Bazaliiskii - Baikal Archaeology Project

BAP second monograph on EN Shamanka II cemetery is published and accessible in digital format!

Great news! Our second (condensed) monograph on the EN Shamanka II cemetery has been published and is accessible in digital format via our website Details below: Irkutsk State University 2025 Mortuary Variation at the Early Neolithic Hunter-Gatherer Cemetery Shamanka II on Lake Baikal Weber AW, Bazaliiskii VI, Jessup E (Eds.) 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 [...]

Andrea Hiob2025-02-20T10:44:11-07:00Categories: News|Tags: Losey, Jessup, Weber, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|

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 [...]

Erin2025-02-19T15:33:53-07:00Categories: Books & Monographs, Publications|Tags: Weber, Jessup, Featured Publication, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|

BAP article published in Radiocarbon!

Great News! Congratulations to BAP team members Rick Schulting, Ian Scharlotta, Angela Lieverse, Erin Jessup, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Vladimir Bazaliiskii and Andrzej Weber on the recent publication of their article in Radiocarbon! Radiocarbon (January 2025), pp 1-13. Title: 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? Authors: Schulting RJ, Scharlotta I, Lieverse A, Jessup [...]

Andrea Hiob2025-01-22T14:11:55-07:00Categories: News|Tags: Bazaliiskii, Schulting, Scharlotta, Ramsey, Jessup, Weber, Lieverse|

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

Lauren Michelman BAP thesis published in International Journal of Osteoarchaeology!

Congratulations to Lauren Michelman, former Master's student supervised by Dr. Angela Lieverse, University of Saskatachewan, on the recent publication of her BAP thesis in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology! Title: Reading between the lines: A study of Harris lines in Middle Holocene foragers of the Cis-Baikal Authors: Michelman LM, Bazaliiskii VI, Weber AW, Lieverse AR. Abstract: 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 [...]

Andrea Hiob2024-09-05T13:37:33-06:00Categories: News|Tags: Michelman, Weber, Lieverse, Bazaliiskii|

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|

New BAP book published! Three-Volume Shamanka II monograph out now!

Great news! A monumental achievement! After many years of blood, sweat and tears, we offer BIG congratulations to Editors Andrzej W. Weber, Vladimir I. Bazaliiskii, Erin Jessup and all contributing authors on the publication of their new three-volume book! The book was published and funded by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (German Archaeological Society). A BIG thank you to Series Editors Mayke Wagner and Dominic Hosner for all their hard work bringing this epic project to fruition. The monograph [...]

Andrea Hiob2025-02-20T11:08:55-07:00Categories: News|Tags: Wagner, Losey, Jessup, Weber, Lieverse, Bazaliiskii|

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 [...]

Erin2025-02-19T15:39:21-07:00Categories: Books & Monographs, Publications|Tags: Bazaliiskii, Schulting, Lieverse, Jessup, German Archaeological Institute, Weber|

Dr. Angela Lieverse presents at Paleopathology Society Annual Meeting

Dr. Angela Lieverse presented a poster, with our BAP colleagues as co-authors, at the 50th Annual Meeting of the Paleopathology Society, held in Los Angeles, March 18-20, 2024. Title: Postcranial trauma in the Middle Holocene Cis-Baikal Authors: Lieverse AR, Schulting RJ, Bazaliiskii VI, Goriunova OI, Kharinskii AA, Weber AW

Andrea Hiob2024-03-21T13:28:36-06:00Categories: News|Tags: Bazaliiskii, Kharinskii, Weber, Lieverse, Goriunova, Schulting|

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: Journal Articles, Publications|Tags: Weber, Goriunova, Ramsey, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|