THE EVOLUTION OF THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA AND FLORA AND THE HUMAN OCCUPATION IN WESTERN, CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE DURING THE PLEISTOCENE – HOLOCENE TRANSITION (25 - 8 KYR B.P.)

The period between 25 – 10 kyr B.P., covering the second part of last glaciation and the Pleistocene – Holocene transition, is for many disciplines intriguing. This period is characterized by rapid climatic changes, the extinction of several mammalian species and the expansion of human occupation. The natural formation of the present-day faunal and plant communities took place in a relatively short period. The mammalian communities, for instance, underwent several stages of evolutionary and structural rearrangements from glacial faunas, without any modern analogues, to the typical interglacial zonal fauna associations. The strong climatic fluctuations led to shifts in distribution of many species and to extinction. The biodiversity changed rapidly and dramatically between 25 – 8 kyr B.P.. In order to study the impact of climatic changes on the environment a group of researchers from Russia and The Netherlands started a joint, large-scale investigation of the ecological changes in Western, Central and Eastern Europe trough time during the period following isotope stage 3 i.e. the later part of the Pleistocene and the Pleistocene – Holocene transition. The main goal of the research project is the interaction between flora and fauna and the impact of the environmental changes on the human occupation of the area. To reach this goal we made an inventory of the theriological and botanical record from the area and electronic maps with the distribution of species and communities as well as the distribution of archaeological sites for different time intervals. The palaeo-ecological, geological and archaeological data will be analysed. The preliminary results such as the presence of refugia and their role in the re-colonisation of the area after the Last Glacial Maximum as well as the relation between the distribution of hominids and larger herbivores will be discussed during the presentation.