Russian Altai Research Articles

Anarta insolita umay, a new subspecies from Russian Altai and Mongolia, with re-characterization of Anarta insolita uigurica (Hacker, 1998) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae)

It is stated that the populations of Anarta insolita (Staudinger, 1889) from Eastern Kazakhstan and Mongolia formerly considered as Anarta insolita uigurica (Hacker, 1998) represent two subspecies well-separated morphologically. A new subspecies A. insolita umay Volynkin, Titov & Černila, ssp. n. is described for the populations from the southeastern Russian Altai Mts and Mongolia. The true male of A. insolita uigurica from Eastern Kazakhstan is illustrated for the first time, a diagnosis for the subspecies is provided.

Who Were the Denisovans?

We provide a comprehensive summary of data relating to the origin, chronology, and culture of the Denisovans— a separate hominin population, fi rst described in 2010 on the basis of aDNA extracted from fossils found in Denisova Cave, in the northwestern part of the Russian Altai. We cite the results of morphological and genomic studies of the teeth and postcranial bones of those hominins. On the basis of a large series of optical and radiocarbon dates of the Pleistocene strata of Denisova Cave, the timeline for the hominin evolution in that region is reconstructed. The chronology of the evolutionary events based on aDNA is discussed. We provide a detailed description of stone and bone tools, and ornaments made of various materials, from Denisova habitation horizons. It is demonstrated that the Paleolithic cultural sequence in that cave is the most complete in North and Central Asia, spanning the principal stages of human evolutionary history over the last 300 thousand years. Denisovan origins and their role in the emergence of anatomically modern humans are reconstructed on the basis of a large body of archaeological, skeletal, and genetic data relating to Africa and Eurasia. It is concluded that the Neanderthal and Denisovan genetic legacy in the modern human gene pool indicates the existence of several zones in Africa and Eurasia where H. erectus evolution proceeded independently. The same applies to the evolution of lithic technologies.

Eidophasia assmanni sp. nov., the first alpine representative of the genus, detected in the Russian Altai Mountains (Lepidoptera, Plutellidae).

Eidophasia assmannisp. nov., a new species of Plutellidae from the alpine zone of Russian Altai Mountains, is described from diagnostic morphology and DNA barcodes. Male adult and genitalia are illustrated, whereas the female sex remains unknown. The species inhabits alpine scree with patchy herbaceous plants and is considered as possible endemic species of the Altai Mountains. An updated checklist of the 13 global Eidophasia Stephens, 1842 species is provided. The likely polyphyly of the genus is discussed from molecular data of the barcode region of the mt COI gene.

Initial Upper Palaeolithic ornaments and formal bone tools from the East Chamber of Denisova Cave in the Russian Altai

This article presents data from detailed analyses of the Initial Upper Palaeolithic personal ornaments and formal bone tools excavated from the East Chamber of Denisova Cave. The bone tools include an eyed needle and an awl made from tubular bones of large mammals. The personal ornaments include flat and volumetric beads, pendants, plaques, rings, a button/fastener, decorated bone and bracelet. They show that the Palaeolithic inhabitants of Denisova Cave used a variety of raw materials for making ornaments, including mammal teeth, mammoth ivory, ostrich eggshell, tubular bones from animals and birds, as well as different types of soft stone. Data from technological and experimental use-wear analyses elucidate long and short production sequences or chaîne opératoire, used in ornament manufacture. Micro-wear examination of the artefact surfaces reveals evidence indicating the different ways in which the ornaments were used. Microscopic observations also revealed traces of red ocher pigment on the personal ornaments. This evidence of pigment usage from Denisova Cave is the oldest known in the context of symbolic behavior in the deep history of Northern and Central Asia.

