Late Neolithic burials at the Tuakhane IX cemetery (Lake Baikal)

The paper is dedicated to the materials from the Late Neolithic graves excavated at the Tuahane IX cemetery in 2019 and 2020 by the Russian-Canadian expedition from the Irkutsk State University. The cemetery is located on the cape of the same name on the northwestern coast of the Little Sea part of Lake Baikal. The paper presents results of comprehensive examination of seven graves. The typical characteristics of the burial practice include: surface and intra-grave structures made of stones, the extended supine position of the deceased with the head pointing northwest, the use of sheets of birch bark to cover the body, and the use of fire inside burial pits. Single interments are dominant but in one case (Grave 21) two burials of mature men were recorded. All burials were accompanied by at least some grave goods. The burials of males associated with richer assemblages both in terms of quantity and morphological variation. Male assemblages included lithic arrowheads, leaf-shaped biface knives, and adzes as well as fishing tools (harpoon, lithic fish lure) and antler bow stiffeners. Grave 6 with female burial contained household items. All graves contained fragments of round-bottomed clay vessels decorated with dotted ornament. Poor preservation and fragmentation of human skeletons made it difficult to determine the sex and age of the six burials accurately. The female burial in Grave 6 displayed a pathological alteration of the bone structures of the maxillary sinus. Analysis of burial practices and typology of accompanying grave goods demonstrated that both present parallels to the previously examined mortuary assemblages of the Late Neolithic Serovo mortuary tradition in the Olkhon micro-region. Corrected for the freshwater reservoir effect AMS dates (n = X) generated of bone samples from these skeletons range from 5991 to 4870 cal. BP.