Non-Ceramic Site of Shamanka 8 on the Southern Coast of Baikal Lake

Abstract

Purpose. The southern coast of lake Baikal is a territory known in Siberian archaeology for its Kitoi cemeteries. Besides burials of the Shaman capes there are some Neolithic and Bronze age complexes at Circum–Baikal railway. In 2012 it the first non-ceramic site was discovered in South Baikal, which was named Shamanka 8. This paper presents the assemblage of this complex and discusses its chronological and cultural features. Results . The Shamanka 8 site is located on the top of the third hill of the Shaman cape. The cultural layer lies under the Holocene Optimum sediments. The site stratigraphic structure is characterized by compression. There is no bone fragments and ceramic. For lithic knapping, mainly local raw material (quartz) were used. The quartz assemblage has such features as poor formal standardization, high degree of flake fragmentation, cores with the orientation of fracture plane relative to the longitudinal axis, bipolar reduction. All of these specifics are explained by uneven fracture characteristics and bad workability of quartz, as well as its breakage patterns. Some artifacts, including single non-quartz tool, suggest that there may be a connection between the Shamanka 8 site and the industries of the Final Paleolithic sites in the Northern Baikal region and the Irkutsk region. Quartz small knife (?), carinated end-scraper and tubular core have analogies in the 2nd cultural layer of the Kurla II site, dated by 13.5 uncal kya. Similarly dated quartz components of Nirikan I and flint tool-kit of Verkholenskaya Gora I include other cultural link types. Conclusion . The similarity in the morphology of some tools with Final Paleolithic counterparts and stratigraphic position of finds allow us to assume the Final Sartan age of the Shamanka 8 site and dates it to the Bølling – Allerød warming. However, in the absence of direct radiocarbon dating, an Early Holocene/Early Neolithic attribution of the site is also possible. Further studies may help resolve this issue.