Natufian Israel, two dogs interred with human remains at Hayonim Terrace are reported as dog burials (Tchernov and Valla 1997). ...
... Until recently, fully and partially articulated animal remains have rarely merited explanation (Pluskowski 2012, Morris 2010), because animal bones were commonly considered of purely economic origin (Hill 1995). This has been particularly problematic for domesticates outside the conventional subsistence sphere, such as the dog, and arguments have been made for a more rigorous examination of these deposits (Morris 2011, Wilson 1992, Olsen 2000, Pluskowski 2012. Grant (1984) defined 'special animal deposits' as depositions of three types: animal burials, skulls (including mandibles), and articulated legs. ...
... Remains of complete adult dogs can be found that were buried with very young puppies or with special grave goods (such as food offerings, beads, pottery, etc.). Ancient dogs in some regions or time periods were buried in abandoned dwellings or in close proximity to important dwelling features such as doorways, hearths or chimneys (Fugate 2001(Fugate , 2010Olsen 2000;Vellanoweth et al. 2008) while in other areas, dogs were simply buried in the household refuse that accumulated around ancient communities. Regardless of how they were interred, dogs were buried by virtually all cultural groups throughout their long history. ...
A manual published in 2009 meant to aid field archaeologists in the identification and excavation of complete and partial dog burials. It is not intended as a comprehensive reference for the laboratory analysis of dog remains, although it may assist in certain aspects of such investigations. The original physical book was printed on waterproof paper for field use but the advent of electronic tablets used for field research meant a pdf version was desired by many. This is an official copy provided by the author from the original book files.
... This evidence extends from the Upper Palaeolithic through to the modern era in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas, with the large number of human graves where canid remains have been deposited. There are also isolated deposits of canine remains that have been interpreted as genuine tombs for the animals or as part of the ritual activity of past populations (Hill 2018;Germonpré et al. 2009Germonpré et al. , 2012Losey et al. 2011;Mitchell 2015;Morey 2006Morey , 2010Olsen 2000;Radovanovic 1999). Deposits of wolves and foxes are less common, and are more closely associated with totemic images (Bruck 1999). ...
We studied 36 dogs (Canis familiaris) from the Can Roqueta site in the Catalan pre-littoral depression (Barcelona), dated between the Late Bronze Age and the First Iron Age (1300 and 550 cal BC). We used a sample of 27 specimens to analyse the evolution of the dogs’ diet based on the carbon δ13C and nitrogen δ15N isotope composition. The results show a marked human influence in that these natural carnivores display a highly plant-based diet. The offset between canids and herbivorous ungulates does not reach the minimum established for a trophic level, which implies an input of C3 and C4 (millet) cultivated plants. Moreover, the homogeneity in the values indicates that humans prepared their dogs’ food.
... The presence of dogs in funerary and ceremonial structures is well known in European prehistory, probably because they were the first domesticated animals (Thalmann et al., 2013). The importance of this species as funerary accompanying animals is observed as early as the Palaeolithic (Germonpré et al., 2009;Germonpré et al., 2012;Larsson, 1994;Losey et al., 2011;Radovanovic, 1999), where they probably had an important symbolic role and were clearly different to other animals (De Grossi, 2008;Morey, 2006Morey, , 2010Olsen, 1985Olsen, , 2000. ...
In this article, a zooarchaeological and isotopic analysis is presented for 26 dog exemplars (Canis familiaris). These dogs were deposited in burial and ceremonial structures in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Neolithic, within the Pit Grave cultural horizon (ca. 4200–3600 cal BC). Four archaeological sites of the Catalonian coastal strip are studied: Camí de Can Grau, La Serreta, Ca l'Arnella, and Bòbila Madurell (one of the most important necropolises of the Iberian Peninsula). The presence of these dogs is interpreted as evidence of accompanying offerings and represents the most ancient use of this animal in the context of burials within the studied territory. Although it is a not a globally recorded gesture during this period, in light of the present results, it can be considered as a stereotyped ritual activity and evidence of the close relationship between these animals and the human communities. The diet of most of the dogs must be considered mixed and very similar to that of the humans, including consumption of herbivores and terrestrial plants.
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... Their floors are compressed, clay-rich soil, and there are usually fairly central hearth pits, plus occasional eccentric storage pits, but no clear evidence for the precise nature of roofing or roof support. The houses are generally ringed by pits that are rich in bone deposits that are heavily dominated by horses Zaibert 2009;Zaibert et al. 2007), but usually there is also a dog burial or cranium in at least one associated pit (Olsen 2000). ...
