24th October 2019
I am a great patriot and I love my little country. And also love the place where I live. The Beskydy mountains. When searching for our history of our region I touched on an interesting article in a journal of national history called Tešínsko. The name of the article was "Discovery of a greyhound in Chotěbuz-Podobora Hillfort" and it sounded incredible to me! As a lover of greyhound, my heart rejoiced and I started reading immediately.
pic.. No. 1
The author of the article is RNDr. Miriam Nývltová Fišáková, PhD. from the Archeologie Institute of Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno which took part in research of this discovery. I contacted back the Doctor Miriam Nývltová Fišáková got some further information in order to recount you the story of the dog bone.
Everything started back in 2005 when exploring the fortified settlement. With different archeological finds, they also found rests of animals from several periods of this area settlement. From the Hallstatt Period-a late Bronze Age, the beginning of Iron Age and especially from the period of an important settlement of pre-Great Moravian Empire. This is the second half of the 8th and second third of the 9th century. And this is an approximate period where the dog bone discovery comes from and which caused a huge research. The research that took ten more years and had a great impact on history of dogs.
A radial bone of a domestic dog caught the Doctor's sight. I was completely different. It was a different size and morphology and its slimness differentiated the bone from other bones of dogs known in this period of time. In truth, there remained two radial bones. One of them was whole and the other one just provided its proximal part. Both of them were found with other osteological materials in a probe in the most northern part of the acropolis 100 - 145 cm deep in a place where probably local ruling elite was assembling, the privileged class of people in the hillfort. The hillfort at that time was generally a strategic point at the entrance of the Moravian Gate and Local leader probably commanded great respect.
pic. No. 2
According to a morphological analysis and bone anatomy, both exemplars were determined to belong to a greyhound. The radial bone was long, softly and perfectly built with strong insertions typical for greyhounds. According to the bone length we might calculate an animal height at the shoulder. In this case the dog was 70 cm hight. According to stable isotope analysis and proportion of strontium isitopes was found out that the greyhoud was not born at the hillfort, but he was coming from a Baltic area. With great probability it was a Polish greyhound. This fact was supported by the hypothesis that the greyhound got to the hillfort as luxurious goods from an area which is currently Poland or it was a gift to the local ruler or a booty. It is known that Amber Road led through central Poland and Baltic area which was also business opportunity for the Normans who were often keeping greyhounds.
All these was just indirect proof. It was necessary to affirm more precisely. Doctor Miriam Nývltová Fišáková decided to pro everything with genetics. Race differences at level of DNA mitochondrial analysis among various dog races exist and they are published so she passed over the issue to her colleagues-geneticists so that they either prove or disprove the hypothesis.
I was given at my disposal a complete genetic analysis of the found greyhound bone assembled by Doctor Miriam Nývltová Fišáková's colleagues-geneticists. It is a very elaborated few page description of the whole process from gaining compared samples through DNA isolation methods description to the coveted result. I will try to describe you the process in a few sentences to make it comprehensive to inexpert public.
To compare the obtained DNA of the found bone itself it was necessary to collect further samples of greyhound DNAs. By way of oral smears DNA sample was taken from a racing greyhound who has the oldest documented pedigree back to year 1840. Then there were taken 15 more DNA samples of current dogs throughout X. group FCI - greyhounds. These are greyhounds of the International Dog Show Brno in 2010. As a whippet breeder I cannot forget to mention that among the chosen whippets, there was a whippet I know personally. Is is the male with the name Uncle Tedy z Úplňku owned by Simona Kosorin.
The collected materials went through the process of DNA mitochondrial isolation and on the basis of following genetic analisis was proved that a found bone and the dogs who granted oral smears have common ancestors and according to this evaluation program they are dogs of the same race. The conclusion was definite. The found bone belonged to greyhound.
Greyhound discovery in Chotěbuz-Podobora Hillfort is a great finding. This proof of greyhound existence during Slavie period is rare and within the Czech lands including middle-age unique. Similar finds of greyhound bones are known only abroad. For example from archeological finds in roman cities or in graves of Normans who were descendants of Vikings. We can say that the dog, who the bone belonged to , was the oldest known greyhound in our history. One more find of a greyhound but from middle-age (16th century) comes from Ždánice in Southerm Moravia. The greyhound found in here was similar to today's whippet and was set in castle ceiling as a construction sacrifice. But this is a different story. I might tell you next time.
pic. No. 3
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Literature:
- - National History Journal Tešínsko, year 50, No 1 – article: Nález chrta na hradisku Chotěbuz-Podobora, author: RNDr. Miriam Nývltová Fišáková
- - Collection of National Museum, row B, natural sciences, volume 71, year 2015, No. 1-2 – Genetic Analysis of Possibly The Oldest Greyhound Remains Within The Territory of The Czech Republic as Proof of A Local Elite Presence at Chotěbuz-Podobora Hillfort in The 8th – 9th Century AD, authors: Mgr. Hana Svobodová, doc. RNDr. Milan Bartoš, PhD., RNDr. Miriam Nývltová Fišáková, PhD., doc. PhDr. Pavel Kouřil, CSc.
- - Archeopark Chotěbuz, www.archeoparkchotebuz.cz
Pictures:
No. 1 - Archeopark Chotěbuz-Podobora with the mascot of the park - greyhound, photo and source: www.archeoparkchotebuz.cz
No. 2 - View of the radial bone of a domestic dog-greyhound, photo and source: Archeologický ústav Akademie věd ČR v Brně
No. 3 - Hunter with a greyhound, painting by Jiří Brenner, photo and source: Těšínsko year 50, No. 1
