dc.description.abstract
The Baikal Archaeology Project (BAP: https://baikalproject.artsrn.ualberta.ca/) is a long-term, multidisciplinary research initiative that has brought together experts from the fields of archaeology, bioarchaeology, ethnoarchaeology, genetics, bio- and geochemistry, and palaeoecology for over two decades to explore the lifeways of prehistoric hunter-gatherer cultures in Northern Eurasia. The focus of the project is on investigating the cultural diversity, change, stability, and resilience of foraging cultures in response to changing environmental conditions in the Lake Baikal Region (LBR) in southern Siberia and the Lake Onega Region (LOR) in Karelia, eastern Fennoscandia. High-resolution continuous sediment sequences from lakes and peatbogs serve as valuable environmental archives, ideally suited for detailed reconstructions of past human-environment relationships in the respective study areas. This dissertation presents robustly dated, high-resolution palynological records and pollen-based biome reconstructions from both BAP regions, providing detailed insights into the climatic and environmental histories and how they may have influenced the hunter-gatherer cultures studied within the BAP.
A pollen record from a 135-cm-long, radiocarbon-dated sediment core from Lake Kamenistoe (67°30'31.4" N, 34°38'53.3" E) provides important insights into the vegetation and climate dynamics of the central Kola Peninsula over the last ca. 13 ka BP. The results improve existing reconstructions of the retreat of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet at the end of the last glacial period, indicating that the region was already ice-free by 13 ka BP. The palaeoenvironmental record, integrated with existing archaeological data, suggests that the initial spread of early Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups into the region took place no later than 10 ka BP and coincided with the expansion of the boreal forest and a phase of continuous warming. These changes likely prompted the northward migration of reindeer, which were a crucial resource for Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, facilitating the habitation of this region.
The palaeoenvironmental study in the LOR is based on an 885-cm-long sediment core from Razlomnoe Peat (62°27'53" N, 34°26'4" E), composed of continuous deposits from the last ca. 11.8 ka BP. The results of the palynological analysis allowed detailed reconstruction of Lateglacial–Holocene environmental changes and their possible impacts on hunter-gatherer societies in the region. The findings show rapid postglacial afforestation and highlight the sensitivity of the regional vegetation to climatic changes, such as during the 8.2 ka BP and 4.2 ka BP events, which mark the beginning of the Middle and Late Holocene, respectively. The 8.2 ka BP event is characterised by a substantial spread of birch at the expense of pine, indicating markedly cooler winters and an increase in wildfire frequency. These abrupt changes coincide with the peak of use of the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov burial ground (ca. 8250–8000 a BP), suggesting an adaptive response of hunter-gatherer communities to less favourable environmental conditions. The 4.2 ka BP event, often associated with drought in other regions, coincides in the LOR with wetter conditions, which led to the expansion of wetlands and the opening of the landscape.
In a third study, records of pollen and microscopic charcoal particles from sediment cores from Lake Ochaul (54°13’58.4” N, 106°27’53.8” E) in Cis-Baikal and Lake Kotokel (52°47’ N, 108°07’ E) in Trans-Baikal were analysed to reconstruct and compare the vegetation and fire history of the last 32 ka BP in the two regions. In addition to information about the complex relationship between climate, vegetation, and fire activity, these records, in combination with archaeological data, also provide new insights into the activities of hunter-gatherer communities and their impact on the natural environment. Under the cold and dry conditions during the peak (32–18.2 ka BP) of the last glacial period, both records show minimal fire activity, likely due to sparse vegetation cover. The onset of deglaciation around 18.2 ka BP is marked by a gradual spread of woody plants, accompanied by a slight increase in fire activity. Significant differences in the fire records between the two study regions become evident at the end of the Lateglacial. The peak in fire activity in Cis-Baikal is dated to the Early Holocene (9.5–8 ka BP), while in Trans-Baikal, the peak occurred during the Middle Holocene (6–5 ka BP). These differences are likely primarily due to variations in vegetation composition and landscape openness. Charcoal concentrations in both sediment cores show low values during the so-called “cultural hiatus” in the Middle Neolithic (ca. 6660–6060 a BP), suggesting a population decline throughout the LBR. The spread of Late Bronze and Iron Age cultures from 3.5 ka BP onwards is likely related to the recorded increase in fire frequency around Lake Kotokel.
