Upper paleolithic mammal fauna of the Baikal region, east Siberia (new data)

A representative mammal fauna attributable to the Karginian Interstadial (MIS 3, 36 000-23 000 BP) has been found for the first time in the Fore-Baikalian region. The faunal remains were recovered from Gerasimov's and Bol'shoi Naryn Paleolithic sites in 2003-2008. Zooarchaeological investigations revealed 51 mammal species in the region, dominated by horse Equus sp., steppe lemming Lagurus lagurus, narrow-sculled vole Microtus gregalis and North-Siberian vole M. cf. hyperboreus. The early humans appear to have inhabited a forest-steppe, with local patches of tundra-like landscapes. The Karginian climate was warmer and more humid than during the subsequent Sartan glacial epoch (MIS 2).