Sablin M.V. 2020. Large mammal faunas of the European part of Russia in Anthropocene // Russian J. Theriol. Vol.19. No.1. P.58–64 [in English].
Mikhail V. Sablin [Mikhail.Sablin@zin.ru], Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia.
doi: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.19.1.05
ABSTRACT. The article presents the results of a study of a unique osteological material from archaeological sites and settlements in the European part of Russia. In total, more than 119 thousand bones of large Anthropocene mammals were studied. The closest analogue of the Early Pleistocene faunal complex Muhkai 2 is a community of animals from the dry African savannah. Data to distinguish between the early and late (1.1 Mya) stages of the Taman fauna are presented. It was confirmed that in the Late Pleistocene, the climate was responsible for changes in the number of large mammals and their habitats. It was shown that the domestication of the dog occurred in the early Upper Paleolithic, and in the Holocene, the indigenous European population of Canis familiaris was largely replaced by migrants from the east. Data are given that support that throughout the Anthropocene at archaeological sites and settlements in the European part of Russia, there was a practice of humans’ total utilization of animals they had extracted or raised.
KEY WORDS: large mammals, faunas, osteological material, European part of Russia, Anthropocene.