New evidence challenges assumptions of mass feasting at ancient Mongolian burial mounds
Khirigsuurs are Late Bronze Age monuments found across Mongolia and parts of southern Siberia. They are typically thought to be burial monuments or ritual spaces, consisting of a burial mound surrounded by satellite features beneath which horse and caprine (goat/sheep) remains were deposited.
One persistent question has been why these satellite features contain only the horses’ skulls, with the occasional inclusion of neck vertebrae and hooves, and where the remaining horse bones (axial and long bones) may have been deposited.
To answer this question, a study published in the Journal of Field Archaeology investigated whether large-scale butchering and feasting occurred at or near khirigsuurs, which could, in turn, reveal where the axial and long bones of these horses ended up.
Khirigsuurs of Mongolia
Khirigsuurs are typically between 5 to 10 meters in diameter and feature a burial chamber at their core, often containing the remains of a single individual, although some have been found empty.
Surrounding these central mounds are stone features usually 3–5 meters in diameter, forming circular or quadrangular structures beneath which horse skulls were deposited.
Meanwhile, additional satellite features include small stone circles, typically 1–2 meters across, beneath which burnt fragments of caprine bones are deposited. In some cases, these satellite features numbered in the thousands, indicating that mass slaughter of horses and caprines would have needed to take place to account for the deposited remains.
To investigate whether slaughter and feasting occurred at or near these khirigsuurs, two monuments were selected for systematic surveying, shovel probes, and phosphate analysis.
“Khirigsuurs are the most prominent monuments of the Late Bronze Age in Mongolia. They are highly visible in the landscape and have been documented for over 100 years. However, they are not always systematically surveyed and recorded. Our team conducted a systematic regional survey of them (and other archaeological features) in Züünkhangai over several years from 2017–2024 and recorded their location and individual characteristics (e.g., size, number of satellite features containing animal remains, etc.),” explained Dr. Jean-Luc Houle, lead author of the study.
The two khirigsuurs chosen for the study were ZK-956 and ZK-2022-118, dated to 1054–906 BC and 9330–822 BC, respectively. ZK-956 was chosen in part for its proximity to a well-preserved winter site, while ZK-2022-118 was selected for its abundance of satellite features and the absence of any nearby habitation site, making the two sites useful for comparison.
The missing horse remains
Each site had a grid of sampling points selected at which shovel probes and soil cores were taken. The shovel probes were sieved and screened for animal remains, while the soil cores were analyzed for phosphate levels (as large-scale slaughter would alter soil chemistry, leading to elevated phosphate levels).
In both cases, no indication of slaughter or feasting was found. The soil is devoid of animal remains, and the phosphate levels indicate natural chemical soil composition. This meant the horses had to have been slaughtered elsewhere.
Among the possible explanations for where the slaughter and feasting of the horses took place was in the nearby habitation sites; however, the well-preserved winter campsite near ZK-956 showed a similar lack of axial and long bones of horses. Although caprine bones were found representing the entire skeleton, meaning that small animals were likely butchered and processed at habitation sites, horses were not.
The remaining hypotheses relied on historical and ethnographic accounts that described the slaughtering of large animals such as horses in peripheral locations away from the sacred and domestic space.
According to these accounts, these places included mountain sides, riverines, and places described as “far away.” Meanwhile, only select portions, such as skulls, hides, and tails, were used for ceremonial purposes and brought back for ritual use, while the rest were discarded in these remote landscapes.
For khirigsuurs, the reason for depositing horse skulls may have been to aid the deceased’s soul, explained Dr. Houle. “During the Late Bronze Age, horse skulls (and neck vertebrae and hooves) were placed under small stone mounds that surround the main khirigsuur burial mound.
“Most archaeologists, including myself, think the skulls represent the whole animal and served as transport animals for the deceased’s soul into the next world, playing a psychopomp role by symbolically guiding the deceased towards the rising sun. Horse skulls mostly all point to the east/southeast—toward the rising sun during the winter months, when horses were also slaughtered and deposited.”
The ethnographic and historical accounts help explain why no evidence of slaughter or feasting was recovered near the khirigsuur, as these sacred spaces would not have been deemed suitable for such activities. Meat and the associated axial and long bones were likely consumed communally elsewhere, and the remaining bones were discarded or burned at off-site locations.
Future research
“Future research will continue to mainly focus on the domestic landscapes surrounding Bronze and Early Iron Age monuments in order to understand how everyday pastoral activities interacted with these ritual sites,” Dr. Houle explained.
“In terms of candidate locations for off-site butchering areas, we’re thinking about exploring hill slopes away from habitation sites, as well as terraces and areas near seasonal water sources (gullies) adjacent to ancient habitation sites, where butchering may have been more practical.
“More broadly, future directions will continue to emphasize a landscape archaeology approach, integrating GIS modeling, spatial analysis, and biomolecular techniques to reconstruct chaînes opératoires (operational sequences) of horse sacrifice. This will hopefully help us identify how different stages (slaughter, processing, deposition) may have been spatially and symbolically organized across the khirigsuur ritual system.
“We’ll also continue engaging local herders about their household and ritual practices and aim to adopt a broader community-centered approach in our investigations.”
Source: phys.org
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New evidence challenges assumptions of mass feasting at ancient Mongolian burial mounds/New evidence challenges assumptions of mass feasting at ancient Mongolian burial mounds