Search

The authors examine the role of horses as expressed in assemblages from settlement sites and cemeteries between the Eneolithic and the Bronze Age in Kazakhstan. In this land, known for its rich association with horses, the skeletal evidence appears to indicate a fading of ritual interest. But that's not the whole story, and once again micro-archaeology reveals the true balance. The horses are present at the funeral, but now as meat for the pot, detected in bone fragments and lipids in the pot walls. Keywords: Kazakhstan, Eneolithic, Bronze Age, Andronovo, horse, burial rites, faunal remains, lipids, Introduction From the Palaeolithic onwards, the archaeology and cultures of Kazakhstan were heavily influenced by people's changing relationships with one particular animal species, the horse. Horses shift from being a [...]

Bone marrow and bone grease processing at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village (39DV2) has long been suspected but was only recently demonstrated scientifically. The current research details the analysis of fragmented bone assemblages from different points in the chronological sequence of the Mitchell site and establishes the presence of extensive bone marrow processing activities throughout the cultural occupation of the village. This work additionally details the development of an increasingly extensive bone grease processing industry during the middle and latter periods of human occupation at the site. Keywords: bone fat, bone marrow, bone grease, bone fracture, fragmentation

Horse domestication revolutionized transport, communications, and warfare in prehistory, yet the identification of early domestication processes has been problematic. Here, we present three independent lines of evidence demonstrating domestication in the Eneolithic Botai Culture of Kazakhstan, dating to about 3500 B.C.E. Metrical analysis of horse metacarpals shows that Botai horses resemble Bronze Age domestic horses rather than Paleolithic wild horses from the same region. Pathological characteristics indicate that some Botai horses were bridled, perhaps ridden. Organic residue analysis, using [delta][sup.13]C and [delta]D values of fatty acids, reveals processing of mare's milk and carcass products in ceramics, indicating a developed domestic economy encompassing secondary products.

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-229X.2008.423_8.x Byline: ALAN K. OUTRAM (1) Author Affiliation: (1)University of Exeter

MARSHA LEVINE, COLIN RENFREW & KATIE BOYLE (ed.). Prehistoric steppe adaptation and the horse (McDonald Institute Monograph). xii+428 pages, 192 figures, 40 tables. 2003. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research; [...]