Bazaliiski V.I., Losey R.J., Pezhemsky D.V., Garvie-Lok S., Germonpre M., Leonard J.A.

Key words: Mesolithic, ritual burial, wolf.
The article gives a detailed analysis of an unusual burial located in the Cis-Baikal region of Siberia on the bank of the river Angara in the Irkut estuary. It included an intentionally buried wolf, a human skull and scattered human bones as well as various implements and a patch of ochre. The grave analysis is based on osteometric work, DNA analysis, stable isotope analysis, 14С-dating of wolf and human bones, craniometric characteristic of the human skull, morphological and typological characteristics of the implements. A detailed archaeological description of the burial is given. The research has shown that the wolf bones in grave Locomotiv R-8 belonged to a male animal that died in July or August at the age of 9±1. The cause of death and the subspecies of the animal have not been identified. The human skull is that of a Far Eastern mongoloid. There is a chronological gap between the datings for the human and the wolf bones. The grave can be dated to the Late Mesolithic period and is a ritual burial.