Abstract Northern Asia (here, the Russian Federation east of the Urals) played a key role in the spread of anatomically modern humans (AMH) across the Eurasian continent during the Upper Palaeolithic (UP). This time interval witnessed the climatically harshest and most variable part of the last glacial epoch when AMH spread to all continents, with the exception of ice-covered Antarctica, thus raising questions about how humans and environments interacted. Our review of available proxy records shows that the study region was largely dominated by productive steppe and tundra plant communities, which promoted a diverse small-to mega-scale fauna throughout the UP. While this rich fauna was an ideal food resource for AMH populations, its possible influence on the growth of woody plants through grazing is less well resolved. Another non-climatic factor that may have impacted on the spread of woody taxa are human activities (e.g. setting fires to facilitate hunting). Evidence that small populations of woody taxa were distributed in climatically favourable habitats comes from plant macroremains from sediment sequences and archaeological sites and aDNA data. Contrary to the long-standing view of a generally colder-than-present last glacial climate, these proxy records reveal evidence that summers were warmer than today by several degrees Celsius, providing additional advantages for human activities. Another benefit for large herbivores, and thus human subsistence, were the generally low winter precipitation levels (similar to those of the modern steppe regions of Mongolia), which sustained year-round grazing grounds. These factors apparently outweighed the harsh colder-than-present winter conditions and promoted habitation of AMH in Northern Asia even during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ca. 30‒18 cal kyr BP. While our understanding of qualitative climate trends, mainly based on fossil pollen records, has substantially improved, quantification of climate parameters is still a challenging task. Due to the limited applicability of pollen for the Northern Asian last glacial interval, plant macroremains, chironomids and ostracods may provide suitable alternative proxies.

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解剖学上的现代人类在北亚传播期间的环境 50-10 cal kyr BP：我们知道什么，我们想知道什么？

摘要 在旧石器时代晚期 (UP) 期间，北亚（这里是乌拉尔以东的俄罗斯联邦）在解剖学上的现代人 (AMH) 跨越欧亚大陆的传播中发挥了关键作用。这段时间见证了上次冰期中气候最恶劣、变化最大的部分，当时 AMH 传播到除冰雪覆盖的南极洲以外的所有大陆，从而引发了关于人类与环境如何相互作用的问题。我们对可用代理记录的审查表明，研究区域主要由生产性草原和苔原植物群落主导，这在整个 UP 中促进了各种小型到大型动物群。虽然这种丰富的动物群是 AMH 种群的理想食物资源，但其通过放牧对木本植物生长的可能影响尚未得到很好的解决。另一个可能影响木本分类群传播的非气候因素是人类活动（例如放火以促进狩猎）。少量木本分类群分布在气候有利的栖息地的证据来自沉积物序列和考古遗址的植物宏观遗骸以及 aDNA 数据。与长期以来普遍认为末次冰期气候比现在更冷的观点相反，这些代理记录揭示了夏季比今天温暖几摄氏度的证据，为人类活动提供了额外的优势。大型食草动物以及人类生存的另一个好处是冬季降水量普遍较低（类似于蒙古现代草原地区的降水量），这使得全年的放牧地得以维持。这些因素显然超过了严酷的冬季条件，即使在末次盛冰期 (LGM) 期间，也促进了 AMH 在北亚的居住。30-18 cal kyr BP。虽然我们对主要基于化石花粉记录的定性气候趋势的理解已大大提高，但气候参数的量化仍然是一项具有挑战性的任务。由于花粉对北亚末次冰期的适用性有限，植物宏存物、摇蚊和介形动物可能提供合适的替代代理。气候参数的量化仍然是一项具有挑战性的任务。由于花粉对北亚末次冰期的适用性有限，植物宏存物、摇蚊和介形动物可能提供合适的替代代理。气候参数的量化仍然是一项具有挑战性的任务。由于花粉对北亚末次冰期的适用性有限，植物宏存物、摇蚊和介形动物可能提供合适的替代代理。