Climate of the Eurasian steppe during the last millennium and its influence on the history of the nomadic peoples
A scientific review
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24231744 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pavel D Manakhov (0000-0002-1192-006X, Lomonosov Moscow State University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Issue | 2(73) |
| Pages | 112 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Vestnik arheologii, antropologii i ètnografii (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1811-7465 • E-ISSN: 2071-0437 |
| Publisher | Tyumen Scientific Center of the SB RAS (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.20874/2071-0437-2026-73-2-10 |
| OpenAlex | W7163665166 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
The following review concerns the research of the Eurasian steppe climate history during the last 1000 years and its relationship with the history of the nomadic peoples inhabiting this territory. The results of the paleo-climatological studies published in the last 20 years are examined and compared. The recent reconstructions of the climate of the western and eastern parts of the Eurasian steppe (divided for the purposes of this review along the Ural mountains) during the Medieval Warm Period (10th–13th cc.) and Little Ice Age (15th–19th cc.) are described. The influ-ence of climatic condition on the political history if the nomadic peoples is discussed using the example of the 13th cen-tury Mongolian conquests. The comparison of recent reconstructions allows us to conclude that they generally corre-spond to the results of previous research and design a picture of temperature anomalies and humid and arid zones distribution in the Eurasian steppe and adjacent territories during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age. Author expresses doubts on the validity of linking the history of the climate change directly to the political history of the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppe due to the complex relationship between climate and economic and social processes.
last millennium climate · Little ice age · Medieval Warm Period · Mongol conquests · nomadic peoples · paleoclimate reconstruction · Ural Mountains · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Tree-ring climate responses
Climate variability in the Aral Sea basin (Central Asia) during the late Holocene based on vegetation changes
Hydroclimatic changes in China and surroundings during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age
Holocene moisture evolution in arid central Asia and its out-of-phase relationship with Asian monsoon history
Global Signatures and Dynamical Origins of the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly
Beyond Boom and Bust
The recent reconstructions of the climatic conditions of Europe and East Asia during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age
Bioclimatic change of the past 2500 years within the Balkhash Basin, eastern Kazakhstan, Central Asia
Late Holocene climatic and environmental changes in arid central Asia
An early ‘Little Ice Age’ brackish water invasion along the south coast of the Caspian Sea (sediment of Langarud wetland) and its wider impacts on environment and people
A 2540-year record of moisture variations derived from lacustrine sediment (Sasikul Lake) on the Pamir Plateau
Climate Variability and Medieval Nomadic Empires
| Highly cited | No |
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