The Impact of Holocene Climate on the Development of Prehistoric Societies in Southern Siberia

Abstract

Geochemical data of 10Be, 14C, 18O obtained from natural archives (tree rings, ice sheets, varves, corals) indicates that the climate during the Holocene was not stable. The cosmogenic isotope fluctuations are bound by the periodicity on solar activity and climatic changes. The sharpest and most abrupt climatic deteriorations are registered in the Early and Middle Holocene at 8200, 5800, 5400, 4300, and 2800 cal BP. These events are characterized by cold conditions. The impact of climate on human communities in steppe depressions in southern Siberia (Nazarovo, Minusinsk, and Turano-Uyuk) was noticeable. The differences of local landscape-climatic conditions in these depressions were connected with global climatic changes to determine the processes of occupation, development, and migrations of ancient societies during the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. The chronology of archaeological cultures was also correlated with the local and global climatic changes during the Early and Middle Holocene in southern Siberia. Here, we generalize the literature data about Holocene climatic changes and archaeological cultures in the southern Siberia region.