Abstract
This paper presents the zooarchaeological observations on animal remains of Alaybeyi Hoyuk unearthed from 2016 and 2017 excavation sessions. Dated to 4721-4553 cal. BC, Alaybeyi stands so far as the oldest archaeological settlement discovered in northeast Anatolia. Therefore, the faunal assemblage at Alaybeyi offers great opportunity to study the status of animals and their relationships with humans in the largely unexplored Kars-Erzurum plateau covering a period from the Chalcolithic to Late Iron Age. Taxonomic and osteometric analyses show that, like the present day, cattle were dominant over caprines, revealing extensive cattle pastoralism in the region for at least about 7 millennia. While caprines too were significant in the subsistence strategy of local humans, there was not any sign of raising pigs. Significant numbers of wild species including carnivores, aquatic mammals, and rodents, as well as resident and migratory birds, were also hunted by Alaybeyi people. Additionally, horse burials, horse cult, dog burials, and a rich number of dog bones present animals as versatile actors in various ritual and symbolic practices at the site.
Highlights
Alaybeyi Höyük lies in the nearby agricultural land of a village called Alaybeyi, about 28 km west of presentday Erzurum
This study presents the zooarchaeological analysis on the animal remains of Alaybeyi Höyük unearthed in 2016 and 2017 excavation sessions
With only 5% of land area brought under cultivation until the 1960s [8], the cold and marshy environmental condition has been so favorable for cattle pastoralism that the Plateau currently supports the highest level of cattle production in Anatolia
Summary
Alaybeyi Höyük lies in the nearby agricultural land of a village called Alaybeyi, about 28 km west of presentday Erzurum. The site is located in a region with a resourceful marshy environment and plenty of water This particular wet and cold ecological setting made the Erzurum Plain and the nearest Pasinler Plain perfect pasture grounds for cattle pastoralism. Iron Age, and the C14 dating from the bone sample of the Chalcolithic layer showed the earliest occupation between and 4553 calibrated BC [1]. Status of domesticated and wild animals, as well as their interactions with humans in the largely unexplored KarsErzurum plateau throughout a period ranging from the Chalcolithic to Late Iron Age. This study presents the zooarchaeological analysis on the animal remains of Alaybeyi Höyük unearthed in 2016 and 2017 excavation sessions
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