İstanbul Yenikapı Theodosius Limanından Bizans Köpeklerinin Vücut Ağırlığı Tahmini

Abstract

In the present study, humeral and femoral midshaft circumferences were used in the weight estimation of dogs from the ancient site of the Theodosius Harbor in Istanbul. According to the calculations taken on each humerus and femur, body weight distribution of the Byzantine dogs from the Theodosius harbour was observed to be 7.953-22.385 kg. The relative ease to accommodate Terrier-size dogs in urban environments may have led to a preference for such breeds in Constantinople. It is possible that these 'light-and medium-sized mesocephalic dogs' were also used as 'alarm' guards in Constantinople. We suggest that the presence of several bones in the Yenikapı excavation area may indicate that dogs were simply buried or dumped as rubbish after death in everyday life in Constantinople. Keywords: Body weight, Byzantine dogs, Theodosius harbour, Yenikapı İstanbul Yenikapı Theodosius Limanından Bizans Köpeklerinin Vücut Ağırlığı Tahmini ÖzetBu çalışmada, humeral ve femoral orta şaft çevreleri kullanılarak İstanbul Theodosius antik limanından elde edilen köpeklerin vücut ağırlıkları tahmin edildi. Her bir humerus ve femur'dan yapılan hesaplamalara göre, Theodosius limanı Bizans köpeklerinin vücut ağırlığı dağılımı 7.953-22.385 kg oldukları tespit edildi. Şehirleşmiş bölgelerde Terrier ebatında (büyüklüğünde) köpeklerin beslenmesinin nispeten daha kolay olduğunun bilinmesi gerçeği Konstantinapolis'de bu ırklara benzer köpeklerin bakılmasının tercih edildiği fikrine ulaşmamızı sağlayabilir. Muhtemelen Konstatinapolis'te bu "küçük ve orta büyüklükteki mezosefalik köpekler" bekçi köpeği olarak kullanıldılar. Yenikapı kazı alanındaki fazlaca kemik varlığının Konstantinapolis'in günlük yaşantısında köpeklerin ölümlerinden sonra basitçe gömülmüş veya çöp olarak atılmış olduğuna işaret ettiğini düşünmekteyiz.

A Cat Skeleton from the Balatlar Church Excavation, Sinop, Turkey

“…Although there was a scarcity of cat remains at archaeological sites dating back to the Roman period in Anatolia, for example, Didyma [20]; Pergamon [21]; Lidar Höyük [22]; Pessinus [23]; Troy [24] and Sagalassos [5], a very large assemblage of cat remains from the Yenikapi excavation site demonstrated that cats were significant in the life of the Byzantine capital city Constantinople [27,29,30]. This is an indication that the negative image of the cat during the Roman period [25] was gradually changing in the early Byzantine period as cats started to occupy a place in the social life of the Byzantine world.…”

“…Besides of being pet animals, cats were also used in the Byzantine world to keep rodents under control [26]. Despite the scarcity of cat remains at the Roman sites in Anatolia, a very rich assemblage of cat remains from the Yenikapı Metro and Marmaray excavation demonstrated that cats played a remarkable role in the life of the Byzantine capital Constantinople [27][28][29][30]. The Yenikapı cat assemblage belongs to the Early Byzantine (4th-7th century AD) to Late Byzantine period (15th century AD) [28], and when their quantities are compared, it appears that to date, no other Byzantine site has yielded such a large assemblage of cat remains.…”

Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies

“…4) (33). Several other pathological features reflect the use of a metal curb bit of the type used by early Spanish colonists and later Mexican and Navajo craftsmen, such as the fracturing of the upper palate caused by the curb (34) and arthritis of the temporomandibular joint. Combined, these analyses indicate that early plains horses were already used for mounted riding.…”