Livestock handling conditions at the Bronze Age settlements in the Southern Trans-Urals (according to the analysis of pathological changes of the bone system)

Rassadnikov A.Yu. (Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation)

The article presents the results of a research of pathological changes in bones of livestock from five settlements of the Middle and Late Bronze Age of the Southern Trans-Urals: Kamennyi Ambar (Ol'gino), Konoplyanka, Malaya Berezovaya-4, Bol’shaya Berezovaya-2 and Alexandro-Nevskoe-II. It was found that most of all identified pathologies relate to the cattle bone remains. Far fewer cases of pathologies were observed on the bones of small cattle and horses. In more than a half of cases, pathologies on the cattle bones are manifestations of diffe-rent forms of limb bones osteoarthritis. This group of deviations has a chronic and age character. The remaining part of pathologies relates to the dental system. Pathologies of the skeletal system of small cattle and horses generally have an inflammatory character. The number and nature of the identified abnormalities in the bones of the livestock indicate to satisfactory health state and conditions of handling at the settlements under consideration. Different forms of osteoarthritis in the cattle limb bones in the settlement of Kamennyi Ambar (Ol'gino) suggest that some animals of those species were used as draught animals.

Key words: Southern Trans-Urals, the Bronze Age, Archaeozoology, Paleopathology, osteoarthritis, health state, cattle (Bos taurus), sheep and goats (Capra hircus et Ovis aries), horse (Equus caballus), draught cattle.

DOI: 10.20874/2071-0437-2016-35-4-180-187

12.12.2016

A.Yu. Rassadnikov

Institute of History and Archaeology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, S. Kovalevskaya st., 16, Ekaterinburg, 620137, Russian Federation

E-mail: ralu87@mail.ru