Journal Articles - Baikal Archaeology Project

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 Hiob2025-12-02T15:30:25-07:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Wagner, Long, Habermann, Bezrukova, Hoelzmann, Shchetnikov, Krikunova, Gliwa, Featured Publication, Tarasov, Kobe, Leipe|

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: Bazaliiskii, Schulting, Scharlotta, Ramsey, Jessup, Weber, Lieverse|

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: Bezrukova, Shchetnikov, Krikunova, Gliwa, Wagner, Tarasov, Kobe, Leipe|

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: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Savelieva, Krikunova, Tarasov, Kobe, Leipe|

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Cis-Baikal: Main Factors and Processes in the Development of Hunter-Gatherer Cultures [in Russian]

Middle Holocene hunter-gatherers (HG) of the Cis-Baikal, Eastern Siberia, display substantial spatiotemporal variation in adaptive strategies highlighted by several cultural transitions. These transitions are examined focusing on the role of the following factors: (1) changes in the distribution of the boreal forest; (2) technological innovations; (3) intensification of fishing; and (4) their combined impacts on subsistence and social structure. The expansion and retreat of boreal forest was important because it directly affected the distribution and abundance of large [...]

Erin2023-12-05T10:47:08-07:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Weber|

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Cis-Baikal: Spatiotemporal Patterns of Cemetery Use [in Russian]

Hunter-gatherer archaeology typically focusses on the details of subsistence strategies and material culture and, in the case of cemeteries, on various aspects of mortuary practices, beliefs, and social differentiation. This paper aims to look rather at patterns of change over time and space in how past hunter-gatherer cemeteries were used from Late Mesolithic to Early Bronze Age (~8600–3500 cal BP) in the Cis-Baikal region of Eastern Siberia. The approach is based on a Kernel Density Estimate methodology applied [...]

Erin2023-11-06T11:06:48-07:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Schulting, Weber, Goriunova, Ramsey, Bazaliiskii|

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of Cis-Baikal: Chronology and Dietary Trends [in Russian]

Analyses of radiocarbon dates (all corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect) and associated stable isotope values obtained from the skeletal remains of ~560 individuals provide many new insights about Middle Holocene hunter-gatherers (HG) of the Cis-Baikal region, Eastern Siberia. The new radiocarbon evidence clarifies the culture history of the region by defining better the boundaries between the chronological (archaeological periods) and cultural (mortuary traditions) units, as well as our understanding of the transitions between them. Furthermore, differences between [...]

Erin2023-10-03T10:51:42-06:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Weber, Goriunova, Ramsey, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|

A Holocene floodplain sequence from the Kirenga Valley, Lake Baikal region (Siberia), and its significance for molluscan and mammalian biogeography

The archaeological record in the Baikal region is characterised by a marked discontinuity separating different groups of hunter-gatherers within the Neolithic period. A range of sedimentary archives has been studied to investigate this issue and whether it had an environmental cause. Our focus has been on floodplain sequences from river valleys, which can augment other higher resolution records such as those from lakes. Here we report on the molluscs and small vertebrates recovered from a Holocene floodplain sequence [...]

Andrea Hiob2023-09-05T11:44:30-06:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Shchetnikov, White|

Late- and postglacial vegetation and climate history of the central Kola Peninsula derived from a radiocarbon-dated pollen record of Lake Kamenistoe

A radiocarbon-dated sediment core collected from the small freshwater Lake Kamenistoe, in the central part of the Kola Peninsula, provides a pollen record of vegetation and climate history of this part of Fennoscandia and the European Arctic during the past ca. 13,000 years. In contrast to existing Scandinavian Ice Sheet reconstructions, the record shows that the study site was ice-free at 13 cal. kyr BP, thus allows to improve our knowledge on deglaciation dynamics in North Europe. The [...]

Erin2023-08-02T09:16:17-06:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Krikunova, Tarasov, Kobe, Leipe|