Geology and Quaternary environments of the Tategahana Paleolithic site in Nojiri-ko (Lake Nojiri), Nagano, central Japan

The top horizon containing elephant remains is 37.9 ka old, and thus older than MIS 2 (the Last Glacial Maximum), making it unlikely that Naumann's elephant disappeared from Nojiri-ko only because of climatic cooling. Findings strongly suggest that the occurrence of these large mammal fossils is the result of human activity. The Tategahana Paleolithic site provides important insights into the transitional phase from Asian Paleanthropine to Homo sapiens in Japan.