Natalia Berdnikova

We have presented the history data of the formation of one of the most important
areas of the study of human and nature in North Asia in the geological past Pleistocene and Holocene on the shores of the Baikal. In other words, the article focuses on «geoarchaeological baikal study», its origin, evolution, current state and assessment of the prospects for the future research. The authors offer a description and characteristics of the events, geoarchaeological objects, personalities that is covering a period of about 300 years. Geoarchaeological Baikal study is viewed on a broad background of general archaeological research in the areas of platform Baikal in Siberia. Many of the materials for publication is little known or previously had a different interpretation. In the future we plan to propose a scheme of geoarchaeological zoning of the shores of Lake Baikal, to talk about research of the cave objects, new places of rock carvings, stone walls, settlement and much more.

The album contains materials of archaeological research in the center of Irkutsk and fifty portraits Irkutsk inhabitants XVIII century. Reconstruction made by the method of forensic facial reconstruction, designed by famous Russian archaeologist and anthropologist M. M. Gerasimov. Materials for reconstruction obtained through interdisciplinary research Irkutsk cemeteries XVIII century: Spasski, Vladimirski, Krestovozdvizhenki.

This article contains observations and results from interdisciplinary scientific
research carried out in recent years in the fields of geology, geomorphology, paleogeography
and archaeology of the Cenozoic III Era of Baikalian Siberia. Data on the current state
of knowledge about archeological materials from Pleistocene-Holocene geological sediments
of the Quaternary of this vast province are also presented.
A conceptual framework for the scientific problem outlined in this article is based on
data derived from geological and geomorphological research conducted throughout the Siberian
platform – the most ancient landmass of the Earth – as well as the Baikal-Khövsgöl
Nuur rift, which is a product of long-term subsurface geomorphological processes. The
platform and the rift are connected with all the events of geological, paleobiological and
paleotechnological history.
The content of this article proceeds from the authors’ basic hypothesis that during the
Pleistocene, the Angara-Yenisei river system and the Angara River – its main artery – did
not exist in their current form.
It is proposed that a functional role of the Angara and Yenisei watercourses, as well
as their tributaries and the general North Asian basin of Lake Baikal, must be reconsidered
in order to suggest a new scheme that emphasizes common global terracing processes as
well as the deposition of archaeological objects.
Key words: Geoarchaeology, Cenozoic, Quaternary, Pleistocene, Glaciology, anthropogen,
paleotechnologies, technogenesis, culture, ensemble, complex

Presents the results of the studies conducted in 2014 in the valley of the Elovka river, located in the Elovsky spur of Tunka basin. These studies are of high demand due to lack of archaeological studies of Tunka basin, that by its geographical position and natural characteristics, is a natural way of linking cultures of Baikal Siberia and Central Asia. As a result it was revealed 8 new places of archaeological materials. For the first time in Tunka basin well stratified complexes of Holocene in multilayer position were found that provides an opportunity for the detailed chronological base of these materials. The presence of the significant thicknesses of Pleistocene deposits, the presence of fragmented faunal remains, the founds of Paleolithic artifacts – all that shows the potential of this territory for the search of Paleolithic stratified complexes.

This article presents a technique developed by the authors for preserving archaeological objects made from organic materials. This technique protects artifacts without applying additional reactants for mechanical durability. Its application can prevent the growth of microflora in storage conditions where humidity and temperature fluctuate beyond desirable ranges. This way of processing archaeological organic material is ideal from an ecological point of view. The time-reversible method outlined here enables the effective removal of microflora, avoids the use of chemical compounds incompatible with subsequent artifact processing or with the preservation of objects’ appearance and structure, and also does not demand considerable material expenditures of labor or specially equipped laboratories.

Presents the results of the archaeological studies of multilayer site Elovka-Nugan I (Tunka Valley), conducted in 2014–2015. In order to determine the boundaries of the spread of archaeological material and promising areas for research 9 prospecting pits were laid. The deposits of floodplains and the first terrace of the Irkut of mostly Holocene were discovered. Archaeological material was recorded in multilayer system that allows to allocate separate cultural levels for which it was received a series of 14C-dates. The Neolithic complexes represent a particular interest: from early Net-impressed and Khaita pottery (~7–6 ka BP), jewelry pearl items (~5.2–5 ka BP or ~6,1–5.7 ka cal BP). Founded shattered bones of deer with handling traces in the Early Holocene sediments of the first terrace of the Irkut (~8.6–8.2 ka BP or ~9.6–9 ka cal BP) are likely to mark the presence of the Mesolithic complexes. To our mind, the expansion of excavation areas and receiving additional 14C-dates would locate the Elovka-Nugan I as the first basic Holocene geoarchaeological object of the Tunka Valley.

