Palaeoenvironmental and hunting activity of the Upper Palaeolithic population in Western Transbaikalia

A case study on the Podzvonkaya Settlement, South Siberia

Bibliographic Data

ID4681932
AuthorsY E Antonova (0000-0001-6941-0305, Buryat Scientific Centre, Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences Ulan‐Ude Russia), Yuliya Antonova (Institute of Physical Materials Science, corresponding author), I Tashak (0000-0003-1891-9915, Institute of Mongolian Buddhist and Tibetan Studies), Vasiliy I Tashak (Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences Ulan‐Ude Russia), Dmitrii V Kobylkin (Sochava Institute of Geography, Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences Irkutsk Russia), Dmitrii Kobylkin (0000-0001-5029-0761, V. B. Sochava Institute of Geography)
Year2020
Volume30
Issue2
Pages131-144
Publication date2020-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.2835
OpenAlexW2982973402
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited19

Paleontological data from Palaeolithic sites in the Transbaikal region are frequently interpreted from the viewpoint of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. This research describes faunal material from one of the largest Initial Upper Palaeolithic settlements in Transbaikalia Podzvonkaya and the general characteristics of ancient human hunting activity there. The archaeological context of the faunal remains (located near hearths and in the kitchen midden) indicates the bones at the site are kitchen waste. The species composition indicates which species Podzvonkaya's inhabitants preferred to hunt. The largest number of remains belongs to horse, argali, bison, and Mongolian gazelle-animals that prefer open steppe and dry-steppe landscapes. The results of a spore-and-pollen analysis of Podzvonkaya deposits reveal the domination of grass flora. The Tamir River valley could have been the habitat of the main target species, and ancient people probably hunted in the territory within the valley and in the valley's vicinity. Intraregional correlation with data on the species composition of the large mammals within other Palaeolithic remains of the Western Transbaikal region supports a conclusion regarding the identity of fauna at the final stage of the late Neopleistocene. Data from sites belonging to the same culture and period reveal identical prey lists, with certain preferences explained by site type (ie, long-term base settlement or short-term hunting camp

Archaeology · Biology · Context (archaeology · Equus · Fauna · Flora (microbiology · Geography · Hearth · Human settlement · Midden · Period (music · Population · Steppe · Taphonomy · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Ecology · Geology · Paleontology

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