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Horse Sacrifice in a Pazyryk Culture Kurgan: the Princely Tomb of Berel’(Kazakhstan)

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Horse Sacrifice in a Pazyryk Culture Kurgan: the Princely Tomb of Berel’(Kazakhstan) Horse sacrifice in a Pazyryk culture kurgan: the princely tomb of Berel’(Kazakhstan). Selection criteria and slaughter procedures Sébastien LEPETZ UMR 7209/USM 303, Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, pratiques et environnements, CNRS, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Anatomie Comparée) CP 56 , 55 rue Buffon F-75231 Paris Cedex 05 (France) [email protected] Lepetz S. 2013. — Horse sacrifice in a Pazyryk culture kurgan: the princely tomb of Berel’(Kazakhstan). Selection criteria and slaughter procedures. Anthropozoologica 48 (2): 309-321. http://dx.doi.org/10.5252/az2013n2a9 ABSTRACT e discovery of a Pazyryk frozen prince’s tomb in Berel’(Altaï, Kazakhstan) KEY WORDS led to the unearthing of a funerary chamber enclosing two human bodies and Sacrice, horse, thirteen horse bodies. e horses were buried harnessed beside the humans and Pazyryk culture, some of them were wearing masks and two fake ibex horns in gold-painted wood. Scythia, Meticulous excavation and the study of the equids resulted in a description of Central Asia, tombs, Kurgan, the animals and revealed the importance of their position in the tomb – as well funeral rituals. as the selection criteria that led to their sacrice. RÉSUMÉ Sacrice de chevaux dans un kourgane de la culture de Pazyryk : la tombe princière de Berel’ (Kazakhstan). Critères de choix et procédés d’abattage. MOTS CLÉS La découverte à Berel’(Altaï, Kazakhstan) d’une tombe princière gelée de la Sacrice, culture de Pazyryk a permis de mettre au jour une chambre funéraire renfer- cheval, culture de Pazyryk, mant deux corps humains à côté desquels 13 chevaux ont été inhumés harna- scythe, chés ; certains portaient un masque soutenant des cornes postiches d’ibex en Asie centrale, bois doré. La fouille minutieuse et l’étude des équidés ont permis de décrire les tombes, kourgane, animaux, leur position dans la tombe et de dénir les critères de choix qui ont rites funéraires conduit à leur sacrice. ANTHROPOZOOLOGICA • 2013 • 48 (2) © Publications Scientifiques du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. 309 Lepetz S. RUSSIA Petropavlovsk Irtych Kokcetav Kustanaj BEREL' Semipalatinsk Pavlodar Uralsk Akmol Ust-Kamenogorsk Arkalyk Karaganda Oural Zezkazgan Lac Balkhach Taldy-Kurgan GEORGIA Kzyl-Orda Aral Sea Syr Daria Alma-Ata Aktau Dzambul ARMENIA KIRGHIZISTAN Simkent AZERBAIJAN CHINA UZBEKISTAN TURKEY TURKMENISTAN Caspian Sea TADJIKISTAN IRAQ PAKISTAN IRAN AFGHANISTAN INDIA FIG. 1. — The geographical location of Berel’. e role of horses in Scythian funeral rituals has the choice of animals to be sacriced (size, sex and been well known since the excavations conducted age) and their post-mortem treatment (the position by Rudenko in Pazyryk or other sites in Siberia, of these animals within the tomb). Mongolia, or Kazakhstan (Rudenko 1970; see also, Between 1998 and 1999, an international team for example: Bourgeois et al. 2000, Derevianko from the Archeological Institute “A. Kh Margulan” in and Molodin, 2000; Benecke 2007; Benecke and the Kazakhstan Republic, the French Archeological Weber 2007). Horses are often laid to rest next Mission in Central Asia and Centro Studi Ricerche to the deceased within tombs, and provided that Ligabue, directed by H.P. Francfort and Z.S. Samashev, conservation conditions were favorable, it is pos- conducted several Kurgan archeological excavations sible to observe harnessing, saddling and/or other in the Katonkaragay region (Altai — Kazakhstan decorative features on these animals. – Samashev et al. 2000; Francfort et al. 2000). e e way in which the horses were placed within Berel’ cemetery (Fig. 1), situated in a valley at an the tomb, the dierent types of decoration and other altitude of 1,200 meters, consists of about thirty associated attributes, give insights into the overall Kurgans aligned along a northwest-southeast axis1. funerary ritual and point towards a very elaborate, Kurgan n°18 consists of a stone mound with a complicated and precise scenario. However, most diameter of 18.3 meters, covering a funeral cham- of these funerary rites are not perceptible, as they ber 4 meters deep, and 3x4 meters wide. e tomb are not related to any tangible traces. Part of the was plundered long ago, but nevertheless contained ritual scenario involves the selection, slaughter and several artifacts and the remains of four horses. subsequent burial of the horses to be sacriced. Each Kurgan n°11 dates back to the beginning of the 3rd step of this process followed precise methods that century BC and consists of a burial mound about we were able to reconstruct according to dierent, 33 meters wide, covering a sepulchral pit about 5 intrinsic factors, such as the caliber and sex of the animal – and extrinsic factors, such as traces of in- 1. Other tombs