engleski

Why me? - A story about funerals and feasting from animal perspective

Animal remains are often found in prehistoric burials. Generally, wild taxa provide ecological information about past environments, while domestic animals tell us more about human economies. Although partial, these data are usually quite obvious. However, what we cannot see is what really intrigue us. Were animals, whose remains are present in graves, randomly killed and buried or were they pre-selected? What was their significance and what can they tell us about past humans religious practices and spiritual beliefs? The question as to why some animals were more likely to be killed / sacrificed than others is one of the research themes of the 'Late Bronze Age mortuary practices and societies in southern Carpathian Basin' research project, which focuses on the study of several Late Bronze Age cemeteries. The graves found within them have yielded a fair amount of animal remains, some cremated, some unburnt. Here we present the results of their zooarchaeological study, and our attempt at reconstructing burial customs from the perspective of system of values and spirituality, which we hope will initiate further discussion on this intriguing aspect of the human past.

animal remains, feasting, funerals, Late Bronze Age, Croatia

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