Boreas最新文献

{"title":"Reassessing the role of the Urals in Palaeolithic Cave-Art Research—Comments on ‘Cave Palaeolithic of the Ural Mountains—a review’","authors":"Aitor Ruiz-Redondo","doi":"10.1111/bor.70055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70055","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Upper Palaeolithic (UP) sites in the Ural Mountains are key to understanding both the origins and the spread of symbolism and long-distance social networks. The discovery of paintings in Kapova (= Shul'gan-Tash) Cave by the zoologist A. V. Ryumin in 1959 (Bader <span>1965</span>) marked the first identification of UP rock art outside south-western Europe. This record was subsequently expanded with the discoveries of paintings in Ignatievskaya (Petrin <span>1997</span>) and Serpievskaya II (Shirokov & Petrin <span>2013</span>) caves.</p><p>Strikingly, the first discovery beyond the well-established core region of Spain, France and Italy did not occur in its margins (for instance, Gruta de Escoural in Portugal was not found until 1963; see Santos <span>1964</span>), but thousands of kilometres away, on the eastern edge of Europe. Moreover, the artworks exhibited features unknown in contemporary Magdalenian rock art sites of the Franco-Cantabrian region (Ruiz-Redondo <span>2016</span>). Does this territory represent an independent centre for the invention of UP cave-art? Or does it reflect long-distance social networks linking it to regions in southern Europe? We have addressed these questions in recent publications (Ruiz-Redondo <i>et al</i>. <span>2020</span>; Ruiz-Redondo <span>2024</span>), but the available evidence remains insufficient for a definitive answer. Based on the graphic record and radiometric dates from Kapova, we tentatively favour the second hypothesis (Ruiz-Redondo <i>et al</i>. <span>2020</span>: p. 985). In any case, the existence of a UP cave-art nucleus in the Urals renders the region exceptionally significant for the study of Eurasian UP societies.</p><p>In this light, the recent publication of a paper by J. Chlachula (<span>2026</span>) offering an overview of UP cave sites in the Ural Mountains is to be welcomed. However, it fails to present adequately the two key sites—Kapova and Ignatievskaya—thereby misrepresenting their fundamental role in rock art research. In this short comment, a few issues concerning these two sites are addressed, with the aim of situating them according to their significance for the study of global UP cave-art.</p><p>The discussion of Kapova Cave is notably brief (~350 words), particularly given that it is, beyond question, the most important site included in the article, as the author himself acknowledges: ‘Shulgan-Tash (Kapova) Cave is a world-famous cave…’ (Chlachula <span>2026</span>). As a consequence of this brevity, this description contains major omissions that impede an accurate understanding of the site's significance.</p><p>In terms of chronology, the author overlooks the extensive U-series dating undertaken on flowstones overlying several artworks. These analyses provide minimum ages of <i>c</i>. 14.5 cal. ka BP for some paintings (Dublyansky <i>et al</i>. <span>2018</span>), a result fully consistent with the <i>c</i>. 19–16 cal. ka BP radiocarbon chronology derived from the ca","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"55 2","pages":"600-603"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70055","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Species composition and distribution of gallinaceous birds (Aves, Galliformes) in the south of eastern Europe during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene—a review","authors":"Leonid Gorobets,&nbsp;Tyt Volynskyi,&nbsp;Mykola Knysh,&nbsp;Oleksandr Kovalchuk","doi":"10.1111/bor.70038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70038","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study investigates the species composition and distribution of gallinaceous birds (Galliformes) in the south of eastern Europe, specifically within the territory of present-day Ukraine, during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The research is based on the comprehensive revision of skeletal remains found at archaeological sites. The findings reveal that seven galliform species were present in the region during these periods: hazel grouse, willow ptarmigan, rock ptarmigan, capercaillie, black grouse, grey partridge and common quail. The study highlights the crucial role of the Crimean Mountains as a refugium during the last glaciation, where the greatest diversity of gallinaceous birds was observed. The research also addresses the changes in the distribution and abundance of these birds over time, noting the loss of some species and the appearance of others. The findings underscore the importance of understanding past environmental changes and their impact on bird populations, which can inform current conservation efforts. The study concludes that while some species have shown high ecological plasticity and adaptability, others have experienced significant range contractions requiring targeted conservation measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"55 2","pages":"308-326"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70038","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Baltic Sea basin during the Last Interglacial (Eemian, Mikulino stages)—a review","authors":"Philip L. Gibbard,&nbsp;Karen L. Knudsen","doi":"10.1111/bor.70040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70040","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This review presents an investigation of the evolution of the Baltic Sea basin and its connections through the Eemian Stage interglacial, based upon sequences of marine and associated deposits from the White