Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of the Baikal Region, Siberia: Bioarchaeological Studies of Past Life Ways

Andrzej W. Weber, M. Anne Katzenberg, Theodore G. Schurr

University of Pennsylvania Press, May 26, 2011 - Social Science - 344 pages

Siberia's Lake Baikal region is an archaeologically unique and emerging area of hunter-gatherer research, offering insights into the complexity, variability, and dynamics of long-term culture change. The exceptional quality of archaeological materials recovered there facilitates interdisciplinary studies whose relevance extends far beyond the region. The Baikal Archaeology Project—one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted in the history of subarctic archaeology—is conducted by an international multidisciplinary team studying Middle Holocene (about 9,000 to 3,000 years B.P.) hunter-gatherers of the region. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the project includes scholars in archaeology, physical anthropology, ethnography, molecular biology, geophysics, geochemistry, and paleoenvironmental studies.

This book presents the current team's research findings on questions about long-term patterns of hunter-gatherer adaptive strategies. Grounded in interdisciplinary approaches to primary research questions of cultural change and continuity over 6,000 years, the project utilizes advanced research methods and integrates diverse lines of evidence in making fundamental and lasting contributions to hunter-gatherer archaeology.

Content of this book's DVD-ROM may be found online at this location: http://core.tdar.org/project/376587.

Contents

• 1 Holocene Climate Environmental Change and Neolithic Biocultural Discontinuity in the Baikal Region: 1
• 2 Radiocarbon Dating of Middle Holocene Culture History in CisBaikal: 27
• 3 Mesolithic and Neolithic Mortuary Complexes in the Baikal Region: 51
• 4 Variability in Bronze Age Mortuary Practices in the Little Sea Microregion of CisBaikal: 87
• 5 Uncovering the Genetic Landscape of Prehistoric CisBaikal: 107
• Implications for the Prehistoric Settlement of the CisBaikal Region: 121
• Biological Indicators of Adaptation and Culture Change: 135
• 8 Diet Reconstruction of Prehistoric HunterGatherers in the Lake Baikal Region: 175
• 9 Skeletal Morphology Climatic Adaptation and Habitual Behavior among MidHolocene CisBaikal Populations: 193
• 10 Identifying HunterGatherer Mobility Patterns Using Strontium Isotopes: 217
• A Review of Research and Future Prospects: 239
• Middle Holocene CisBaikal HunterGatherers in Overview: 257
• Bibliography: 261
• Contributors: 313

About the author

Andrzej Weber is Professor of Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, University of Alberta, Edmonton. M. Anne Katzenberg, F.R.S.C., is University Professor, University of Calgary. Theodore G. Schurr is Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of the Baikal Region, Siberia: Bioarchaeological Studies of Past Life Ways; UPCC book collections on Project MUSE
• Editors: Andrzej W. Weber, M. Anne Katzenberg, Theodore G. Schurr
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011
• ISBN: 1934536393, 9781934536391
• Length: 344 pages
• Subjects: Social Science / Archaeology