Sinika V.S., Zelenkov N.V., Syromyatnikova E.V., Kochnev A.V., Kosintsev P.A., Tarasova M.S., Gimranov D.O. Rare Archaeozoological Finds from Scythian Sites on the Left Bank of the Lower Dniester
Vitalij S. Sinika, Doctor of Sciences (History), Head of the Scientific Laboratory “Archaeology”, Pridnestrovian State University named after T.G. Shevchenko, Pokrovskaya St, 128, 3300 Tiraspol, Pridnestrovie
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Nikita V. Zelenkov, Doctor of Sciences (Biology), Head of the Paleornithology Cabinet, Paleontological Institute named after A.A. Borisyak of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya St, 123, 117647 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Elena V. Syromyatnikova, Candidate of Sciences (Biology), Senior Researcher, Laboratory of Paleoherpetology, Paleontological Institute named after A.A. Borisyak of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya St, 123, 117647 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Anton V. Kochnev, Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher, Laboratory of Natural Science Methods in Humanities, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Mira St, 19, 620002 Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
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Pavel A. Kosintsev, Candidate of Sciences (Biology), Senior Researcher, Laboratory of Paleoecology, Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 8 Marta St, 202, 620144 Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
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Maria S. Tarasova, Engineer of the 1st Category, Laboratory of Paleoecology, Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 8 Marta St, 202, 620144 Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
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Dmitry O. Gimranov, Candidate of Sciences (Biology), Senior Researcher, Laboratory of Paleoecology, Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 8 Marta St, 202, 620144 Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
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Abstract. The article analyzes rare archaeozoological finds from Scythian graves on the left bank of the Lower Dniester for the first time. The Scythians of the North-West Black Sea region used teeth and bones of various domestic and wild animals to make amulets. Pendants made of domestic dog teeth (bones) are most often found in burials. Finds of amulets made of domestic pig and horse teeth are isolated. Teeth and bones of wild animals were used by the Scythians much less often. The amulet-pendant made of a wolf molar is the first reliable find of this kind. The amulet-pendant made of a fox fang is one of the few items made of the teeth or bones of this animal. The amulet made of a fox jaw has no reliable analogues in the North-West Black Sea region. Amulet pendants made of a brown bear phalanx and a leopard phalanx are unique. An amulet pendant made from a white-tailed eagle’s claw phalanx is also a unique item in Scythian graves. An amulet made from a crab’s claw is the single such find in the region, although similar adornments are widely known in the Dnieper region and in Crimea. The bones of a hare from sacrificial food in Scythian burials on the left bank of the Lower Dniester have been identified for the first time. The bones of a snake (Caspian whipsnake) in a Scythian grave have also been recorded for the first time, and they were an element of a Scythian ritual. Our study shows that bones and shells of turtles from Scythian graves on the left bank of the Lower Dniester have no relation to the Scythian funerary rite.
Key words: left bank of the Lower Dniester, Scythians, rare archaeozoological finds, food offerings, bones and teeth of domestic animals, phalanges of predators, radiocarbon dating.
Citation. Sinika V.S., Zelenkov N.V., Syromyatnikova E.V., Kochnev A.V., Kosintsev P.A., Tarasova M.S., Gimranov D.O., 2026. Redkiye arkheozoologicheskiye nakhodki iz skifskikh pamyatnikov levoberezh’ya Nizhnego Dnestra [Rare Archaeozoological Finds from Scythian Sites on the Left Bank of the Lower Dniester]. Nizhnevolzhskiy Arkheologicheskiy Vestnik [The Lower Volga Archaeological Bulletin], vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 41-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/nav.jvolsu.2026.3.3
Rare Archaeozoological Finds from Scythian Sites on the Left Bank of the Lower Dniester by Sinika V.S., Zelenkov N.V., Syromyatnikova E.V., Kochnev A.V., Kosintsev P.A., Tarasova M.S., Gimranov D.O. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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