Sea to the southwest Baltic, via the Karelian channel. Pollen analyses and foraminiferal and ostracod analyses are combined to provide the evolution of relative sea-level change, supported by dinoflagellate cyst and diatom records. An independent chronology is established by correlation of the pollen record with that from the Bispingen laminated lake deposits in north Germany. Additional published sites from the area are included in a wider reconstruction of events. The evidence from five selected areas is assessed, with detailed evaluation of two critical time slices, respectively, in the <i>Corylus</i> pollen zone (E4) and that during the <i>Carpinus</i>-<i>Picea</i> zones (E5–E6). Ostracod analyses indicate that freshwater lakes initially existed in the basin prior to the marine inundation. This was followed by an early marine transgression. The timing of the first marine conditions varies across the basin. For example, in the southeast Baltic they were established in pollen zones E2–E3, and in the southwest Baltic they occurred at the base of E3, with fully marine conditions established in zone E4, continuing into E5. In the White Sea area marine conditions occurred in zone E2. In most areas, regression of the sea in the Baltic basin began late in zone E5–E6 and was occasionally followed by freshwater deposition in zone E7. Compared to the Holocene, the salinity of the basin was markedly higher during the period of maximum sea level (zones E4–E5) as shown by the foraminifera and other marine fossils. The Eemian transgression occurred through the Kiel Canal area in addition to the Danish straits-Kattegat seaway, indicating that a connection to the North Sea was present in the area during the interglacial sea-level maximum highstand. Moreover, the nature, duration and regional impact of the link to the White Sea via Karelia are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"55 2","pages":"282-307"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70040","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Palaeolandscape reconstruction of a shallow coastal embayment in Kattegat, Denmark—influence of sea-level changes during the latest Pleistocene and Holocene","authors":"Katrine Juul Andresen,&nbsp;Lars Ole Boldreel,&nbsp;Ole Bennike,&nbsp;Christof Pearce,&nbsp;Mikkel Fruergaard,&nbsp;Verner Brandbyge Ernstsen,&nbsp;Aart Kroon,&nbsp;Nicole Rita Posth,&nbsp;Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz","doi":"10.1111/bor.70047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70047","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Shallow coastal embayments are typical features of former glacial landscapes in parts of Scandinavia and North America. An increasing concern over the impact of accelerating sea-level rise, calls for a better understanding of how coasts respond to sea-level changes. Studying the response of coastal environments, such as submerged embayments, to sea-level changes in the past, can provide important insights into the response of present-day coastlines to future sea-level rise. Kalø Bay is an embayment situated in south-western Kattegat, north of the Aarhus Bay, Denmark. This shallow embayment was influenced by sea-level changes governed by global sea-level rise and glacio-isostatic rebound from the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the latest Pleistocene and Holocene. In this study, we analyse the palaeolandscape in the bay to identify the depositional succession preserved in the bay and understand the dominant geological processes occurring after the last glaciation in response to sea-level changes. Four major depositional units reflect the variable environment in the bay as it changed from a glacial to proglacial setting through coastal and lagoonal infill stages, and gradually developed into a shallow marine environment as the area was inundated approximately 9–6 cal. ka BP. During a relative sea-level fall in the Mid- and Late Holocene, the deposits in the bay reversed to more coastal facies. Our study highlights the sensitivity of coastal embayments and their dynamic response to sea-level changes. Our results show how the bay changed from a wave-dominated setting in the Early Holocene to a current-dominated setting in the Late Holocene, and how the former glacial landscape and coastal deposits were affected differently by the sea-level rise and associated erosion and redeposition. These results are important for understanding the impacts of future accelerating sea-level rise.</p>","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"55 2","pages":"560-584"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70047","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stratigraphic evidence for modern-like glacier extents in south-central Alaska within the last glacial period (MIS 3)","authors":"Bruno Belotti,&nbsp;Elizabeth J. Cassel,&nbsp;Timothy C. Bartholomaus,&nbsp;Michael G. Loso,&nbsp;Michael S. Christoffersen,&nbsp;John W. Holt","doi":"10.1111/bor.70043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70043","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The last (Wisconsinan) glacial period was punctuated in North America by two glacial maxima, known as the Early and Late Wisconsinan glaciations. In Alaska, these maxima and their subsequent retreats have been the object of dating efforts to reconstruct local climatic events and compare them to global trends. Little is known, however, about the period of milder climate and reduced glacier extents that separated the Early and Late Wisconsinan maxima, likely spanning a significant portion of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3). Here we provide a detailed sedimentological analysis for an area at the northern margin of the Chitina River Valley in the Copper River