Abstract
The spread of pastoralism in Asia is poorly understood, including how such processes affected northern forager populations. Lake Baikal’s western shore has a rich Holocene archaeological record that tracks these processes. The Early Bronze Age here is evidenced by numerous forager burials. The Early Iron Age (EIA) is thought to mark the arrival of pastoralists, but archaeological remains from this period have received little analysis. New radiocarbon dates for EIA human remains from 23 cemeteries indicate that no burials were created along this shore for ~900 years. This period, from ~3670 to 2760 cal. BP, spans from the end of the Early Bronze Age to the advent of the EIA. The burial gap may mark disruption of local foraging populations through incursions by non-local pastoralists. Radiocarbon dates on faunal remains indicate that domestic herd animals first appear around 3275 cal. BP, just prior to the first EIA human burials. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human remains and zooarchaeological data indicate that domestic fauna were minor dietary components for EIA people. Like preceding foragers, the EIA groups relied extensively on Baikal’s aquatic food sources, indicating that the scale of pastoralism during this period was relatively limited.
Highlights
The western shore of Lake Baikal in Siberia is a compelling setting for exploring such transitions and processes (Fig. 1)
This paper provides the first analyses of stable isotope values and AMS radiocarbon dates for human remains from the western shore of Lake Baikal post-dating the Early Bronze Age
47 AMS radiocarbon dates on adult human remains from graves typologically assigned to the Early Iron Age are available, including 11 from North Baikal, 34 from Priol’khon’e, and one each from the Kuda Valley and South Baikal; all have δ13C and δ15N values and come from a total of 23 cemeteries
Summary
The western shore of Lake Baikal in Siberia is a compelling setting for exploring such transitions and processes (Fig. 1) This region is ecologically disjunct from the steppe areas of Mongolia to the south, Trans-Baikal to the east, and the Minusinsk Basin to the west, being separated from by them by mountain ranges, stretches of forest, or Lake Baikal itself. Patches of steppe and forest steppe are present along the central western shore of the lake in the Priol’khon’e region[11] Most importantly, this region’s Middle Holocene hunter-gatherer archaeology is one of the most thoroughly studied in North Asia[12, 13]. Areas along the western shore of Lake Baikal contain a rich Late Holocene archaeological record Much of this derives from Early Iron Age pastoralists, including graves and other ritual features typologically assigned to several mortuary traditions or cultures[21, 22]. Two Late Holocene habitation sites along the western Baikal shoreline with extensively dated faunal assemblages are available, providing additional data on local subsistence and dietary patterns[28, 29]
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