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A body size approach to understanding Holocene seal hunting at Lake Baikal in Siberia

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Abstract

Baikal seals (Pusa sibirica) are a unique freshwater pinniped that inhabits Lake Baikal in the interior of Eastern Siberia. These seals were critical resources for human groups living along the lake through at least the Holocene. This study develops osteometric methods for assessing Baikal seal body size, including body mass and nose-tail length. This was accomplished through the analysis of biometric and osteometric data for 354 modern Baikal seals. The resulting methods can be expediently used to estimate seal body mass and length. Using these methods, we explore seal use at Sagan-Zaba II, a habitation site on Lake Baikal with deposits spanning much of the past 9000 years. These analyses reveal a general preference for smaller-bodied seals, particularly during the Middle Holocene, and a paucity of larger individuals in the assemblage. Previous ageing of seal remains from Sagan-Zaba II based on incremental structures in seal canines suggested a very similar pattern of seal use. These methods provide useful insights on seal use that complement those already developed for estimating seal age and season of death.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

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Funding

Funding for this research was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grants #412–2005-1004 and the state assignment of the Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry SB RAS (project # 0284–2021-0003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Tory Building 13-15 HM, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H4, Canada

    Robert J. Losey & Andrzej W. Weber

  2. Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Saskatchewan, 55 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B1, Canada

    Robert J. Losey, Tatiana Nomokonova & Alexis Hunter

  3. Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1a Favorskoko Street, Irkutsk, 664033, Russian Federation

    Mikhail V. Pastukhov

  4. Scientific Research Center “Baikal Region”, Irkutsk State University, K. Marx St. 1, Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation

    Aleksei G. Novikov, Olga I. Goriunova & Andrzej W. Weber

  5. Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Ministère de La Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France

    Andrzej W. Weber

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  1. Robert J. Losey
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  2. Tatiana Nomokonova
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  3. Mikhail V. Pastukhov
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  6. Olga I. Goriunova
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Contributions

R.L., T.N., M.P., and A.H. wrote the manuscript. A.N., O.G., and A.W. provided data for the manuscript. A.W. provided funding for the research. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Robert J. Losey.

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Losey, R.J., Nomokonova, T., Pastukhov, M.V. et al. A body size approach to understanding Holocene seal hunting at Lake Baikal in Siberia. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 15, 49 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01753-0

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