Faunal Remains from the Early Complexes of the Sagan-Zaba II Multilayered Habitation Site (9120–7880 cal. BP) in the Cis-Baikal: Planigraphy, Subsistence Patterns, and Seasonality

This article is the first publication to analyze faunal remains from early complexes (layers VII and VI) at the multilayer settlement of Sagan-Zaba II, situated on the western shore of Lake Baikal. We discuss species composition of fauna from the site as well as associated radiocarbon dates, age and sex designations, spatial distribution, and their overall selection as it relates to site seasonality. We address the previously-defi ned potential offset between uncalibrated dates from remains of ungulates and seals at the site, relating to the problem of “old” carbon in Lake Baikal. For layer VII, this offset is 682 years on average, and for layer VI it is 509 years. Taking the offset from nerpa bones into account, layers VII and VI now appear to date to the period between 9120 and 7880 cal BP. An analysis of faunal materials from the early complexes of the Sagan-Zaba II settlement indicates that inhabitants of this site hunted nerpa seals, ungulates, and other mammals as well as birds and fi sh, demonstrating a complex use of natural resources. Most likely, sites featured short-term, seasonal occupations, as indicated by the distribution of hearths and other materials, the thickness of hearth features, and the absence of specialized production areas. Results of an analysis of dentine layers from cross-sections of nerpa teeth as well as the presence of faunal bones that are only available during the hotter months of the year in the Cis-Baikal region, are consistent with a model of spring and summer site use.

1. Aseyev I.V. 2003 Yugo-Vostochnaya Sibir v epokhu kamnya i metalla. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAE SO RAN.

2. Buck C.E., Christen J.A., James G.N. 1999 BCal: An online Bayesian radiocarbon calibration tool. Internet Archaeology, No. 7. URL: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue7/buck/

3. Dolganov V.A., Goriunova O.I., Novikov A.G., Veber A.V. 2011 Kompleks s punktirno-grebenchatoi keramikoi i ego mesto v neolite Pribaikalya (po materialam mnogosloinogo poseleniya Sagan-Zaba II). In Drevniye kultury Mongolii i Baikalskoi Sibiri, iss. 2. Irkutsk: Izd. Irkut. Gos. Tehn. Univ., pp. 75–81.

4. Dolganov V.A., Goriunova O.I., Novikov A.G., Veber A.V. 2013 Kompleksy s keramikoi posolskogo tipa v neolite Pribaikalya: po materialam V verkhnego sloya geoarkheologicheskogo obyekta Sagan-Zaba II. Vestnik NGU. Ser.: Istoriya, fi lologiya, vol. 12. Iss. 7: Arkheologiya i etnografi ya: 125–132.

5. Goriunova O.I., Dolganov V.A., Novikov A.G., Veber A.V. 2012 Ranniy neolit Priolhonya: po materialam VI kulturnykh sloev geoarkheologicheskogo obyekta Sagan-Zaba II. In Fenomen geoarkheologicheskoi mnogosloinosti Baikalskoi Sibiri: 100 let Baikalskoi nauchnoi arkheologii. Irkutsk: Izd. Irkut. Gos. Univ., pp. 86–93. (Evraziya v kainozoe: Stratigrafi ya, paleoekologiya, kultury; iss. 1).

6. Goriunova O.I., Novikov A.G., Veber A.V., Vorobyeva G.A., Orlova L.A. 2008 Zaversheniye raskopok Rossiysko-Kanadskoi ekspeditsii v bukhte Sagan-Zaba na Baikale. In Problemy arkheologii, etnografi i, antropologii Sibiri i sopredelnykh territorii, vol. 14. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAE SO RAN, pp. 32–35.

7. Goriunova O.I., Novikov A.G., Vorobyeva G.A., Veber A.V., Lozei R.D., Nomokonova T.Y., Orlova L.A. 2007 Prodolzheniye rabot Rossiysko-Kanadskoi ekspeditsii v bukhte Sagan-Zaba na Baikale. In Problemy arkheologii, etnografi i, antropologii Sibiri i sopredelnykh territorii, vol. 13. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAE SO RAN, pp. 212–215.

