Makowiecki Daniel, Chudziak Wojciech, Szczepanik Paweł, Janeczek Maciej, Pasicka Edyta
Institute of Archeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, 87-100 Toruń, Poland.
Department of Biostructure and Animal Physiology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Kożuchowska 1, 51-631 Wrocław, Poland.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Sep 3;12(17):2282. doi: 10.3390/ani12172282.
Knowledge about horses from early medieval (10th-13th c.) Poland has been largely based on historical and archaeological data. Archaeozoological information has only been used to a limited extent. Therefore, this article aims to present the current state of knowledge on this subject, drawing on archaeozoological data from studies of horse bones. Apart from confirming earlier reflections regarding the sacred significance of the horse, additional information was obtained about specific individuals who were the subject of magical treatments. It turned out that sites with horse skeletons and skulls are few compared to the familiar presence of horse remains among kitchen waste. This contrasts with the neighbouring regions, where horses were buried more frequently among the Germans, Scandinavians and Prussians. Some new data have been obtained thanks to taphonomic analyses, which demonstrated that horse skulls of apotropaic status were not only exposed to public viewing but were also deposited under stronghold ramparts. Horses suffering from infectious diseases could also be buried under such ramparts. Considerations in the article lead to conclusions that horses were used in religious rituals as sacrificial animals, apotropaic deposits, as fortune-telling animals and cosmological figures.
关于中世纪早期（公元10至13世纪）波兰马匹的知识，很大程度上基于历史和考古数据。动物考古学信息的使用程度有限。因此，本文旨在利用对马骨研究的动物考古学数据，呈现该主题的当前知识状况。除了证实先前关于马的神圣意义的思考外，还获得了有关接受魔法治疗的特定个体的额外信息。事实证明，与厨房垃圾中常见的马遗骸相比，有马骨骼和头骨的遗址很少。这与邻近地区形成对比，在德国、斯堪的纳维亚和普鲁士，马被更频繁地埋葬。由于埋藏学分析获得了一些新数据，这些分析表明具有辟邪地位的马头骨不仅供公众观看，还被放置在堡垒城墙下。患有传染病的马也可能被埋葬在这样的城墙下。本文的思考得出结论，马在宗教仪式中被用作祭祀动物、辟邪祭品、占卜动物和宇宙象征。
