Pages:  377-385 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp256377385

Animal bones found in the cultural layers of Golden Horde cities are remnants of meat consumption. Among domestic ungulates, cattle bones are most common, indicating that beef was the primary meat source. However, in some contexts, remains of small ruminants increase significantly within bone deposits. Typically, the main “meat” species, in order of prevalence, are cattle, small ruminants, and horses, with pig bones rarely encountered. In certain excavation samples, the proportion of cattle and horse bones drops while small ruminant bones can constitute up to 50% of the finds. These infills often contain nearly complete skeletal sets of small ruminants from butcher shops, with a notable abundance of fore and hind limb bones—select cuts favored for meat. This pattern is linked to medieval industries that processed ram hides; at times, urban slaughterhouses relocated closer to these city areas, resulting in increased mutton consumption and diverse bone accumulations.

Keywords: archaeozoology, osteological spectra, Azak, Golden Horde, cattle slaughter, meat products

Information about authors:

Liliya Yavorskaya (Sevastopol, Crimea). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of History and Archaeology of Byzantium and the Black Sea Region, Sevastopol State University. Yuri Gagarin Ave., 13, Sevastopol, 299053, Crimea; Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dmitry Ulyanov St., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-5272-7442

Andrey Maslovsky (Sevastopol, Crimea). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of History and Archaeology of Byzantium and the Black Sea Region, Sevastopol State University. Yuri Gagarin Ave., 13, Sevastopol, 299053, Crimea; Azov Historical, Archaeological and Paleontological Museum-Reserve. Moskovskaya St., 38/40, Azov, 346789, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-2452-4306

Svetlana Semenova (Sevastopol, Crimea). Institute of History and Archaeology of Byzantium and the Black Sea Region, Sevastopol State University. Yuri Gagarin Ave., 13, Sevastopol, 299053, Crimea; Azov Historical, Archaeological and Paleontological Museum-Reserve. Moskovskaya St., 38/40, Azov, 346789, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0009-0004-0450-705X

Olga Lebedeva (Sevastopol, Crimea). Institute of History and Archaeology of Byzantium and the Black Sea Region, Sevastopol State University. Yuri Gagarin Ave., 13, Sevastopol, 299053, Crimea; M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Lomonosov Ave., 27-4, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0009-0000-2966-4407