Ethnozoology for Archaeology: Results of the Study of the Modern Livestock Breeding System in the Steppe Zone of the Southern Urals

Abstract

The work is devoted to a detailed study of modern livestock breeding in the south of the Chelyabinsk region. The article describes in detail the system of grazing and keeping livestock in the summer and winter periods in the villages of the Southern Urals. The main purpose of the work is to create an information basis for future archaeological and archaeozoological studies of the sites of pastoralists of the Bronze Age and more correct interpretations in the reconstruction of ancient pastoralism. The main research tools were interviewing shepherds and personal observations of grazing and keeping livestock at diff erent times of the year. The main form of grazing and keeping livestock at present is the pasture-stall system, which is quite variable depending on various factors. The warm period of the year is characterized by grazing in the vicinity of villages and stall keeping in the cold season. The study shows the wide possibilities and resistance of small areas of the steppe river valleys to grazing. The results of the study of modern pastoralism can be used in archaeological research in various studies that are associated with a settled model of pastoralism.