The paper presents a description and analysis of the archaeozoological material from medieval monuments of Saltov Culture (Kharkiv region, Ukraine) in a wide geographical, climatic, cultural, historical, and archaeological context. The proposed statistical, biometric, and demographic analysis of the archaeozoological material reveals a settled character of Saltovian economy and animal husbandry from the forest-steppe zone. The settled character of animal breeding is suggested by the dominance of cattle and the significant presence of the domestic pig in the domestic herd, while the small cattle had a subordinate role in economy. The important role of the domestic horse (after cattle) represents a specific feature of the Saltovian domestic herd that distinguishes the Saltovian archaeozoological complexes from other agriculture based cultures from Eastern Europe.
Keywords: Middle Age, Khazar Khaganate, Saltovo-Mayatskaya Culture, animal breeding, forest-steppe.
Revista Arheologică, serie nouă, vol. XI, nr. 1-2, 2015, p. 273-293