in this necropolis were excavated by Z. Samašev’s icted, fatal wounds. e purpose of the analysis team. e Kurgan n° 10 revealed 10 horses, the Kurgan n°31, 2 carried out here is to identify the practices involving Equids (Samašev 2007) 310 ANTHROPOZOOLOGICA • 2013 • 48 (2) Horse sacrice in a Pazyryk culture kurgan FIG. 2. — Kurgan n° 11 during excavation (photo S. Lepetz). meters underground, measuring 3 to 5 meters (see cloth). e mixed-up heap of partially decomposed Figs 2 & 3), dug into the permafrost. e tomb soft organic material rendered the identication and contains a rectangular funerary chamber made of the understanding of the layout of the dierent ele- planks and covered in birch bark and bush branches ments dicult. us, the onsite intervention of a (Dasiphora fructicosa), enclosing a monoxylous sar- zooarchaeologist throughout the excavation, as well cophagus, consisting of a hole carved into the trunk as during related subsequent laboratory work, was of a larch tree. In this sarcophagus, the remains of a indispensable. e greatest diculty was identifying, forty-year-old man and an old woman along with distinguishing and separating the dierent animals. clothing and other decorative elements were found. Certain zones of the excavation site were even more Outside the chamber, on the north side, lying complex, as they contained a greater number of below layers of birch bark, thirteen harnessed and horses to be unearthed. e central zone of the lower saddled horses were unearthed, some of which bore level held 2m2 of the hindquarters of three dierent fake horns of golden wood or a wooden sculptured animals and the forequarters of two others. In this grin on the forehead. Furthermore, the animal bod- compact agglomeration of shapeless organic matter, ies displayed motifs depicting feline, deer, mountain bones were precious indicators throughout the excava- sheep or grin heads, plated with gold or tin. tion process, as they helped dierentiate the animals e excavation of the horses in tomb n°11 turned and provided pointers for anatomically situating the out to be complex, since it involved animals with various harnesses, decorations and so on. erefore, intact fur, skin and muscle (Fig. 4). For this reason, it whenever possible, body outlines were drawn, as was sometimes complicated to distinguish the horses was the position of the skeleton once the skin and from the artifacts (associated saddle, blanket, felt and esh had been partially removed. It is important to ANTHROPOZOOLOGICA • 2013 • 48 (2) 311 Lepetz S. FIG. 3. — The funerary chamber and the monoxylous casket. In the foreground, under the plastic, is the zone reserved for the horses (photo S. Lepetz). point out that all the animals (aside from the two hole made by the looters and thus became mixed up individuals in the plundered hole) conserved their with those of Horse “D”, which was damaged at the skin. erefore, bones were not drawn in situ but same time. A right hind leg, as well as other elements were rather reconstructed a posteriori. like phalanges and neck vertebrae, were in anatomical For the purposes of this article, skeleton drawings connection. However, these were found further away are fundamental since bones illustrate the animal’s in the southwest area of the cavity (within the con). position much better than body contours. It is important to note that these remains are practi- cally devoid of any organic material (i.e. skin or esh), therefore, all things considered, we can conclude that POSITION AND LAYOUT the looting occurred when the carcasses were still in OF THE HORSES relatively good condition, since the articulations resisted. Some bones bear traces of blows or were broken by As the excavation revealed the presence of thirteen the tools the robbers used to break into the tomb. A horses, (Fig. 5) we gave them ‘names’ from ”A” to “N”, fractured humerus was found in the eastern part of according to their order of appearance during work in the cavity. It was impossible to entirely reconstruct the the funerary chamber. two damaged animals; only the longest bones could e upper level contained six animals facing east, be more or less put back together. named “A” to “F” – in two groups of three. Horse e head of Horse “A” was lying on its left side, and “A” suered quite a lot of damage when the tomb was was the furthest east of the group of horses found in plundered; its bones were dispersed throughout the the pit (Fig. 6A, B). Below this animal was Horse “C”, 312 ANTHROPOZOOLOGICA • 2013 • 48 (2) Horse sacrice in a Pazyryk culture kurgan FIG. 4. — The heap of organic material (muscle, skin, fur); Heads of horses « A » (in front) and « C » (behind). Harnessing elements in gold-plated wood are visible (photo S. Lepetz). with the front part of its body resting on its left ank “G” was resting on its underside with its forelegs bent while the back part was positioned on its underside. It under the thorax, its hind legs extended on either side. also suered damage when the tomb was broken into.
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