Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 54 (2) 2026   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.2.027-036

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Seasonal Cycles and Behavioral Strategies
of the Paleolithic Dwellers in Denisova Cave

M.V. Shunkov¹ and A.K. Agadjanian²

¹Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

²Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya 123, Moscow, 117868, Russia

A model of seasonal cycles in the subsistence strategy of Middle and Upper Pleistocene humans in and around Denisova Cave, the Anuy River valley, northwestern Altai, is proposed. On the basis of the year-round monitoring of temperature changes in the cave and around it, certain regularities of circadian and seasonal fluctuations are evaluated. Findings suggest that the climatic situation in winter was more comfortable in the cave than in the Anuy valley, whereas in summer the opposite was true. Faunal data in the cave indicate competition between Paleolithic humans and large carnivores. The main rivals at the early stage were bears, which used the karst cave for their dens in winter. As human activities intensified, hyenas, who needed the cave for breeding in spring and summer, became the principal competitors (judging by the abundance of bones and coprolites), and their relationship with humans varied (alternating or seasonal) over many years. Findings suggest that Paleolithic humans lived in the cave mostly in autumn and winter, shifting to nearby open-air camps in spring and summer. The use of camps on stepped slopes in the extensions of the valley provided much better conditions for hunting.

Keywords: Altai, Denisova Cave, Anuy valley, Pleistocene, temperature regime, human paleoecology