Iron Age of Cis-Olkhon Region in the 1st Millennium AD (Based on Materials from Sagan-Zaba 2 Site)

For the first time in the Baikal region, at the multilayered site Sagan-Zaba 2 (the western coast of Lake Baikal), it was possible to distinguish several layers of different periods of the Iron Age (upper 3–1 cultural layers) in clear stratigraphic conditions. The criteria for identifying the cultural complexes were their stratigraphic position, morpho-typological features of the inventory, and a comparative analysis with the materials of burial and memorial objects of the studied epoch. Particular attention is paid to the issues of chronometry based on a series of AMS radiocarbon dates. Based on interdisciplinary research, the age of the upper layer 3 (with Yelga pottery type) was determined in the range of 1980–1530 cal BP (1st –4th centuries AD). We can clarify the dating of this complex to the 1st century AD, considering the find of a fragment of Chinese copper coin Dàquán wǔshí (in use in China from 9 to 14 AD), that probably was transferred from this layer to the overlying one. Judging by radiocarbon dating, there are no obvious chronological differences between layer 2 (1180– 940 cal BP) and layer 1 (1240–960 cal BP). Nevertheless, given the presence in the materials of layer 2, along with pottery decorated with an arched ornament and a horseshoe-shaped stamp, vessels of the Cherenkhyn pottery type, it is possible to expand the dating of this complex and define it as the period of the 5th–10th centuries AD. The complex of layer 1 (only with pottery with an arched ornament and a horseshoe-shaped stamp) is attributed to the 8th–10th centuries AD. Planigraphic analysis suggests that the sites had a limited range of activities and were used for a relatively short time. The complex use of natural resources throughout the Iron Age is noted. The economic structure of the population of the Olkhon region in the 1st millennium AD was based on cattle breeding, hunting for wild animals and, to a lesser extent, on fishing. The predominance of seal bones in the Sagan-Zaba 2 suggests a specialized nature of the sites aimed at the prey of this animal. As a result of studies carried out at the Sagan-Zaba 2 site, it became possible to characterize the cultural complexes of different periods of the Cis-Olkhon region during the Iron Age not only by the burial and ritual complexes, but also by the materials of the settlements

Archaeology · Art · Chronology · Geography · Iron Age · Pottery · Radiocarbon dating · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Paleontology

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