Problems of 14C dating in fossil soils within tectonically active highlands of Russian Altai in the chronological context of the late Pleistocene megafloods

A complicated tectonic and sedimentation history of the high-mountainous south-eastern part of Russian Altai predetermined the presence of sources of ancient organic matter in the region. During the Pleistocene these deposits were affected by various exogenous processes that leads to mixing of young and old carbon in a unique (for each sample) ratio and strongly affects the results of radiocarbon dating. This paper presents the results of multidisciplinary investigations of pedosedimentary sequences and discusses 14C dating of heterochronous organic matter in paleosols of two locations within the Chuya basin in the chronological context of the late Pleistocene megafloods.In the Kamsug valley reasonable evidence of the oldest (Pleistocene) paleosols in the SE Altai is described for the first time. The mineral composition of sediments and the results of pollen analysis argue for a short-distant redeposition of the Paleogene-Neogene parental substrate. Later it was transformed by Pleistocene pedogenesis: cryogenic processes, particularly solifluction, redox fluctuations resulted in redistribution of Fe and Mn. The analysis of available radiocarbon dates indicates that the contamination of the samples by extraneous carbon and the insufficient data about the features of organic matter of the studied soils don't allow to draw a definite conclusion about the time of the Pleistocene pedogenesis in the region. The presented OSL age 37.0 ± 3.1 ka (GdTL 3424) predates pedogenesis in this location, as well as the last ice-dammed lake formation in the Chuya basin and its further cataclysmic draining followed by the deposition of cross-bedded gravels and pebbles. In the neighbouring Yamanterek valley radiocarbon dating result for paleosol returns erratic (aged) date due to the influx of ancient organic matter. Similarly, this date cannot serve as the upper chronological limit of ice-dammed lakes existence in the Chuya depression. The radiocarbon ages (9.7–11.3 ka cal BP) of charcoals from the underlying lens of humus sands postdate the last ice-dammed lake with the water level at least 1980 m a.s.l.It was demonstrated that short-distant redeposition of the Paleogene-Neogene sediments in the region preserves their main mineralogical and paleontological features. It gives an opportunity to recognise such redeposited sediments which contain geological carbon. Meanwhile the redeposition followed by pedogenesis introduces younger organic matter. Diagenesis of such originally different organic matter contributes the final pool of organic carbon and results in the formation of heterogenous and heterochronous organic matter. This should be taken into account while 14C dating and interpreting the obtained results.

Technological parameters of rock art at the Kalgutinsky Rudnik site on the Ukok Plateau, Russian Altai region

One of the most common problems encountered in research on open-air petroglyph sites is determining the age of the imagery. Most images are not covered by calcite or other deposits which can be directly dated. Archaeological layers located under petroglyph panels may allow connections between imagery and datable cultural contexts to be established. When archaeological layers are lacking, the analysis of stylistic elements of petroglyphs themselves can be highly significant for temporal and cultural attribution. We regard style a Bos including not only artistic characteristics of images but also the ways in which rock panels were modified as well. Technological features can be important for understanding the broader concept of style in rock art. As illustrated by the open-air Kalgutinsky Rudnik site in the Russian Altai region, natural substrate characteristics often demanded specific technological adaptations that can be revealed by the analysis of anthropogenic and natural traces on rock surfaces. These data supplement the discussion of dating the earliest petroglyphs from the Kalgutinsky Rudnik rock art site.

The earliest box-shaped iron smelting furnaces in Asia: New data from Southern Siberia

The article presents the results of research on a uniquely preserved linear box-shaped furnace found on the Kuyahtanar iron smelting site in the Altai Mountains (Russian Altai). Furnaces of this type were the largest in North Eurasia, yet reliable data on the structure and emergence thereof have not been available for a long time. The article provides a detailed analysis of the structure of the furnace as well as 3D models of its different parts.A series of radiocarbon dates we produced indicate that this type of furnaces appeared much earlier than previously thought. Box-shaped furnaces emerged in Altai in the 4th-5th centuries and are the oldest in Asia. In the 7th–8th centuries, such furnaces were also spread in Japan. The article also investigates the possibility of a link between the Altai and the Japanese iron smelting traditions and discusses the question of technology transfer in Asia with regard to building and using box-shaped furnaces.

