KRIEVU KALNS HILL-FORT: NEW DATA ON THE LATE BRONZE AGE AND PRE-ROMAN IRON AGE IN WESTERN LATVIA

The article examines the results of the 2012 and 2013 archaeological excavations of Skrundas Krievu kalns hill-fort, situated in western Latvia. Krievu kalns was listed as a site in the 1920s, but it was not regarded as a hill-fort. During a site inspection, striated pottery was discovered, and this indicated that it might be numbered as a Late Bronze Age and Pre-Roman Iron Age habitation. Excavations revealed the site to be a hill-fort that was fortified in the 11th to the ninth century BC with a palisade made of vertical timbers. In the eighth to the fiftth century BC, the defences were moved outwards, thus enlarging the living area. There was possibly even later a third fence. Krievu kalns may be classed as a Late Bronze Age hill-fort with striated pottery, reflecting the characteristic Bronze Age cultural traditions of western Latvia.Key words: Krievu kalns, hill-fort, buildings, finds, Late Bronze Age, Pre-Roman Iron Age.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v26i0.202

ZOOARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL FROM THE PADURE (BELTES) HILL-FORT IN LATVIA: BUTCHERING TECHNIQUES AND THE COMPOSITION OF SPECIES

In the excavated Padure (Beltes) hill-fort in Latvia, cultural layers from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (Stage 1), and the Middle Iron Age and the Late Iron Age (Stage 2), were detected, which, besides the archaeological material typical of that period, provided abundant zooarchaeological material. This article presents the investigation data from the zooarchaeological material of both stages: the data relate to the butchering techniques used, and the identification of the composition of the faunal species. The investigation was carried out in the bioarchaeological laboratory of the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology at Klaipėda University. As is proven by the investigation, the ratio of domestic animals to hunted wildlife in the two periods compared is not identical. In the second period of habitation of the hill-fort, the number of cattle and sheep/goats decreased, while the number of swine and especially of horses increased. The article also deals with characteristics of butchering techniques of domestic animals and wildlife in both periods of the habitation of the hill-fort, and changes identified in the meat processing. In the second period, the level of processing resulted in greater amounts of meat suitable for food, due to the technical properties of the raw material and the nutritional and commodity value.Key words: Padure (Beltes) hill-fort, Latvia, zooarchaeology, Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, slaughtering.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.81

NEW TECHNOLOGY OR ADAPTATION AT THE FRONTIER? BUTCHERY AS A SIGNIFIER OF CULTURAL TRANSITIONS IN THE MEDIEVAL EASTERN BALTIC

This paper focuses on a number of examples of cut marks on animal bones from a range of sites associated with the cultural transformations in the eastern Baltic following the Crusades in the 13th century. Recorded observational and interpretational characteristics are quantified and explained through more detailed selected case studies. The study represents a pilot project, the foundation for a more detailed and systematic survey of a larger dataset within the framework of the ecology of Crusading project. Relatively clear differences between sites are observable on the basis of the cut marks; however, the initial trends do not suggest a straightforward connection between butchery technology and colonisation in the east Baltic region.Key words: zooarchaeology, butchery, technology, Crusades, colonisation, Teutonic Order, eastern Baltic.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v20i0.80

Biomolecular evidence reveals mares and long-distance imported horses sacrificed by the last pagans in temperate Europe

Horse sacrifice and deposition are enigmatic features of funerary rituals identified across prehistoric Europe that persisted in the eastern Baltic. Genetic and isotopic analysis of horses in Balt cemeteries [1st to 13th centuries CE (Common Era)] dismantle prevailing narratives that locally procured stallions were exclusively selected. Strontium isotope analysis provides direct evidence for long-distance(~300 to 1500 kilometers) maritime transport of Fennoscandian horses to the eastern Baltic in the Late Viking Age (11th to 13th centuries CE). Genetic analysis proves that horses of both sexes were sacrificed with 34% identified as mares. Results transform the understanding of selection criteria, disprove sex-based selection, and elevate prestige value as a more crucial factor. These findings also provide evidence that the continued interaction between pagans and their newly Christianized neighbors sustained the performance of funerary horse sacrifice until the medieval transition. We also present a reference 87Sr/86Sr isoscape for the southeastern Baltic, releasing the potential of future mobility studies in the region

