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<article article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:lang="en"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">nsc</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="en">Archaeology, Ethnology &amp; Anthropology of Eurasia</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Археология, этнография и антропология Евразии</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn pub-type="ppub">1563-0110</issn><publisher><publisher-name>IAET SB RAS</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.3.028-035</article-id><article-id custom-type="elpub" pub-id-type="custom">nsc-2523</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>PALEOENVIRONMENT. THE STONE AGE</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>ПАЛЕОЭКОЛОГИЯ. КАМЕННЫЙ ВЕК</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>The Structure of Bioresources Exploited by Paleolithic Humans in the Anui River Basin, Altai</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title></trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4652-7580</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Agadjanian</surname><given-names>A. K.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Agadjanian A.K., Professor, Chief Researcher</p><p>Profsoyuznaya 123, Moscow, 117868</p><p>Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">aagadj@paleo.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1388-2308</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Shunkov</surname><given-names>M. V.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Shunkov M.V., Chief Researcher, Department Head</p><p>Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">shunkov77@gmail.com</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5082-3345</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Kozlikin</surname><given-names>M. B.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Kozlikin M.B., Leading Researcher</p><p>Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">kmb777@yandex.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff xml:lang="en" id="aff-1"><institution>Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences;&#13;
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences</institution><country>Russian Federation</country></aff><aff xml:lang="en" id="aff-2"><institution>Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences</institution><country>Russian Federation</country></aff><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2026</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>04</day><month>10</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>54</volume><issue>3</issue><fpage>28</fpage><lpage>35</lpage><permissions><copyright-statement>Copyright &amp;#x00A9; Agadjanian A.K., Shunkov M.V., Kozlikin M.B., 2026</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2026</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Agadjanian A.K., Shunkov M.V., Kozlikin M.B.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Agadjanian A.K., Shunkov M.V., Kozlikin M.B.</copyright-holder><license xml:lang="ru" license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.</license-p></license><license xml:lang="en" license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.</license-p></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/2523">https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/2523</self-uri><abstract><p>Our studies of the relationship between prehistoric humans and their environment included the taphocenotic analysis of large mammal faunas from key Paleolithic sites in the upper Anui River basin, northwestern Altai. Faunal assemblages from the Denisova, Kaminnaya, and Okladnikov caves and the Ust-Karakol open-air site were examined. Their stratigraphic sequences span a wide chronological interval from 300 to 10 ka BP. To assess the structure of animal resources available to prehistoric humans, quantitative ratios of 17 taxa or groups of taxa were analyzed, representing carnivores (Carnivora), proboscideans (Proboscidea), odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla), and artiodactyls (Artiodactyla). The distribution of bones of large herbivorous mammals suggests that the primary bioresources for the earliest humans in the Anui basin were Siberian ibex, argali, bison, and horses. Other preferably hunted mammals were antelopes (dzeren and saiga), as well as deer (red and roe deer). Woolly rhinoceros was hunted less frequently. The main competitors of Paleolithic humans in consuming animal bioresources were large predators (hyena and wolf), and the main rivals in cave shelters were bears and hyenas.</p></abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>Altai</kwd><kwd>Pleistocene</kwd><kwd>Paleolithic</kwd><kwd>taphocoenosis</kwd><kwd>predators</kwd><kwd>herbivores</kwd><kwd>bioresources</kwd><kwd>competition</kwd></kwd-group><funding-group><funding-statement xml:lang="en">The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Project No. 24-18-00069, https://rscf.ru/ project/24-18-00069/.</funding-statement></funding-group></article-meta></front><back><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="cit1"><label>1</label><citation-alternatives><mixed-citation xml:lang="ru">Agadjanian A.K., Shunkov M.V. 2018 Paleoliticheskiy chelovek Denisovoy peshchery i zoogeografiya pleistotsenovykh mlekopitayushchikh Severo-Zapadnogo Altaya. 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