Phylogeography of silver‐studded blue, Plebejus subsolanus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), in the central mountainous regions of Japan

AbstractThe silver‐studded blue, Plebejus subsolanus, is widely distributed in the Russian Altai mountains, northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and the Japanese archipelago. In Japan, the species is distributed across wide elevation ranges from the lowlands of Hokkaido to the subalpine zone of Honshu. Current subspecies classification in Japan is as follows: ssp. iburiensis, occurring in lowland grasslands in Hokkaido; ssp. yaginus in lower mountain grasslands in Honshu; and ssp. yarigadakeanus in higher mountain grasslands in Honshu. The habitat of this species has been markedly reduced due to recent habitat destruction and land‐use changes. Here, we undertook phylogeographic analyses of two subspecies, ssp. yaginus and yarigadakeanus in the central mountainous regions of Japan, based on two mitochondrial gene sequences, in order to collect information for establishing effective conservation strategies. From 57 samples from the four mountain ranges, we obtained a haplotype network comprised of 12 haplotypes. Because of the haplotype network topology, the geographic distribution of haplotypes and the correspondence of haplotype divergence to subspecies taxonomy, we provisionally divided the haplotypes into three haplogroups: YR1 and YR2, which comprised ssp. yarigadakeanus, and YG, which comprised ssp. yaginus. Mitochondrial DNA genetic differentiation generally agreed with morphological subspecies classification. The haplotype network suggested that ssp. yarigadakeanus populations had multiple origins, and the subspecies character of “bright blue of the male's wings” was assumed to have evolved independently in each subalpine meadow. We found that P. subsolanus was genetically differentiated depending upon the elevation at each mountain region, suggesting that each haplogroup should be a conservation unit.

Depressariidae (Lepidoptera) of the Russian Altai Mountains: new species, new records and updated checklist

Records of Depressariidae species collected in the Altai Republic (Russia) in 2014–2019 are presented. Agonopterix kyzyltashensis sp. nov., A. ustjuzhanini sp. nov., and Depressaria paraleucocephala sp. nov. are described as new for science. Depressaria leucocephala Snellen, 1884 is deleted from the list of Altaic Depressariidae due its previous confusion with D. paraleucocephala sp. nov. Agonopterix rimulella (Caradja, 1920) sp. restit. is removed from synonymy with Agonopterix liturosa (Haworth, 1811). Exaeretia fuscogriseella Hannemann, 1990 syn. nov. is synonymised with E. indubitatella (Hannemann, 1971). Agonopterix feruliphila Millière, 1866 syn. nov. is transferred from synonymy with Agonopterix thapsiella (Zeller, 1847) to synonymy with Agonopterix adspersella (Kollar, 1832). Provisional list of related taxa of the Agonopterix adspersella group is given. Within Russian fauna, Depressaria altaica Zeller, 1854 was presented only from the Altai Republic, namely because the type specimens were recorded in the Altai. However, type locality is the Kazakh Altai, and D. altaica should be removed from checklist of the Altai Republic. At the same time, we present the first reliable records of D. altaica from southern Ural as a new species for Russia. The first reliable record of Agonopterix putridella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) for Russia is presented. Exaeretia allisella Stainton, 1849, Agonopterix anticella (Erschoff, 1877), Agonopterix bipunctosa (Curtis, 1850), Agonopterix rimulella, Depressaria sibirella Lvovsky, 1981, D. falkovitshi Lvovsky, 1990, D. libanotidella Schläger, 1848, and D. fuscovirgatella Hannemann, 1967 are new for the Altai Republic. In addition, Exaeretia mongolicella (Christoph, 1882) was found as new for the Tuva Republic. In total, 36 species of the studied family are known from the Altai Republic to date. Figures of all species new for the Altai Republic and the Tuva Republic are presented. Newly described species are figured in detail including their genitalia.

Review of Caryocolum (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) from the Russian Altai with description of two new species

In total, thirteen species of the genus Caryocolum Gregor & Povolný, 1954 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) have been recorded from the Altai mountains in Russia so far. All available faunistic data are summarized and presented in detail. DNA barcodes of the mtCOI (cytochrome c oxidase I) gene of the majority of recorded species were studied. Molecular data and morphology support the following two species, which are described here as new to science: Caryocolum procurvella sp. nov. and C. atrum sp. nov. Caryocolum tetrameris (Meyrick, 1926) is recorded as a new species for Russia. Caryocolum blandella (Douglas, 1852) and C. viscariella (Stainton, 1855) are removed from the fauna of the Altai Republic due to misidentifications.

