Human impact on environment in the Neolithic-Bronze Age in Southern Primorye (far eastern Russia).

In the Early Neolithic (7th to 5th millennia BC) the principal components of the palaeoe conomy in Southern Primorye were hunting, fishing and gathering. Human impact on the natural environment was restricted to burning and trampling of the vegetation near archaeological sites. Hunting, fishing and gathering continued in the Late Neolithic (4th to 3rd millennia BC) and the Bronze Age (end of 4th to the 3rd millennia BC), but cattle-breeding and agriculture appeared. The first reliable find of cultivated millet (Setaria italica L.) dates to 4150±60 BP (RUL-177); 2925-2550 cal. BC. The increased human impact on the environment is reflected in pollen spectra from cultural layers; the main effects post-date 4000-4500 BP (3230-2550 cal. BC). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]