8. Hillson S. 2005 Teeth. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

9. Nomokonova T., Losey R.J., Goriunova O.I., Weber A.W. 2013 A fresh water old carbon offset in Lake Baikal, Siberia and problems with the radiocarbon dating of archaeological sediments: Evidence from the Sagan-Zaba II Site. Quaternary International, No. 290/291: 110–125.

10. Nomokonova T., Losey R.J., Weber A., Goriunova O.I. 2010 Late Holocene subsistence practices among Cis-Baikal pastoralists, Siberia: Zooarchaeological insights from SaganZaba II. Asian Perspectives: The Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacifi c, vol. 49 (1): 157–179.

11. Novikov A.G., Goriunova O.I., Veber A.V. 2014 Mezoliticheskiy kompleks geoarkheologicheskogo obyekta Sagan-Zaba II (oz. Baikal). Vestnik NGU. Ser.: Istoriya, fi lologiya, vol. 13. Iss. 5: Arkheologiya i etnografi ya: 117–124.

12. Okladnikov A.P. 1975 Otchet o raskopkakh mnogosloinogo neoliticheskogo pamyatnika v bukhte Zagan-Zaba v 1974 g. Novosibirsk. Arkhiv IA RAN. R-1. No. 5567.

13. Pastukhov V.D. 1993 Nerpa Baikala. Biologicheskiye osnovy ratsionalnogo ispolzovaniya i okhrana resursov. Novosibirsk: Nauka.

14. Ptitsy Baikala. 2005 V.E. Egorov, A.A. Vasilchenko, N.G. Skryabin, V.A. Podkovyrov, S.V. Pyzhyanov. Kemerovo: Kuzbassvuzizdat.

15. Reimer P.J., Bard E., Bayliss A., Beck J.W., Blackwell P.G., Bronk-Ramsey C., Grootes P.M., Guilderson T.P., Hafl idason H., Hajdas I., Hatte C., Heaton T.J., Hoffman D.L., Hogg A.G., Hughen K.A., Kaiser K.F., Kromer B., Manning S.W., Niu M., Reimer R.W., Richards D.A., Scott E.M., Southon J.R., Staff R.A., Turney C.S.M., van der Plicht J. 2013 IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves 0-50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon, vol. 55 (4): 1869–1887.

16. Storå J. 2000 Skeletal development in grey seal Halichoerus grypys, the ringed seal Phoca hispida botnica, the harbour seal Phoca vitulina vitulina, and the harp seal Phoca groendlandica: Epiphyseal fusion and life history. Archaeozoologia, No. XI: 199–222.

17. Stuiver M., Reimer P.J. 1993 Extended 14C database and revised CALIB radiocarbon calibration program. Radiocarbon, vol. 35: 215–230.

18. Tomé C., Vigne J.-D. 2003 Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) age at death estimates: New methods and modern reference data for tooth eruption and wear, and for epiphyseal fusion. Archaeofauna, No. 12: 157–173.

19. Vorobyeva G.A. 2010 Pochva kak letopis prirodnykh sobytiy Pribaikalya: problemy evolyutsii i klassifi katsii pochv. Irkutsk: Izd. Irkut. Gos. Univ.

20. Weber A.W., Goriunova O.I., Konopatskii A.K. 1993 Prehistoric seal hunting on Lake Baikal: Methodology and preliminary results of the analysis of canine sections. Journal of Archaeological Science, No. 20: 629–644.

21. Weber A., Link D.W., Goriunova O.I., Konopatskii A.K. 1998 Patterns of prehistoric procurement of seal at Lake Baikal: A zooarchaeological contribution to the study of past foraging economies in Siberia. Journal of Archaeological Science, No. 25: 215–227.