Dynamics of the Altai Paleolithic industries in the archaeological record of Denisova Cave

This publication presents data resulted from an analysis of the recent Middle and Upper Paleolithic archaeological evidence documented at Denisova Cave in the Russian Altai. A new phase in the study of the site is associated with the works undertaken in the East Chamber during 2004–2016. A long stratigraphic sequence exposed in this part of the cave, like the strata of Pleistocene deposits in the Main Chamber, has become a reference section for the study of prehistory in the region. A large collection of archaeological finds that quantitatively exceeds those recovered in previous years, new biostratigraphic and geochronological data obtained from Pleistocene deposits of the cave, make it possible to reconstruct the dynamics in the development of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic stone tool industries of the Altai on a qualitatively new level. The article presents the major techno-typological characteristics of the stone tool industries from the East Chamber, their stratigraphic, paleoecological and geochronological context. We show a correlation between the Paleolithic stone tool industries from the East Chamber and contemporary assemblages from the Main Chamber, as well as the cave entrance, and identify their place among other Paleolithic cave and open-air sites of the Altai. The continuity of a techno-typological sequence in the development of the stone tool industries from Denisova Cave and other stratified sites in the Altai and the emergence of the Upper Paleolithic from a local Middle Paleolithic tradition suggest that the stone tools and articles of personal adornment appear to have been produced by Denisovans. This conclusion is consistent with a complete lack of any fossil remains from anatomically modern humans in the Altai Paleolithic.

Climatically driven late Pleistocene – Holocene hydrological system transformation and landscape evolution in the eastern periphery of Chuya basin, SE Altai, Russia

This paper presents the results of geological, geomorphological, geochronological investigations and the analysis of the biological composition of deposits within the high-mountainous Boguty river basin. The main stages of landscape evolution during the last 14 ka have been investigated through 32 radiocarbon dates. The area is located in the most arid southeastern part of Russian Altai and constitutes the eastern periphery of the Chuya intermountain depression, and the western side of the Chikhachev range.Postglacial landscape development of the upper reaches of the Chuya River began from the degradation of its vast glaciation. By 14 ka cal BP the glaciers had either completely melted or retreated above 2500 m above sea level. As a result, numerous lakes occupied open places and five types of these basins can be seen in the modern topography. They are large moraine-dammed lakes connected with the Boguty River, while some basins have been dammed by uplifted tectonic blocks and numerous lakes are of thermokarst origin or are small cirque lakes and temporal lakes fed by seasonal meltwater from meteoric, ground water and permafrost degradation.Large moraine-dammed lakes within the Boguty basin were developed before the Holocene. The water filling these basins was controlled by the height of moraine dams and by the depth of the Boguty river incision. The moraine-dammed Low Boguty Lake formed earlier than 10 ka cal BP. Its partial draining and transformation of littoral zone into peat bog took place about 8.2-7.6 ka cal BP. As a result of the analysis of biological composition, four stages of water level fluctuations in the lacustrine-boggy system were recognized.The specific geomorphic and sedimentary features in the middle part of the Boguty basin determined the recurrence of debris flow events at about 8-7; 2.9-1; 0.65 and 0.3 ka cal BP, but the last event occurred in June 2017.The occurrence of fossil forest soils dating to about 11-8.5 ka cal BP and of charcoals (Larix sibirica Ledeb) of about 8.5-7.8 ka cal BP indicate a prolonged period of developing forest vegetation in the Boguty basin, which is currently treeless. In general, the data suggest that in SE Altai the climate in the first half of the Holocene was warmer and more humid in comparison with the modern one. The second half of the Holocene has been characterized by colder climate conditions accompanied by aridity intensification, which became especially pronounced during the last 2-1.5 ka.

Altitudinal zonality and natural zoning as factors of bottom invertebrate communities formation in lakes of Western Siberia and Russian Altai

In 2003-2016 and 2018, macrozoobenthos from 60 lakes of Western Siberia and the Russian Altai was studied. The lakes refer to high- and medium-altitudinal zones as well as steppe, forest-steppe and taiga natural zones. In lakes under study, we identified 183 species of macroinvertebrates from 10 classes: Demospongiae (1 species), Nematoda (1), Oligochaeta (7), Hirudinea (5), Phylactolemata (1), Bivalvia (4), Gastropoda (10), Arachnida (1), Crustacea (2) and Insecta (151). Species number, species diversity, abundance and biomass of macrozoobenthos in high-altitudinal and natural zones differed both in their average values and within individual zones and belts. Among major factors responsible for benthic communities development in the mountain lakes were water temperature and nutrients content in water, whereas in the lowland water bodies salinity and humification of water.

