Where Did Bronze Age Mongolians Prepare Their Feasts?

BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY—According to a Phys.org report, a team of researchers led by Jean-Luc Houle of Western Kentucky University explored two Late Bronze Age mounds in Mongolia known as khirigsuurs for evidence of feasting. Khirigsuurs, found in Mongolia and parts of southern Siberia, usually contain human burials and are surrounded by deposits of horse skulls. These are sometimes accompanied by horse neck vertebrae and hooves, and the burned bones of sheep or goats. Houle and his colleagues looked for the rest of these horses and evidence of butchering at khirigsuur ZK-956, which has been dated to between 1054 and 906 B.C. A well-preserved winter settlement has been found near this mound. The second mound in the study, ZK-2022-118, was surrounded by many deposits and has been dated to between 933 and 822 B.C. Soil samples were taken across each of these two sites, but no animal remains were found and chemical testing reflected normal soil composition. There were no missing horse bones recovered at the settlement near ZK-956. Had many horses been slaughtered at these sites, the researchers would have expected to recover bones and find elevated phosphate levels in the soil as a result of large-scale slaughter. The team members plan to continue looking for horse butchering sites. “We’re thinking about exploring hill slopes away from habitation sites, as well as terraces and areas near seasonal water sources adjacent to ancient habitation sites, where butchering may have been more practical,” Houle explained. To read about a medieval urban center built by nomads of the Uighur Empire, go to "Letter from Mongolia: Building the Black City."