Paleoenvironment of the Fore-Baikal region in the Karginian interstadial: Results of the interdisciplinary studies of the Bol'shoj Naryn site.

Abstract: As a result of integrated researches on two Paleolithic sites of the Fore-Baikal region – Bol'shoj Naryn and Gerasimov's, the first representative mammal fauna of the Karginian interstadial been dated and characterized. That provided the basis for reconstructing the paleoenvironments in the Fore-Baikal region during MIS 3. The species composition of the faunal remains recovered from the Bol'shoj Naryn site in the course of five-year excavations since 2003 was examined in details. Since 2010, the cultural layer was studied layer-by-layer (at 5 cm intervals), all the artifacts and faunal remains (of mollusks, birds, and mammals) being described. In addition, the lower, middle and upper parts of cultural layer were sampled for palynological analysis. The geological and paleontological data thus obtained suggest a moderately cold and humid climate in the Fore-Baikal region during MIS 3, with predominant open landscapes of steppes and relatively limited areas under taiga forest, tundra, and wetlands. There are abundant data on significant environmental changes in the Fore-Baikal region during MIS 3 previously obtained by investigators, such as pollen spectra recovered from the Lake Kotokel bottom sediments or faunal remains (including small mammals) excavated from the Bol'shoj Naryn site. The present study, however, differs from the earlier ones in that it included multidisciplinary analysis of a large number of faunal and floral remains recovered from the same section and characterizing the same region. The data thus obtained from the Bol'shoj Naryn site are extremely important for better understanding of the Late Pleistocene environments of the Fore-Baikal region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]