Northwest Asia (28,577 – 7,822 BCE): Upper Pleistocene II — Deglaciation, Forest Advance, and Lake Highstands

Geographic and Environmental Context

Northwest Asia includes the lands from the Ural Mountains east to ~130°E, encompassing Western and Central Siberia.

• Anchors: Ob floodplains, Altai piedmont lakes, Yenisei–Minusinsk Basin, Ural passes.

• Deglaciation created large pluvial lakes in the Altai and Minusinsk depressions.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Bølling–Allerød warming improved rainfall and forest belts; Younger Dryas reversed conditions briefly; Early Holocene warmth stabilized environments.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Diets diversified: elk, reindeer, beaver, fish, nuts, and berries.

• Semi-sedentary lakeside camps emerged around pluvial lakes and Ob–Yenisei channels.

Technology & Material Culture

• Microblade complexes persisted; ground-stone tools for plant processing began; bone harpoons and fishing gear.

• Ornaments in antler, amber, and imported shells.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Ob–Irtysh trunklines enabled north–south mobility; Altai passes linked into Central Asia; Ural passes tied to European plains.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Ritual deposits at lakesides; ochre burials continued; petroglyphs began in Minusinsk–Altai zones.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Broad-spectrum foraging buffered climatic reversals; canoe precursors and rafts likely aided mobility on large lakes.