Fig 1.
Map of the study area.
Fig 2.
Layout of the khirgisuur of Burgast with structures containing horse remains, and details of the horse bone elements found in each structure.
Figure created by the author, which includes an image by Michel Coutureau (Inrap), in collaboration with Vianney Forest, © 1996 ArcheoZoo.org, used under a CC BY license.
Fig 3.
A) Aerial view of the khirgisuur with the stone circle on the left and structures containing horse remains on the right. B) Details of horse bones and teeth from ST 62.
Fig 4.
Bayesian phase model of the Burgast khirgisuur.
Fig 5.
Bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr isoscape of Mongolia.
A) predicted bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr for Mongolia with B) the associated spatial uncertainty, and C) and D), their respective zoom on the Altai region in western Mongolia. The zoomed areas are indicated by the square on the maps of Mongolia. The gray lines on the zoomed maps represent elevation.
Fig 6.
87Sr/86Sr and δ18O intra-tooth profiles of the seven Bronze Age horses from Burgast (A-G) and the modern horse 2017–104 (H).
87Sr/86Sr values were obtained by LA-ICP-MS and are presented as the rolling mean (solid black lines) with rolling standard deviation (dashed black lines) of the measurements. δ18O data (gray lines) were obtained by IRMS analysis.
Fig 7.
Estimated elevation used by the seven Bronze Age horses from Burgast (A-G) and the modern horse 2017-104 (H) and their corresponding δ13C intra-tooth profiles.
The elevation is indicated by solid lines and the δ13C intra-tooth profiles from which elevation was estimated by dashed lines.
Fig 8.
Example of geographic assignment of the Bronze Age horses from ST62 and ST63.
A) the 87Sr/86Sr intra-tooth profiles of the two horses with the 3 samples selected for assignment (red dot). B) the assignment maps of the 3 samples at the intermediate scale (200*200 km) and the regional scale (400*400 km) centered on the archaeological site of Burgast (black dot). Assignments correspond to the 10% assignment map surface with the highest probability of origin. Elevation within each assigned area is displayed using a color scale.