THE DYNAMICS OF BIORESOURCES AND ACTIVITY OF THE PALEOLITHIC MAN, USING THE EXAMPLE OF NORTHWESTERN ALTAI MOUNTAINS

Abstract

Long-term studies of living and fossil mammals of the Altai Mountains (= Gornyi Altai) revealed the pattern of the dynamics of small mammal communities in this region in the second half of the Pleistocene, in the Holocene, and the present time. The fossil fauna of the Anui River valley differs significantly from the modern one. The Pleistocene fauna of Paleolithic sites reflects a considerably more diverse biotopic situation and high landscape diversity compared with the present time. This diversity depended on a stronger role in the communities of steppe and highland elements. The influence of Paleolithic man on Late Pleistocene populations of ungulates and large predators is detected. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc. 2006.