engleski

Eneolithic perspective: Dogs in Burials - Rituals in Settlements

Looking at the modalities of human-animal relationships in the past, it is possible that dogs played more diverse and polyvalent roles in human societies than any other animal species. Following cattle, dog burials are the second most numerous kind of animal burials in the Eneolithic of Continental Croatia. Earlier investigations and more recent discoveries in the chosen geographical area have unearthed different types of dog burials within the settlement areas of a number of Eneolithic cultures. Dogs are found in human graves, buried separately (individual or double burials) and with other animals. This contribution will discuss possible ritual interpretations of these deposits and types of ritual activities within the Eneolithic cultural contexts. Attention will be given to the biological characteristics of animals, the treatment of their bodies, as well as spatial aspects of the deposits, in accordance with the available data. An attempt will be made to gain insight into possible roles of dogs in these prehistoric communities, and to document change and/or continuity from the Neolithic to Eneolithic periods by looking at a broader Central European context.

dogs; burials; rituals; Eneolithic; Continental Croatia; Central Europe

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