From adaptation to niche construction: Weather as a winter site selection factor in northern Mongolia, the Quebec Lower North Shore, and the southern Urals.

• We analyze the settlement locations in terms of their exposure to winter winds. • The assumption is that people choose to live in calm, protected spots. • The aim is to provide comparative cases to apply to other ancient groups. • The test societies represent a spectrum of strategies from the flexible adaptation to niche construction examples. The paper analyzes the settlement locations of three archaeological societies of the Northern Hemisphere above 48°N in terms of their exposure to winter winds. To explain settlement decision-making, we apply computational models to three archaeological societies to test whether residence location and architecture were chosen concerning the best heat preservation strategy. We conclude that the test societies represent a spectrum of strategies from the flexible adaptation to the combination of adaptation and niche construction. The flexible adaptation implied seasonal movements from the most to the least wind-exposed locations, while the niche construction combined with choosing the least-exposed location helped maintain the warmth while maintaining access to vital resources. This conclusion provides a possibility to explain the formation of social complexity in early complex societies due to cooperation rather than as a result of social conflict or aggrandizing behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]