Biomolecular evidence reveals mares and long-distance imported horses sacrificed by the last pagans in temperate Europe-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Biomolecular evidence reveals mares and long-distance imported horses sacrificed by the last pagans in temperate Europe

Published:2024-05-17 Issue:20 Volume:10 Page:
ISSN:2375-2548
Container-title:Science Advances
language:en
Short-container-title:Sci. Adv.

Author:

French Katherine M.¹^ORCID,Musiał Adrianna D.²,Karczewski Maciej³^ORCID,Daugnora Linas⁴,Shiroukhov Roman⁵,Ropka-Molik Katarzyna²^ORCID,Baranowski Tadeusz⁶^ORCID,Bertašius Mindaugas⁷^ORCID,Skvortsov Konstantin⁸^ORCID,Szymański Paweł⁹^ORCID,Mellin-Wyczółkowska Izabela¹⁰,Gręzak Anna⁹^ORCID,Wyczółkowski Dariusz⁶^ORCID,Pluskowski Aleksander¹¹^ORCID,Andersen Morten¹²^ORCID,Millet Marc-Alban¹²^ORCID,Inglis Edward¹²,Madgwick Richard¹^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.

2. National Research Institute of Animal Production, Balice, Poland.

3. Department of International Relations, University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland.

4. Institute of the Baltic Region History and Archaeology, Klaipėda, Lithuania.

5. Center for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology, Schleswig, Germany.

6. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.

7. Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania.

8. Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.

9. Department of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.

10. Masurian Archaeological Laboratory Rudka, Kętrzyn, Poland.

11. Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Reading, UK.

12. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.

Abstract

Horse sacrifice and deposition are enigmatic features of funerary rituals identified across prehistoric Europe that persisted in the eastern Baltic. Genetic and isotopic analysis of horses in Balt cemeteries [1st to 13th centuries CE (Common Era)] dismantle prevailing narratives that locally procured stallions were exclusively selected. Strontium isotope analysis provides direct evidence for long-distance (~300 to 1500 kilometers) maritime transport of Fennoscandian horses to the eastern Baltic in the Late Viking Age (11th to 13th centuries CE). Genetic analysis proves that horses of both sexes were sacrificed with 34% identified as mares. Results transform the understanding of selection criteria, disprove sex-based selection, and elevate prestige value as a more crucial factor. These findings also provide evidence that the continued interaction between pagans and their newly Christianized neighbors sustained the performance of funerary horse sacrifice until the medieval transition. We also present a reference 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape for the southeastern Baltic, releasing the potential of future mobility studies in the region.

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Link

https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.ado3529

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