Schulting - Baikal Archaeology Project

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: Jessup, Macleod, Willerslev, Weber, Lieverse, Goriunova, Ramsey, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|

Recent article from Dr. Ruairidh Macleod published in Nature!

Big congratulations to Dr. Ruairidh Macleod and all co-authors on the recent publication of their article in Nature! Title: Lethal plague outbreaks in Lake Baikal hunter-gatherers 5,500 years ago Authors: Ruairidh Macleod, Frederik V. Seersholm, Bianca De Sanctis, Angela Lieverse, Adrian Timpson, Rick Schulting, Jesper T. Stenderup, Charleen Gaunitz, Lasse Vinner, Olga Ivanovna Goriunova, Vladimir Ivanovich Bazaliiskii, Sergei V. Vasilyev, Erin Jessup, Yucheng Wang, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Mark G. Thomas, Russell Corbett-Detig, Astrid K. N. Iversen, Andrzej W. [...]

Andrea Hiob2026-06-18T12:38:49-06:00Categories: News, Media & Public Outreach|Tags: Ramsey, Bazaliiskii, Schulting, Goriunova, Jessup, Macleod, Willerslev, Weber, Lieverse|

Dr. Kristiina Mannermaa’s ‘Animals Make Identities’ final project meeting, Lammi research station, Finland

Fun news from Dr. Rick Schulting!: Many thanks to Kristiina Mannermaa and the organisers for hosting us all in the wonderful forest setting of the Lammi research station. We particularly appreciated (after some convincing on my part anyways) the refreshing dips into Lake Pappilanlahti after the sauna. A pool was thoughtfully kept ice-free! The presentations and discussions over three days provided many fascinating insights into the hunter-gatherers of northeast Europe. BAP was represented at the meeting by Rick Schulting [...]

Andrea Hiob2025-03-31T13:08:55-06:00Categories: News|Tags: Mannermaa, Hyland, Schulting|

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: Jessup, Losey, 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 [...]

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

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: Publications, Journal Articles|Tags: Jessup, Weber, Lieverse, Ramsey, Bazaliiskii, Schulting, Scharlotta|

Dr. Rick Schulting article published in Antiquity

Congratulations to Dr. Rick Schulting and co-authors on the recent publication of their paper in Antiquity! Title: ‘The darker angels of our nature’: Early Bronze Age butchered human remains from Charterhouse Warren, Somerset, UK Authors: Rick J. Schulting, Teresa Fernández-Crespo, Javier Ordoño, Fiona Brock, Ashleigh Kellow, Christophe Snoeck, Ian R. Cartwright, David Walker, Louise Loe, Tony Audsley Abstract: Direct physical evidence for violent interpersonal conflict is seen only sporadically in the archaeological record for prehistoric Britain. Human remains from [...]

Andrea Hiob2024-12-16T09:03:20-07:00Categories: News|Tags: Schulting|

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: Jessup, Featured Publication, German Archaeological Institute, Weber, Lieverse, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|

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: Kharinskii, Weber, Lieverse, Goriunova, Bazaliiskii, Schulting|