This program deals with hunter-gatherer cultural change and continuity in the Middle Holocene of the Cis-Baikal, Siberia. From about 9000 to 3000 BP, the Baikal area was successively inhabited by two major groups-the Kitoi, who date to the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic, and the Serovo-Glazkovo, who date from the Middle through Late Neolithic to Bronze Age. A distinct feature is a discontinuity separating the groups. Eleven papers highlight the interdisciplinary and international nature of the project and an important introduction to Russian perspectives.

Presents comprehensive archaeological data from fieldwork at Khuzhir-Nuge XIV. Mortuary sites have provided the primary data that inform a number of research modules designed by the project. Of the several gravesites dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age located and excavated in the Little Sea of the Lake Baikal coast, Khuzhir-Nuge XIV is by far the largest. This monograph is dedicated to a descriptive account of the excavated archaeological features and artifacts collected, as well as several analytical papers on grave architecture and mortuary protocols.

The Bronze Age cemetery of Khuzhir-Nuge XIV (KN XIV) is located on the west coast of the Little Sea region of Lake Baikal, near the southern end of Ol'Khon Island and about 3 km southwest of the mouth of the Sarma River. Six seasons of excavation at the site produced archaeological data on 79 graves, including the remains of 89 individuals. The cemetery yields--particularly the archaeological and osteological materials -- have been subjected to a number of analyses. This volume is dedicated to a descriptive account of the entire human osteological collection acquired from the KN XIV graves. The explicit focus is on three main aspects: the condition of the human remains, demographic profile and health indicators, and the effects of fi re on human osteological remains. This information provides the basis for all other studies that have been or will be carried out on this skeletal sample.