Ancient steppes for human equestrians
The Eurasian steppes reach from the Ukraine in Europe to Mongolia and China. Over the past 5000 years, these flat grasslands were thought to be the route for the ebb and flow of migrant humans, their horses, and their languages. de Barros Damgaard et al. probed whole-genome sequences from the remains of 74 individuals found across this region. Although there is evidence for migration into Europe from the steppes, the details of human movements are complex and involve independent acquisitions of horse cultures. Furthermore, it appears that the Indo-European Hittite language derived from Anatolia, not the steppes. The steppe people seem not to have penetrated South Asia. Genetic evidence indicates an independent history involving western Eurasian admixture into ancient South Asian peoples.
Science , this issue p. eaar7711
... Whole dogs buried under house thresholds and in foundation pits beneath houses in the Eneolithic site of Botai in Kazakhstan, dated ca. 3500 BCE (Olsen, 2000), might represent the dog as absorber of illness, a guardian of the household against disease and evil. ...
... -29, 1998, Susan J. Crockford chaired a symposium entitled "The History of the Domestic Dog" which focused primarily on the evolution of the domestic dog, early forms and breed development, skeletal variation in Roman and non-Roman contexts, contemporary examples of modern "primitive dogs" and archaeological methods of analysis including morphometrics and nonmetric traits, hair and DNA analysis. In a single session in this large symposium, entitled "Interpreting roles: early practical and ritual uses of dogs", six papers were presented, including ones which considered the sacred and secular uses of dogs in Kazakstan (Olsen 2000), the burial of dogs within an Early Archaic human cemetery in the western United States (Yohe and Pavesic 2000), and the use of dogs for food (as evidenced by cut and butchery marks) in Gallic France (Horard-Herbin 2000) and Roman Period Belgium and Romania (Tarcan et al 2000). As a follow-up to this most impressive collection of papers, and with the intention of focusing more specifically on the multiple and complex roles that dogs may play in human lives, we organized a session for the ninth International Council of Archaeozoology Conference, held in Durham, England, 23-28 August 2002, which was entitled "Dogs and People in Social, Economic or Symbolic Interaction". ...
... Thus, in the Mesolithic, in different parts of the world (e.g., at Ain Mallaha and Hayonim Terrace, Lepenski Vir, Vlasac, Lokomotiv-Raisovet, Skateholm I and II) human burials are associated with dog remains or dog burials are found in settlements or cemeteries (Davis and Vala 1978;Tchernov and Valla 1997;Radovanović 1999;Zvelebil 2008;Morey 2010;Losey et al. 2011). Similar associations between people and canids are known also for the Neolithic and Eneolithic as shown by numerous discoveries in Europe (TABLE 5) or on other continents (e.g., Shamanka II, Catalhöyük, Çayönü, Domuztepe, Botai, Krasnyi Yar) (Hill 2000;Olsen 2000;Morey 2010;Losey et al. 2011;Croucher 2012;Russell 2012). In the case of dog burials, they, without a doubt, reflect a particular attitude and respect by the people for their companions, which benefitted from the same burial processes as humans. ...
The relationship between people and dogs has its beginnings in the Palaeolithic and extends tocontemporary times. This paper explores the role of dogs in Eneolithic communities from the Balkans, witha particular focus on two dog mandibles which were discovered in House No. 14 at Sultana-Malu Ros ̧u(ca. 4600–3950B.C.) in Romania. The two artifacts belong to different excavation levels. The firstmandible was identified in the foundation trench which marks the beginning of the house’s lifecycle; thesecond was found in the abandonment level of the house, marking the end of its lifecycle.Archaeozoological, technological and functional analyses demonstrate the unique character of theseprehistoric artifacts, telling the stories of those who used, sacrificed and abandoned them.
... Não significa isto que um conjunto de ossos desarticulados de um mesmo animal e até com marcas de desmembramento não possa, sob certas circunstâncias, ser um enterramento, mas deixaremos essa problemática fora deste texto. (Olsen, 2000). Na Península Ibérica, e para além do já citado caso do Camino de las Yeseras, os crânios de cães surgem isolados no Fosso 3 do Sector I dos Perdigões (Valera, 2008a (Soares, 2003). ...