Basin, Alaska. There, a buried proglacial sequence composed of glaciofluvial stream deposits, glaciolacustrine muds, and ice-proximal subaqueous fan deposits reveals ice-free conditions at ∼39 ka. Our palaeodepositional reconstructions show that the local glacier, a tributary to one of the largest ancient south-central Alaskan ice streams, had retreated to near its modern terminus position during early to mid MIS 3, indicative of a stadial–interstadial transition with modern-like glacier termini. We attribute differences in facies stacking patterns to drastic fluctuations in local base level, driven by the formation and drainage of a regional ice-dammed lake (Palaeolake Atna). Our results offer new constraints on Late-Pleistocene glacial fluctuations in south-central Alaska, including new MIS 3 glacial minima, and provide insights into the relationships between climatic fluctuations, ice extents, and associated landscape evolution in the Copper River Basin.</p>","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"55 2","pages":"476-502"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70043","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early Holocene jökulhlaup chronology and deglaciation dynamics in central Iceland","authors":"Greta H. Wells,&nbsp;Þorsteinn Sæmundsson,&nbsp;Edwin R. C. Baynes,&nbsp;Timothy Beach,&nbsp;Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach","doi":"10.1111/bor.70028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70028","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Glacial lake outburst floods (jökulhlaups) have occurred throughout the Quaternary in glaciated regions worldwide. Reconstructing flood chronology yields insight into deglaciation processes, environmental change and the role of extreme events in landscape evolution. As the Icelandic Ice Sheet (IIS) retreated across Iceland in the Early Holocene, large-scale jökulhlaups drained from ice-dammed glacial lakes. Extensive geomorphological evidence exists along the modern-day course of the Hvítá River in southwestern Iceland for floods from Glacial Lake Kjölur in the central highlands. Existing palaeoenvironmental records indicate flood drainage during the final phase of IIS retreat, but chronology is poorly constrained. This study reports Chlorine-36 cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages of seven bedrock surfaces along this flood route, marking the first time this method has been used to date Hvítá jökulhlaup evidence. Results yield four clustered ages that indicate flood drainage between 9.2 and 10.0±1.0 ka. When interpreted alongside geomorphological evidence and hypothesized ice sheet dynamics, this suggests either a single flood or multiple floods with decreasing sizes, indicating rapid ice sheet retreat. These results may also suggest that ice persisted in the region up to ~1 ka later than previous records show; however, this could be due to the ~1 ka uncertainty range in exposure ages. This pioneering application of exposure dating of the Hvítá floods yields insight into IIS deglaciation dynamics, flood landscape modification and hydrological response to glacier retreat in a warming climate, serving as a potential analogue to contemporary and future ice sheets worldwide. It also illustrates the complexity and challenge of integrating different types of palaeoenvironmental records to reconstruct landscape evolution and lays a foundation for additional exposure dating of flood and glacial evidence in Iceland.</p>","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"55 2","pages":"340-355"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70028","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Securing the past for the future – why climate proxy archives should be protected","authors":"Tatiana Bebchuk,&nbsp;Ulf Büntgen","doi":"10.1111/bor.70039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70039","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Glaciers, corals, speleothems, peatlands, trees and other natural proxy archives are essential for global climate change research, but their scarcity and fragility are not equally recognised. Here, we introduce a rapidly disappearing source of palaeoclimatic, environmental and archaeological evidence from some 5000 years ago in the Fenland of eastern England to argue for the protection of natural proxy archives. We describe the region's exceptional, yet neglected subfossil wood sources, discuss its multifaceted value for scholarship and society, and outline a prototype for sustainable proxy preservation. Finally, we emphasise the urgency and complexity of conservation strategies that must balance academic, public and economic interests across different spatiotemporal scales.</p>","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"55 1","pages":"272-277"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70039","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146139701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Boreas Reviewers, volume 54","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/bor.70041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70041","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We, the editors, are grateful to all reviewers for their help in processing volume 54 of <i>Boreas</i>.