Abstract

The main objective of the long-term research project on Middle Holocene hunter-gatherers in the Lake Baikal area has been a comprehensive examination of the Kitoi, Serovo and Glazkovo cultures. Much of the comparison of the developmental trajectories of both cultures' adaptive strategies has been based on the examination of collections that refer to both groups. Since quality materials associated with the later times are lacking, we have initiated excavations of a late Serovo-Glazkovo cemetery at Khuzhir-Nuge XIV on Lake Baikal. Due to its size (c. 90 individuals anticipated), the site is expected to provide enough data to faciliate effective examination of culture dynamics. Although one more season will be needed to complete fieldwork at this locality, the c. 70 graves excavated to date already provided a wealth of information on grave architecture, body treatment, grave goods, human taphonomic processes, paleodemography and health, and unique data on site structure and use. The substantial amount of variability that characterizes each of these aspects of the mortuary protocol is the focus of this paper.