2024-04-11 13:05:04
A complete skeleton of a lynx was found at the bottom of the 5th-6th century pit, which was about 1.4 meters deep, and on top were the skeletons of four dogs – most likely pointers or German shepherds. March žurnale „International Journal of Osteoarchaeology“ published new research details possible interpretations of the unique find, such as a hunting accident or a lynx cult.
The Eurasian lynx is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere (Lynx lynx) is a large predator that usually feeds on small mammals and birds. Although the Eurasian lynx has almost disappeared in mainland Europe (due to human encroachment on their forest habitats), this species was widespread until our time.
However, lynx remains have been found in only a few dozen archaeological sites in Europe and Asia. “From an archaeological point of view, lynx skeletons are extremely rare because lynx meat was not usually consumed,” says study co-author Lászlo Bartosiewicz, an archaeologist at Stockholm University. Sometimes lynx claws end up in human graves, sometimes pelts are found – but intact skeletons are rare.
The animal grave was found in the area of Zamárdi-Kútvölgyi-dűlő in west-central Hungary, in the Roman province of Pannonia. The last phase of settlement of the area dates back to the early Middle Ages, shortly after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Zamárdi appears to have been a small settlement at the time, and archaeologists have previously discovered dozens of buildings, pits, wells and ovens. It is likely that humans obtained their food from domesticated animals and crops rather than from hunted wild animals.
A stretched skeleton of a male lynx was found at the bottom of a beehive-shaped pit. Four adult dogs – two females and two males – were buried on the right side, above the lynx. Each animal was separated by a 20-40 cm layer of soil.
“It is difficult to generalize our interpretation of the burial of lynx and dogs because no parallels (archaeological or ethnographic) are known,” says L. Bartosiewicz.
The burial may be the end result of a fatal encounter in which the dogs may have been killed by a cornered lynx, researchers speculate. Or perhaps it was a purposeful burial of animals with ritual significance.
“Unfortunately, the inhabitants of the migration period in the former Roman province could represent almost any ideology, given the chaotic history of that period,” says L. Bartosiewicz.
Victoria Moses, a zooarchaeologist at Harvard University who was not involved in the study, says that “the authors make a clever interpretation of what the lynx and dog burials meant to the people of the area at the time.” But given the presence of such a unique animal in an atypical burial carried out in a short period of time, “the likelihood of a ritual is high.”
Considering the dynamic multicultural environment of Zamardi, it is currently impossible to unambiguously interpret the animal pit without additional evidence, the researchers concluded.
In the absence of additional written or ethnographic material about the perception of this large predator in the early Middle Ages, “our rather special find is indeed the ‘missing lynx’ in this story,” summarizes L. Bartosiewicz.
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2024-04-11 13:05:04