Animal Bone Amulets of the Imenkovo Culture (3rd–7th centuries CE)

This article examines animal bone amulets, a distinct category of artifacts from the Imenkovo culture (3rd–7th centuries CE) in the Middle Volga region. These amulets, minimally modified beyond perforation, were crafted from the bones of both wild and domesticated animals. Wild animal bone amulets were likely linked to hunting magic rituals, while astragali from domesticated animals (cattle, sheep/goat, and pig) may have served as divination tools or gaming pieces (knucklebones). The species composition of wild animals used for amulets likely reflects specific cultural preferences. During the early Middle Ages, amulets made from beaver talus bones and bear canines were widespread across the forest zone from the Urals to the Baltic. In contrast, marten mandibles were predominantly found in the Ural region, while hare limb bones appeared in steppe nomadic burials. The Imenkovo people utilized all these amulet types in roughly equal proportions, highlighting cultural interactions between groups in the southern forest and forest-steppe zones of the Volga region during the Migration Period.