Prehistoric Fishing on Lake Baikal, Siberia

The Lake Baikal area of Eastern Siberia is rich in
archaeological mortuary and habitation sites,
excavations of which have produced not only large
quantities of artefacts and human osteological
material, but also substantial quantities of faunal
remains. However, zooarchaeology has only recently
begun to develop in this region. This book represents
a pilot zooarchaeological study of Lake Baikal
archaeological materials. The project examines
prehistoric subsistence patterns during the Holocene
(~10,000 550 BP) through the analyses of animal bones
recovered from the Ityrkhei archeological site. The
results of this study indicate that Ityrkhei was a
seasonally occupied camp used as a base from which a
number of resources were procured, particular
littoral fishes such as perch, roach, dace, and
smaller numbers of pike and whitefishes. Seal and
deer were also used by the site occupants, but on a
less extensive and likely opportunistic basis.
Fishing at the site began sometime during the Late
Mesolithic and continued through the Neolithic (8000 4300 BP), and was perhaps accomplished through the
use of mass harvesting technologies such as nets or
traps.

Autorentext

Tatiana Nomokonova, PhD candidate, University of Alberta(Canada): zooarchaeology of Siberia and prehistory of Cis-Baikal;Dr. Robert J. Losey, Associate professor, University of Alberta(Canada): zooarchaeology, archaeology of Siberia and Northwest Coast;Ol'ga I. Goriunova, PhD, Irkutsk Laboratory of Archaeology(Russia): Cis-Baikal prehistory

Klappentext

The Lake Baikal area of Eastern Siberia is rich inarchaeological mortuary and habitation sites,excavations of which have produced not only largequantities of artefacts and human osteologicalmaterial, but also substantial quantities of faunalremains. However, zooarchaeology has only recentlybegun to develop in this region. This book representsa pilot zooarchaeological study of Lake Baikalarchaeological materials. The project examinesprehistoric subsistence patterns during the Holocene(~10,000-550 BP) through the analyses of animal bonesrecovered from the Ityrkhei archeological site. Theresults of this study indicate that Ityrkhei was aseasonally occupied camp used as a base from which anumber of resources were procured, particularlittoral fishes such as perch, roach, dace, andsmaller numbers of pike and whitefishes. Seal anddeer were also used by the site occupants, but on aless extensive and likely opportunistic basis.Fishing at the site began sometime during the LateMesolithic and continued through the Neolithic (8000- 4300 BP), and was perhaps accomplished through theuse of mass harvesting technologies such as nets ortraps.