Ornamented phalanx bones of animals at settlements of the Botai culture: archaeological context, decoration specifics and interpretation

Finds of ornamented phalanx bones of horses and other ungulates are typical for the Eneolithic cultures of Eurasian steppes. The collection of ornamented fetlock bones, mainly of horses (less commonly, of kulan and saiga) from the Botai culture settlements of Botai and Krasny Yar I (North Kazakhstan Oblast, Kazakhstan) includes 78 items. It is the largest series of ornamented phalanges known in the materials of Eurasian antiquities. The assumption that they represent a distinctive type of anthropomorphic figurines, has been repeatedly expressed earlier. The Botai settlement is unique in terms of the abundance of osteological material: 99% belonging to horses. The life of the “Botai people” was closely connected with horse population of the forest-steppe region. The phalanx bone of a hoofed animal, stable in vertical position, resembles by its shape an anthropomorphic figurine. A phalanx was processed before applying decoration. Planographic analysis of the finds indicates their ubiquitous presence in the living space of the Botai settlement. Perhaps, they played the role of idols-charms that protected the living space, and/or in some ways represented the relationship between a man and a horse.