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

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.