Bone and antler products from the Toretskoye urban settlement of the 15th century ad

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Abstract

Products made of bone and antler complement the characteristics of the material culture of the Toretskoye urban settlement, a major centre of crafts and international trade in the Kazan Khanate. In accordance with the general dating of the single-layer site, all items made of bone and antler have a reliable period of existence within the 15th century AD. Based on frequent numismatic material and other related context, the products receive the status of a chronological and, in some cases, ethnocultural reference point, and in terms of inventory and manufacturing techniques they represent products of urban production. No specialized bone-carving workshops have been found at the site; however, the presence of blanks and faulty products in the coppersmith and blacksmith workshops makes it possible to conclude that bone and antler processing was a related craft of complex production.

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Svetlana I. Valiulina

Kazan Federal University

Author for correspondence.
Email: svaliulina@inbox.ru
Russian Federation, Kazan

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2. Fig. 1. The location of sites in the northwestern district of the Bilyar fortified settlement: 1 – the Bilyar fortified settlement, the 11th – first third of the 13th century AD; 2 – Bilyar of the Golden Horde (Bilyar III settlement), the second half of the 13th – early 14th century AD; 3 – Bilyar II settlement, turn of the 10th/11th century – first half of the 11th century AD; 4 – Toretskoye urban settlement, the 15th century AD; 5 – the modern village of Bilyarsk

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3. Fig. 2. Items made of bone and antler from the Toretskoye urban settlement: 1, 2 – handles; 3, 4 – fragments of handles of various tools; 5–12, 14 – knife handles, parts and blanks for them; 13 – kochedyk (bent awl); 15 – a bone fragment with traces of processing

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4. Fig. 3. Bone handle of a furrier’s knife

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5. Fig. 4. Items made of bone and antler from the Toretskoye urban settlement: 1 – a product; 2 – a fragment of the saddle edge (mounts); 3 – a tube; 4 – a spindle whorl; 5 – a detail of coin scales; 6 – a comb; 7 – a handle; 8, 9 – product blanks

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6. Fig. 5. Items made of bone and antler from the Toretskoye urban settlement: 1–3 – arrowheads; 4, 7 – chain maces; 5 – a fragment of the mount (?); 6 – a product fragment

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7. Fig. 6. Bone items from the Toretskoye urban settlement: astragalus of small (1–23) and large (24, 25) cattle

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