Pages: 608-614

The article discusses various problems related to archaeozoological studies. First of all the author defines the object and subject of the archaeozoology as an individual discipline. The object is peculiarities of stockbreeding and hunting of ancient population within a territory or bearers of a concrete archaeological culture whereas the subject is the reconstruction of palaeoeconomy of ancient societies as well as primeval natural environment and landscape. Special attention is given to the problem of selection of faunal remains from the cultural layer of a site. All animal bones must be taken separately from each layer of multi-layer sites or from isolated sealed structures. In the case of a single-layer settlement with a short-term existence the samples can be gathered summarily. Additionally, the author considers the merits and demerits of such analytical method as the minimum number of individuals index (MNI). The author is convinced that despite some disadvantages the method can be applied to archaeozoological studies due to its relatively high efficiency and accuracy. Currently, it is used by many archaozoologists, and this circumstance makes it possible to compare material from different sites and regions.