Dynamics of animal bones concentration in cultural layers in the central part of the Bolgar fortified settlement as indication of intensity of activities of its inhabitants

The collection of animal bones obtained from excavation trench No. CLXXIX in the central part of the Bolgar fortified settlement during 2012 and 2013 totals elections over 80,000 fragments. Reliable selections from five chronological levels of the medieval period were obtained. It was established that in the investigated area in the central part of the city the intensity of activity increased from the early levels to the late ones, which correlates with the nature of the archaeological and historical contexts chronological changes were recorded in osteological spectra: after the Golden Horde period there was a marked increase in the proportion of sheep/goat, while at the same time there was a drop in the amount of cattle and horse bones. Similar trends were also established when changes in the correlation between faunal remains of medium and large ungulates among the bone fragments of indeterminate species were examined. As regards meat consumption, the share of mutton gradually rose to 10-20% between the pre-Mongol time and the Late Golden Horde period. Poultry and fish supplemented the townspeople’s diet mainly in the pre-Mongol period. Later their share in diet became negligible.