Late Mesolithic of the Ukrainian part of the Lower Danube region: New perspectives of human adaptation and interpretation of natural environments

Colonization of Ukrainian part of Lower Danube began in the interval 7.5-7.0 ka BP, when the regional landscape was mesophilous meadow steppe. Forest plots with small percentages of deciduous vegetation were present in river valleys, temporary estuaries, and on ridges. The faunal complex was dominated by aurochs, red deer, and wild boar. High biomass density, combined with the fact that the region had not been intensively explored previously, allowed relatively stable forms of human adaptation. This is illustrated by the presence of the base camp Mirnoe, the seasonal settlements Zaliznychne and Vasylivka, which display diverse forms of livelihood activity, and by the distinctive pattern of site distribution pattern. In this context, the beginning of auroch domestication in this region is conceptualized not so much as an adaptive response to subsistence source base shortage, but rather as a phenomenon caused, together with joint exploitation of the same settlement area, by resource spatial distribution.