Cattle stock (Bos taurus) in Yeniseysk (Krasnoyarsk Krai) in the 18th–19th centuries (according to the archaeobotanical and archeological data)

Abstract

As a result of the large-scale rescue excavations on the territory of the town of Yeniseysk (58°27'N, 92°10'E) in Eastern Siberia, a large osteological collection has been assembled. In this study, cattle bone remains from the excavations on the territory of the architectural complex ‘Balandin mansion’ have been analysed. The deposits of the mansion span both the initial period of settlement in Yeniseysk, almost from the moment of its foundation, as well as the late period — the end of the 19th century. The focus of the livestock production in the 17th–19th centuries in Yeniseysk was cattle breeding. The sex and age structure of the herd and size of the body of the animals have been reconstructed using special techniques from the parameters of the lower jaws and size of the metatarsal, metacarpal, and talus bones, as well as the first phalanges. On this basis, the breed characteristics and cases of economic use of the cattle have been described. The presence of a large percentage of newborn animals indicates that the cattle were kept within the town territory. Some amount of beef was imported to Yeniseysk as a result of the trade with indigenous cattle farmers. The reconstructed age and sex structure, where about 50 % of animals are cows older than 4 years, while the proportion of young animals among the slaughtered stock does not exceed 40 %, indicates the meat-and-dairy use of the cattle. The livestock was predominantly horned, and the polledness was not pronounced. Yeniseysk livestock had an average body size. The cattle in Yeniseysk were bigger than those of the Russian population in the forest belt of the European part of Russia. The sizes of cattle from other Russian cities in Siberia are identical to the Yenisei cattle. With a high degree of probability, the described breed can be attributed to the Siberian cattle, which were widespread on the territory of Siberia, the Urals, and the Far East.

Keywords

• eastern siberia
• the late middle ages
• russian population
• bones
• livestock