Climate amelioration, abrupt vegetation recovery, and the dispersal of
            <i>Homo sapiens</i>
            in Baikal Siberia

Shichi, Koji; Goebel, Ted; Izuho, Masami; Kashiwaya, Kenji

doi:10.1126/sciadv.adi0189

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…Alongside softwood prevalence, this would have supported the expansion of fire into wider areas. The observed increase in wildfire activity in the late LIG was facilitated by natural processes and not by humans, which likely arrived in the Lena river valley only during the last glacial (Shichi et al, 2023;Weber et al, 2011).…”

Section: Last Interglacial Vegetation Composition and Wildfire Activitymentioning

confidence: 88%

“…5 D) may reflect either increasing natural wildfire prevalence or, possibly, an increasing anthropogenic component. Human populations have been well-established in the Baikal region since the last glacial (Weber et al, 2011;Shichi et al, 2023), with archaeological evidence (e.g., petroglyphs at Shishkino in the Lena valley) pointing to large river valleys, like that of the Angara and Lena, as main migration routes (Kılınç et al, 2021;Tolstoy, 1958;White et al, 2008). Although our Holocene record might be influenced by human activity, we caution that our dataset lacks the temporal resolution to identify anthropogenic impacts on fire occurrence.…”

Section: Last Interglacial Vegetation Composition and Wildfire Activitymentioning

confidence: 95%

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Reconstruction of Holocene and Last Interglacial vegetation dynamics and wildfire activity in southern Siberia

Margerum,

Homann,

Umbo

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Abstract. Wildfires are a rapidly increasing threat to boreal forests. While our understanding of the drivers behind wildfires and their environmental impact is growing, it is mostly limited to the observational period. Here we focus on the boreal forests of southern Siberia, and exploit a U-Th dated stalagmite from Botovskaya cave (55.2994° N, 105.4445° E), located in the upper Lena region of southern Siberia, to document wildfire activity and vegetation dynamics during parts of two warm periods; the last interglacial (124.1 – 118.8 ka BP) and the Holocene (10 – 0 ka BP). Our record is based on levoglucosan (Lev), a biomarker sensitive to biomass burning, and on lignin oxidation products (LOPs) that discriminate between open and closed forest and hard- or softwood vegetation. In addition, we used carbon stable isotope ratios (δ13C) to evaluate soil respiration and local infiltration changes. While the δ13C record reflects a dominant control of the host rock, the Lev and LOP time series show fire pattern and vegetation type differences between the last interglacial and the Holocene. Our LOP data suggest that during the last interglacial, the region around Botovskaya cave was characterised by open forest, which by ca. 121.5 ka BP underwent a transition from fire-resistant hardwood to fire-prone softwood. The Lev record indicates that fire activity was high and increased towards the end of last interglacial just before 119 ka BP. In contrast, the Holocene was characterised by a closed-forest environment with mixed hard- and softwood vegetation. Holocene fire activity varied but at a much lower level than during the last interglacial. We attribute the changes in wildfire activity during the intervals of interest to the interplay between vegetation and climate. The open forests of the last interglacial were more likely to ignite than their closed Holocene equivalents, and their flammability was aided by warmer and drier summers and a stronger seasonal temperature contrast compared to the Holocene. Our comparison of the last two interglacial intervals suggests that with increasing global temperatures the boreal forest of southern Siberia becomes progressively more vulnerable to higher wildfire activity.

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Section: Last Interglacial Vegetation Composition and Wildfire Activitymentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Last Interglacial Vegetation Composition and Wildfire Activitymentioning

confidence: 95%

Reconstruction of Holocene and Last Interglacial vegetation dynamics and wildfire activity in southern Siberia

Margerum,

Homann,

Umbo

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The Initial Upper Paleolithic from Tolbor-16, Mongolia: Characteristics of the Lithic Assemblage and Their Evolutionary Implications

Zwyns,

Tsedendorj,

Paine

et al. 2024

J Paleo Arch

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According to fossil evidence, the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) refers to archaeological assemblages associated with the early dispersal of Homo sapiens across Eurasia. These assemblages are often described as exhibiting a combination of Middle and Upper Paleolithic typo-technological features or, more broadly, as a technology in progression from the former to the latter. Genetic evidence indicates that as members of our species moved across Europe and Asia, they encountered Neanderthal, Denisovan, and possibly other local populations. At the Eurasian scale, the IUP shows considerable variation, but to what extent this corresponds to a relatively unified cultural package strictly associated with our species, or a suite of unrelated technologies reflecting the complex dynamics of a global population turnover, remains unclear. Like most archaeological assemblages, however, the IUP illustrates a combination of adaptive and normative behaviors, along with some stochastic variation. Here, we investigate what drives typo-technological variation within an IUP assemblage to identify traits relevant for larger scale inter-regional comparisons. Specifically, we describe a lithic assemblage dated to ca. 45 ka cal BP from the site of Tolbor-16 in northern Mongolia. We identify three defining aspects of the IUP at the site, namely variation in core shape and size, patterns of blade core reduction, and the presence of Middle Paleolithic typo-technological features. Our goal is to clarify the influence of dynamic reduction processes on assemblage composition and, within the variation observed, to identify typo-technological features that are relevant for inter-regional comparisons and scenarios of population dispersal.

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How and why is Homo sapiens so successful?

Dennell,

Hurcombe

2024

Quaternary Environments and Humans

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Climate amelioration, abrupt vegetation recovery, and the dispersal of Homo sapiens in Baikal Siberia

Cited by 5 publications

References 84 publications

Reconstruction of Holocene and Last Interglacial vegetation dynamics and wildfire activity in southern Siberia

Reconstruction of Holocene and Last Interglacial vegetation dynamics and wildfire activity in southern Siberia

The Initial Upper Paleolithic from Tolbor-16, Mongolia: Characteristics of the Lithic Assemblage and Their Evolutionary Implications

How and why is Homo sapiens so successful?

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