Animal Burials Research Articles

The case of a mass death of livestock in the Early Iron Age in the steppe zone of Kazakhstan

A mass burial of complete and almost complete cattle and small ruminant skeletons found in a pit within the Early Iron Age settlement of Abylai in Central Kazakhstan (49°15'N, 75°07'E) has been studied. The results of archaeological research and archeozoological contexts have shown that the animals’ burial was a single event. The aim of the work was to determine the reasons for the formation of this accumu-lation. The analysis of skeletal element composition, animal age composition, and the season of their death has been performed. A com-parison of species composition, skeletal element composition, age composition, season of animals’ death and taphonomic features be-tween samples from the pit and the cultural layer of the settlement has been made. Significant differences between these samples have been revealed. The animals from the settlement layer were slaughtered during late autumn-winter, while animals from the pit died in early spring. The bones from the pit were almost all intact, while those from the settlement layer had characteristics typical of household waste. Bones from the “layer” have significantly more postmortem modifications than those from the “pit”. The age composition and the skeleton parts ratio between the samples are different. The analysis of the obtained data shows that in the beginning of spring 89 small ruminant and 6 cattle individuals were buried in the pit in a short period of time. According to ethnographic data, this could possibly be interpreted as the burial of animals who died as a result of spring jute. In the steppe zone of Eurasia, jute is the most frequent extreme event leading to mass death of ungulates. Jutes can happen in summer, when grass burns out with drought. But the most large-scale and frequent are winter jutes, when, due to catastrophic snowfalls, grass becomes inaccessible to animals, and spring jutes, when frosts come after a thaw. During jute, many animals die from starvation in a short time. Small ruminants are the most vulnerable because they are the least adapted to breaking ice crusts with their hooves. Cattle are less vulnerable, and even less so are horses. The following archaeological situation has been observed: all animals died in early spring; many of them were buried in a short time; the remains of small ruminants prevail, there are few cattle and no horses; most animals were probably skinned. This picture is most consistent with the burial of animals killed by jute. As an alternative hypothesis, a sacrificial nature of death of the animals has been considered. However, the combination of characteristics of the archaeological and archeozoological contexts of pit filling allows us to reject the latter hypothesis.

Identification of chronic wasting disease prions in decaying tongue tissues from exhumed white-tailed deer.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions cause fatal neuropathies in farmed and free-ranging cervids. The deposition of prions in natural and humanmade environmental components has been implicated as a major mechanism mediating CWD spread in wild and captive populations. Prions can be deposited in the environment through excreta, tissues, and carcasses from pre-clinical and clinical animals. Furthermore, burial of CWD-positive animals may reduce but not completely mitigate prion spread from carcasses into the surrounding environment. Here, we analyzed exhumed, decaying deer carcasses for the presence of CWD prions. By analyzing tongue tissues through the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) technique, we were able to identify seven out of 95 exhumed white-tailed deer carcasses as CWD prions carriers. Confirmatory analyses were performed using the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) technique. In addition, we evaluated the potential contamination of the pens that housed these animals by swabbing feeders and waterers. PMCA analyses of swabs confirmed CWD contamination on farming equipment. This work demonstrates the usefulness of PMCA to detect CWD prions in a variety of contexts, including exhumed/decaying tissues. In addition, this is the first report demonstrating swabbing coupled with PMCA as a method for the detection of prion seeding activity on naturally exposed surfaces. Considering that this study was focused on a single site, further studies should confirm whether prion amplification assays are useful to identify CWD prions not only in animals but also in the environment that contains them. IMPORTANCE Environmental contamination is thought to be a major player in the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal prion disease affecting a wide variety of cervid species. At present, there are no officially approved methods allowing for the detection of prion infectivity in environmental components. Importantly, animal as well as anthropogenic activities are thought to contribute to prion environmental contamination. Here, we detected CWD prions in exhumed white-tailed deer carcasses by using the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) assay. In addition, we identified CWD prions in feeders used within the infected facility. These results highlight the potential role of PMCA in identifying prion infectivity in a variety of scenarios, ranging from decaying tissues to farming equipment.

