Journal Articles - Page 2 of 6 - Baikal Archaeology Project

Nature Ecology & Evolution January 2022

Radiocarbon dating from Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov cemetery reveals complex human responses to socio-ecological stress during the 8.2 ka cooling event

Schulting RJ, Mannermaa K, Tarasov PE, Higham T, Bronk Ramsey C, Khartanovich V, Moiseyev V, Gerasimov D, O’Shea J, Weber A

Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov in Karelia, northwest Russia, is one of the largest Early Holocene cemeteries in northern Eurasia, with 177 burials recovered in excavations in the 1930s; originally, more than 400 graves may have been present. A new radiocarbon dating programme, taking into account a correction for freshwater reservoir effects, suggests that the main use of the cemetery spanned only some 100–300 years, centring on ca. 8250 to 8000 cal BP. This coincides remarkably closely with the 8.2 ka cooling event, [...]

Erin2023-04-04T14:10:49-06:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Schulting, Ramsey, Tarasov, Weber, O'Shea|

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports February 2022

Scanning electron microscopy for differentiating charred endocarps of Rhus/Toxicodendron species and tracking the use of the lacquer tree and Asian poison ivy in Japanese prehistory

Leipe C, Aquaro A, Tarasov PE

The use of natural lacquer for preservation and decoration of various commodities is a remarkable invention. In Japan lacquer production dates back to the Neolithic Jomon period and has been mainly based on the sap extracted from the lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley). However, it is still unclear, if lacquer production evolved in Japan independently or was introduced from Neolithic China, another centre of early lacquer production. A debate also revolves around the origin of the [...]

Andrea Hiob2023-03-08T10:22:53-07:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Leipe, Tarasov|

Archaeological Research in Asia March 2022

Freshwater reservoir effects in Cis-Baikal: An overview

Schulting RJ, Bronk Ramsey C, Scharlotta I, Richards MP, Bazaliiskii VI, Weber A

This paper summarises research on freshwater reservoir effects (FRE) in the Baikal region and their impact on the radiocarbon dating of human remains. Varying relationships are seen between human δ13C and δ15N values and 14C offsets in paired human-terrestrial mammal radiocarbon dates from the same graves in the different microregions of Cis-Baikal. In the Upper Lena microregion the FRE may also vary through time. These differences can be related in some cases to different isotopic ecologies, and in [...]

Erin2023-02-07T11:09:06-07:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Ramsey, Scharlotta, Schulting, Bazaliiskii, Weber|

Archaeological Research in Asia December 2021

Parental investment as social agency and catalyst to complexity

Scharlotta I, Bazaliiskii VI, Weber AW

Re-examination of the relationships between diets as inferred isotopically and grave goods in light of new data has revealed the importance of parental investment for Early Neolithic populations in Cis-Baikal, Siberia. The Kitoi Culture developed and maintained a flexible but expensive broad-spectrum subsistence strategy. Moderately high extrinsic risk factors produced periodic famines and metabolic stress evidence in skeletons. The small-scale efforts of parents to support their offspring through increased breast milk and plant food provisioning led to a [...]

Erin2023-01-03T10:11:15-07:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Scharlotta, Bazaliiskii, Weber|

Archaeological Research in Asia December 2021

Turning eastward: New radiocarbon and stable isotopic data for Middle Holocene hunter-gatherers from Fofanovo, Trans-Baikal, Siberia

White JA, Schulting RJ, Hommel P, Moiseyev V, Khartanovich V, Bronk Ramsey C, Weber AW

A considerable amount of bioarchaeological research – including AMS 14C dating and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses (δ13C and δ15N) – has been undertaken on the hunter-gatherers from the area west of Lake Baikal, known as Cis-Baikal. No such work has previously been reported for the east side of the lake, Trans-Baikal. Here, we present new radiocarbon dates and isotopic results for twenty individuals from the Fofanovo cemetery, located along the Selenga River on the southeast coast of [...]

