Chronology of middle Holocene hunteregatherers in the Cis-Baikal region of Siberia: Corrections based on examination of the freshwater reservoir effect

International audienceA dataset of 256 AMS radiocarbon dates on human skeletal remains from middle Holocene cemeteries inthe Cis-Baikal region, Siberia, and associated carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values are analyzed fornew insights about culture history and processes of culture change. First, based on the typological criteriaall dated human burials are assigned to mortuary traditions and typochronological unitseLate Mesolithic,Early Neolithic, Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Next, all dates are corrected for the FreshwaterReservoir Effect (FRE) according to the regression equations developed using paired radiocarbon dates onhuman and terrestrial faunal remains from the same graves and examined for chronological trends usinga Bayesian approach. While the entire corrected culture historical sequence is younger by roughly 200e400 years relative to the previous model the shift of the specific period boundaries is not systematicdue to the varying proportion of aquatic food in the diets of the relevant groups. Examination of thedataset subdivided into smaller spatio-temporal units provides additional insights. During the EarlyNeolithic, in the Angara and Southwest Baikal micro-regions there is a chronological trend towardincreased reliance on aquatic food. During the Early Bronze Age in the Little Sea micro-region, thereappears to be a trend toward increased reliance on the Baikal seal. This shift, however, can also beinterpreted as increasing migration over time of new groups from the Upper Lena. The sample from theEarly Neolithic Shamanka II cemetery in Southwest Baikal shows two non-abutting phases of use eachdisplaying a trend toward greater consumption of aquatic foods. These findings provide new chronologicalframework for the study of other cultural changes affecting middle Holocene hunteregatherers inthe region. The results may also allow better correlation with other sequences, cultural and environmental,that are not affected by the FRE