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An integrated study of the loess-soil sequence in the coastal exposure near the settlement of Beglitsa (Rostov oblast) allowed us, for the first time, to reconstruct the landscape-climatic changes that occurred in the eastern Azov region over the course of the Late Pleistocene. In the south of the periglacial zone, considerable differences between intensity of the loess accumulation in the Early and Late Valdai Cryochrons were revealed. In the Early Valdai Epoch, which corresponds roughly to the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and MIS 4, loess accumulation occurred after completion of development of the Mezin pedocomplex and before the beginning of the Bryansk stage of soil development, i.e., over more than 20 000 years. In the much shorter Late Valdai Cryochron MIS 2 (10 000-12 000 years), loess accumulation reached 5 m. The data evaluation shows that the loess accumulation rates in the Early Valdai Epoch (~0.07 mm/year) and the Late Valdai Epoch (~0.5 mm/year) differ from each other by an order of magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The choice of adaptation ways depended considerably on social capabilities of prehistoric societies at different stage of anthropogenesis and material culture development. Studies performed on the East European Plain revealed essential features of systems of human adaptations at the Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic and later stages. The migratory type of adaptation was dominant at the Middle Paleolithic and at the beginning of Upper Paleolithic time when early humans were completely dependent on fluctuations of climate and environments. Since the second half of Upper Paleolithic the adaptability of humans increased with development and active use of a number of protective measures; under those conditions, the autochthonous type of adaptation became prevalent that ensured human survival even in extreme conditions. In later epochs a diffusion type made itself felt, which contributed to a relatively fast penetration of productive economy into various landscape systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses pollen data from Central and Eastern Europe and provides insight into the climate and vegetation dynamics throughout the Eemian interglacial (including preceding and succeeding transitional phases). Three sections with high resolution pollen records are presented. Comparison of the data indicates that the range of climatic and environmental changes increased from west to east, whereas the main phases of vegetation development appear to have been similar throughout the latitudinal belt. At the interglacial optimum, the vegetation in both Central and Eastern Europe was essentially homogeneous. An abrupt change marks the Saalian/Eemian boundary (transition from OIS 6 to OIS 5e), where environmental fluctuations were similar to those detected at the transition from the Weichselian to the Holocene (Allerφd and Dryas 3). Transition from the Eemian to the Weichselian was gradual in the western part of the transect, with forest persisting. In the east, fluctuations of climate and vegetation were more dramatic; forest deteriorated and was replaced by cold open landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]