Erin2022-12-06T10:20:51-07:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Schulting, Ramsey, Weber, White|

Quaternary International June 2022

Lateglacial–Holocene environments and human occupation in the Upper Lena region of Eastern Siberia derived from sedimentary and zooarchaeological data from Lake Ochaul

Kobe F, Hoelzmann P, Gliwa J, Olshewski P, Peskov S, Shchetnikov A, Danukalova G, Osipova M, Goslar T, Leipe C, Wagner M, Bezrukova E, Tarasov PE

In the current study, different geochemical and biological proxies, including pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, ostracods and molluscs, from an AMS radiocarbon-dated sediment core from Lake Ochaul (54°14′N, 106°28′E; 641 m a.s.l.) are presented and discussed. Ochaul is a fresh-water lake and an archaeological site situated ca. 100 km northwest of Lake Baikal in the upper reaches of the Lena River. The 260-cm-long sedimentary record presented here spans the Lateglacial–Holocene interval, between ca. 13,500 cal yr BP and the present. [...]

Andrea Hiob2022-11-01T10:45:51-06:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Leipe, Kobe, Tarasov|

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology September 2021

An integrative examination of elk imagery in Middle Holocene Cis-Baikal, Siberia

Losey RJ, Bazaliiskii VI, Nomokonova T

Elk are common in forager archaeological artwork of northern Eurasia. During the Middle Holocene, the peoples of Cis-Baikal produced numerous elk depictions in rock art and mobiliary items. Most of the rock art has now been destroyed. However, Cis-Baikal’s cemeteries and habitation sites are increasingly well documented, with the former generating numerous elk images. To better understand this imagery, we first discuss elk biology and behavior. We then contextualize the imagery within other forms of archaeological data, including [...]

Erin2022-10-04T10:10:43-06:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Bazaliiskii|

Quaternary International June 2021

Lateglacial and Holocene changes in vegetation and human subsistence around Lake Zhizhitskoye, East European midlatitudes, derived from radiocarbon-dated pollen and archaeological records

Tarasov PE, Savelieva LA, Kobe F, Korotkevich BS, Long T, Kostromina NA, Leipe C

The numerous lake and peat sedimentary archives of Central European Russia are ideal for studying the Lateglacial–Holocene climate and vegetation history of the region. However, robustly dated palaeoenvironmental records have only become available in the last decade and are still few and far between. Together with the continuously growing archaeological record and increasing focus on absolute dating of cultural assemblages, such records, where available, offer an excellent opportunity to study human-environment interactions in the region. For this study [...]

Erin2022-09-01T10:25:05-06:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Tarasov, Leipe, Kobe|

Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University (Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series) 2021

Morphological Analysis of the Bone Serrated Points from Early Neolithic Complexes of Shamanka 2 Burial Ground [in Russian]

Bazaliiskii VI, Tyutrin AA, Weber AW

An analysis of the bone serrated points from the burial complexes of Shamanka 2 burial ground is presented. The origin of the collection makes it “ritual”, which may explain the large number of undamaged items. Several spikes have been broken intentionally at the time of their interment. Supposedly, several points have been specifically made for interment. In accordance with the morphological analysis, we have identified two groups of serrated spikes: (I) detachable tools and (II) non-detachable tools. Differences [...]

Erin2022-08-02T10:49:35-06:00Categories: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Bazaliiskii, Weber|

Archaeological Research in Asia June 2021

Middle Holocene hunter–gatherer mortuary practices in the Little Sea microregion on Lake Baikal, part I: Early Neolithic

Goriunova OI, Novikov AG, Turkin GV, Weber AW

Archaeological research on Cis-Baikal Early Neolithic mortuary practices has traditionally focused on the Kitoi mortuary tradition with its rich materials known from several large cemeteries of the Angara Valley and Southwest Baikal. Assemblages that do not fit that description have attracted much less attention. Currently, in Cis-Baikal, the Little Sea microregion has the highest number of such graves. The mortuary variation displayed by this material (31 burials from 26 graves at 8 localities) allows their provisional classification into [...]

Erin2022-07-12T13:01:12-06:00Categories: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Goriunova, Novikov, Weber|