Sacrifice or Feasting: Fauna Interpretations of the First Iron Age Romanian commingled assemblages at Măgura Uroiului

Summary

The Magura Uroiului rock formation, located at the confluence of the Mures and Strei Valleys, is a natural, dominating fortress on the landscape. This rock formation has been utilized by groups including, the Hallstatt, Celtic, and Late Iron Age Dacian. The focus of this presentation is the First Iron Age mortuary monument located at the base of the rock face. This monument yielded both human and animal remains, with primary and secondary burial practices of the human remains occurring. The monument was excavated over seven field seasons and both wild and domesticated animals were present. Following the analysis of the faunal remains, evidence of feasting and sacrifice were observed. The presence of these activities as well as burial objects present within the mortuary monument suggests increasing social stratification among this population group.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17064