Mapping and Analysis of Anthrax Cases in Humans and Animals

Anthrax is a rare but severe disease caused by the gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium Bacillus anthracis, a toxin-producing, encapsulated, facultative anaerobic organism. Anthrax occurs naturally in the soil and mainly affects livestock and wildlife. It can cause severe diseases in both humans and animals. Anthrax, an often-fatal animal disease, is spread to humans through contact with infected animals or their products. People become infected with anthrax when the spores enter the body. The study aims to localise and monitor anthrax on geographic maps and identify geographic variables significantly associated with environmental risk factors for anthrax recurrence in Georgia (Caucasus), as the geographic environment affects specific diseases, for example, soil and climate, etc. We carefully analysed 1,664 cases in humans and 621 in animals, up to 1,430 locations of anthrax foci in soil (animal burials, slaughterhouses, BP roads, construction, etc.). We analysed more than 30 geographic variables such as climate, topography, soil (soil type, chemical composition, acidity), landscape, etc. We have created several digital thematic maps and foci of anthrax distribution and detection. The discovered variable will help to monitor the foci of anthrax development.

К ИЗУЧЕНИЮ ПОГРЕБАЛЬНОЙ ПРАКТИКИ ЭЛИТНЫХ КУРГАНОВ САРГАТСКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ БАРАБИНСКОЙ ЛЕСОСТЕПИ (СОПРОВОДИТЕЛЬНЫЕ КОМПЛЕКСЫ ЖИВОТНЫХ В КУРГАНЕ № 7 МОГИЛЬНИКА ТАРТАС-2)

The results of the frst stage study of mound No. 7 of the Tartas-2 Sargat culture burial ground - the mound are presented. Sacrifce of at least 33 horses discovered. Most of them were adult animals, about 7-12 years old. Four individuals were 14-16 years old. Six individuals were 2-3 years old foals. All preserved sets of adult incisors contain fangs, which clearly indicates the burial of stallions or geldings in the mound. The burial of animals was accompanied by the burial of six human specimens. This is the frst time such an organization of sacrifce for a funeral rite has been encountered among the population of the Sargat culture

Das Hügelgrab von Baláca – Zur Problematik des monumentalen Bestattungsortes

AbstractThe burial site of the owner family of a Roman villa rustica in Baláca, dating back to the 2nd century AD, is a mound grave called Likas Hill. The Earth mound, originally 10–12 m high, with a diameter of about 37 m, covering a double burial chamber and a corridor, was surrounded by a red sandstone wall with a red sandstone cornice. There were tomb altars standing on its stepped footing. The mound had been heavily disturbed over the centuries, and nothing remained of the original burial. The larger fragments of the tombstones were carried away to constructions in the surrounding villages. Until now, it has not been possible to reconstruct the tomb inscriptions remaining in situ in a reassuring way from the fragments, nor to determine the date of construction of the tomb. The two animal burials dug into the Roman age surface, the bustum of a horse and a dog are the only undisturbed set finds of the mound. Excavation observations suggest the existence of additional bustums, which, along with the animal burials, would have been contained in a burial enclosure earlier than the enclosing wall and the tomb structure.

Mass burning of livestock at the Early Iron Age settlement Abylai in Central Kazakhstan

Based on the materials of the settlement of the early Iron Age Abylai in Central Kazakhstan, a mass burial of complete and almost complete skeletons of domestic animals was investigated. This work is intended to present the results of the analysis carried out on these materials.The aim of the work is to determine the causes of the formation of bone accumulation. For this, an analysis was made of the composition of the elements of the skeleton, the age composition of the animals.The results of archaeozoological studies have shown that the burial of animals was a one-time. In the settlements of the early Iron Age, such a case was encountered for the first time. A comparison was made of a sample of bone remains from the pit and from the cultural layer of the settlement: by species composition, by composition of skeletal sections, by age composition. As the results of the analyzes show, these samples have significant differences. The bones from the pit are almost all intact, while those from the cultural layer have characteristics typical of household waste. According to the data obtained, at the beginning of spring, 89 small cattle and 6 cattle were buried in the pit in a short period of time. Most of the animals were skinned. The reason for the mass death of animals could be a natural disaster or an epizootic. It has been suggested that the death of livestock occurred as a result of “jute”(mass death of livestock during natural disasters in Kazakh ethnography). Key words: Central Kazakhstan, Early Iron Age, Tasmolin culture, settlement, mass death of animals.

