RESULTS OF ANALYSIS OF OSTEOLOGICAL MATE RIALS OF SCYTHIAN TIME FROM THE HILLFORT BOLSHOE STOROZHEVOE: LATEST RESEARCH

The article analyzes osteological materials obtained during the latest excavations of one of the largest hillforts of the Middle Don culture of the Scythian time – Bolshoye Storozhevoe. The collection under study dates back to the end of the 5th - 4th centuries BC. and has 3650 bones, 1180 of which have been identified to species. The bones are kitchen remains associated with the butchering and consumption of animal meat directly on the site. The analyzed samples are represented exclusively by the bones of domestic animals. Among them, the remains of cattle (36.4%) predominate, fragments of the skeleton of a horse (23.1%) and small ruminants (23.2%) were found equally, pig bones (15.8%) were found somewhat less frequently. The bones of a dog were found, almost all of which were found in one of the household pits. Among the slaughtered animals, as a rule, adults prevailed, which indicates that people were engaged in animal husbandry directly on the hillfort. According to the proposed by E. E. Antipina method, the volume of consumption of meat products was calculated and the herd composition was reconstructed. The basis of the meat diet was beef and horse meat. Goat, lamb and pork supplemented the meat diet. The herd apparently consisted mainly of horses and cattle. There were few pigs, goats and sheep in it.