Impact of Climatic Stresses and Volcanism on the Tendencies of the Cultural Process in the North Caucasus during the Late Pleistocene

Multidisciplinary investigations into Paleolithic sites make it possible to identify all the main stadials in the Late Pleistocene history of the North Caucasus, including Heinrich stadials 6 (ca. 63–60 kyr) and 5 (ca. 48–47 kyr) for the Middle Paleolithic. Most of the coolings correlate with volcanic events. The results of geochemical and microprobe research into the deposits and volcanic glasses from cave sites in the northwest and northern central Caucasus are published for the first time. On some multilayer sites, changes in lithic industries by the end of the Middle Paleolithic are revealed. The results of a genetic study of a Neanderthal individual from layer 2 of Mezmaiskaya Cave and several later Neanderthals from Europe showed that, by the end of the Middle Paleolithic, a large-scale genetic turnover of the Neanderthal population was likely to occur. The global cooling of Heinrich 4 was a frontier where the Middle Paleolithic industries vanished and evidence of the penetration of the Upper Paleolithic industries associated with Homo sapiens first emerged in the northwest Caucasus. These industries appear as a completely established cultural tradition. The migration of modern humans to the Caucasus from the Near East is confirmed by the results of studying obsidian transport. The Last Glacial Maximum is the main climatic event during the Upper Paleolithic era. Paleoclimate events of this period had a great impact on the human settlement of the Caucasus. After the Last Glacial Maximum, the Epi-Paleolithic culture of the Caucasus shows numerous innovations in technology. One important result of the interdisciplinary research of the Late Pleistocene sites in the North Caucasus is understanding the impact made by climatic stresses and coolings associated with intensification of volcanic activity on the ecological niches of the ancient population.