Funeral complexes of the Globular Amphora culture from the vicinity of Ostrog, Volhynia, Ukraine

A funeral complex of the eastern group of the Globular Amphora culture was excavated in an Eneolithic cemetery at the Ostrog-Zeman site, Volhynia, Ukraine, in 2006. The complex consisted of a human tomb and an animal burial located nearby. The tomb, built of small stone slabs and oriented with its long sides along the east-west axis, was divided into two almost identical parts (chambers) – eastern and western. А pot and an amphora were deposited in the eastern chamber, near the transverse wall. At least four people were buried in the western part, destroyed in modern times. The furnishings of this part comprised four amphorae and one bowl. Two meters to the northwest of the tomb, an animal burial without any artefacts was found; it included three skeletons of cattle (bulls) and one of a young pig. Analysis of pottery showed that it belonged to the period around 2950 BC and was synchronous with the early graves of the Volhynian subgroup, e.g. in Tovpyzhyn and Mykolaiv. At the same site, relics of a Globular Amphora culture settlement were also discovered, represented by pottery clusters. To some extent, they confirmed the relative chronology established for the tomb. In the context of these new discoveries, materials from the tomb recovered in 1900 in Mezhyrich-Filvarka (actually – Mezhyrich-Pidvarka), located in the vicinity of Ostrog, are re-analysed and re-published. The relevance of the re-publication stems from the need to clarify the technical details of the description of items from the tomb and their proper graphic documentation.

Mary Had a Little Ram


 
 
 The Spanish Mission to Dra Abu el-Naga (Proyecto Djehuty) has been working in the Eighteenth Dynasty Theban Tombs of Djehuty (TT 11) and Hery (TT 12) and their environs since 2002. The excavators uncovered a deposit west of the courtyard of TT 11, consisting of a wrapped ram, a wooden coffin, and a dense deposit of pottery sherds. This is possibly one of the earliest excavated animal burials in the Theban area, and unusual in the fact that it is of a ram. This article focuses on exploring and contextualising this rare find of the late Second Intermediate Period/early New Kingdom.
 
 

Animal Graves: Dog, Horse and Bear

The author discusses the relationship between people and animals in a time perspective of millennia. The starting point is the pre-Christian, Scandinavian, animal graves of dogs and horses, the Saami bear-graves, as well as animal burials of modern time. The occurrence of animal graves in pre-Christian time and the wide range of ways to dispose ofhuman and animal bodies complicate our understanding of the concept of a grave. The relationship between people and animals is complex. The animal burials reflect the existence ofa longstanding and very close bond between people and animals, which is based on emotion, prestige and the ritualising of a dynamic nature. It seems that people position themselves in their surroundings with a kind of mentality that has a long time span. This gives unexpected views of the cultural inheritance, of the idea of people as the crown of creation, and of the way in which the main threads are interwoven in our cultural history.

What is a rare disease in animal paleopathology?

ObjectiveThis paper seeks to review the possibilities and difficulties in identifying rare diseases in ancient animals. Rare diseases are important in human medicine but seldom discussed in modern veterinary practice. Materials and MethodsA total of 1348 pathological archaeozoological remains, most published in the literature, are evaluated. With the exception of a few animal burials, the majority were recovered from food refuse: deposits composed of co-mingled, single bone fragments. ResultsDetermination of population-based prevalence is not applicable in animal paleopathology, as almost all lesions occur on isolated bones. Moreover, grave hereditary diseases are rarely detected on animal bones because animals with such disorders seldom survived, except when humans promoted their rare inherited traits. SignificanceRare diseases form a special category in human pathology posing both therapeutic and ethical challenges. While in wild animals natural selection tends to prevent the inheritance of such conditions, curious cases of animal morbidity have been brought about by domestication. Humans sheltered animals of lesser vitality and sometimes even promoted their negative traits. Understanding these phenomena in animal paleopathology will help fine-tuning the rare disease paradigm. LimitationsThe definition of rare disease in animal paleopathology can only be assessed based on ancient and modern human correlates, and rare variation could become cultivated traits, ultimately developed into part of “normal” variability as trademark breed characteristics. Taphonomic limitations in recovering osteological evidence of debilitating hereditary diseases in animals are unlikely to improve.Suggestions for further research: Further research will need to focus on the scarce osteological evidence for rare conditions in light of differential diagnoses. The concept of “rare disease” may be worth expanding beyond hereditary conditions in animals considering fundamental differences between past animal and human lifeways.

SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS IN THE CORE AND PERIPHERY OF ANCIENT TULA

AbstractThis article presents the results of an integrative program of salvage archaeology in response to two comprehensive modern construction projects within the limits of the Early Postclassic city of Tula, Hidalgo. Exploratory excavation at eleven different localities encountered remains of residential compounds and other prehispanic structures in all localities, collectively spanning the Epiclassic through Late Postclassic periods and yielding extensive ceramic, lithic, and faunal remains from domestic and ritual contexts including over 250 human and animal burials that included evidence of contact with other areas of Mesoamerica. Some 36 radiocarbon dates were obtained from ceramically dated contexts that span c. 1,000 years of occupation and support the current ceramic phase chronology for Tula.

Improvement of Methodical Approaches to Investigation of Anthrax Burials and Animal Burial sites

Objective - development of the unified interdepartmental approach to realization of complex epidemiological and epizootiological inspection of anthrax burials and animal refuses (AB/AR) with law compliance of standard requirements of the administrative, veterinary and sanitary-and-epidemiological legislation for solving the problems of expert estimation of object’s biological hazard, sanitary-protective zoning and rational land tenure. Materials and methods . Standard-methodical documentation and literature sources were analyzed, the official data, reference books, inventory registration and statement documents, information materials and the data of Veterinary Institutions, Rospotrebnadzor, Rosselkhoznadzor, municipal formations and other establishments were used. The data of complex epizootiological and epidemiological investigation of 27 AB/AR in five entities of Siberia and Far East over 2013-2017 were summarized. Results and discussion . For the first time the algorithm was unified and the technique of complex epidemiological and epizootiological inspections of anthrax burials (refuses) with known location was developed according to the requirements of veterinary and sanitary-and-epidemiologic rules to aid the specialists of the Rospotrebnadzor and Veterinary Science Institutions. Introduction of complex epizootiological-and-epidemiological inspection of anthrax burials (refuses) taking into account the retrospective and operative epizootiological-and-epidemiological analysis of the situation on anthrax in the Siberian administrative territory, studying of sanitary-veterinary condition of an object in aggregate with the results of laboratory examinations of samples for anthrax will permit to estimate the biological danger of anthrax burials (refuses), to solve problems of its preservation and/or utilization with the subsequent reduction of the areas of sanitary-protective zone of the object and rational land tenure.

Zwierzęce cmentarze jako miejsca performansu kulturowego

Using the tools and definitions provided by performance studies (Richard Schechner, Jon McKenzie, Erika Fischer-Lichte, Małgorzata Sugiera, Dariusz Kosiński and others) as well as by newer post-human turn (Ewa Domańska) the author analyses the phenomenon of burying domestic animals on sites located on the outskirts of populated areas (resembling the old cholera graveyards). Animal burial sites are denied the term ‘cemetery’ by official legislation which reserves the notion only for human necropolises. Almost every suggestion of establishing an animal cemetery in Poland is met with highly emotional reactions and protests. Itself being acts of social performance, the protests evoke burial as a social performance art, where the community participates in an event based on a standard Christian funeral ceremony. The unstandardized character of the animal’s funeral challenges this view. In the act of animal burial an oppressive gaze of a society is juxtaposed with an intimate one. The confrontation becomes a chance for the society for a self-reflection and transformation. Hence one may prove that the animal burials have a significant performative power and can have social and cultural impact.

