Geochronology of the Igetei Multilayered Site (Lower – Upper Paleolithic, Cis-Baikal)
https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2026-25-5-21-34
Abstract
Purpose. The study consists of results of a detailed geochronological analysis of the multilayered Igetei reference site in the Cis-Baikal region, which make it possible to characterize and clarify the age of the Lower and Middle Paleolithic complexes recorded in the section. Results. The Igetei is represented by a complex structure of heterogeneous formations of slope (coluvial and mudflow) sediments and subaerial loess-soil sequence with 8 pedogenesis horizons, including modern soil, and 7 cultural layers. It contains a continuous sequence of Middle (MIS 6) and Upper Pleistocene (MIS 5 – MIS 2) – Holocene (MIS 1) deposits, dated by 14C and IR-OSL methods, which began to form 155 ka BP. In the Middle Pleistocene part of the section, a pedocomplex of five buried soils has been identified, recording the early stages of the last Pleistocene interglacial, and two cultural horizons aged 140–135 ka BP. In the Upper Pleistocene part, cultural horizons were established in all chronostratigraphic units, starting from MIS 5e (125–115 ka BP) to MIS 2 (29–11.7 ka BP), as well as in the Holocene. Conclusion. The Igetei reference section is the only one in Baikal region in which cultural horizons of the Middle Pleistocene age have been identified and dated. New geochronometric data indicate the need to revise the regional climatostratigraphic scheme and update it.
Keywords
Lower – Upper Paleolithic,
chronostratigraphy,
MIS 6–5,
IR-OSL dating,
Igetei multilayered site,
Baikal region
Supporting agencies: This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant no. 25-27-00151, and in accordance with state assignments of the A. P. Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry SB RAS (project no. 0284-2026-0007) and Irkutsk State University (project no. FZZE-2026-0005 “Archaeology of Baikal Siberia: Continuity and Diversity of Ancient Cultures in Chronometry and Chronology of Events, in Technologies and Life Support Strategies”)
About the Authors
A. A. Shchetnikov
Institute of the Earth’s Crust of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexandr A. Shchetnikov, Candidate of Sciences (Geology and Mineralogy)
N. E. Berdnikova
Irkutsk State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Natalia E. Berdnikova
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Review
For citations:
Shchetnikov A.A., Berdnikova N.E. Geochronology of the Igetei Multilayered Site (Lower – Upper Paleolithic, Cis-Baikal). Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology. 2026;25(5):21-34. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2026-25-5-21-34
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