Lambs to the Slaughter: A Zooarchaeological Investigation of Stone Circles in Mongolia

Abstract

Stone circles are a common monumental feature of the Mongolian Bronze Age (c. 1500–800BC), frequently occurring in association with other monument types, especially khirigsuurs. Until now the content of the stone circles has not been identified, a fact which has hampered our understanding not only of khirigsuurs and their related cosmology but also of the contemporary economy, owing to a research paradigm that was monument‐focused until very recently. The identification of domestic bovids in these features thus has profound implications for our approach to studying the society of this period and region. These implications, including a well‐developed cosmology and economy which included the ritual sacrifice of at least three different kinds of livestock, are introduced here. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The skull on the hill. Anthropological and osteological investigation of contemporary horse skull ritual practices in central Mongolia (Arkhangai province)

“…Deposited under these mounds and circles are the remains of horse skulls and calcined caprines/ovines. At a time when these Bronze Age structures are extensively studied, yet still continue to raise many aspects of interrogation (see Fitzhugh 2009;Broderick et al 2014;Seitsonen et al 2014;Magail 2015;Baroni et al 2016;Broderick et al 2016;Taylor 2017), pluridisciplinary research should be encouraged in order to illuminate the relationships between ancient and contemporary practices. As the horse skull repositories of the deer stone-khirigsuur complexes appear to us as structurally inverted ovoos -skulls were placed in first, and then stones were used to cover them -we decided to study in more detail contemporary horse skull ritual practices.…”

Bronze Age population dynamics and the rise of dairy pastoralism on the eastern Eurasian steppe

“…In the Altai and Tarim basin, where WSH populations have left strong genetic footprints ( 1 , 3 , 10 , 11 ), archaeological evidence supports the presence of dairy products by the early second Millennium BCE and later ( 8 , 12 , 13 ). In the Eastern steppe, however, no direct observations of dairy consumption have been made for a comparable time period, despite the fact that skeletal remains of domestic livestock (such as sheep, goats, cattle, and horses) have been found at Mongolian ritual sites and in midden contexts as early as the 14th century BCE ( 14 – 17 ). In the absence of direct evidence for Bronze Age milk production or consumption on the Eastern steppe, it remains unclear whether these animals are merely ritual in nature or signify a major shift in dietary ecology toward dairy pastoralism, and whether their appearance is connected to possible WSH migrations onto the Eastern steppe.…”

Customs, rites, and sacrifices relating to a mortuary complex in Late Bronze Age Mongolia (Tsatsyn Ereg, Arkhangai)

“…We can discount the possibility that they include wild animals (such as antelope). In any case, there are no large animals, neither horse nor cattle (although cattle may have been found elsewhere [Broderick et al 2014b]). With a few exceptions, the condition of the bones did not allow for a distinction to be made between sheep and goat, which are very similar anatomically.…”

“…In most cases, the researchers consider that the horses heads were the result of sacrifices that took place exclusively at this ceremonial location, to honour individuals being inhumated (Allard & Erdenebaatar 2005: 12;Fitzhugh 2009a: 194, 195;2009b: 382;Taylor 2016: 272). For the circles of stones, Broderick et al (2014b), based on descriptions of 13 circles of stones from three khirigsuurs, envision their function as altars used during a range of ritual activities involving the burning of pieces of meat, but they acknowledge the difficulty of understanding their true significance.…”