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Small Vertebrates from the Pleistocene Sediments of the East Chamber of Denisova Cave, Northwestern Altai Mountains

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Abstract

The composition of small vertebrate remains found in the Pleistocene deposits of the East Chamber of Denisova Cave indicates that throughout the history of sedimentation, biotopes in the vicinity of the cave remained highly mosaic. Woodlands alternated with areas covered by meadow and steppe vegetation. Climate fluctuations led to changes in the ratio of areas occupied by different natural complexes, but there was no fundamental restructuring of the landscape and plant associations. It is shown that changes in the composition of fossil assemblages at various levels correlate with climate dynamics reflected by the stages of the Marine isotope scale.

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Funding

The work was supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (projects no. 18-09-40100 and no. 20-29-01011) and the Program of Fundamental Research of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences “Evolution of the organic world. The role and influence of planetary processes”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    A. K. Agadzhanyan

  2. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia

    M. V. Shun’kov & M. B. Kozlikin

Authors
  1. A. K. Agadzhanyan
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  2. M. V. Shun’kov
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  3. M. B. Kozlikin
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Correspondence to A. K. Agadzhanyan, M. V. Shun’kov or M. B. Kozlikin.

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Translated by D. Ponomarenko

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Agadzhanyan, A.K., Shun’kov, M.V. & Kozlikin, M.B. Small Vertebrates from the Pleistocene Sediments of the East Chamber of Denisova Cave, Northwestern Altai Mountains. Paleontol. J. 55, 331–342 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030121030035

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