White, J Alyssa, Schulting, Rick J, Lythe, Andrew, Hommel, Peter 
ORCID: 0000-0001-5045-9096, Ramsey, Christopher Bronk, Moiseyev, Vyacheslav, Khartanovich, Valeri and Weber, Andrzej W
(2020)
Integrated stable isotopic and radiocarbon analyses of Neolithic and bronze age hunter-gatherers from the Little Sea and Upper Lena micro- regions, Cis-Baikal, Siberia.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 119.
p. 105161.
|
Text
JASC18-134R2.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript Download (34MB) | Preview |
Abstract
The Lake Baikal region of southern Siberia has a rich mortuary record that has provided the most comprehensive isotopic database for palaeodietary studies of north-temperate hunter-gatherers in the world, permitting more detailed reconstructions and finer-grained research questions than are usually possible. Building on previous work, this study contributes new δ13C, δ15N, and AMS radiocarbon dating results from the cemeteries of Verkholensk (n = 44) in the Upper Lena River micro-region and Ulan-Khada (n = 19) in the Little Sea micro-region. Our results reveal that the Late Neolithic (LN, 5570–4600 cal BP) individuals at Verkholensk exhibit higher δ15N values than in the Early Bronze Age (EBA, 4600–3700 cal BP), suggesting a shift to a more terrestrial diet, possibly in response to climate-induced environmental changes. In addition, EBA individuals at Verkholensk differ in both δ13C and δ15N from those at the nearby site of Obkhoi, suggesting territorial divisions at a surprisingly small scale, although there is a diachronic component that needs to be considered, highlighting the need for additional work on freshwater reservoir corrections for the Upper Lena micro-region. The Ulan-Khada EBA results are consistent with the ‘Game-Fish’ and ‘Game-Fish-Seal’ dietary patterns previously identified in the Little Sea micro-region. The now substantial Little Sea micro-region EBA dataset—— allows for more subtle differences in diet to be identified, namely that EBA females with Game-Fish-Seal diets for the whole of the Little Sea sample display significantly lower mean δ13C values than their male counterparts, providing some of the first evidence for sex-based dietary distinctions in Lake Baikal. A small number of δ13C and/or δ15N outliers were identified at both Verkholensk and Ulan-Khada that may support previous suggestions of individual mobility between the Upper Lena and Little Sea micro-regions. Exploratory use of δ18O isotopes in bone collagen offers a novel line of support for this scenario, confirming a number of independently identified outliers.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Lake Baikal, Hunter-gatherers, Middle Holocene, Diet, Stable isotopes, Radiocarbon dating |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 13 May 2020 09:29 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 23:52 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jas.2020.105161 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3087194 |
Dimensions
Dimensions
