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Abstract <p>In the period of the last 20 ka, the end of the Last Glaciation and post-glacial Holocene, the high mountain and seismically active southeastern part of Russian Altai experienced considerable transformation from glacial landscapes to modern diverse and mosaic structure, which todays is generally defined by the arid continental environment. This is the area, where deglaciation was accompanied by final draining of the last ice-dammed lakes in intermountain Chuya-Kurai system of basins not later than 16–14 ka ago. It boosted change of geomorphic processes, transformation of the hydrological network and renovation of the local ecosystems. Together with high seismicity and further climate changes, this renovation established an environmental baseline of human occupation in the region since the Late Paleolithic time. Various proxy data demonstrate that rapid ice degradation under abrupt climate warming controlled development of the postglacial landscapes in the region since LGM. The brief cooling in the Younger Dryas can be associated with the Akkem moraine, located 6–7 km from the rapidly shrinking alpine glaciers in the ridges framing the Chuya-Kurai basins. The climate of the region in the first half of the Holocene was much warmer and more humid in comparison with the modern one that caused wide distribution of forest vegetation 300–400 m above the modern forest line, as well as in currently forestless areas. The general trend to cooling in the second half of the Holocene triggered repeated expansions of mountain glaciers in the heads of trough valleys. Glaciers advance during the Historical stage exceeded those during the subsequent Little Ice Age (13th–19th centuries). Climate aridization was the most pronounced during the last two millennia and resulted in an increased differentiation and mosaicking of the landscapes. Climate changes and landscape transformations together with sociopolitical circumstances were major factors that controlled the habitat of nomadic communities and cultures shifting in the region. Together with aridization anthropogenic impact caused deforestation of the eastern part of the Chuya Basin. One of the reasons of intensive tree cut was the widespread development of iron production in the Chuya-Kurai paleometallurgical region in the early Turkic period.</p>

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Landscape and Climate Changes in the SE Altai during the Last 20 Thousand Years in Context of Its Human Occupation

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年6月26日

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  • A. Agatova,
  • Roman Nepop

摘要

Abstract

In the period of the last 20 ka, the end of the Last Glaciation and post-glacial Holocene, the high mountain and seismically active southeastern part of Russian Altai experienced considerable transformation from glacial landscapes to modern diverse and mosaic structure, which todays is generally defined by the arid continental environment. This is the area, where deglaciation was accompanied by final draining of the last ice-dammed lakes in intermountain Chuya-Kurai system of basins not later than 16–14 ka ago. It boosted change of geomorphic processes, transformation of the hydrological network and renovation of the local ecosystems. Together with high seismicity and further climate changes, this renovation established an environmental baseline of human occupation in the region since the Late Paleolithic time. Various proxy data demonstrate that rapid ice degradation under abrupt climate warming controlled development of the postglacial landscapes in the region since LGM. The brief cooling in the Younger Dryas can be associated with the Akkem moraine, located 6–7 km from the rapidly shrinking alpine glaciers in the ridges framing the Chuya-Kurai basins. The climate of the region in the first half of the Holocene was much warmer and more humid in comparison with the modern one that caused wide distribution of forest vegetation 300–400 m above the modern forest line, as well as in currently forestless areas. The general trend to cooling in the second half of the Holocene triggered repeated expansions of mountain glaciers in the heads of trough valleys. Glaciers advance during the Historical stage exceeded those during the subsequent Little Ice Age (13th–19th centuries). Climate aridization was the most pronounced during the last two millennia and resulted in an increased differentiation and mosaicking of the landscapes. Climate changes and landscape transformations together with sociopolitical circumstances were major factors that controlled the habitat of nomadic communities and cultures shifting in the region. Together with aridization anthropogenic impact caused deforestation of the eastern part of the Chuya Basin. One of the reasons of intensive tree cut was the widespread development of iron production in the Chuya-Kurai paleometallurgical region in the early Turkic period.