The appearance of the pottery manufacture in the late Pleistocene in Eastern and Northern Asia considered a well-known fact. This age is provided by massive radiocarbon dates. It has determined Chinese, Japanese and Far Eastern centers of ancient pottery production. In the eastern part of Baikal Siberia (Transbaikalia), the most famous archaeological site with ancient pottery is Ust-Karenga on the Vitim River. According to the 14С-dates obtained from the fragments of pottery, the age of Ust-Karenga ancient pottery is defined in the range of 12–10,6 ka BP (14С). But the data still raise doubts among some researchers. Geoarchaeological assessment of the Ust-Karenga site complex was conducted to determine the degree of reliability of the resulting 14С-scale of Ust-Karenga, and on this basis, it is shown that cultural deposits of the Ust-Karenga are the subaerial deposits of typical late Sartan – Holocene and have the closest analogue in a number of archaeological sites of Baikal Siberia. They reflect the regional natural sequence of events and features of the paleoenvironments in detail. This sequence corresponds to the full scale with the external chronometric of the archaeological sites, including the Ust-Karenga one. Dating of ancient pottery and its cultural deposits is quite correct. The archaeological fragments of vessels are found in situ and connected with complexes which can be defined as the remains of living areas. Ust-Karenga sites should be considered as basic for ancient pottery research in Northeast Asia.

About 30 Early Holocene sites are known in the Southern Angara region. The age of 20 of them has been established beyond doubts. The radiocarbon dates obtained for the earliest cultural horizons demonstrate that the age of these complexes corresponds to the period of Younger Dryas (~12,900–11,700 cal BP). However, our analysis revealed the incorrectness of most chronological defi nitions: some data have a large error (σ ± 300–500 years); other dates have high index of δ15N and the overrated ratio of carbon and nitrogen isotopes (C/N). Only one date which has been obtained for the lower horizon of Kholmushino 3 site (12,569–12,150 cal BP) can be currently considered as valid. Based on the latest data for the Kholmushino 3 and Ust-Khaita sites, the Early–Middle Holocene boundary in the Southern Angara region can be preliminarily determined as ~8600–8500 cal BP.

Radiocarbon dating of the Neolithic complexes of 8 multilayered sites from Tunka valley and Angara Region are presented. Representative data were obtained for Tunka valley (Elovka-Nugan 1 site) and Southern Angara Region (Holmushino 3 site). This makes it possible to determine the age of the early net-impressed and Khaita pottery in these regions at 7839–7689 cal BP and 8510–8380 cal BP respectively. The dating of the Northern Angara Region early complexes with net-impressed and Khaita vessels gave ambiguous results and showed a younger age than was previously determined for Ust-Yodarma 2 site (8160–7664 cal BP) and older for the Ostrov Listvenichnyi site (8540–8424 cal BP). For the Ust-Belaya pottery from site Derevnya Martynova two dates have been obtained (from cultural horizon and the carbon from inner surface of the vessel). They showed a difference of a few hundred years – 7614–7510 cal BP and 7417–7266 cal BP. This raises the question of which definition is more correct. In addition, two samples of Canis familiaris bones from the excavations of Nalimnitsa 1 site (Tunka valley) and the Ust-Belaya site (Southern Angara Region) were analyzed. Their age is determined in chronometric intervals of 7250–7163 cal BP and 6442–6318 cal BP respectively, that confirms the spread of the domestic dog in region at the Neolithic. This series of radiocarbon dates complements the set of chronometric definitions for the Neolithic of the Baikal-Yenisei Siberia and requires further research in this direction.

Bølling-Allerød warming of the Late Pleistocene (BA) (14,7–12,8 cal ka BP) is considered as a severe, sudden climatic change provoked by a complex of causes. These climatic changes also reflect biostratigraphy data. BA-interval for the territory of Baikal Siberia is poorly studied. Its data is absent in the stratotypical climatostratigraphic scheme for the region based on the results of drilling of the Baikal bottom sediments, mainly created using biostratigraphy data. Additional studies of this interval are carried out based on bottom drilling of small lake sediments. In the geoarchaeosites of the region, BA-interval is marked with paleosoils, from one in loesslike soil to ten or more in sandy sediments. Archaeological material is attributed to these soils. On the territory of Baikal Siberia, there are 17 geoarchaeosites with BA archeological complexes. There are no summary on biostratigraphy data of these complexes. The very first summary of biostratigraphic data of BA archaeological complexes of four geoarcheosites in the valley of the Belaya river (left tributary of the Angara River) is given in the article. Complexes are attributed to soils in the composition of loesslike deposits (Cheremushnik 2, cultural horizon 1) and sandy deposits (Sosnovyi Bor, Ust-Belaya, Galashikha). Based on 14C-dating, their age is determined between 14,6–13,3 cal ka BP. The set of fauna corresponds to the Sartan assemblages of Baikal Siberia. A feature of such faunal complexes is the presence of fish bones that are associated with fishing equipment. For the sediments, depleted pollen records are characteristic, reflecting mosaic landscapes that combine open tundra-steppe spaces with forest associations. Biostratigraphy data indicate that the BA-interval differed in dynamics from a moderately cold and wet to a warmer and wet climate.

