The History of Animal Sacrifice in Mongolia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Divergent Paths, Shared Histories: Examining Archaeological Trends from the Caucasus to Mongolia" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Animals fill numerous roles within the broader dynamic of human-animal relationships; from prey to pet, from mode of transportation to guide, from source of secondary products to guard, and numerous others. In archaeology, one of the most readily identifiable of these roles is sacrificial victim. Animals are used to consecrate buildings, to provide religious offerings and feasting opportunities, and companionship and sustenance for humans crossing into the afterlife. In Mongolia, sacrificed animals have been part of the archaeological record since at least the Bronze Age (3000-1000 BC) and are a common component in mortuary contexts. Despite the frequency of finds, the evolution and significance of this phenomenon in Mongolia remains poorly understood. This paper charts diachronic changes in animal sacrifice through zooarchaeological and mortuary data from the Bronze Age onward, with a specific focus on what shifting patterns in animal sacrifice can tell us about alterations in human organizational complexity and ritual behavior across Mongolia and the Eurasian steppe.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Divergent Paths, Shared Histories: Examining Archaeological Trends from the Caucasus to Mongolia

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52670