History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus

Lipolytic bacteria are practically not detected in ordinary soils, but their number can increase significantly if fats enter the soil. To identify the initial presence of fats in the composition of ritual food, an assessment of the number of lipolytic bacteria in the soils of 64 vessels from the burials of the Early Medieval time of the North Caucasus was carried out. Microbiological analyses were conducted in samples from the bottom layer of vessels filling. Samples from the upper filling layer were used as a control. It was found that in 55 vessels the number of lipolytic bacteria in the bottom layer did not exceed the control level and was 4 – 20 times lower than in the control modern chernozem soil. In 9 vessels with the presumed presence of fat, the number of lipolytic microorganisms in the bottom layers was 3 – 155 times higher than in the upper layers. In most cases, fats were detected in small vessels – mugs, bowls and small jugs. In a model experiment on the introduction of vegetable and animal fats into the chernozem soil in the amount of 5% of the soil mass, the increase in the number of lipolytic bacteria varied 2 – 7 times compared to the control. The proposed method of detecting the initial presence of fat-containing food allows, due to its simplicity and accessibility, to conduct mass analyses of soil from burial vessels to obtain ideas about the use of fatty foods in the funeral rite of various cultures.