Остеологические данные о рыбах и тюленях из поселений Швянтойи

Visose įvairių laikotarpių Šventosios gyvenvietėse buvo medžiojami keturių rūšių ruoniai: ilgasnukis ruonis (Halychocnts grypus), paprastasis ruonis (Phoca vitulina), žieduotasis ruonis (Phoca hispida) ir Grenlandijos ruonis (Pagophylus groenlandicus). Ankstyvajame ir viduriniame neolite buvo jau medžiojami ir delfinai (Jūros kiaulė Phocoena phocoena). Tiriant Šventosios gyvenviečių žuvų kaulus nustatyta, kad buvo gaudomos tiek gėlavandenės, tiek jūrinės žuvys. Aptikta daug gėlavandenių žuvų rūšių: lydeka, ešerys, raudė ir kitos karpinės žuvys. Tarp jūroje gaudomų žuvų rūšių priklauso atlantinė ir ledjūrio menkės (Gadidae), gundalinės (Gobiide) ar jūrinės plekšnės (Pleuronectcs platessa). Lašišos (Salmonidae) yra migruojančios rūšys ir jas galima buvo pagauti tiek sūriuose, tiek gėluose vandenyse. Suskirsčius tirtas gyvenvietes į ankstyvojo neolito (Šventoji 1 B,Šventoji 2 B, Šventoji 4B), vidurinio neolito (Šventoji 3B, Šventoji 23, Šventoji 26) ir vėlyvojo neolito (Šventoji 6) laikotarpius nustatėme, kad visuose laikotarpiuose buvo medžiojami keturių rūšių ruoniai: ilgasnukis ruonis (Halychoentsgiypus), paprastasis ruonis (Phoca vitulina) ir žieduotasis ruonis (Phoca hispida), Grenlandijos ruonis (Pagophylus groenlandicus), o ankstyvajame bei viduriniame neolite ir delfinai (Jūros kiaulė Phocoena phocoena). Reikšminiai žodžiai: Šventoji; Ruoniai; Delfinai; Žvejyba; Šventoji; Seal; Dolphin; FishingFour species of seals were hunted in all Šventoji settlements during different periods, which were as follows: the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), the common seal (Phoca vitulina), the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and the harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus). Dolphins were already hunted in the Early and Middle Neolithic Periods (the harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena). Research on fish bones in Šventoji settlements has revealed that both freshwater and marine fish were caught. A large number of freshwater fish species were discovered, which were as follows: the pike, the perch, the rudd and other carp fish. Marine fish species included the cod and the coalfish (Gadidae), the goby (Gobiidae) and the plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). Salmonidae are migrating species and could be caught both in salt and fresh waters. After grouping the settlements researched into the Early Neolithic Period (Šventoji 1B, Šventoji 2B, Šventoji 4B), the Middle Neolithic Period (Šventoji 3B, Šventoji 23, Šventoji 26) and the Late Neolithic Period (Šventoji 6), we have established that, during all of the periods, the following four seal species were hunted: the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), the common seal (Phoca vitulina), the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and the harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), and, in the Early and Middle Neolithic Eras, dolphins (the harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena) were hunted

Mammoths in Lithuania

Having explored parts of mammoth skeletons taken from the collections of the Lithuanian National Museum, the Kaunas Zoology Museum, the Vievis Road Museum, the Vilnius University Zoology Department Museum and others found in different places of Lithuania's present territory, it was established that the majority of them are teeth (except for the mammoth of Vilnius). According to the records of the geomorphologie researches, the age of mammoth of Vilnius found in terrace 3 of the River Neris is likely to be 13-12.5 thousand years. The tooth of mammoth of Kruonis is also of similar age (14 thousand years). Having analysed the radiocarbon dates of separate mammoth teeth found in Lithuania and the skull of woolly rhinoceros, it was established that the radiocarbon dates of most mammoth remains match the Middle Weichselian Period. The dates vary from 46.300+1100 to 30.350+250 BP. The date of the skull of woolly rhinoceros is also attributed to the same period (44,950±650 BP)

