VARIATION IN GAME AND DOMESTIC ANIMAL RATIOS IN THE 7TH - 5TH MILLENNIA BCE IN THE LOWER VOLGA REGION

This paper presents the results of analysis of the species composition found in sites dating to the 7th - 5th millennia BCE. These sites are either monocultural, or multicultural where the cultural layers belonging to different periods are separated from each other by sterile layers. As a result, we were able to trace the variation through time in the ratios of game/domestic animals in the Neolithic - Eneolithic periods. In the Early Neolithic, the kulan was the main game animal. During the Middle and Late Neolithic, hunting was diversified and such animals as saiga, aurochs, and horse, along with kulan, became the main target species. In the Early Eneolithic, the first domestic animals, i.e. sheep and goats, appeared. Cattle appeared in the Late Eneolithic. The share of game animals during this period sharply decreased, even to the point of the complete disappearance of such species as aurochs and horse.