New research into ancient Mongolian burial mounds, known as khirigsuurs, is challenging long-held assumptions about the scale of communal feasting that took place at these monumental sites during the Late Bronze Age. While these stone structures are widely recognized as centers for ritual activity and seasonal gatherings, a recent study suggests that the intensive butchering and mass consumption of horses did not occur directly at the monuments as previously believed. Instead, evidence points to a more complex system of off-site preparation and selective ceremonial deposition.
Khirigsuurs are prominent features of the Mongolian and southern Siberian landscapes, dating roughly between 1200 and 700 BC. They typically consist of a central stone burial mound surrounded by a circular or rectangular fence, and are often accompanied by satellite mounds containing the remains of horses. A perplexing characteristic of these sites is the selective nature of the horse deposits. Archaeologists consistently find skulls, neck vertebrae, and hooves, but the meaty axial and long bones are conspicuously absent reports Phys.org.
Map showing sites of the Bronze Age in Mongolia, National Museum of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar (Gary Todd / CC0 1.0)
The Mystery of the Missing Bones
To solve the mystery of the missing bones, a team of researchers led by Jean-Luc Houle of Western Kentucky University conducted a detailed investigation at two khirigsuur sites in Züünkhangai, Mongolia. The sites, ZK-956 (dated 1054–906 BC) and ZK-2022-118 (dated 933–822 BC), were analyzed using soil phosphate testing and shovel test pits to detect microscopic evidence of large-scale butchering and feasting explains the study published in The Journal of Field Archaeology.
If mass slaughter and consumption had occurred at the monuments, the soil should have exhibited elevated phosphate levels from blood, offal, and bone degradation. However, the results revealed no significant phosphate enrichment or concentrations of bone fragments at either site. Furthermore, a well-preserved winter settlement near ZK-956 also lacked the missing horse bones, indicating that the animals were not processed at nearby habitations either.
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Khirigsuurs ZK956 (bottom center), and the habitation site ZK513 (dark patch with vehicles). (Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan/Journal of Field Archaeology)
Off-Site Butchering and Ceremonial Provisioning
The absence of both the meaty bones and the chemical signatures of slaughter has led researchers to propose a new model for Bronze Age Mongolian rituals. According to the study, the butchering of horses likely took place off-site, potentially at designated locations away from both the monuments and the settlements.
“We’re thinking about exploring hill slopes away from habitation sites, as well as terraces and areas near seasonal water sources adjacent to ancient habitation sites, where butchering may have been more practical,” Dr. Houle explained.
This practice of off-site processing aligns with ethnographic and historical accounts of pastoralist societies, where large-scale animal slaughter is often conducted away from living and sacred areas to manage waste and maintain purity. After the horses were butchered and the meat consumed or preserved elsewhere, specific portions - namely the head, neck, and hooves - were brought to the khirigsuurs for ceremonial deposition.
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Horse skull and vertebrae remains at Khirigsuur ZK956. (Jean-Luc Houle/Journal of Field Archaeology)
The Ritual Significance of the Horse
The selective deposition of horse parts highlights the profound spiritual and cultural importance of the animal in Bronze Age Mongolia. The khirigsuur builders were early pastoralists who relied heavily on livestock, and the horse was central to their mobility, economy, and cosmology.
Dr. Houle noted that the specific choice to deposit horse skulls may have been intended to "aid the deceased's soul" in the afterlife. This concept is supported by later Scythian and Turkic traditions, where the horse served as a psychopomp, guiding the dead to the next world. The inclusion of the hooves and neck vertebrae alongside the skull suggests a symbolic representation of the entire animal, allowing the essence of the horse to be offered to the spirits or the deceased without wasting the valuable meat.
Redefining Bronze Age Gatherings
These findings prompt a reevaluation of how khirigsuurs functioned within the social landscape of ancient Mongolia. While they undoubtedly served as focal points for communal gatherings and rituals, the evidence suggests that these events were highly structured and compartmentalized. The separation of the mundane act of butchering from the sacred act of deposition indicates a sophisticated spatial organization of ritual activity.
Future archaeological surveys will target the suspected off-site butchering locations to fully understand the logistics of these ancient feasts. By piecing together the complete sequence of events, from the slaughter of the horses to the final placement of their skulls, researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of the complex belief systems and social dynamics that shaped the nomadic cultures of the Eurasian steppe.
Top image: Bronze Age burial mound in northern Mongolia near Jargalant. Source: Richard Mortel / CC BY 2.0
By Gary Manners
References
Archaeology Magazine. 2026. Where Did Bronze Age Mongolians Prepare Their Feasts? Available at: https://archaeology.org/news/2026/04/03/where-did-bronze-age-mongolians-prepare-their-feasts/
Houle, J.-L., Pleuger-Dreibrodt, S., Égüez, N., Conesa, F. C., Cannon, T., & Bayarsaikhan, J. 2026. Stones, Bones, and Communal Rituals in the Mongolian Bronze Age: Khirigsuurs and the Question of the Missing Elements. Journal of Field Archaeology. Taylor & Francis. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00934690.2026.2633473
Phys.org. 2026. New evidence challenges assumptions of mass feasting at ancient Mongolian burial mounds. Available at: https://phys.org/news/2026-04-evidence-assumptions-mass-feasting-ancient.html
