- 221 views
- 552 downloads
Examination of Ancient Animal Management Practices in Siberia and the Russian Far East through Dietary Stable Isotope Analyses
-
- Author / Creator
- Fleming, Lacey Shannon
-
This study examines diverse animal management practices through the application of δ13C and δ15N analyses to collagen extracted from faunal skeletal remains. The faunal remains analyzed were recovered from eight archaeological sites in three distinct ecological settings in Siberia and the Russian Far East. The archaeological record of these sites recorded thousands of years of human-animal interactions, from the hunter-fisher-gatherer societies of the Neolithic along the coast of southern Primorye, to Iron Age dog sledding groups at the Arctic Circle in the Lower Ob, to the agricultural peoples of Transbaiikal and Primorye during the medieval period. Samples were selected to reflect the suite of taxa represented at each site and include both domestic and wild animal species, as well as aquatic and terrestrial fauna. The values reported in this study are among the first faunal comparative stable isotope data for these areas. In addition to the faunal skeletal samples, human skeletal samples from two sites were also available, providing an opportunity to explore the utility of animal dietary stable isotope values as proxies for human ones.
The results of this study demonstrate local strategies to animal management in each of the three regions and highlight the human use of locally available resources to provision domestic animals. At Ust’-Polui, Iron Age peoples likely relied upon the abundant fishery provided by the Ob River to feed sled dogs, which require massive quantities of dietary resources to perform labour in extreme temperatures. Inferences from the medieval Proezzhaia I hillfort in Transbaikal suggest dogs, pigs, and caprines provisioned themselves, while horses and cattle may have been provided with supplemental fodder or given access to pasture. In southern Primorye, human dietary stable isotope data indicate Late Neolithic and Early Iron Age peoples relied on high trophic level marine resources, at odds with the abundance of shellfish remains at Boisman II and Pospelovo I. Additional data from other coastal shell midden sites and the inland Cherniatino II show no dietary isotopic separation of suids over thousands of years, suggesting the local environment provided adequate accommodation for the management of domestic pigs with natural resources. However, the dietary stable isotope data from Cherniatino II show extensive use of cultivated millet among other domestic species, particularly during medieval occupation of the site.
The dietary stable isotope data generated by this study provide some support for the use of animal δ13C and δ15N values as proxy information for contemporaneous human diets, particularly those of domestic dogs. Though humans and dogs from Ust’-Polui, Boisman II, and Pospelovo I broadly shared dietary inputs from aquatic resources, consistent δ13C and δ15N value offsets between the two hint at more specific provisioning practices.
-
- Graduation date
- Fall 2020
-
- Type of Item
- Thesis
-
- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
-
- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.