Ushbulak—A New Stratified Upper Paleolithic Site in Northeastern Kazakhstan

We present the findings of excavations at the stratified site of Ushbulak, discovered during a joint Russian-Kazakhstan research project in 20I6. The site is located in the Shilikty Valley, northeastern Kazakhstan, at the junction of routes connecting southwestern Central Asia, southern Siberia, and northern China. On the basis of stratigraphy, chronology, and technological evidence, we identify three technological complexes, relating to the Metal Ages (stratum I), Final Upper Paleolithic (strata 2-4), and Initial Upper Paleolithic (strata 5.2-7). Focusing on the principal markers of the Initial Upper Paleolithic in the region, we conclude that finds from strata 5.2-7 belong to the southern Siberian-Mongolian variant of the Initial Upper Paleolithic, as evidenced by the uni- and bidirectional parallel volumetric blade core reduction, tool types, and absolute chronology. The tool kit includes mostly endscrapers, heavily retouched blades, and truncated-facetted or notched implements. Particularly diagnostic types include waisted blade, blade with a ventrally retouched distal edge, beveled point, backed blade, stemmed implement with a sharp tip, stemmed endscraper, and burin-core. Two AMS-dates from stratum 6 date this layer to ca 36,I80 ± 730 and 4I,II0 ± 302 BP. The closest known parallels to the industry of the lower strata of Ushbulak are finds from horizon UP2 of Kara-Bom in the Russian Altai. Our results suggest that Ushbulak strata 5.2-7 correlate with the Initial Upper Paleolithic industries of the Altai (Denisova Cave), northern China (Luotoshi), and Mongolia (Tolbor-4 and -2I).

A new species of the genus Dolichopus Latr. (Dolichopodidae, Diptera) from Altai Republic and Mongolia

A new species, Dolichopus ruchini sp. n., from Russian Altai and Mongolia are described. The new species is close to Dolichopus roborovskii Stackelberg, 1930, from which it differs in the morphology of the hypopygium, parallel R4+5 and M1+2 and thickened stigma on the wing. The lectotype of Dolichopus roborovskii is designated.

Российско-корейское сотрудничество в изучении археологии Сибири и Корейского полуострова

The history of archaeological studies of Siberia is counting more than 300 years of its existence, while active archaeological studies of Korean peninsula date back to the early 20th century. Russian and Korean archaeologists’ mutual interest in ancient and medieval history of Siberia and Korean peninsula relates to the territorial proximity and historical interrelations. During the last few decades the cooperation between Russian and Korean archaeologists is developing in several directions: specialists training, carrying out archaeological excavations in both Korea and Russia (Siberian and Far Eastern territories), publishing joint researches, holding scientific seminars and conferences. Main fields of studying include Stone Age, Early Iron Age and medieval archaeology. Siberian center of cooperation are Novosibirsk (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of Siberian Branch of the RAS and Novosibirsk State University). The first archaeological excavations with participation of Novosibirsk and Korean archaeologists were held in Khabarovsk region in 1999. Nowadays joint researches cover territories of Primorye and Amur region, Russian Altai and southern part of Korean Peninsula. Several famous Korean specialists got their PhD degree in Moscow, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok. Joint studies of two territories, which are considered as important parts of world’s history, have enriched historical science with large amount of new archaeological data. Moreover, scientific discussions between specialists make a great contribution to solving common problems of the initial ways of East Asia’s settlement, formation of ancient cultures and civilization.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ УКРАИНСКОГО НАСЕЛЕНИЯ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ АЛТАЙСКОГО ОКРУГА В ХОДЕ ПЕРЕСЕЛЕНИЙ 1865–1917 гг.

