Determining the ratio of animal species in the herd of pre-class societies
The theoretical portion of the article demonstrates that percentage composition of the ancient herd may be restored only by taking into account the early maturation of the domestic ungulates that are a component part of it. The values of their early maturation depend on the distribution of animals by age. Formulas, derived through herd models developed in the text, make it possible to determine the required distribution, based on the number of animal units of different ages in kitchen scraps. They are not affected by the type of reproduction of the herd. Using these formulas to determine the early maturation of cattle, small cattle, and horses in the colonies of several crops in forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones confi rmed the adequacy of the model in explaining the archaeological data. It is also demonstrated that economic specialization of successive cultures during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in the western zones of forest-steppe and steppe of Western Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan is mainly determined by the role of the horse. The exploration of different methods of determination ancient herd composition makes it possible to come to the conclusion that the transition from identifi able bones in the excavation to the number of animal units corresponding to them, and then with the help of various types of early maturation to their ratio in the ancient herd has an absolute priority as compared to the transition from the identifi able bones directly to the composition of the herd.