Statistical Analysis of Faunal Remains from the Bibiona–Chust Archaeological Site (Results of the 2021 and 2023 Investigations)
Аннотация
This article presents a statistical analysis of animal bone remains recovered during archaeological excavations at the Bibiona site, located in the Chust District of Namangan Region, eastern Uzbekistan. The zooarchaeological assemblage derives from multiple stratigraphic layers, and the study reports quantitative data on bones identified during the 2021 and 2023 field seasons. Based on osteological determinations, we examine the relative representation of small and large ruminants as well as large taxa such as horses and camels, alongside other sizable mammals. The site—also referred to in some sources as Chust—was the focus of long-term excavations prior to independence. Since 2021, researchers from the National Archaeological Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan have resumed fieldwork to investigate the anthropogenic landscape of the area. Bibiona is an ancient rural settlement of the Fergana Valley dating to the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The zooarchaeological materials presented here deepen our understanding of subsistence systems and the regional fauna of the Fergana Valley during these periods, underscoring the site’s archaeological significance.