Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 34 (2) 2008

Annotation:  New Insights into the Archaeological Record at Chikhen Agui Rockshelter (Mongolia) A Paleolithic Bracelet from Denisova Cave Principal Excavation Techniques under Permafrost Conditions (Based on Zhokhov and Yana Sites, Northe Late Pleistocene Bison (Bison p. priscus Bojanis, 1827) from the Southeastern Part of Western Siberi Infant Burials in Dwellings at Chicha-1, in the Baraba Forest-Steppe: Results of DNA Analysis Burial Assemblages of Boisman-2 – a Stratifi ed Site in Southern Primorye The Burial Construction of Noin Ula Mound 20, Mongolia Ornamental Traditions of the Lower Amur Neolithic Horseman Image on an Ostrich Eggshell Fragment Gamma-shaped Artifacts from Western and Southern Siberia, the Urals, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia Destiny in the Traditional Beliefs of the Aginsk Buryats A Historical and Ethnological Analysis of Intellectual Play in the Japanese Art of Incense Blending: Gypsy Easter The Paleodemography of Western Siberia in the Middle and Late Bronze Age The Origins of the Koreans: Evidence of Physical Anthropology   

Late Pleistocene Bison (Bison p. priscus Bojanis, 1827) from the Southeastern Part of Western Siberia

S.K. Vasiliev.

In the Late Pleistocene faunal complexes of the southeastern part of Western Siberia, the primeval bison (Bison priscus priscus) was among the best represented megafauna species. Beginning in the late Kazantsevo period (ca 100 – 90 ka BP), the body size diminished considerably and reached its minimum during the fi nal Karga Interglacial (ca 30 ka BP). The Sartan cool period caused an increase in the size of Bison p. priscus. However, in contrast to bison in Europe and Eastern Siberia, the body and cranium size of bison in the southern part of Western Siberia did not change signifi cantly during the Late Pleistocene. This conservative feature can be explained by the relative stability of environmental and climatic conditions as well as by the existence of a steppe and forest steppe ecozone with rich forage resources and thin snow cover, creating favorable conditions for the subsistence of this species.