Marvelės kapinyne iškastų žirgų kaulų patologijos

Excavations in the Marvelė cemetery started in 1993. Explorations have continued until present. 234 horse graves with the remains of 280 individuals were investigated in the Marvelė cemetery (M. Bertašius, 2002). The analysis of these remains showed that 18 horses (15.55% of all explored horses) had one or another type of pathology. A. von den Driesch (1975) distinguishes three groups of pathology: 1. Dental pathology; 2. Skeleton changes due to overload or old age; 3. Traumas. All three groups were identified in the Marvelė cemetery. The first group includes tooth attrition anomalies and decay. The second group covers 5–6 lumbar vertebrae accretions and 6 lumbar-sacrum wing accretions. The third case (ossified haematoma) is attributed to the trauma group. Besides the three pathology groups identified by von den Driesch (1975), the fourth group could be distinguished – that of the human impact on the animal’s skeleton. No pathologies of crest processes of thoracic vertebrae were detected in the Marvelė cemetery; however, individual cases related to the exploration of the Varliškės barrow cemetery show that human activity directly affected the crest processes and body of spinal vertebrae. Our case investigates the animals killed during the religious rituals. These are “relatively” healthy horses. Their position in graves is of several types; it has been drawn and described in the articles and books written by M. Bertašius and L. Daugnora. The different age of horses (1–16 years) also helps to more widely interpret individual pathologies or their groups

Klaipėdos pilies gyventojų maistas XIV-XVII amžiais istorijos ir zooarcheologijos duomenimis

Built in 1252 by the livonian Order and later passed over to the Teutonic Order, the Klaipėda castle (German – Memelburg) was the northernmost castle of the Order in prussia. For both geographical and political reasons, it was separated from the hinterlands of the Order’s state, making its survival strategy here specific. This article analyses the zooarchaeological material found during the 1997-1999 archaeological excavations and dated to the 14th-17th centuries. The analysis of the historical data and zooarchaeological material showed that in the 14th-17th centuries, the inhabitants of the Klaipėda castle (the Order’s brothers, their servants, the outwork’s artisans, and the townspeople who hid in the outwork) reared and slaughtered domesticated animals, hunted large game and consumed its meat, processed cheese, ground grain, drank mead and ale. The bulk of the meat consisted of beef, mutton, and pork, as well as goats’ meat starting 1434. an examination of the species and number of bones of domestic and wild animals in Klaipėda’s castle shows that in all of the Klaipėda castle time periods analysed, differences were found between the historical source information and the zooarchaeological collection. domestic animal bones dominated in the latter, especially that of ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats); pigs comprised the second group according to quantity. The growing quantity of small ruminants (sheep, goats) starting 1434 also is reflected in the zooarchaeological material; from the 16th to 17th centuries, the number of bones of these animals doubled. The amount of riding horses markedly grows in the inventory books starting the middle of the 15th century, and this also is confirmed by zooarchaeological material

Skerdimo technologija ankstyvajame bronzos amžiuje (pagal Kretuono 1C gyvenvietės tyrimų duomenis)

Analysis of the osteological and archaeological material discovered at the Early Bronze Age settlement of Kretuonas 1C suggests that the settlement's hunted game and reared animals were slaughtered within the settlement, not far from the dwellings. We analyse the butchering technology of the Early Bronze Age based on Kretuonas 1C's osteological material. The tools used for butchering and the macroscopic analysis of the slaughtered artiodactyls' axial skeleton and long bones enabled an assessment of split bone in the butchering area, as well as of chop and cut marks acquired during the butchering proces