Excavation of the small animal cemetery at the Roman Red Sea harbor of Berenike in 2018 and 2019

The paper discusses funeral practices with regard to animals in ancient Berenike, investigated in two seasons of exploration, 2018 and 2019 (trenches BE18/19-107, BE01/19-48 and BE19/132). Three groups of animals are represented almost exclusively in the burials. These are cats, dogs and monkeys, buried mainly around the top and on what was the eastern slope of a sand dune. In the mid 1st century AD, an enclosure wall roughly 0.50 m thick was built enclosing a space of about 20 m2 with no apparent floor surface inside it. Outside the wall, a clay pavement surrounded the enclosure on at least three sides. Animal burials accumulated around this enclosure for the next century or so, achieving the greatest density close to the feature. By the 2nd century AD urban rubbish had encroached heavily upon the area taken up by the burials. Most likely in the beginning of the 3rd century AD, the wall was dismantled, perhaps together with the features that had been inside the enclosure (statue, column, tree?). Interestingly, two goats were buried by the two excavated corners (northeastern and northwestern ones) in this period. One of these represented a variant of the species not typical of Northeastern Africa.

Zooarchaeological evidence of functional and social differentiation in northern Italy between the Neolithic and Bronze ages

Many sites dating from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age have been investigated in northern Italy and have provided important zooarchaeological data. These sites are mostly settlements, but also places of worship and necropoli. While there are few zooarchaeological studies for the north-western part of Italy, the north-east and the Po Valley have been better investigated. Particularly important are the pile-dwellings and the Terramare sites of the Po Valley as they have a long chronological span, the animal bone assemblages are large and, therefore, highly statistically reliable, and have been excavated relatively recently. There is evidence of functional and social differentiation in the Bronze Age which coincided with the evolution of more complex societies. The most common type of functional differentiation began when human communities started to settle and is visible in the zooarchaeological record. Until the end of the Copper Age, animal bone assemblages are characterized by the presence of both domestic animals and a relatively important proportion of wild animals. In the early Bronze Age, domestic animals dominated, if not entirely, the assemblages, and a growing interest in secondary products is evident. From the Middle Bronze Age, the foundation of semi-permanent settlements multiplied in the Alpine area, in the internal areas (secondary valleys and areas far from the main watercourses) and at medium-high altitudes. This was coupled with the seasonal occupation of sites at a high altitude, used for the practice of vertical transhumance (alpine pasture). This phenomenon implies the existence of a settlement hierarchy and, therefore, of forms of social stratification within the framework of the settlement system. Unfortunately, the few zooarchaeological studies of sites located in the Emilia Apennines do not currently allow us to confirm the existence of such links between the mountain sites and those on the plain. Nevertheless, other evidence, such as the introduction of the horse, which is attested from the late Early Bronze Age onwards, can be interpreted as proof of social differentiation; the horse was, in fact, considered a status symbol of the emerging warrior elite.Very few animal burials, dated to the period studied, show the link between animal species (such as dog, cattle, deer) and cultural practices, although a number of examples of such a relationship are provided by the terramare necropoli. In conclusion, in light of current knowledge, it seems that zooarchaeology cannot confirm the existence of important forms of social stratification. This does not mean that they cannot necessarily be postulated: the complex use of territory and the evidently communal nature of funerary and cult ceremonies (which often involved animals) that characterize the Bronze Age make it difficult to exclude the existence of such stratification.

JAFAR ABAD VE TU ALİ SOFLA KURGAN KAZILARINDA ELE GEÇEN HAYVAN KEMİK KALINTILARI, KUZEYBATI İRAN (2010 VE 2013 SEZONU)

Included among the coherent archaeological data that gives archaeologists the best insight into intangible facets of past cultures, in particular nomadic groups, are burials and mortuary customs. Study of kurgans and associated material culture will shed a blaze of light on the chronology, ethnography, social classes, subsistence system and dietary diversity of the so-called Eurasian Warrior Nomads, bringing further aspects of their culture into light. The present paper explored the animal remains attested in the kurgans of Jafar Abad and Tu Ali Sofla in the southern Aras River Basin of Northwest Iran. Thus, the animal burials and the grave goods made of animal bones and marine animals, which account for a major part of the recovered assemblages, are presented and discussed here.

