Zooarchaeological Analysis of Avian Skeletal material in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Mortuary Contexts, Cis-Baikal, Siberia

• Author / Creator

  Fleming, Lacey S.

• During the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in Cis-Baikal, Siberia, human groups inhabiting the region interred their deceased with a variety of objects, including modified and unmodified avian skeletal elements. Archaeological excavation of graves in the Shamanka II, Lokomotiv, and Ust’-Ida cemeteries have yielded quantities of these materials. However, they have been addressed infrequently by previous research, and reasons for their inclusion in human mortuary contexts are unclear. This research focuses on contextual relationships between human interments and avian skeletal material, and examines the nature and patterning of bird inclusion in graves. My results indicate birds were procured especially for mortuary practices, and differential patterns of inclusion in graves suggest the gender and age of the deceased determined the avian materials placed in the grave. Further, these practices changed between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, providing additional evidence the region was inhabited by different human groups in these periods.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Cis-Baikal
  • Human mortuary contexts
  • Early Bronze Age
  • Neolithic
  • Birds
  • Baikal Archaeology Project Dissertations & Theses

• Graduation date

  Spring 2013

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R34304

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.