New Radiocarbon Dates and a Review of the Chronology of Prehistoric Populations from the Minusinsk Basin, Southern Siberia, Russia

Abstract

The results are presented of a new program of radiocarbon dating undertaken on 88 human skeletons. The individuals derived from Eneolithic to Early Iron Age sites—Afanasievo, Okunevo, Andronovo (Fedorovo), Karasuk, and Tagar cultures—in the Minusinsk Basin of Southern Siberia. All the new dates have been acquired from human bone, which is in contrast to some of the previous dates for this region obtained from wood and thus possibly unreliable due to old-wood effects or re-use of the timber. The new data are compared with the existing14C chronology for the region, thereby enabling a clearer understanding to be gained concerning the chronology of these cultures and their place within the prehistory of the Eurasian steppes.