... At the eighth Congress of the International Council for Archaeozoology, held in Victoria, British Columbia August 23-29, 1998, Susan J. Crockford chaired a symposium entitled "The History of the Domestic Dog" which focused primarily on the evolution of the domestic dog, early forms and breed development, skeletal variation in Roman and non-Roman contexts, contemporary examples of modern "primitive dogs" and archaeological methods of analysis including morphometrics and nonmetric traits, hair and DNA analysis. In a single session in this large symposium, entitled "Interpreting roles: early practical and ritual uses of dogs", six papers were presented, including ones which considered the sacred and secular uses of dogs in Kazakstan (Olsen 2000), the burial of dogs within an Early Archaic human cemetery in the western United States (Yohe and Pavesic 2000), and the use of dogs for food (as evidenced by cut and butchery marks) in Gallic France (Horard-Herbin 2000) and Roman Period Belgium and Romania (Tarcan et al 2000). As a follow-up to this most impressive collection of papers, and with the intention of focusing more specifically on the multiple and complex roles that dogs may play in human lives, we organized a session for the ninth International Council of Archaeozoology Conference, held in Durham, England, 23-28 August 2002, which was entitled "Dogs and People in Social, Economic or Symbolic Interaction". ...
... This clearly illustrates the multitude of different roles that dogs filled in past human societies. Dogs in prehistory presumably had a number of different functions, both ritual and practical, often simultaneously (Serpell 1995;Olsen 2000). Practical use of their skills included roles as hunting partners, draft animals, guard dogs, herding animals, and scavengers. ...
The close association between dogs and people since early times has led some scholars to infer that dogs generally had the same diet as humans. In palaeodietary research where bone chemistry is employed, dogs have therefore sometimes been used as approximates for humans when human bone was not available. In this study, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis is applied to pendants made from dog’s teeth from Stone Age graves at Zvejnieki in northern Latvia to investigate the validity of using dogs to infer human diet. In addition, human and faunal remains are analysed. Analyses produced evidence for three different groups of dogs at Zvejnieki: scavenging dogs, dogs feeding on exclusively freshwater fish, and dogs with a completely marine diet. Humans consumed large amounts of freshwater fish, but none of them had any marine input to their diet. The marine dogs are therefore interpreted as evidence for contact with coastal people. The Zvejnieki inhabitants are likely to have acquired the dogs from coastal people either as living animals, or in the form of tooth pendants. The general conclusion is that dogs exhibit too great a variability in diet to be useful as approximations for human diet.
... Its symbolic role in Korsnäs is evident in the presence of dog tooth beads (Sjöling 2000:18) and through the dog cranium found in grave 2. Tooth beads from dogs are also known from the PWC site Äs, Västmanland, and the PWC/FBC site of Alvastra, Östergötland (Sjöling 2000:34pp). The multiple roles of dogs, both sacred and secular, together with the varied perceptions and attitudes towards the species in prehistory, has been discussed by Olsen (2000). Jennbert (2003:149p) suggests that in prehistory, certain animals, such as dogs, were transformed into cultural categories, and thus participated in the collective. ...
... This suggests that, in addition to ordinary burials, dogs were associated with a broad and complex range of ritual practices. Similar examples of dogs in ritual contexts unrelated to burial can be cited from both Prehistoric and Historical Periods in various parts of northern Eurasia (Moszynska 1974;Ullén 1994;Olsen 2000). ...
The earliest dog finds in Finland are nearly as old as the evidence of human occupation in Finland,
more than 10 000 years. Although scarce and mainly burnt and poorly preserved, dog bones are
present in southern Finland throughout the Stone Age. In northern Finland, however, dogs are absent
in palaeofauna. Dog bones are present at Iron Age sites, where they are found in both occupational
contexts and burials. Dog bones from Iron Age burials are mainly burnt, but those from occupational
sites are unburnt, as are those found at Historical Period sites. Early dogs probably aided in seal and
elk hunt and were also used for pulling sleds, but occasionally also eaten and used in ritual activities.
The size and shape of the early dogs resemble those of a Spitz, which lends support to the notion
that the Finnish Spitz may have ancient origins.
... Consequently, we should bear in mind the possibilities of ontological parities between animal species and humans (typical of totemic social organizations, for instance) that could help to interpret practices related to human and animal deposits, what is present, how it is present and what is missing. Because of these particular ontological frameworks, archaeology should pay as much attention to animal remains as to human remains in archaeological surveys (Olsen 2000): orientation, position, represented body parts, condition of those parts, individual attributes (e.g. age, gender, size, pathologies) and contextual associations. ...
During the past decade, many archaeological interventions in southern Portugal
have revealed a different panorama funerary practices dating from the 4th to the
2nd millennium BC. Besides the architectural specificities, contexts revealing
associations of animal and human remains are multiplying. So far the available
data reveal a preference for the deposition of domestic animals, on one hand; and
for the deposition of animal parts rather than complete animals, on the other.
