Birds of prey in the historical past of Eastern Europe: Evidence from bones

Abstract

The results of the study of birds of prey remains from the southern part of Eastern Europe are analysed in the paper. The studied material comes from 169 archaeological sites of different age (Neolithic/Eneolithic, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, Early Middle Ages, Kyivan Rus Time, and the Modern Age). Twenty-eight species of raptors were identified in the samples. Of them, hawks, eagles, and vultures are represented by 20 species, while falcons and owls are less diverse (each are represented by only four taxa). Particular birds of prey species were more widely distributed in the historical past of the studied region and were characterised by higher abundance compared to modern times. The remains of owls are especially numerous in materials from Neolithic, Eneolithic, and Bronze Age settlements. The Early Iron Age was the time of a high abundance of diurnal raptors, which were used for different purposes by the people inhabiting the territory of modern-day Ukraine. Only a few birds of prey were recorded for the Early Middle Ages and the Modern Age, most probably due to economic issues and the development of animal husbandry. Numerous remains of hawks and a lesser amount of falcon bones were found at settlements of the Kyivan Rus state, which is associated with the spread of gamehawking while falconry with falcons was available mainly to the elite of that time. The results of archaeornithological studies are supplemented and corroborated to some extent with the information taken from literature sources and by analysing the ancient images of birds.