Animal bone remains from Kyrgyz sites are rarely published, so studying material from Ak-Dzhar near Osh can provide valuable information for understanding past and present communities. In the case of Ak-Dzhar, animal bones and other vertebrate remains were recovered mainly by hand-collecting of archaeological sondages; in a few cases, samples from the archaeological fills were also floated. The analysis of finds was carried out at the excavation site under field conditions and so only a limited number of instruments were available.
Within the domesticated ungulates, sheep and goat (Ovis/Capra) remains formed the dominant component of the assemblage. Findings of different age categories and different anatomical skeletal parts were recorded, with a significant proportion of skull fragments. Among other species, bones of cattle (Bos taurus) and domestic horse (Equus caballus) were frequently found, both of which were animals used for work and food.
Remains of the steppe turtle (Testudo horsfieldii) were also found in great abundance, especially bone plates from the shells of individuals of different sizes. Finds of shells often showed traces of burning, indicating that the turtles had been cooked or that the shells had been used as vessels for food preparation. In this context, it is also hypothesized that the turtles may have been collected as a food supply in case of emergency – they have low food requirements and find it difficult to escape from a walled area. Recent research also suggests that these turtles are currently found mainly in relatively lower elevations around the border with Uzbekistan. Thus, they must have been much more widespread in the past and it is only a question of whether overhunting or climatic shifts have reduced their range.
Isolated finds also included fragments of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), domestic pig (Sus domesticus), Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) and probably other wild ungulates, songbirds and gallids, rodents and toads.
In terms of taphonomic changes, traces of burning were relatively common, while traces of butchering and working or tooth impressions from dogs and rodents were documented in smaller numbers.
Our assemblage is consistent with findings from other Iron Age sites in Central Asia (e.g., Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan), where sheep and goat findings clearly dominated the archaeozoological assemblages in semi-desert and foothill grasslands, with a proportion of often around 70-80%, followed by cattle and horse bones. Other taxa, such as dog, camel, wild ungulates or domestic pig, were represented rather sporadically in these cases.
Only the assemblages from the fertile Fergana Valley, which have a much higher proportion of cattle and horse bones, are out of this pattern. Indeed, the demand for beautiful horses from this valley, as well as the migrations of ancient pastoralists, seem to be some of the most important driving forces in the formation and development of local trade routes, including the Silk Road.
