Economic activity of the Berezov posad population in the 17th–18th centuries (on the basis of osteological materials from excavation site No. 2)

Abstract

Berezov is one of the first Russian towns in the north of Western Siberia (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area). This article is aimed at describing the household structure, the commercial activities of the population inhabiting the posad of the town on the basis of animal bone remains, as well as at determining the degree of integration of the Russian and native population in the region. The study was carried out using the osteological collection (ap-proximately 12,000 items) obtained during the excavations on the site in 2008–2018. Having compared the mate-rials belonging to different construction layers, we identified three chronological periods covering the time from the mid-17th (the moment this site was built) up to late 18th centuries. When describing bone remains, species com-position, skeleton element, as well as the degree of fragmentation, were determined. The age structure of domes-tic animals was described. During the period under review, as the urban economy was developing, foraging activi-ties decreased in the town of Berezov, whereas production increased. Cattle and reindeer played a dominant role in the diet of the posad population. Starting from the end of the 17th century and later in the 18th century, the raising of predominantly beef cattle was gradually giving place to the raising of dairy cattle. Simultaneously, the region was witnessing a rapid development of large-scale reindeer herding, with the involvement of the Russian population of northern towns in this process. Thus, the lack of domestic meat was compensated for by domestic reindeer meat. The population of the posad kept a small number of pigs, sheep, horses and hens. Dogs were used for hunting and transportation. Game hunting (especially wild geese, ducks and capercaillies), as well as fishing, played an important role in the economy of the population. The population fished mostly large species of fish (sturgeon, pike, nelma) and hunted for elks, hares, as well as fur-bearing animals. The analysis of archaeo-zoological materials, as well as archaeological data, revealed that mixed Russian and original population resided in the posad of Berezov in the 17th–18th centuries. The economy of the population was typical for Russian towns, exhibiting local natural characteristics and involving the use of all available commercial resources, as well as ac-tive cooperation with the original population of the region.