Human and birds

Avifauna at hunter-gatherer sites of the 6th to 3rd millennia BC (Western Dvina Lakeland)

Authors

  • Andrey Mazurkevich The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia
  • Andrey Panteleev Russian Academy of Sciences, Zoological Institute, St Petersburg, Russia
  • Yolaine Maigrot UMR8215 – Trajectories. From sedentariness to the State, Paris, France
  • Mateusz Płóciennik University of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Poland
  • Piotr Kittel University of Lodz, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Poland
  • Mikhail Sablin Russian Academy of Sciences, Zoological Institute, St Petersburg, Russia
  • Ekaterina Dolbunova The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.50.21

Keywords:

birds, Neolithic, Dnieper-Dvina basin, mean temperature fluctuations, items made from bird bones, hunter-gatherers

Abstract

The paper presents the study of avifauna from the hunter-gatherer sites at the Dnieper-Dvina basin spanning time period from the 6th to 3rd millennia BC. A total of 669 bird bones were identified and attributed to 46 different bird taxa, representing resident and migrant birds. They belong to four habitat groups: waterfowl, forest, woodside and meadow-steppe. The dominance of waterfowl birds follows the common strategy of aquatic resources exploitation. Changes in the procurement strategies, use and symbolic meanings of birds can be envisaged. Reconstructed regional mean temperature fluctuations suggest a particular influence on breeding biology and migration patterns of different species.

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Published

30. 11. 2023 — Updated on 28. 12. 2023

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Articles

How to Cite

Mazurkevich, A., Panteleev, A., Maigrot, Y., Płóciennik, M., Kittel, P., Sablin, M., & Dolbunova, E. (2023). Human and birds: Avifauna at hunter-gatherer sites of the 6th to 3rd millennia BC (Western Dvina Lakeland). Documenta Praehistorica, 50, 238-253. https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.50.21