A reappraisal of the “East carpathian temperate climate refugium” during the last glacial maximum

Abstract

The concept of “East Carpathian Refugium” is largely based on reports on temperate-climate species from the Late Paleolithic sites of Moldova. The present report proposes new faunistic data from the key Paleolithic sites of Moldova that question the presence of some temperate species in the East Carpathian Region during the Last Glacial Maximum. The revision of archaeozoological material from Cosăuți did not confirm the presence of Capreolus capreolus and Alces alces in this palaeolithic site. Osteological remains previously ascribed to Cervus elaphus, according to new data, belong to Cervus canadensis and Ovibos moschatus.