The majority of the archaeological contexts under study revealed a preference
for the deposition of articulated paws, isolated limb bones or even articulated
animal parts, where the limbs are always present. The traditional explanations
for such occurrences of animals in tombs are that they are the product of rituals
of commensality. According to the anatomical representations and other
contextual characteristics (e.g. direct associations of some animal bones with
specific human bones, taphonomic history of the faunal collections), another
interpretation is proposed. This approach is strongly guided by a new framework
based on the understanding of Human/Animal relationships, where a bone or
an anatomical part can be representative of a specific animal.
... Genetic evidence suggests that domestic dogs evolved independently from wolves in separate parts of Eurasia by at least 14e15 000 years ago (Leonard et al., 2002;Clutton-Brock, 2000Savolainen et al., 2002;Vilà et al., 1997Vilà et al., , 1999Wayne et al., 2006). By the Holocene, people across the globe deliberately buried dogs in a variety of contexts, including cemeteries, underneath house foundations, and in garbage heaps and pits (Crockford, 2000a(Crockford, , 2009Kerber, 1997;Morey, 2006;Morey and Wiant, 1992;Olsen, 2000;Schwartz, 1997;Shigehara and Hongo, 2000;Snyder and Moore, 2006;Tcherov and Valla, 1997;Wapnish and Hesse, 1993;Worthington, 2008). Dog burials have become the single most important line of evidence for understanding human/dog relations through time (Crockford, 2009;Morey, 2006). ...
To date more intact dog remains have been found on San Nicolas than on any of the other seven California Channel Islands. However, little is known about them. During the 2007 summer field season we excavated a medium sized young male dog in a flexed burial position from a pit at CA-SNI-25, a large Native American village site. The dog exhibits hypodontia, noticeable tooth attrition, severe scapular trauma, and vertebral, rib, and phalanx pathologies. Most of the injuries appear to have resulted from a severe blunt force trauma of unknown origin and it is likely the dog would not have survived without human care. The results of our analysis contribute to the, somewhat limited, published data on archaeological dogs in California. In this paper we describe the biological characteristics of the dog especially his anomalies and pathologies and compare them with published reports of other North American archaeological dogs with similar conditions.
... 7000 B.P.) [81] 10 Botai, Kazahkstan (ca. 5650 B.P.) [120] 35 Esbjerg, Denmark (4500e3600 B.P.) [83] 1 Classical Greek contexts (4300e1300 B.P.) [43] 19 Tagara, Japan (4000e2300 B.P.) [ 439 Ashkelon, Israel (Persian Era, 2500e2200 B.P.) [68,147,160] 1000C CoˆteCoˆte-d'Or (Vertault), France (ca. 2000 B.P.) [74(p. ...
People have been burying or otherwise ritually disposing of dead dogs for a long time. They sometimes treat other animals in such a fashion, but not nearly as often as dogs. This presentation documents the consistent and worldwide distribution of this practice over about the past 12,000–14,000 years. Such practices directly reflect the domestic relationship between people and dogs, and speak rather directly to the timing of canid domestication. In doing so, they contradict recent genetics-based inferences, thus calling into question the legitimacy of focusing mostly on genetic factors as opposed to other factors. This discussion seeks to work towards a sound framework for analyzing and thus understanding the social compatibility between people and dogs. That compatibility is directly signified by the burial of dogs, with people often responding to the deaths of individual dogs much as they usually respond to the death of a family member. Moreover, that special social relationship continues, as illustrated clearly by the establishment, maintenance, and ongoing use of several modern dog cemeteries, in different countries of the world.
... Although the V€ asterbjers dog data do partly overlap with the human data, there are significant differences in d 15 N (p < 0:0001, unpaired t test), and caution should consequently always be taken in habitually inferring the human diet from the dogsÕ diet. Dogs can have various roles and functions, both ritual and practical, none of which are mutually exclusive (Olsen, 2000;Serpell, 1995), and the nature of their relationship to humans is likely to affect their diets. Therefore dogs cannot be expected to exhibit homogeneous diets even within one community, a conclusion supported by the V€ asterbjers isotope data for dogs. ...
