Archaeologists have conducted a study of an Early Neolithic burial near Lake Baikal, revealing a miniature stone fish among a collection of grave goods dating from approximately 7,600 years ago.
The burial was discovered at Khuzhir-Nuge-IX in the Olkhon region of Siberia and belongs to the Khotoruk group of sites associated with the Kitoi archaeological culture.
The Kitoi were hunter-fisher communities that inhabited the Lake Baikal region between approximately 7,000 and 8,000 years ago, developing subsistence strategies closely connected with the lake and surrounding river systems.
At Khuzhir-Nuge-IX, archaeologists uncovered an oval grave in which the deceased had been placed on their right side with the knees bent. Red ochre was applied as part of the burial rite, while the grave was covered with a protective arrangement of large stones.
The skeletal remains were poorly preserved, preventing researchers from determining the biological sex or age of the individual. Radiocarbon dating of teeth from the burial produced a date of approximately 7,600 years ago.
Placed alongside the deceased was a large bone implement and 12 stone objects, including a miniature fish carved from grey shale.
The figurine measures 4.85 centimetres in length, 1.3 centimetres in height and 0.6 centimetres in thickness. Despite its small size, the object was carefully worked to represent a fish, with a defined back, carved mouth and small features representing the eyes.
A deep circular groove extends around the centre of the object, which researchers suggest was used for attaching the stone fish to a line or securing additional fishing components.
Comparable objects from the Lake Baikal region have been interpreted as artificial lures used to attract predatory fish, either when fishing from boats or through holes cut into the ice.
However, the context of the Khuzhir-Nuge-IX example is particularly significant because the object was deliberately deposited as part of a funerary assemblage.
Kitoi burials frequently contain tools and other objects associated with subsistence activities, although their placement with the dead does not necessarily indicate that they functioned solely as everyday equipment.
The inclusion of the stone fish alongside other grave goods may have reflected aspects of the deceased’s identity or activities, or formed part of wider Kitoi funerary traditions. In the absence of further evidence, researchers cannot determine whether the object also carried a symbolic or ritual meaning.
Previous stone fish lures discovered in the Olkhon region date to approximately 7,400 years ago.
The Khuzhir-Nuge-IX example predates these finds by around 150 to 200 years, providing the earliest evidence currently identified in the region for the manufacture and use of this type of artificial fishing lure.
Its discovery within a formal burial also demonstrates that fishing-related objects were incorporated into Kitoi mortuary practices by approximately 7,600 years ago, further highlighting the close relationship between Early Neolithic communities and the aquatic resources of Lake Baikal.
The study has been published in the journal Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology of Eurasia.
Sources : doi:10.17746/1563-0102.2026.54.3.036-042
