Publications - Baikal Archaeology Project

Biomechanical evidence for occupational specialization in Mesolithic-Neolithic hunter-gatherers from Zvejnieki, Latvia

Mesolithic cemeteries have greater dimensionality and scale that reflect emerging social complexity following the Upper Paleolithic. The Zvejnieki cemetery dates between the Middle Mesolithic and Late Neolithic, is associated with a persistent hunter-fisher-gatherer economy, and includes burials with pendants fashioned from mammal teeth. Stable isotopic analyses indicate dietary differences between individuals with pendants and without pendants beginning early in life. This context provides an opportunity to explore questions relating to occupational specialization using long bone cross-sectional geometry. Femoral [...]

Andrea Hiob2026-07-25T17:31:20-06:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Macane, Zariņa, Zagorska, Temple|

Lethal plague outbreaks in Lake Baikal hunter–gatherers 5,500 years ago

Plague is among the most devastating diseases in human history. However, early strains of the plague-causing bacterium Yersinia pestis lacked virulence factors that are required for the bubonic form until around 3,800 years ago. Consequently, the morbidity and mortality of early plague strains remain unclear. Here we describe early plague strains that are associated with two phases of outbreaks among mid-Holocene hunter-gatherers near Lake Baikal in southeast Siberia, beginning from about 5,500 years ago. These outbreaks occur across [...]

Andrea Hiob2026-06-18T13:41:53-06:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Weber, Jessup, Macleod, Willerslev, Lieverse, Goriunova, Ramsey, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|

The Tuakhane IX cemetery on the coast of Baikal: Neolithic – Bronze Age [in Russian]

This monograph is dedicated to culture-historical analysis of the mortuary assemblages documented at Tuakhane IX – one of the large and completely excavated prehistoric cemeteries of the Cis-Baikal region. Tuakhane IX is located on the cape of the same name on the northwestern coast of the Mukhor Bay of the Little Sea part of Lake Baikal. Comprehensive excavations of this necropolis were carried out in 2019–2022 by the Russian–Canadian archaeological expedition (a joint project between the Research Center [...]

Andrea Hiob2026-02-03T10:27:52-07:00Categories: Books & Monographs, Publications|Tags: Goriunova, Weber, Novikov|

Environmental and cultural transformations in the Lake Baikal Region reflect hemispheric-scale changes in temperature and atmospheric circulation over the past 8800 years

Characterised by heterogeneous microclimatic conditions, a sharp vegetation gradient and a rich archaeological record, Olkhon Island offers a unique setting to investigate past climate change and its potential influence on cultural trajectories in the Lake Baikal Region (LBR). Palynological and geochemical analyses of the uppermost 556 cm section of the 750 cm long, radiocarbon-dated sediment core (Nur-II) from Lake Nurskoye (53°3'N, 106°58'E; 456 m a.s.l.) at the western end of Olkhon Island reveal several long- and short-term climate [...]

Andrea Hiob2026-01-06T10:03:05-07:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Tarasov, Long, Habermann, Bezrukova, Hoelzmann, Shchetnikov, Krikunova, Gliwa, Wagner, Kobe, Leipe|

Mortuary Variation at the Early Neolithic Hunter-Gatherer Cemetery Shamanka II on Lake Baikal

In this version of the monograph on the Shamanka II cemetery the focus is on chronology, dietary patterns, and variation in Kitoi mortuary practices. Chapter 1 gives background archaeological information relevant to the analytical chapters, reviews the history of fieldwork at Shamanka II, and presents excavation methods. Chapter 2 explores cemetery chronology, its history of use, and dietary patterns based on extensive radiocarbon and stable isotope data. Chapter 3 presents the approach to the examination of variation in [...]

Erin2025-06-03T10:09:12-06:00Categories: Books & Monographs, Publications|Tags: Jessup, Weber, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|

A 350 14C yr discrepancy between bone and tooth dates from the same grave at the Early Neolithic cemetery of Shamanka II, Lake Baikal, southern Siberia: reservoir effects or a misplaced mandible?

A 350 14C yr discrepancy was found between dates on postcranial remains and mandibular teeth on what was thought to be the same individual from the Early Neolithic cemetery of Shamanka II, Lake Baikal. Stable nitrogen isotope results suggested a major shift in diet between childhood (when the teeth formed) and adulthood (represented by the postcrania), which could have resulted in different 14C ages through a freshwater reservoir effect. Subsequent additional dating on the mandible and postcranial elements, however, indicated [...]

Erin2025-01-20T10:33:31-07:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Jessup, Weber, Lieverse, Ramsey, Bazaliiskii, Schulting, Scharlotta|

Reading between the lines: A study of Harris lines in Middle Holocene foragers of the Cis-Baikal

Harris lines (HLs) are radiographically visible transverse lines of thickened bone that develop from temporary growth cessation during early life. Often attributed to physiological stress during development, HLs are frequently observed in the long bones of adolescents and become less visible over time due to bone remodeling. In recent years, the validity of HL as a sign of stress has been called into question and the methods used in studying HL through X-ray analysis scrutinized. In this study, [...]

Andrea Hiob2024-12-03T09:05:57-07:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Michelman, Weber, Lieverse, Bazaliiskii|

Vegetation and fire history of the Lake Baikal Region since 32 ka BP reconstructed through microcharcoal and pollen analysis of lake sediment from Cis- and Trans-Baikal

With the increase in global wildfire activity in response to global climate warming, the reconstruction of long-term fire histories and their links to environmental and anthropogenic factors has recently become an important focus of palaeoenvironmental research. Here we compare the precisely radiocarbon (14C) dated long-term histories of vegetation change and fire activity from lakes Ochaul (Cis-Baikal) and Kotokel (Trans-Baikal) in the Lake Baikal Region (LBR) of Siberia, a known source region of wildfires whose past and future relationships [...]

Andrea Hiob2024-11-05T13:51:37-07:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Tarasov, Kobe, Leipe, Wagner, Bezrukova, Shchetnikov, Krikunova, Gliwa|

Shamanka II: An Early Neolithic cemetery on the southwest shore of Lake Baikal, Siberia. Archaeological and Osteological Materials

Archaeology in China and East Asia Volume 9 This three-volume book presents the long-awaited comprehensive archaeological, chronological, and bioarchaeological studies of Shamanka II site, the largest completely excavated cemetery of the Early Neolithic Kitoi culture dated to ca. 7,560–6,660 years cal BP. It is a monument to some thirty years of research by the Baikal Archaeology Project (BAP). This multidisciplinary international project provides insights into the individual life histories of Holocene hunter-gatherers in Northern Eurasia during times of [...]

Erin2026-02-03T10:27:46-07:00Categories: Books & Monographs, Publications|Tags: Bazaliiskii, Jessup, Featured Publication, German Archaeological Institute, Weber, Lieverse, Schulting|

Postglacial vegetation and climate change in the Lake Onega region of eastern Fennoscandia derived from a radiocarbon-dated pollen record

With its numerous environmental archives stored in lake and peat sediments and relatively low human pressure, the Lake Onega region in eastern Fennoscandia is regarded as a particularly promising area for studying past changes in vegetation and climate since the Lateglacial period. The 885-cm-long sediment core RZ19 (62◦27′53″N, 34◦26′4″E) was collected from Razlomnoe Peat on the northern shore of Lake Onega in 2019, radiocarbon-dated and analysed for pollen and cryptogam spores. The age-depth model suggests continuous sedimentation since [...]

Erin2024-04-24T13:03:01-06:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Savelieva, Krikunova, Tarasov, Kobe, Leipe|