A case study of the Pitted-Ware site of Västerbjers on Gotland in the Baltic Sea forms the starting point for a discussion on the cultural identity, economy, and chronology of this culture. Extensive and detailed stable isotope data on both the prehistoric fauna (87 samples from 20 faunal species) and human remains (65 samples from teeth and bones of 26 individuals) show that the Västerbjers population, and most likely the whole Pitted-Ware Culture on Gotland, practised mainly seal hunting but no animal husbandry. The hypotheses that they belonged to the same group who practised farming (i.e., the Corded-Ware culture) can therefore be refuted. The Pitted-Ware Culture on Gotland evidently represented a separate group with a cultural identity of its own, and the seal was an important feature in that identity. Eighteen new radiocarbon dates suggest that the Västerbjers cemetery was in use for at least a couple of 100 years, during the period 2900–2500 cal BC, but there is no support for the proposed chronological division of the cemetery into two spatially separate halves. A calculation of the age offset caused by the marine reservoir effect for Middle Neolithic Gotland demonstrates a considerably smaller offset than previously suggested, 70 ± 40 radiocarbon years.
... Genetic evidence suggests that domestic dogs evolved independently from wolves in separate parts of Eurasia by at least 14e15 000 years ago (Leonard et al., 2002;Clutton-Brock, 2000Savolainen et al., 2002;Vilà et al., 1997Vilà et al., , 1999Wayne et al., 2006). By the Holocene, people across the globe deliberately buried dogs in a variety of contexts, including cemeteries, underneath house foundations, and in garbage heaps and pits (Crockford, 2000a(Crockford, , 2009Kerber, 1997;Morey, 2006;Morey and Wiant, 1992;Olsen, 2000;Schwartz, 1997;Shigehara and Hongo, 2000;Snyder and Moore, 2006;Tcherov and Valla, 1997;Wapnish and Hesse, 1993;Worthington, 2008). Dog burials have become the single most important line of evidence for understanding human/dog relations through time (Crockford, 2009;Morey, 2006). ...
Recent archaeological excavations on San Nicolas Island, located off the coast of southern California, revealed the remains of a double dog burial interred sometime during the 13th and 14th centuries. Two carefully laid to rest and possibly sacrificed juvenile, female domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) between the ages of 1 and 6 months were found within a Native American village. Digestive tract residues include burned and unburned fish and marine mammal bone that suggest scavenging behavior or direct feeding by humans. Breed classifications place it between the Short-Nosed Indian dog and the Plains-Indian dog, likely representing a cross between those and other varieties of North American dogs. Comparisons with other dog burials from archaeological sites across southern California suggest commonalities and possible cultural linkages.
Islam is the only biblical religion that still practices animal sacrifice. Indeed, every year more than a million animals are shipped to Mecca from all over the world to be slaughtered during the Muslim Hajj. This multi-disciplinary volume is the first to examine the physical foundations of this practice and the significance of the ritual. Brannon Wheeler uses both textual analysis and various types of material evidence to gain insight into the role of animal sacrifice in Islam. He provides a 'thick description' of the elaborate camel sacrifice performed by Muhammad, which serves as the model for future Hajj sacrifices. Wheeler integrates biblical and classical Arabic sources with evidence from zooarchaeology and the rock art of ancient Arabia to gain insight into an event that reportedly occurred 1400 years ago. His book encourages a more nuanced and expansive conception of “sacrifice” in the history of religion.
This paper presents new radiocarbon dates and the results of the first archaeobotanical investigations at Eneolithic Botai site, for the first time aiming to explore the plant food component in the diet of Botai population and if the inhabitants of the Botai were a part of an early crop food exchange network. Our excavation of a hut circle and associated radiocarbon dating placed its occupation within a date range commencing around 3550 and 3030 cal BC and ending between 3080 and 2670 cal BC. A separate feature (likely a stove or kiln), excavated in test trench E, would seem to be younger, around 2000 cal BC. The dating of the site thus also indicates a previously unknown later occupation at Botai, opening further discussions on human subsistence and interaction as well as horse management in northern Eurasia from the Eneolithic to the Bronze Age. The archaeobotanical results, derived from systematic sampling and analysis of macrobotanical remains, plant phytoliths, and molecular biomarker analysis show that the Botai populations were not part of any wider crop network. The relatively small seed count would indicate that plant foods did not constitute a substantial component of economic life. On the other hand, the presence of miliacin could suggest possible millet cultivation or consumption in this region at some point in the past, possibly after the main occupation period of Botai.
Integrated in the project PTDC/EPHARQ/0798/2014 – MOBINTER. Mobilidade e Interacção na Pré-História Recente do Sul de Portugal: o papel dos centros de agregação.
This work focuses on the various Bell Beaker dynamics at play in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC in the archaeological site of Perdigões and, inherently, in the surrounding region. To do so, we intend to characterize material and practical continuities based on the study of selected contexts, as well as to relate these evidences, where the Bell Beaker is included, with signs of discontinuity, even if they find little general expression at Perdigões. In addition, some models or interpretive proposals are put forward in which the Bell Beaker is diluted in the practices and activities of management, negotiation, acceptance and rejection carried out by the communities under study. It is suggested here that the ceramic component of the Bell Beaker
“package" was one of the least accepted ones in the Alentejo territory.
