In south-central Siberia archaeological evidence suggests an acceleration of cultural development and an increase in the density of nomadic populations around 850 BC. We hypothesize a relationship with an abrupt climatic shift towards increased humidity caused by a decline of solar activity. Areas that initially may have been hostile semi-deserts changed into attractive steppe landscapes with a high biomass production and high carrying capacity. Newly available steppe areas could be invaded by herbivores, making them attractive for nomadic tribes. The central Asian horse-riding Scythian culture expanded, and an increased population density was a stimulus for westward migration towards southeastern Europe.
The Kamyshovoye Lake sedimentary record in the southeastern Baltic Sea region was studied to reconstruct climatic fluctuations and the abiotic responses to them during the Lateglacial and Early Holocene. New results from chironomid, isotopic, palaeomagnetic and geochemical data analyses were correlated with earlier evidence of lithological and palynological changes in the Kamyshovoye Lake record. The section of the record that was studied covered the interval between 15 200 and 6500 cal. a BP. Palaeoclimatic reconstructions showed that during the Younger Dryas there was a two‐step decrease in the mean July temperature. The temperature dropped by 3 °C in the period from ̃12 650 to 12 300 cal. a BP, and then it dropped by another 0.5 °C to a minimum of 11.5 °C at 11 900 cal. a BP. During the Younger Dryas–Holocene transition, a temperature increase of 3 °C can be seen over a period of several centuries, inferred from the chironomid data. Further, the temperature curve showed that significant fluctuations continued until ̃9500 cal. a BP. During the coolings, the average July temperature dropped to values that were typical for the Younger Dryas, while values characteristic for the Allerød were only reached at around 9700 cal. a BP. After 9500 cal. a BP, a more stable, gradual increase in temperature was recorded. The short‐term Early Holocene climatic oscillations are clearly traced in the Kamyshovoye sequence, although the responses of the natural components are sometimes asynchronous. In the case of the Kamyshovoye study, the geochemical data seem to be a sensitive indicator of the climatic and environmental changes despite the absence of an evident response to the Holocene onset at ̃11 700 cal. a BP. Considerable changes in the geochemical pattern are recorded later, at ̃11 500 cal. a BP, coinciding with noticeable changes in the development of vegetation. The results obtained in this study contribute to a deeper understanding of how global climatic trends are manifested on a local scale.
ABSTRACT.Steppe and forest-steppe areas of the Povolzhye area (Caucasus and central Asia) bear much interest for the Neolithic in connection with the productive economy of the region at the time. Recent data have allowed correction of the region's chronology. A number of 14 C dates denote the existence of the Neolithic in this territory as early as the 5th to 6th millennium BP. However, some questions are still under debate and require further data to clarify.
The region of NW Russia connecting with the Baltic Sea presents a dynamic ecological system that was sensitive to environmental changes during the Holocene. Certain factors affected environmental changes in the region during the Holocene: deglaciation processes, that finally terminated about 9 cal ka BP; eustatic sea-level changes; and tectonic movements, which are basically considered in the region as isostatic uplift processes. Contextual remains of ancient human occupation sites can be the only evidence of surface stabilization in monotonous sediments, such as aquatic and subaquatic deposits. Prehistoric settlements also mark ancient shorelines. The latter is of great importance for studying the history of water oscillations and coastal-line displacements on the territory of NW Russia. The transgressive–regressive stages of the Baltic Sea (at c. 10.15 cal ka BP, the Ancylus transgression; at c. 7.6–7.0 cal ka BP, the Littorina transgression) have an impact on the positions of prehistorical sites. The complex investigations of the Stone Age archaeological settlements on the Karelian Isthmus and in the Dvina–Lovat’ basin, and their altitudes below sea level, allowed us to reconstruct palaeoenvironmental changes during the Holocene, the chronology of cultural–historical processes and the adaptation strategy of ancient people to environmental conditions in this territory.
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