OSTEOARTHRITIS IN MIDDLE HOLOCENE HUNTER-GATHERERS FROM THE CIS-BAIKAL REGION OF SIBERIA, RUSSIA

The Cis-Baikal region of Siberia offers a well-preserved suite of cemetery sites, enabling detailed reconstruction of lifeways among middle Holocene hunter-gatherer groups. Broadly, these cemeteries feature two biologically and culturally distinct populations, separated by an 800-1000 year hiatus: the Early Neolithic (8000-7000/6800 cal BP) Kitoi culture (“pre-hiatus”) and the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age (6000/5800-4000 cal BP) Isakovo-Serovo-Glaskovo or ISG cultural complex (“post-hiatus”). For over two decades, the Baikal-Hokkaido Archaeology Project (BHAP) has investigated middle Holocene hunter-gatherer adaptations using a variety of interdisciplinary methods. This research builds upon previous BHAP work on osteoarthritis (OA) and activity reconstruction in the Cis-Baikal by examining human remains from three large cemeteries located throughout the region — Lokomotiv and Shamanka II (pre-hiatus), and Ust’-Ida I (post-hiatus). More specifically, I employ data on OA severity for the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, ankle, and the vertebral column to test hypotheses about temporal, spatial, and sex-based differences in activity patterns. Data presented here are generally consistent with findings of previous BHAP studies, indicating temporal and local variation in ancient activity patterns, as well as sex-based differences. Male groups from the three cemeteries under study here exhibited relatively consistent (high) OA severity scores, while female groups from the Angara River Valley (regardless of time period) featured higher OA severity scores than those from the South Baikal. I suggest that local demographic and environmental factors likely played an important role in producing these differences.