At the regional level, evidence has been interpreted in the context of social theories according to which a rupture occurred at the passage from the first to the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. However, by accepting that acts of site abandonment may reflect processes of an
internal reorganization of settlement networks, or even strategies of total or partial mobility of communities, it has been observed that habitation sites maintained a structuring importance in the
landscape. These would have defined boundaries, represented points of connection with the ancestors, and would have counted with several “revisitations”. This identity between communities and sites will lead to their reoccupation, now associated to Bell Beaker materials, generating new architectures that can reflect the transport of the cosmological and ideological references, bringing them closer to the communities.
The Bell Beaker materials contribute to this general scenario of continuity, although they illustrate an artefactual novelty, maintaining a cohesion not only in the Perdigões region but also throughout the Alentejo, with its generic intentional exclusion from funerary contexts. This emphasizes the social role in practices and rituals that was carried mainly by ceramics. This is a phenomenon that allows us to access the agency of the various human groups that compose the
landscape at the end of the 3rd millennium, letting us to observe slight differences in identities.
Keywords: Perdigões, Alentejo, Chalcolithic, Bell Beaker, Continuities, Identities.
Necklaces or other decorations made from drilled animal teeth and small perforated shell beads are typical burial objects of graves from the Late Eneolithic Corded Ware culture (c. 2900–2300 bc) in the territories of the Czech Republic, based on local data, central Germany, and to lesser degree in some other European regions. The richest collection of tooth pendants and shell beads so far discovered in Bohemia, and potentially the whole of Europe, derives from the recent excavation at Prague-Březiněves (595 tooth finds; 2801 complete shell beads and their 5586 fragments). A detailed analysis of this find forms the first part of the paper. The second, comparative section reviews all available graves (134 graves) of this culture from the territories of the Czech Republic that contain decorative items made from animal material: drilled teeth and imitation teeth, small beads of shell or bone and larger discs made of shell (or sometimes bone) called “solar” discs because of the decoration based on the symbol of a cross. Altogether, over 4000 teeth finds (from 88 graves) and over 30,000 finds of shell ring (68 graves), serving as beads or pendants, were recorded. Furthermore, 58 solar discs in 37 graves were recorded. The graves discussed here are mostly of women, either young or older; but children also appear. The frequent co-occurrence of teeth and shell beads (small decorative items) and their tendency to be mutually exclusive with larger solar discs (possibly brooches with a variety of functions) attest to two phenomena. Dog teeth, especially canines and incisors, clearly predominate in the collections of drilled teeth (in Březiněves min. 502 tooth finds representing at least 403 teeth and at least 73 dogs). Teeth of wild carnivores—wolf (Canis lupus), fox (Vulpes vulpes), wild cat (Felis silvestris), badger (Meles meles), otter (Lutra lutra), smaller mustelids, and brown bear (Ursus arctos)—and deer (Cervus elaphus) provide clear evidence of their presence in the environment. Two drilled human premolars are highly exceptional finds. Decorated discs made from the shells of the non-autochthonous freshwater mussel Margaritifera auricularia found at Prague-Březiněves and other Czech sites suggest importation from western or southern Europe. Despite there being significant inter-grave differences in the composition of the collections, the regular appearance of the phenomena described in this research in c. 10% of all graves of this culture, together with the uniformities in the manufacture of the items, suggests relatively strict rules with respect to Corded Ware funeral customs. Nevertheless, differences in the proportions of artefacts within the region were observed, such as a shift to a relatively higher frequency of discs, a greater specialisation on dog canines and incisors and the exclusion of imitation teeth between typological (and probably chronological) groups of this culture. The role of dogs, the meaning of these phenomena and their relation to the broader temporo-spatial context are widely discussed.
The Pleistocene last Late Glacial site of Bonn-Oberkassel in the northern Rhineland was among the first Upper Palaeolithic sites at which fragmentary dog remains were identified. They were recovered with two almost complete skeletons of a male and female human interpreted as part of an Upper Palaeolithic double burial but initially attributed to a wolf. By the time of their re-identification as remains of a dog their context was provided by the recognized association of dogs with early food producing peoples, in some cases as far back as the terminal Pleistocene, and by the acknowledged presence of dogs in Holocene hunter-gatherer contexts such as the European Mesolithic or the Japanese early Jomon. Subsequent studies of the Oberkassel dog have provided or revised details of its absolute (calibrated 14C) age, morphology, size, age at death and pathology, and of its genetic status
In more recent years, increasing numbers of dogs or “dog-like” canids have been described from Upper Palaeolithic contexts, some of them appreciably older than Bonn-Oberkassel. Discussion of a potentially Pleistocene domestication of the wolf has come to occupy a prominent position in the field of Palaeolithic research; however debate has in some cases been heated rather than illuminating. The present paper reassesses the contribution of the Oberkassel dog to our understanding of the processes by which wolves became part of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer communities and the possible role or function of these first domesticated animals - dogs - within these societies.