New evidence for the emergence of the human-pet relation in early Roman Berenike (1st–2nd century AD)

Animals were as inextricable a part as they were indicative of the system of common ancient Egyptian beliefs. Their special role was manifested in a rich iconography and in multitudes of animal mummies deposited in the major sacral complexes. Seen in this light, the cemetery of small animals of 1st–2nd century AD date, excavated since 2011 in the Red Sea port town of Berenike, comes across as entirely unique, notwithstanding the spiritual aspects of cats, dogs and monkeys. Contrary to Egyptian animal burials of all periods associated with human ones, the Berenike inhumations were not intended as afterlife companions of their last owners; neither were they ever mummified. Recent results of research present the variety of species kept in the households and insight into their behaviour. Pathological changes on one of the dog skeletons suggest a deadly condition, that is, osteosarcoma. The Berenike data also shed new light on the distribution of the cat beyond Egypt and a rising preference for keeping the animal as a pet in Europe and the Middle East.

Inorganic elemental analysis of decomposition fluids of an in situ animal burial

In homicide investigations, it is critically important that post-mortem (PMI) and post-burial interval (PBI) of buried victims are determined accurately. However, clandestine graves can be difficult to locate; and the detection rates for a variety of search methods can be very low. This paper presents elemental analysis results of 18 months of decomposition fluids from an in situ buried animal cadaver used as a human clandestine burial proxy. Study results showed potassium, sulphate and sodium are key detectable elements which mirror observed conductivity temporal changes from this and other studies. Seasonal rainfall has a strong influence on both fluid generation and subsequent concentration which needs to be accounted for. Study implications suggest inorganic elements could provide both detection and potential dating of discovered clandestine burials.

Food Rituals and Their Social Significance in the Mid‐Second Millennium BC in the Southern Levant: A View From Megiddo

AbstractCeremonies involving intentional burial of animals with humans are acknowledged to bear religious, social and political connotations, and we explored both the ritual activity and the social trajectory of these activities. To date, these ceremonies have rarely been examined within the context of nearby daily activities. We studied faunal remains associated with intramural burials in comparison with contemporaneous daily life in the midsecond millennium bc at Tel Megiddo, as well as comparison with concomitant extramural burials and locations of public feasts. Our study highlights the human interaction with animals that are not often treated as bearing social meaning or having interrelationships with human, the livestock animals. We demonstrate that livestock animals in the second millennium bc had a significant social role as well as economic value. The choice of animals consumed and sacrificed in these rituals is strongly related to the animal's symbolic potency and is based on the desired social message that the population aims to convey. Finally, the form of luxury food that is found in the Megiddo funerary rituals supports the hypothesis regarding the intramural burials' role in creating and enhancing social family bonds. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Frühawarenzeitliche Bestattungßitten im Gebiet der Großen Ungarischen Tiefebene östlich der Theiß. Archäologische Angaben und Bemerkungen zur Geschichte der Region im 6. und 7. Jahrhundert

The study discusses and presents the archaeological phenomena of burial practices observed in the graves of the Early Avar Age cemetery of Szegvár-Oromdűlő. Besides orientation, these are the three types of differently formed graves, the stumped variant of fractional animal burials, the spatial separation of the deceased and the accompanying animal remains, and the custom of interring pottery and bone-in meat (lamb rump bone) into graves. It analyses these important but so far not thoroughly exploited groups of sources in regard of the 6th–7th century burials of a larger geographical unit, the Trans-Tisa (Tiszántúl) region, since the population of this region can be better characterized by their funerary practices than their tangible cultural heritage. In addition, it refers to the presence or absence of these characteristics in the burials of a smaller area within the investigated region — the territory bordered by the Körös, Tisza and Maros Rivers — dating to the second half of the Avar Age, and through this, to their continuity. It delineates the grave goods of female and male burials which represent the inheritance of the first generation among the graves of the Trans-Tisa region. Their common feature is their different provenance. Thus there are grave goods with Eastern European, steppe connections, grave goods of Byzantine taste or origin, as well as grave goods of local, Gepidic provenance among them. Communities of the Trans-Tisa region in the 6th–7th century Carpathian Basin are characterized by a chain of significant archaeological phenomena of burial customs exclusively attributed to them, which were commonly spread within a certain area and continuously practiced for generations. Based on these features, the population that settled here can be well outlined in respect of origin, traditions and cultural affiliation. In the author’s opinion it can be presumed by the sparse reports of Byzantine sources that this region was occupied and inhabited by a population referred to as Kutrigurs by contemporary sources and steppe people led by them.