«BULLETIN OF THE IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY. GEOARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY, AND ANTHROPOLOGY SERIES»
ISSN 2227-2380 (Print)

List of issues > «Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series». 2016. Vol. 18

The First Stable Isotope Analyses of Late Holocene Pastoralists in Cis-Baikal and their Radiocarbon Dating

Full text (russian)

Author(s)
A. L. Waters-Rist, R. J. Losey, T. Nomokonova, G. V. Turkin, O. I. Goriunova
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.
Keywords
stable isotopes, carbon, nitrogen, radiocarbon dating, reservour effect, Cis-Baikal, graves, Late Holocene, diet, pastoralists
UDC
902.652(57.2)
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