Humans and dogs interactions : results of a multiproxy analysis of coprolites from the Serteya 2 site (5th-3rd mill. BC, Smolensk Region, Russian Federation)
Résumé
The Serteya 2 site (Smolensk region, Russian Federation) was inhabited during short periods of occupation between the
beginning of the 5th millennium and the end of the 3rd mill BCE. The shores of this lake basin were settled by sedentary
communities who produced pottery and whose economy was based on hunting of various wild games (mainly elk and
wild boar), fishing and gathering. The excavations in this wetland area have yielded exceptional finds, including organic
material (fishing tools, wooden tools and weapons, bark objects, etc.). More than 630 coprolites were also found. A small
sample of about twenty coprolites is likely to have come from dogs, according to the results of paleoparasitology. These
samples were also subjected to multiproxy analysis (palynology, identification of fish, anthracological and carpological
remains) and radiocarbon dating. The results of these various studies were compared with paleoenvironmental
reconstructions carried out at the level of the entire valley (Tasarov et al. 2019) and more targeted reconstructions based
on sediment columns from the archaeological levels of Serteya 2 (Kittel et al. 2020, Wieckowska-Lüth et al. 2021), as well
as ichthyological, faunal and anthracological studies of materials from the habitation areas.
The pollen spectra of the coprolites show a mixed forest vegetation including species from humid environments (alder,
willow, and birch), mesothermophilic species (oak, elm and lime) and conifers (pine and spruce). These taxa are also
documented in the form of charcoal fragments in the coprolites. While these assemblages are very similar to those
identified in the sediment samples, the development of certain species is not entirely uniform. For example, the strong increase in spruce in the second half of the third millennium is not evident in the coprolites. On the other hand, a peak
can be seen at the transition between the 4th to the 3rd millennium BCE, when permanent fisheries were established using
coniferous species. Samples from this period also contain the highest concentrations of Diphyllobothrium eggs, which are
associated with the consumption of raw or poorly cooked freshwater fish, as evidenced by paleoparasitological analyses.
Those coprolites also included the largest number of fish remains. Dogs fed predominantly with fish were evidenced in
several ancient hunter-gatherer communities.
Such analysis allows reconstructing patterns of ancient human behavior and paleoenvironmental conditions of very short
episodes within wider periods, as well as dogs interactions with humans in the past.