To pit the pig: The curious case of feature E63 at Tell Petko Karavelovo

Authors

  • Alexander Chohadzhiev Veliko Tarnovo Regional Museum of History, Bulgaria
  • Nadezhda Karastoyanova National Museum of Natural History & National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Science, Sofia
  • Maria Gurova National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia
  • Alexandra Yanakieva Veliko Tarnovo Regional Museum of History, Bulgaria
  • Paul Bacoup Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France
  • Pauline Méphane Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53250/stprae16.173-206

Keywords:

Balkan Chalcolithic, ritual pits, structured deposition, pig sacrifice, loom-weights, gender roles in prehistory

Abstract

This paper includes a detailed analysis of feature E63 at Tell Petko Karavelovo which is a pit excavated in 2021 measuring 0.83–0.87 m in diameter and 0.45 m in depth. Four different layers were identified in the fill. The deposit could be defined as ‘odd’ and consists of burnt daub pieces, sherds, stone tools, fragments of oven base plaster, unfired loom weights, crow wing bones, and an almost complete skeleton of a piglet which was killed by a heavy blow on the head. Both radiocarbon dates and stratigraphic evidence show that feature E63 belongs to the Petko Karavelovo B phase (middle Chalcolithic), ca. 4700 cal. BC.

There is enough evidence to suggest that the pig was sacrificed. Based on the deposit’s analysis and on various later examples of pig sacrifice we will argue that pit E63 represents the remains of a special social practice performed by women.

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Published

2022-12-14

How to Cite

Chohadzhiev, A., Karastoyanova, N., Gurova, M., Yanakieva, A., Bacoup, P., & Méphane, P. (2022). To pit the pig: The curious case of feature E63 at Tell Petko Karavelovo. Studia Praehistorica, 16, 173–206. https://doi.org/10.53250/stprae16.173-206

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Articles