High altitude hunting, climate change, and pastoral resilience in eastern Eurasia

Abstract

The transition from hunting to herding transformed the cold, arid steppes of Mongolia and Eastern Eurasia into a key social and economic center of the ancient world, but a fragmentary archaeological record limits our understanding of the subsistence base for early pastoral societies in this key region. Organic material preserved in high mountain ice provides rare snapshots into the use of alpine and high altitude zones, which played a central role in the emergence of East Asian pastoralism. Here, we present the results of the first archaeological survey of melting ice margins in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia, revealing a near-continuous record of more than 3500 years of human activity. Osteology, radiocarbon dating, and collagen fingerprinting analysis of wooden projectiles, animal bone, and other artifacts indicate that big-game hunting and exploitation of alpine ice played a significant role during the emergence of mobile pastoralism in the Altai, and remained a core element of pastoral adaptation into the modern era. Extensive ice melting and loss of wildlife in the study area over recent decades, driven by a warming climate, poaching, and poorly regulated hunting, presents an urgent threat to the future viability of herding lifeways and the archaeological record of hunting in montane zones.

Late Holocene Climate Changes in the Altai Region Based on a First High‐Resolution Biomarker Isotope Record From Lake Khar Nuur

“…Only recently, Taylor et al. (2021) found evidence that early pastoralists were present in the surroundings of our study area at the northern slopes of the Tsengel Khairkhan Massif at the end of the 4th and beginning of the 3rd millennium BP. Therefore, we suggest that pronounced warm and wet conditions between ∼3.5 and 2.8 cal.…”

“…At the same time, horses became important for mobility, diet and ritual assemblages at ∼3.2 ka BP, which might have resulted in a widespread population dispersal in the region (Taylor et al, 2020). Only recently, Taylor et al (2021) found evidence that early pastoralists were present in the surroundings of our study area at the northern slopes of the Tsengel Khairkhan Massif at the end of the 4th and beginning of the 3rd millennium BP. Therefore, we suggest that pronounced warm and wet conditions between ∼3.5 and 2.8 cal.…”

Central Mongolian lake sediments reveal new insights on climate change and equestrian empires in the Eastern Steppes

“…Mongolia is already experiencing a 2 °C temperature increase since 1963 77 , and will likely exceed TSI-induced temperature fluctuations in the near-future. Previous studies have shown a rapid loss of lakes 59 , melting mountain ice 78 , persistent soil moisture deficits 79 , 80 , and an increased frequency of droughts 79 , 81 , 82 and heavy rainstorms 15 , 83 , 84 . Increased rainfall may not counteract the impact of rising temperatures.…”

Climate Change and Equestrian Empires in the Eastern Steppes: New Insights from a High-resolution Lake Core in Central Mongolia

“…Sustained humid conditions likely enabled the expansion of fertile grasslands and thus, increased ecosystem carrying capacity 14,17,54 -allowing to raise larger numbers of livestock and horses for both meat and dairy production 9,11 . Particularly in the dry and seasonal steppe environment, domestic livestock herds experience "economies of scale" -wherein smaller herds are more vulnerable to loss from disease, predation, or weather, and larger herds are more resilient 55 .…”

“…3000 BCE, when early herders appear to have migrated to the region from western Asia [5][6][7] . Around 1200 BCE, domestic horses were used rst for transport by mobile herders of the Deer Stone-Khirgsuur complex (DSK) and other Bronze Age culture groups [8][9][10][11] . The emergence of horse culture changed mobility of the steppe cultures, leading to the rise of important nomadic polities like the Xiongnu (ca.…”