Until now there had been recognized six domestic canid types in the mesoamerican civilization. One of them was characterized by short legs. It was registered for the first time in 1994, although the number of recognized individuals, just two, limited the comprehension of its role as a dog breed, but, in recent years 19 specimens from 11 individuals were discovered in the Teopancazo site, inside the prehispanic city of Teotihuacan (I - VI centuries AD) though. These remains appeared in to be related to organisms manufacture and manipulation for artesanal use, mainly to priest costumes and ritual activity articles production, a dog's type of use unknown until now, but, that stimulate the idea that they were specimens used as raw material in the manufacture jobs recognized there.
This book traces the evolution of the dog, from its origins about 15,000 years ago up to recent times. The timing of dog domestication receives attention, with comparisons between different genetics-based models and archaeological evidence. Allometric patterns between dogs and their ancestors, wolves, shed light on the nature of the morphological changes that dogs underwent. Dog burials highlight a unifying theme of the whole book: the development of a distinctive social bond between dogs and people; the book also explores why dogs and people relate so well to each other. Though cosmopolitan in overall scope, greatest emphasis is on the New World, with entire chapter devoted to dogs of the arctic regions, mostly in the New World. Discussion of several distinctive modern roles of dogs underscores the social bond between dogs and people.
The main aim of this book is to provide a basis for a complete dog behavioural biology based on concepts derived from contemporary ethology. Thus, dog behaviour is viewed from both functional (evolution and ecology) and mechanistic and developmental points of view. The study of dogs is placed in a comparative context which involves comparison with their ancestors (wolves), as well as with humans with which dogs share their present environment. Instead of advocating a single theory which would explain the emergence of dogs during the last 20,000 years of human evolution, this book gives an overview of present knowledge which has been collected by scientists from various fields. It aims to find novel ways to increase our understanding of this complex evolutionary process by combining different methods originating from different scientific disciplines. This is facilitated by describing complementing knowledge provided by various field of science, including zooarchaeology, cognitive and comparative ethology, human-animal interaction, behaviour genetics, behavioural physiology and development, and behavioural ecology. This interdisciplinary approach to the study of dogs deepens our biological understanding of dog behaviour, but also utilizes this knowledge to reveal secrets to behavioural evolution in general, even with special reference to the human species.
Abstract
The association of dogs with early food producing peoples has often been documented, in some cases as far back as the terminal Pleistocene. Their presence in Holocene hunter-gatherer contexts such as the European Mesolithic or the Japanese early Jomon has also long been accepted. More recently, dogs or “dog-like” canids have increasingly been described and in some cases discussed controversially from Upper Palaeolithic contexts.
One of the first Palaeolithic sites at which dog remains were recognized and generally accepted was the Pleistocene late glacial site of Bonn-Oberkassel in the northern Rhineland. Here fragmentary remains of a canid recovered with two human skeletons are interpreted as a dog interred as part of an Upper Palaeolithic human double burial.
This is the first book to provide a systematic overview of social zooarchaeology, which takes a holistic view of human–animal relations in the past. Until recently, archaeological analysis of faunal evidence has primarily focused on the role of animals in the human diet and subsistence economy. This book, however, argues that animals have always played many more roles in human societies: as wealth, companions, spirit helpers, sacrificial victims, totems, centerpieces of feasts, objects of taboos, and more. These social factors are as significant as taphonomic processes in shaping animal bone assemblages. Nerissa Russell uses evidence derived from not only zooarchaeology, but also ethnography, history, and classical studies to suggest the range of human–animal relationships and to examine their importance in human society. Through exploring the significance of animals to ancient humans, this book provides a richer picture of past societies.
Located in the Tennessee River valley of northwestern Alabama, the site of Dust Cave was occupied from the Late Pleistocene through the Mid-Holocene. Over four meters of deposits in the cave vestibule have preserved a record of a transforming climate, local geomorphology and the human responses to these changes through time. A synthesis of the floral, faunal, lithic, and feature data in combination with the information from a bone cache, and dog and human burials allow for an overview of life during the occupation of the cave.