We consider the degree of informative value of Middle Holocene multistratified geoarchaeological sites on the example of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia. Neolithic complexes in the Middle Holocene sediments are recorded in two situations: in macrolayered sites where the materials are contained in the profile of a fully developed modern soil, and in multilayered sites where the complexes are associated with underdeveloped and embryonic buried soils. Macrolayered sites are the most common type, but they have a low degree of informative value, since in this case, the different cultural remains in the sediments are presented in so-called compression. Time of formation of soil horizons can reach several thousand years and as a rule, they do not have clear boundaries. This makes it difficult to identify chronometrically pure archaeological levels of findings. Nevertheless, based on the characteristics of soil of certain areas, it is possible to determine the typical situations and use them with some conditionality for the cultural and chronological attribution of different-time complexes. Multilayered sites acts as the most important archaeological source. Their informative value is much higher than that of macrolayered sites, due to the discrete nature of sedimentation and soil formation, which are associated with levels of human habitation. This allows us to determine the stratigraphic sequence and the relative chronology of the Neolithic culture horizons, and with an increasing of their numbers, we get the higher resolution of the "cultural record". In this respect, the sites where the cultural remains are contained in subaquatic-subaerial deposits of high floodplains are preferable. Radiocarbon AMS-dating provides an opportunity to determine sufficiently narrow chronometric intervals for individual archaeological complexes, which underlies the conceptual historical models. Features of the sediments of multilayered objects also make it possible to reveal the patterns of paleoclimatic dynamics and natural events at the regional level, to assess their compliance with global trends, and to reconstruct the human habitat in certain areas of the same site. This is their advantage over palynological studies.

Despite more than 100-year history of the study, in the Paleolithic of Baikal Siberia the human remains being are known only from the Malta site. They are represented by the burial of 2 children with dating ~24 ka cal BP and the tooth of an adult individual. In 2016, in the Tunka Valley (southwestern flank of the Baikal rift zone), an area of 5,000 m2 the Paleolithic Site Tuyana was excavated. In the redeposited strata of MIS 3, along with fauna remains, the Aurignacoid stone and bone industry, 10 fragmented bones of the human lower limbs were found. They were located in a compact cluster, with the exception of two fragments, removed at 10-12 m up the slope from the main group. The most interesting for study are the fragment of the tibia, the left cuboid bone with a large blind hole (possibly of artificial origin), a fragment of the distal phalanx of the first finger of the left foot and two fragments of calcaneal bones (one of them is gracile in appearance and could belong to a woman). Radiocarbon dates obtained from faunal remains from excavations in 2010–2011, allow us to determine the age of Tuyana archaeological complexes in the interval of ~41.9–30 ka cal BP. The dates for the two human bones give an even greater range. One of them was older than 49.7 ka cal BP, the other is dated by the period of 31.4–30.7 ka cal BP. Thus, their age as a whole can be determined within the framework of the Karga interstadial (MIS 3), where two stages are distinguished – early and late one. The C/Natomic indices for both samples are within the normal range, so we can talk about the correctness of the results. The data on the ratio of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes (13C/12C, 15N/14N) for a younger sample are generally close to those for a number of Upper Paleolithic anthropological finds in Siberia and Europe. The results obtained for the ancient human bone look ambiguous. The value of δ15N is equal to 5,1 ‰, and this is an unusually low indicator for the human body. At the moment it is difficult to say with what fact it is connected, as we did not have an opportunity to compare the data on this sample and the fauna complex of Tuyana (for lack of their absence in the known publications). We believe that most of the anthropological remains of Tuyana are related to the Aurignacoid complexes. In the near future, their study, obviously, will allow us to make significant adjustments to our understanding of the human development of Northern Asia in the Upper Pleistocene.