NEW DATA ON THE QUATERNARY ENVIRONMENTS OF THE CRIMEAN MOUNTAINS

Pollen, lithology and mammals were studied in new excavations: the Emine-Bair-Khosar karstic cave, located in a meadow on the mountain plateau and the Scythian settlement of Ak-Kaya in mesophytic steppe in the mountain foothills. The large dataset of surface pollen samples was used in the reconstructions.

A cave which was a fossil trap has yielded several thousand bones of vertebrates (Ridush et al., 2013). Multiple climatic changes during the Holocene, Late Glacial and Pleniglacial were proved in a former study (Gerasimenko et al., 2014). Environments are now also shown for the Last Interglacial (first studied in the Crimean Mountains) and the beginning of the Middle Pleniglacial (≥46 and 48.5 ka BP]). The interglacial is evident from the maximum spread of Quercetum mixtum and then of Carpinus. During the Holocene, woodland never occupied such large areas on the plateau. Bones of Panthera pardus were found in these layers. During the Middle Pleniglacial stadial, cold steppe, with Asteraceae (mostly Scorzonera) and xeric herbs, existed. Meadow and south-boreal forest (with Tilia) spread during the interstadial. Cervus elaphus dominated among the ungulates, but Bison priscus, Saiga tatarica, Equus ferus latipes and E. hydruntinus occurred. Martes and Mustela were the dominant carnivores, but Felis and Vulpes occurred. Among the small mammals, open-country forms dominated, but the occurrence of Apodemus indicates the existence of forest.

At Ak-Kaya, the study of a new section had completed earlier results (Gerasimenko et al., 2013). Wet forest-steppe existed before the end of the IV cent. BC, when the settlement appeared. During the III cent. BC, shrubland and grassland spread. Cereals, segetal, ruderal and pasture weeds appeared through human activities. Cirsium  thrived each time there were strong fires. At the threshold between the III and II cent. BC, there was an increase in aridity, indicated by xerophytization of the steppe, though tnen was the maximum of cereal cultivation. During II and I cent. BC, dry Artemisia-Poaceae steppe spread and cereal cultivation became limited. The settlement regarded as the north Black Sea capital of the Scythians (Zaytsev et al., 2010), came to its end with the progressive increase in aridity combined with multiple fires.