The Iron Age Dogs from Alaybeyi Höyük, Eastern Anatolia

Abstract

Zooarchaeological studies on canine skeletal remains are rare. Faunal assemblages from the Near East, including Anatolia, give us a valuable source of information about the role of dogs in the Iron Age society. In the 2016 and 2017 excavations at Alaybeyi Höyük (Eastern Anatolia), over 300 dog bones were unearthed from Iron Age buildings and workshop complex. This study examined 143 specimens that were accessible for morphometric analysis. The zooarchaeological analysis proved that the majority of them came from nine individuals. The dentition and epiphyseal bone fusion further allowed their age estimation (8 adults and 1 juvenile). Two individuals were identified as males and one as female, but the sex of the other individuals was indeterminate. The height at withers estimations and their comparison with other archaeological dogs in Eastern Anatolia as well as modern dog breeds showed that Alaybeyi dogs were significantly larger and heavier. It is also worth highlighting the presence of butchering marks resulting from the consumption of dog meat. Yet, it appeared that cynophagia had only occurred occasionally at Alaybeyi Höyük.

To date, little is known about the biological and cultural status of Iron Age dogs in Anatolia. Here, we present a zooarchaeological study of an assemblage of 143 Iron Age dog bones, including two dog skeletons, unearthed from the 2016 and 2017 salvage excavations at Alaybeyi Höyük, Eastern Anatolia. At least eight adults and one juvenile individual, along with a large number of miscellaneous specimens, were identified. The morphological status of the Alaybeyi dogs were primarily compared to previously published Iron Age dogs from Yoncatepe in Eastern Anatolia, and with the average mean of 18 modern dog breeds. Unlike in other Eastern Anatolian Iron Age sites, butcher marks were observed in some specimens, indicating at least occasional cynophagy at the site. Noticeable pathologies were found in about 5% of the sample, particularly pathologies of the oral cavity and dentitions, suggesting that some of the dogs at Alaybeyi Höyük might have been undernourished, had to live on solid food, and probably injured by humans. The results of this study reflect both the morphological and biological status of Alaybeyi dogs, as well as the Alaybeyi people’s attitudes toward dogs, adding vital information to the very limited archaeological knowledge of dogs in Anatolia.