nscArchaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of EurasiaАрхеология, этнография и антропология Евразии1563-0110IAET SB RAS10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.1.003-015nsc-2394Research ArticlePALEOENVIRONMENT. THE STONE AGEПАЛЕОЭКОЛОГИЯ. КАМЕННЫЙ ВЕКA Climatostratigraphy of Pleistocene Deposits in the East Chamber of Denisova CaveBolikhovskayaN. S.

Professor, Leading Researcher, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Vorobyevy Gory, Moscow, 119992

nbolikh@geogr.msu.ruhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1388-2308ShunkovM. V.

Chief Researcher, Department Head, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Akademika Lavrentieva pr. 17, Novosibirsk, 630090

shunkov77@gmail.comLomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussian FederationInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of SciencesRussian Federation202604042026541315Copyright © Bolikhovskaya N.S., Shunkov M.V., 20262026Bolikhovskaya N.S., Shunkov M.V.Bolikhovskaya N.S., Shunkov M.V.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/2394

We present a detailed climatostratigraphic subdivision of Pleistocene deposits in the East Chamber of Denisova Cave, northwestern Altai. On the basis of the taphonomic and morphological analysis of pollen from those deposits, over 140 taxa of higher plants were identified. A comparative analysis of modern tree and shrub vegetation in the Upper Anuy valley and that reconstructed from remains in the East Chamber reveals a much greater diversity of Pleistocene formations. Environmental changes around Denisova Cave over the past 300 thousand years are assessed. Boundaries and paleogeographic characteristics of certain stages are specified, climatic and phytocenotic successions of warm and cold intervals are revealed, and specific features of periglacial flora and vegetation are described. On the basis of changes in the qualitative and quantitative composition of pollen spectra from lithological units 17.1–9, 32 zones are described, including three groups with spectra typical of relatively warm periods such as the Tobol, Shirta, and Kazantsevo interglacials of Western Siberia. The pollen zone relating to the Karga interstadial includes five spectra of an interstadial type and one also typical of interglacials, with the predominance of oak, lime, ash, alder, and hazel. Four groups of pollen zones, represented by periglacial spectra, indicate cold stages, specifically the Samara, Taz, Yermakovo, and Sartan.

Denisova CavePleistocene depositspollen analysisgeochronologyclimatostratigraphypaleogeographic reconstructionsGeoarchaeological research and collection of palynological samples in Denisova Cave were supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Grant No. 24-18-00069, https://rscf.ru/project/24-18-00069. The study was carried out by N.S. Bolikhovskaya under the federal research themes of the Faculty of Geography of the Lomonosov Moscow State University: “Global Climate Changes and Environmental Evolution of Northern Eurasia and Arctic Seas in the Quaternary: Methods, Paleoreconstructions, and Long-Term Forecast” and “Conditions and Mechanisms of Natural and Anthropogenic Transformation of Relief in the Meso-Cenozoic”. The authors express their deep gratitude to M.B. Kozlikin for assistance in collecting samples and preparing illustrative material.ReferencesArkhipov S.A., Volkova V.S. 1994 Geologicheskaya istoriya, landshafty i klimaty pleistotsena Zapadnoy Sibiri. 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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.