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Abstract
There is a rich iconographic tradition demonstrating the importance of animals in ritual in the Dolenjska Hallstatt archaeological culture of Early Iron Age Slovenia (800–300 bce). However, the role of animals in mortuary practice is not well represented iconographically, though faunal remains in graves indicate that their inclusion was an integral part of funerary performance. Here, animal bones from burials are compared to images of animal sacrifice, focusing on the ritual distinctions between the deposition of whole animal bodies versus animal parts. It is proposed that human–animal relationships were a key component of funerary animal sacrifice in these multispecies communities. The deposition of whole horses may have been due to a personal relationship with the deceased human. In turn, the sacrifice of an animal and division of its parts may have been essential for the management of group ties with the loss of a community member. Particular elements such as teeth, horns, and claws may have served as amulets—perhaps indicating that these were personal items that had to be placed in the grave with the deceased or that the deceased needed continued protection or other symbolic aid.
Highlights
Mortuary rituals are key sites for mediating grief and providing appropriate care and respect for the decedent, and for negotiating the reorganization of the community in the absence of the newly deceased individual (Boyd 2014, p. 194; Fahlander and Oestigaard 2008, p. 10)
The role of animals in rituals related to these two facets of mortuary practice are presented here—first, the role of ritual animals related to the identity of the deceased human individual and, second, the role of animals in rituals that may have been important to negotiations of community following the traumatic event of death
The results demonstrate that there are important distinctions between the deposition of whole animal bodies versus animal parts
Summary
Mortuary rituals are key sites for mediating grief and providing appropriate care and respect for the decedent, and for negotiating the reorganization of the community in the absence of the newly deceased individual (Boyd 2014, p. 194; Fahlander and Oestigaard 2008, p. 10). I present evidence for animal sacrifice during funerary rituals using faunal remains from graves and imagery from Early Iron Age Slovenia. Finds of animal parts are have received less attention and are often briefly characterized as food offerings, feasting refuse, or a pars pro toto offering. All of these are plausible and intriguing possibilities that deserve to be more explicitly theorized. This article explores how the different forms of animal remains in graves indicate variability in funerary ritual and the complex ways in which multispecies communities were involved in the management of death. Certain animal parts, such as teeth, horns, and claws, may have served as amulets with protective qualities, and these offer intriguing insight into the curation and manipulation of animal remains
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