Abstract
This article presents the first results of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of human and animal bones found at Late Holocene archaeological sites in Cis-Baikal, Siberia. It provides detailed description of stable isotope methods and results from three main regions: Olkhon region, North Baikal, and the Kuda Valley. In addition, this research provides data on radiocarbon dating of human and animal remains, and correction of AMS dates made on human remains due to the previously documented freshwater reservour effect in the Baikal region throughout the Holocene. This research allows for the reconstruction of dietary pattens of the Late Holocene pastoralists, which was clearly based on significant consumption of aquatic resources, not just domesticated animals. Stable isotope data confirms previous zooarchaeological investigations in the region, which suggested an important role of seal and fish in Cis-Baikal pastoralists' diets and subsistence practices. Further, it also demonstrates the similarities in the diets between pastoralist sand hunter-gatherers inhabiting this region during the Early and Middle Holocene.
Translated title of the contribution | The First Stable Isotope Analyses of Late Holocene Pastoralists in Cis-Baikal and their Radiocarbon Dating |
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Original language | Russian |
Pages (from-to) | 90-109 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Серия «Геоархеология. Этнология. Антропология» |
Volume | 18 |
Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2016 |
Keywords
- stable isotopes
- carbon
- nitrogen
- radiocarbon dating
- reservour effect
- Cis-Baikal
- graves
- Late Holocene diet
- pastoralists