In Origins of Agriculture in Western Central Asia, archaeologist David R. Harris addresses questions of when, how, and why agriculture and settled village life began east of the Caspian Sea. The book describes and assesses evidence from archaeological investigations in Turkmenistan and adjacent parts of Iran, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan in relation to present and past environmental conditions and genetic and archaeological data on the ancestry of the crops and domestic animals of the Neolithic period. It includes accounts of previous research on the prehistoric archaeology of the region and reports the results of a recent environmental-archaeological project undertaken by British, Russian, and Turkmen archaeologists in Turkmenistan, principally at the early Neolithic site of Jeitun (Djeitun) on the southern edge of the Karakum desert. This project has demonstrated unequivocally that agropastoralists who cultivated barley and wheat, raised goats and sheep, hunted wild animals, made stone tools and pottery, and lived in small mudbrick settlements were present in southern Turkmenistan by 7,000 years ago (c. 6,000 BCE calibrated), where they came into contact with hunter-gatherers of the "Keltiminar Culture." It is possible that barley and goats were domesticated locally, but the available archaeological and genetic evidence leads to the conclusion that all or most of the elements of the Neolithic "Jeitun Culture" spread to the region from farther west by a process of demic or cultural diffusion that broadly parallels the spread of Neolithic agropastoralism from southwest Asia into Europe. By synthesizing for the first time what is currently known about the origins of agriculture in a large part of Central Asia, between the more fully investigated regions of southwest Asia and China, this book makes a unique contribution to the worldwide literature on transitions from hunting and gathering to agriculture. © 2010 University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. All rights reserved.
The article discusses the over one thousand individual dog burials discovered in Persian period Ashkelon. It reviews various theories regarding the burials, deals with possible origins of the phenomenon, cites recent relevant material discovered in the southern Levant and suggests two new theories concerning the dog burials at Ashkelon.
Animals have long figured in anthropology, but human-animal relations have come into focus in recent decades. The topic links anthropology's sub-disciplines by exploring the biological and cultural nature of both humans and animals in the past and present, as well as articulating with similar concerns in other disciplines. While anthropology is defined in terms of the separation of humans from animals, this exploration exposes the permeability of the human-animal boundary, transcended by thinking animals, bestial ancestors, and trans-species empathy. This forces a rethinking of the nature of personhood: is it only for people?
Construire les mémoires : dépôts commémoratifs à Çatalhöyük Le gisement néolithique de Çatalhöyük, Turquie, est bien connu pour son incorporation de fractions d'animaux dans l'architecture : bucranes, cornes dans les bancs, etc. Nous examinerons les emplacements les moins visibles de ces artefacts, c'est-à-dire dans des fosses ou lorsqu'ils sont incorporés dans l'architecture des maisons pour commémorer des événements particuliers. Les animaux occupent une place importante dans ces dépôts. Ils sont généralement retrouvés sous des plates-formes dans les zones sud et ouest de la maison, tandis que les lieux de sépultures humaines sont le plus souvent dans les zones nord et est. Nous étudierons l'ensemble du contenu de ces dépôts commémoratifs par rapport à d'autres sources de données concernant la consommation et la place occupée par les animaux à Çatalhöyük.
We present volume bone mineral density values from five different canid species: domestic dog (Canis familiaris), wolf (Canis lupus), coyote (Canis latrans), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and swift fox (Vulpes velox). We use these density values to investigate Canidae remains from four archaeological sites in western Canada and show the importance of explicitly stating assumptions made about the original composition of the deposited faunal assemblage as this influences whether correlations are found between density and percent survivorship (%MAU).
Using archaeology and social anthropology, and more than 100 original line drawings and photographs, An Archaeology of Images takes a fresh look at how ancient images of both people and animals were used in the Iron Age and Roman societies of Europe, 600 BC to AD 400 and investigates the various meanings with which images may have been imbued. The book challenges the usual interpretation of statues, reliefs and figurines as passive things to be looked at or worshipped, and reveals them instead as active artefacts designed to be used, handled and broken. It is made clear that the placing of images in temples or graves may not have been the only episode in their biographies, and a single image may have gone through several existences before its working life was over. Miranda Aldhouse Green examines a wide range of other issues, from gender and identity to foreignness, enmity and captivity, as well as the significance of the materials used to make the images. The result is a comprehensive survey of the multifarious functions and experiences of images in the communities that produced and consumed them. Challenging many previously held assumptions about the meaning and significance of Celtic and Roman art, An Archaeology of Images will be controversial yet essential reading for anyone interested in this area.
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