Baikal Neolithic

The Neolithic period of the Lake Baikal region in eastern Siberia. Stratified sites in the area show a long, gradual move from the Palaeolithic to Neolithic stage, starting in the 4th millennium BC. The Postglacial culture was not "true" Neolithic in that it farmed but Neolithic in the sense of using pottery. It was actually a Mongoloid hunting-and-fishing culture (except in southern Siberia around the Aral Sea) with a microlithic flint industry with polished-stone blade tools together with antler bone and ivory artifacts; pointed- or round-based pottery and the bow and arrow. Points and scrapers made on flakes of Mousterian aspect and pebble tools showing a survival of the ancient chopper-chopping tool tradition of eastern Asia have also been found. There was a woodworking and quartzite industry and some cattle breeding. The first bronzes of the region are related to the Shang period of northern China and the earliest Ordos bronzes. The area covers the mountainous regions from Lake Baikal to the Pacific Ocean and the taiga (coniferous forest) and tundra of northern Siberia. A first stage is name for the site Isakovo and is known only from a small number of burials in cemeteries. The succeeding Serovo stage is also known mainly from burials with the addition of the compound bow backed with bone plates. The third phase named Kitoi has burials with red ochre and composite fish hooks possibly indicate more fishing. The succeeding Glazkovo phase of the 2nd millennium BC saw the beginnings of metal-using but generally showed continuity in artifact and burial types. Some remains of semi-subterranean dwellings with centrally located hearths occur together with female statuettes in bone.

The Neolithic of the Lake Baikal region in eastern Siberia is relatively well known (the term Neolithic being used here to refer to communities that used pottery, rather than those that practised farming). The first stage is called after the site of Isakovo and is known only from a small number of burials in cemeteries mostly of later date. There is no dating evidence, but guess dates put this stage in the 4th millennium bc. The succeeding Serovo stage, guess-dated to the following millennium, is also known mainly from burials; the most important new artefact of this period is the compound bow, backed with bone plates. The third phase, named Kitoi, has burials with red ochre; composite fish hooks appear, which may indicate greater emphasis on fishing. All three stages seems to have been based on hunting and fishing. The succeeding Glazkovo phase of the 2nd millennium bc saw the beginnings of metal-using, but generally showed continuity in artefact and burial types.

Neolithic period of the Lake Baikal region in eastern Siberia. Stratified sites in the area show a long, gradual move from the Paleolithic to Neolithic stage, starting in the 4th millennium bc . The postglacial culture was not “true” Neolithic in that it farmed, but was Neolithic in the sense of using pottery. It was actually a Mongoloid hunting and fishing culture (except in southern Siberia around the Aral Sea) with a microlithic flint industry with polished stone blade tools together with antler, bone, and ivory artifacts, pointed- or round-based pottery, and the bow and arrow. Points and scrapers made from flakes of Mousterian flakes and pebble tools displaying the ancient chopping tool tradition of eastern Asia have also been found. There was a woodworking and quartzite industry and some cattle breeding. The first bronzes of the region are related to the Shang period of northern China and the earliest Ordos bronzes. The area covers the mountainous regions from Lake Baikal to the Pacific Ocean and the taiga (coniferous forest) and tundra of northern Siberia. A first stage is named for the site Isakovo and is known only from a small number of burials in cemeteries. The succeeding Serovo stage is also known mainly from burials with the addition of the compound bow backed with bone plates. The third phase, named Kitoi, has burials with red ocher and composite fish hooks that possibly indicate more fishing. The succeeding Glazkovo phase of the 2nd millennium bc saw the beginnings of metal-using, but generally showed continuity in artifact and burial types. Some remains of semi-subterranean dwellings with centrally located hearths occur, together with female statuettes in bone.