Zoological Institute RAS, 1 Universitetskaya emb., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia [g_baryshnikov@mail.ru]

Department of Geosciences and Geography, P. O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland

[diana.pushkina@gmail.com]

Abstract. The Bukhtarma cave site in the southern part of Altai Mountains makes it possible to trace faunal and environmental changes at the junction of forest, steppe and arid communities of Siberia and Central Asia. A series of AMS-radiocarbon dates revealed two levels of the bone accumulation: the Late Pleistocene (MIS3) and the Holocene. The Late Pleistocene large mammal fauna is represented by 10 species belonging to the southern version of the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex with predominant tundra-steppe and forest-steppe species (mammoth,

woolly rhinoceros, wild horse, steppe bison, and saiga). The southern Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex also includes representatives of steppes and semi-deserts (cave hyena, kulan, Knobloch’s camel) and forests (Siberian roe deer, red deer). The Holocene mammal fauna consists of 12 species, most of which are forest dwellers (European beaver, brown bear, Asian badger, Siberian roe deer, red deer). A mountain dweller (argali) is also present. The remains of birds belong to 40 taxa, among which semi-aquatic, steppe and forest-steppe species are predominant. Taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses reveal that during the early stages of the formation of the bone accumulation, the Bukhtarma Cave was a den of cave hyenas, which was also visited by small groups of hominins, who left cut marks on the bones of the ungulates they killed (mainly bison). The stone artifacts belong to the Upper Paleolithic.

Keywords: mammals, birds, Late Pleistocene, Holocene, Paleolithic, Altai, Kazakhstan.

Received 04.06.2024, revised 10.06.2024, accepted 12.06.2024

DOI: 10.31600/2658-3925-2024-1-41-76

For citation: Baryshnikov G. F., Panteleyev A. V., Pushkina D. Fauna of the Bukhtarma cave site in Eastern Kazakhstan. Prehistoric Archaeology. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. 2024 (1), 41–76 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.31600/2658-3925-2024-1-41-76

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