This article aims to explore the resettlement and formation of the Ukrainian population in Altai in 1865–1917 from a complex historical-geographic point of view. For achieving this aim, the following objectives were set: to reveal the main reasons of Ukrainian population’s migration mobility in traditional places of their living; to identify factors influencing their choice of settlement and formation of settlements in the new territory; to highlight the stages of settlement; to map zones of settlement of Ukrainians in the territory of Russian Altai. The source base of the research consists of legislative acts, statistical data from the State Archive of Altai Krai. Of special significance are accounts on the directions, general outputs and activities of the Resettlement Department during Stolypin’s agrarian reform, and periodicals. A specific and complementing group of sources is the fieldwork data collected by the author and other staff of the Oral History and Ethnography Center at Altai State Pedagogical University in Altai Krai in areas of Ukrainian settlement (Romanovsky, Volchikhinsky, Pankrushikhinsky, Egoryevsky, Krutikhinsky, Krasnogorsky, Rodinsky Districts) and partially in Qarasouk District in Novosobirsk Oblast; more than 120 interviews in total. The analysis of the sources allowed determining and describing the main factors of the Ukrainian population’s mass resettlement to Siberia, particularly to Altai, in the given time frame. The objective factors were the shortage of land for cultivation caused by the crisis of existing land usage, the rapid increase of land-poor peasants, the worsening of peasants’ material stand in Ukrainian regions. The subjective factors were the construction of railways, the introduction of the system of medical and food assistance for resettlers on their way to new locations, rumors about free land that made peasants leave their homeland and migrate to new non-cultivated territories. The Ukrainian resettlement to Altai may be divided into three main stages: 1865–1888, 1889–1905, 1906–1917, taking into account the specificity of each stage and mapping the main zones of the Ukrainian resettlement. The zones were allocated based on the existence of the resettlers’ culture with sustained intra-ethnic connections, with the preserved (in some degree) historical self-consciousness (the nuclear zone is Rodinsky, Romanovsky, Blagoveshshensky and Kulundinsky Districts), and the gradual extinction of ethnicity, oblivion and loss of ethnic identity (the periphery is Aleysky, Pospelikhinsky, Novichikhinsky, Egoryevsky, Rubtsovsky, Mamontovsky, Pankrushikhinsky, Krutikhinsky, Krasnogorsky, Topchikhinsky Districts).

«У каждого человека есть светлые и теневые стороны, как у кедров на сопках Алтая»: этнокультурная составляющая полевых изысканий финского геоморфолога Г. Й. Гранё в Русском Алтае и Монгольском Алтае в 1906–1909 гг.

The article highlights the ethnocultural component of field research by the finnish geomorphologist I. G. Granye in the Russian and Mongolian Altai, carried out by him on the instructions of the Finnish-Ugric Society in 1906 - 1907 and in 1909. The expeditionary research undertaken was archaeological. But at the same time I. G. Granye has collected a wealth of material on the ethnic history of the peoples of the Russian Altai and Mongolian Altai. According to the author of the article, the characteristics and descriptions of various ethnocultural groups, communities and enclaves of the Altai-Mongol region expand modern understanding of the history and culture of the region’s population in pre-soviet times.

Landscape maps for monitoring and evaluation of ecosystem services in strict nature reserves of Russian Altai

Landscape maps for monitoring and evaluation of ecosystem services in strict nature reserves of Russian Altai

New chronological (14C, OSL), paleontological and geochemical data on developing of ice-dammed lakes in Kurai basin (south-eastern part of the Russian Altai) during the MIS-2

One of the highly debatable issue of the Altai Pleistocene paleogeography is the chronology and extension of the last ice-dammed lakes. For the first time paleontological, mineralogical characteristics, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages for lacustrine deposits confirm accumulation of ice-dammed lake with depth at least 170 m in Kurai basin at the end of the Late Pleistocene - 16-19 ka. New data provide information about the ecology and evolution of this Sartan reservoir. Draining of this lake less affected the topography in comparison with earlier cataclysmic glacier-lakes outburst floods. Nevertheless, the lake controlled human settlement of the basin in the Late Paleolithic. Drying of this reservoir defined formation of the modern hydrological network, including flowing of the Chuya River along the steep gorge between the Maashey and Belgibash mouths. New data evidence for significant difference in evolution of the Kurai-Chuya system of intermountain depressions and Uimon basin at the end of the Late Pleistocene.