New Data on Livestock Raising by the Srubnaya Populations in the North of the Forest-Steppe Belt of the Middle Volga Region

To obtain information on livestock raising by prehistoric populations, it is necessary to study osteological assemblages from one-layer settlements, where the amount of the material found is adequate to ensure reliable results. In some Srubnaya distribution areas such sites are very rare. The paper presents the study of the archaeozoological assemblage collected by archaeological excavations at the Srubnaya settlement of Tsemzavod I. The settlement is located on the right bank of the Volga river in the northern part of the forest-steppe belt where the concentration of the Srubnaya sites is much lower than in the areas further to the south. This factor underlies importance of introducing new data on the animals raised, hunted and consumed at the site into scientific discourse. The entire set of archaeozoological information used in modern studies was analyzed during the examination of the assemblage. The data obtained include species composition of animals, percentages of bones from various species of domesticated ungulates, age and size characteristics of animals, main forms of their use and maintenance conditions. The main outcome of the study is overall characterization of livestock raising by settlement occupants. The data produced suggest that the Srubnaya populations inhabiting the steppe and the forest-steppe belts of the Middle Volga region had similar subsistence systems.