Yankovsky Economics: Animal Bones from 1st Millennium BC Settlements in Primorye, Russian Far East

Yankovsky Economics: Animal Bones from 1st Millennium BC Settlements in Primorye, Russian Far East

P. Rowley-Conwy and Y.E. Vostretsov.

New fi ndings bearing on hunting and animal breeding practiced by the Iron Age people of the Yankovsky culture (Primorye, 8th–3rd centuries BC) are analyzed. The mammalian faunas from two sites, Peschany-1 and Zaisanovka-2, are compared. These two sites are contemporaneous but in different environments. The analysis of the unusual stratigraphy of these sites allowed the separation of annual deposits refl ecting human subsistence strategies. Seasonality and settlement are reconstructed, and the role of hunting and animal husbandry is evaluated.

Keywords: East Asia, Primorye, Iron Age, Yankovsky culture, subsistence system, hunting, animal husbandry.