Jade Artifacts from Bronze Age Cemeteries in the Cis-Olkhon Area, the Western Coast of Lake Baikal

Jade Artifacts from Bronze Age Cemeteries in the Cis-Olkhon Area,
the Western Coast of Lake Baikal

DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.4.033-041

O.I. Goriunova and A.G. Novikov
Irkutsk State University, K. Marksa 1, Irkutsk, 664003, Russia Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

This study describes all 150 known jade items from ten Early Bronze Age cemeteries on the western coast of Lake Baikal. Although the outcrops of jade are located far away, the material was widely used. Green jade was used for making tools, whereas ornaments were made of white or light-colored jade. The choice was motivated by durability, color, translucency, and rarity. Binocular microscopy was used to reconstruct manufacturing technologies. Most artifacts belong to the Glazkovo culture. Calibrated radiocarbon dates of burials with jade items, corrected for the reservoir effect, fall within the 4597-3726 BP interval. Results of the mineralogical analysis indicate two remote sources: the Eastern Sayan Mountains and the Middle Vitim Highland.

Keywords: Jade, Lake Baikal, Cis-Olkhon, burials, Bronze Age, tools, ornaments, radiocarbon dating