Characteristics of Horses from the Maeotian Burial Ground of the Spornoye Hillfort (Krasnodar Krai)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2026.5.270.287Keywords:
archaeology, the Maeotians, Equus caballus, Ciscaucasia, Early Iron Age, archaeozoologyAbstract
One of the distinctive features of the Maeotians burial rite was the ritual burials of horses. Although sites of the Maeotic archaeological culture have been studied for over a century, this abundant archaeozoological material has effectively remained without due attention from scientists. This paper introduces into scientific discourse data on the age-and-sex structure and exterior characteristics of horses from the burial ground of the Spornoye hillfort (4th century BC – 3rd century AD), representing the first detailed description of Maeotian horses.The burial ground was partially plundered in ancient times and disturbed by subsequent economic activity, which impacted the preservation and completeness of the animal skeletons, and, consequently, the completeness of the results. In total, the remains of 38 horses were described, five of which were male. The 76,3 per cent of the studied horses were over 3 years old and about half of them were 5 years old or more, with maximum age being recorded 17–18 years old. The animals were predominantly small-statured (128–136 cm at the withers) and medium-statured (136–144 cm) – accounting for 47,7% and 42,8%, respectively. Judging by their anterior premolars, they have been mainly used as riding horses. A significant variation in size and exterior characteristics, including grace, indicated the absence of a conspicuous breed consolidation at this historical stage. Nevertheless, the horses from the Spornoye differed from the steppe-type modern domestic horses and they increased slightly in size over 700 years. The more exhaustive morphological and genetic analyses, based on a larger sample of animals from various sites, are necessary for the elucidation of the breed characteristics of the Maeotian horses.
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