</p><p>Jan A. Piotrowski</p><p>Nicolaj Krog Larsen</p>","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"54 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70041","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145341668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Subglacial processes, deposits and landforms—introduction","authors":"Jan A. Piotrowski,&nbsp;Tracy A. Brennand,&nbsp;Christopher D. Clark,&nbsp;Wojciech Wysota","doi":"10.1111/bor.70037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70037","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The nature of the subglacial interface is instrumental for major glacial processes such as erosion, transport, deposition and formation of various active-ice landforms. Interactions between basal ice and its bed impact the dynamics and stability of glaciers, which is relevant to predicting the future fate of ice sheets. Warm-based glaciers resting on soft, deformable and poorly drainable sediments have a high potential of developing instabilities, potentially leading to surges and ice streaming that may result in significant discharges of ice masses into oceans. Of particular importance here is that the subglacial meltwater not only lubricates the bed but also facilitates sediment deformation and erosion, and—when sufficiently pressurized—may lift the glacier from the bed, initiating its collapse.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Deciphering the processes operating under ice sheets and glaciers has been attempted in both modern and past environments (e.g. Menzies &lt;span&gt;2002&lt;/span&gt;). Investigating present-day systems has the advantage of monitoring the glacial environment in real time, but it is limited by the poor accessibility of the bed, often through ice hundreds of metres thick. Studying the geological record left by past glaciations gives the advantage of direct access to the past ice/bed interface and the deposits and landforms created there, but the palaeoglaciological conditions remain poorly constrained and largely speculative. Ideally, both approaches should be complementary and supported by numerical modelling and analogue experiments to better inform and parameterize the relevant processes. As long as our knowledge of the subglacial environment remains fragmentary, predicting the future of large continental ice sheets is largely uncertain.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This collection of 12 papers presents original research recently conducted in Europe, North America and Antarctica on both past and modern glacial systems and addresses the signatures of subglacial processes preserved in landforms and deposits. It plays into the growing interest of a still poorly explored environment (e.g. Benn &amp; Evans &lt;span&gt;2010&lt;/span&gt;) and hopes to contribute to better illuminating some of its aspects.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Methodological progress in automated mapping and analysing subglacial bedforms is reflected in two articles using Python software. Abrahams &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;. (&lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;) present a new tool utilizing machine learning trained on over 600 000 data points from the Northern Hemisphere to automatically identify streamlined features. Successfully tested on a selected area in the United States, the tool allows rapid delineation of past ice flow directions based on bedform elongation characteristics. This innovative method has already generated scientific interest and debate (Li &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;. &lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;; McKenzie &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;. &lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;), showing its relevance and potential for subglacial research. Another Python-based automated tool to delineate and morphometrically analyse subgl","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"54 4","pages":"484-487"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70037","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145341503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cave Palaeolithic of the Ural Mountains – a review","authors":"Jiri Chlachula","doi":"10.1111/bor.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Ural Mountains are of fundamental importance for studying early human migrations along the geographical limits between Europe and Asia. Geological processes and past climates gave rise to numerous caves, mostly in Palaeozoic carbonate formations. Thirty-two caves, among the ~120 investigated sites (karst overhangs, grottos and large caverns), provided evidence of a Late Pleistocene occupation mostly as temporary habitation places or refuge shelters. Sikiyaz-Tamak 7 Cave demonstrates so far the earliest (&gt;57 300 cal. a BP) occupancy by pre-modern (Neanderthal) people. The initial Upper Palaeolithic is recorded just at one site (Smelovskaya II/4; 49 223–42 137 cal. a BP) with formally indistinct cultural inventories. The later mid-last glacial (MIS 3) occupation (35 000–24 000 years ago) mirrors a progressing cultural development all through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), culminating in the major cave complexes (20 000–16 000 cal. a BP) – Shulgan-Tash, Kul'yurt-Tamak in the Southern Ural, and Medvezhya Cave in the Northern Ural. Spectacular parietal art galleries and utilitarian art objects point to religious practices. A marked increase in the number of occupied cave sites along with casual shelters and campsites suggests a post-LGM demography rise within the mountain taiga and foothill parkland habitats. The final phase of the Ice Age peopling (14 500–12 000 years ago) is less distinct, following a presumed settlement drop ~15 000 years ago. Chronostratigraphical records and palaeoecological proxies stored in the caves' geoarchaeological contexts enable reconstructions of environs and adaptations of the Urals Pleistocene hunter-gatherers.</p>","PeriodicalId":9184,"journal":{"name":"Boreas","volume":"55 1","pages":"4-28"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bor.70014","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146148058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}