3-7 Jun 2019 Barcelona (Spain)

By author > Kamjan Safoora

Herding And Hunting On The Highlands Of Transcaucasia And Ciscaucasia From The Sasanian To Late Medieval Periods. The Archaeozoology Of The Dariali Gorge
Marjan Mashkour  1, *@  , Sarieh Amiri  2@  , Homa Fathi  2@  , Debue Karyne  3@  , Delphine Decruyenaere  4@  , Clavel Benoît  5@  , Safoora Kamjan  6@  , Valendtin Radu  7@  , Emmanuelle Stoetzel  8@  , Eberhard W. Sauer  9@  
1 : UMR 7209 - Archéozoologie et Archéobotanique
Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle - MNHN (FRANCE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS, Archaeozoology section, Bioarchaeology Laboratory of the Central Laboratory, University of Tehran
2 : Archaeozoology section, Bioarchaeology Laboratory of the Central Laboratory, University of Tehran
3 : Centre National de Recherche Scientifique- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN)
4 : Archéozoologie, archéobotanique : sociétés, pratiques et environnements (UMR 7209)
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Centre national de la recherche scientifique - CNRS (France)
5 : Muséum national d'histoire naturelle  (MNHN)  -  Website
Ministère de l'Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de l'Energie, Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN)
57, rue Cuvier - 75231 Paris Cedex 05 -  France
6 : University of Groningen
7 : National Museum of Romania History
8 : Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique
CNRS : UMR7194, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Sorbonne Universités, CNRS UPVD
Musée de l'Homme, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris -  France
9 : University of Edinburg  -  Website
* : Corresponding author

This paper will present the evolution of subsistence economies of the Dariali Fort located in the Kazbegi district in north-east Georgia, on the border of Russia's Republic of Ossetia–Alania. The lowest point in the Kazbegi region is around 1,200m above sea level (a.s.l.) and the highest point is over 5,000m a.s.l. The Kazbegi region has a very rich and diverse environment and natural resources. The relief around Dariali Fort is complex, mountainous and very rugged. As a result, the potential for agricultural activities is limited. Instead, the area is more suitable for sheep, goat and cattle breeding, together with the development of terrace field systems for pasture or growing animal fodder. The high altitude and harsh winter climate, with freezing temperatures from October to April, have favoured the development of transhumant pastoralism. During recent archaeological excavation of the last five years, approximately 80000 faunal remains were studied. This large assemblage constitutes a unique collection of domestic and wild mammals, birds and fish remains exploited by highland rural communities of medieval Georgia. It also allows a first description of the faunal remains of this region during approximately a millennia and characteristics of highlands agro-pastoralism.


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