SALEKHARD, RUSSIA—Robert Losey of the University of Alberta has unearthed the remains of five dogs who had been buried in graves some 2,000 years ago on the edges of the Arctic site of Ust-Polui. The dog graves resemble the human burials at the site. The butchered remains of more than 110 dogs, however, were also found among the bones of animals that had been eaten, including birds and reindeer. Losey thinks some of the butchered dogs may have been offered as sacrifices or consumed as part of ritual activity. He told Live Science that “at one place in the site, the heads of 15 dogs were piled together, all with their brain cases broken open in the same manner.” Artifacts from the site include the remains of two sleds and a carved bone knife handle that could depict a sled dog in a harness. Dogs are also thought to have been used in hunting and herding. The dogs buried whole in graves may have shared close bonds with people living in the village. To read more about dogs in the archaeological record, go to "More Than Man's Best Friend."
2,000-Year-Old Siberian Dog Burials Found
News July 15, 2016
SHARE:
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries May/June 2022
Membership Has Its Privileges
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2021
Face Off
(Photograph © The State Hermitage Museum/Photo by Vladimir Terebenin)
Ancient Tattoos November/December 2013
Iron Age Mummy
(The State Hermitage Museum)
Svetlana Sharapova
-
Features May/June 2016
An Overlooked Inca Wonder
Thousands of aligned holes in Peru’s Pisco Valley have attracted the attention of archaeologists
(Courtesy Charles Stanish) -
Letter from Florida May/June 2016
People of the White Earth
In Florida’s Panhandle, tribal leaders and archaeologists reach into the past to help preserve a native community’s identity
(Mike Toner) -
Artifacts May/June 2016
Medieval Spoon Finial
(© Suffolk County Council) -
Digs & Discoveries May/June 2016
Dressing for the Ages
(Courtesy Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology)