Southern Siberia Research Articles

Potential for Tourism and Recreation in the Todzhinsky Kozhuun (District), Republic of Tyva, RF

The paper reveals opportunities and limitations of tourism development in one of the most inaccessible areas in the mountains of Southern Siberia: Todzhinsky kozhuun, Republic of Tyva, RF. Taking into account key indicators that reflect the natural, historical, cultural, and socio-economic characteristics of the territory, using GIS technologies, a comprehensive assessment and mapping of the tourism and recreational potential (TRP) of the territory was carried out. The method of multicomponent scoring was used in this work. Consequentially, the study area was divided by means of a regular hexagonal network into many operational territorial cells; for each of those, the sum of scores was calculated according to the conditions and objects that are localized within its boundaries. The set of operational territorial cells filled with visual information made it possible to create an assessment map of the tourism and recreational potential of the Todzhinsky kozhuun territory. This map highlights the areas of the five value ranks, from the highest to the lowest. The areas with the highest scores are obviously the most suitable for the development of tourism industry. In general, the basis of the region’s TRP is picturesque virgin natural landscapes with many large lakes, unique traditional ethnocultural landscapes of the mountain–taiga reindeer herders, biological resources for hunting and fishing, and healing mineral springs (arzhany). The key limiting factor in the development of tourism is the underdeveloped transportation system and the insufficiency of special tourism infrastructure facilities. Such an assessment made it possible to identify territories favorable for the creation of three specialized tourist clusters: ethnocultural tourism, “Reindeer herders of Todzhi”; water, ecological, and fishing tourism, “Todzha Lakes”; and mountain and sports tourism, “Big Sayan”.

A New Approach to the Study of Archaeological Charcoal: The Case of Metallurgical Furnaces of the Southeastern Altai

In recent years, dendrochronological analysis in archaeology has undergone a substantial transformation, offering an opportunity to use samples of wood that were previously considered uninformative. One striking example is the analysis of charcoal excavated from archaeological sites. We have studied 448 samples of charcoal collected from metallurgical (iron smelting) furnaces in the Kurai and Chuya basins of the Russian Altai Mountains. Earlier methods of preparing such samples were slow and ineffi cient. Our approach guarantees fast, simple, and high-quality preparation of a large number of samples of virtually any size and shape. Its advantages include low cost of apparatus, high quality measurement of annual rings, the possibility of effi cient remote measurement, no need for verifi cation, and a wider range of measured parameters of the annual ring. Hopefully, the new approach will help to solve the critical problem relating to the construction of a tree-ring chronology in the arid zone of Southern Siberia. Such a c hronology will be highly prospective for assessing the age of wood from numerous mounds in the intermountain depressions of the Altai- Sayan region, and year-by-year reconstructions of the humidity regime; and for revealing extreme droughts and other climatic phenomena in this territory.

RESOURCES AVAILABILITY FOR SOLAR MICROGENERATION AND ITS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY IN THE REGIONS OF RUSSIA

Measures to support electricity generation at low-power plants using the renewable energy sources as well, which were introduced in the Russian Federation, actualized the task of assessing the effectiveness of such legislative initiatives. The paper presents and tests a methodology for assessing the performance and economic efficiency of network photovoltaic stations, depending on physical-geographical and socio-economic factors. The results of assessing the potential performance of stations in various regions of Russia, obtained on the basis of archives of data on incoming solar radiation for the period from 2010 to 2020, are presented with one hour resolution. It is shown that economic efficiency of Solar Microgeneration Stations (SMS) in the study areas varies widely depending on the combination of such factors as the amount of solar radiation, retail and wholesale electricity tariffs, and the regime of electricity consumption by SMS owners. Despite significant solar energy resources, the payback period of photovoltaic stations in the regions of Southern Siberia (Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude) turned out to be the longest among all areas under study because of the established tariffs for electricity sale and purchase. Optimal conditions for the operation of such stations are characteristic only for the regions of Russia that belong to non-price zones and territorially isolated energy systems of the wholesale market (Magadan and Kaliningrad regions, Kamchatka, Primorsky Krai), where high wholesale electricity prices make the payback expectable within the guaranteed life of the station equipment (20 years).

Identification of the ca. 720 Ma Irkutsk LIP and its plume centre in southern Siberia: The initiation of Laurentia-Siberia separation

Widespread 720 Ma magmatism has been linked with the break-up of Rodinia and the onset of the Sturtian ‘Snowball Earth’ event. We report a new U-Pb baddeleyite age from the Baikal dyke subswarm in southern Siberia which increases the known extent of the 720 Ma Irkutsk LIP and confirms a previous hypothesis that the Baikal and Sayan subswarms converge at the southern tip of the Irkutsk promontory. Together they define a mantle plume centre with direct links to the 720 Ma Franklin plume centre of northern Laurentia, thus constraining the paleo-reconstruction of southern Siberia and northern Laurentia. It is inferred that this combined 720 Franklin – Irktusk LIP event is associated with the breakup of southern Siberia from northern Laurentia during fragmentation of the Rodinia supercontinent. Expansion of 720 Ma magmatism into Siberia greatly increases the scale of the Franklin-Irktusk LIP.

Late Paleozoic–Cenozoic Tectonothermal Evolution of Transbaikalia: Thermochronology of the Angara–Vitim Granitoid Batholith

Abstract —The tectonothermal evolution of Transbaikalia is reconstructed using U/Pb, 40Ar/39Ar, and apatite fission track thermo-chronology of samples from the Late Paleozoic Angara–Vitim granitoid batholith (AVB). Successive closure of the zircon and amphibole isotope systems provides evidence that the AVB rocks cooled down rapidly soon after crystallization and 7–4 km of rocks were denuded subsequently during an extensive late Paleozoic orogeny in southern Siberia. The isotopic system of feldspar closed in the Middle Jurassic–Early Cretaceous (170–140 Ma) after a period of tectonic stability and slow closure of the biotite isotopic system in the early Permian–Middle Jurassic (295–170 Ma). The 170–140 Ma span was the time when the Mongol–Okhotsk orogen began its evolution, and the orogeny caused denudation of ~3 km of rocks. Denudation was slow in the Paleogene–Miocene (60–5 Ma) but accelerated over the past 5 million years (a ~3–2 km thick layer) during rapid cooling of rocks and activity under a far-field effect of the India–Eurasia collision.

ГРАДОФОРМИРУЮЩИЕ УЗЛЫ В СИСТЕМЕ РАССЕЛЕНИЯ ЮГА СИБИРИ

The purpose of this publication is to identify and substantiate the possibilities and directions of urban development of settlements in the South of Siberia by identifying city-forming support nodes in them. The author of the article proceeds from the assumption that the location of the city-forming nodes is determined by the geomorphology of the territory, and their functional filling should not disrupt the rhythm of natural geochemical processes. The subject is urban and rural settlements in southern Siberia for possible directions of urban transformation.
 The methodological basis is the basin approach, network methods, and scenario approach of forecasting urban planning activities.
 As a result of the study, it was found that the South of Siberia with all settlements within its borders has a natural and urban planning system in which there are town-forming nodes. Any urban transformation in one of these nodes affects the development of the entire settlement system

Alcohol consumption as health risk factor for the population in the RF regions in the ‘before crisis’ and ‘after crisis’ periods (2017–2022)

In this study, we have estimated alcohol consumption and alcohol-associated incidence in the RF regions in the ‘before crisis’ (2017–2019) and ‘crisis’ (2020–2022) periods. We identified types of the RF regions using hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward’s method) and relying on indirect indicators of alcohol consumption. As a result, we established considerable differences between the macro-regions (the Federal Districts) and RF regions as per alcohol consumption and severity of its outcomes. Poles in this differentiation are represented by ‘favorable’ regions in the Southern Russia where alcohol sales, alcohol-associated crime and incidence are low and ‘unfavorable’ regions located in the Far East and southern Siberia where alcohol-associated crime and incidence are high. We have shown in this study that retail alcohol sales cannot be considered a sufficient indicator to describe alcohol use in a given region. Thus, considerable volumes of alcohol sales involve severe socially significant outcomes in some regions (for example, the Khabarovsk region and Primorye) whereas such outcomes do not occur in other regions with similarly high alcohol sales (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, the Moscow region and the Leningrad region). The level of socioeconomic welfare on a given territory is confirmed as a significant determinant of alcohol consumption. We have also analyzed a correlation between economic vulnerability of RF regions during the ‘pandemic’ and ‘sanction’ crises and levels of alcohol consumption. The analysis revealed that large industrial regions, though expected to be vulnerable, turned out to be quite stable (it is probable due to delayed macroeconomic effects). We have not been able to identify any resources of improving a tense situation with alcohol consumption in economically unfavorable but less vulnerable subsidized agricultural regions. In general, the crisis period of 2020–2022 can be considered a source of additional health risks for the population in the RF regions where the situation with alcohol consumption was rather unfavorable in the ‘before crisis’ period.

Потребление алкоголя как фактор риска здоровью населения регионов России в «докризисный» и «кризисный» периоды (2017–2022 гг.)

In this study, we have estimated alcohol consumption and alcohol-associated incidence in the RF regions in the ‘before crisis’ (2017–2019) and ‘crisis’ (2020–2022) periods. We identified types of the RF regions using hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward’s method) and relying on indirect indicators of alcohol consumption. As a result, we established considerable differences between the macro-regions (the Federal Districts) and RF regions as per alcohol consumption and severity of its outcomes. Poles in this differentiation are represented by ‘favorable’ regions in the Southern Russia where alcohol sales, alcohol-associated crime and incidence are low and ‘unfavorable’ regions located in the Far East and southern Siberia where alcohol-associated crime and incidence are high. We have shown in this study that retail alcohol sales cannot be considered a sufficient indicator to describe alcohol use in a given region. Thus, considerable volumes of alcohol sales involve severe socially significant outcomes in some regions (for example, the Khabarovsk region and Primorye) whereas such outcomes do not occur in other regions with similarly high alcohol sales (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, the Moscow region and the Leningrad region). The level of socioeconomic welfare on a given territory is confirmed as a significant determinant of alcohol consumption. We have also analyzed a correlation between economic vulnerability of RF regions during the ‘pandemic’ and ‘sanction’ crises and levels of alcohol consumption. The analysis revealed that large industrial regions, though expected to be vulnerable, turned out to be quite stable (it is probable due to delayed macroeconomic effects). We have not been able to identify any resources of improving a tense situation with alcohol consumption in economically unfavorable but less vulnerable subsidized agricultural regions. In general, the crisis period of 2020–2022 can be considered a source of additional health risks for the population in the RF regions where the situation with alcohol consumption was rather unfavorable in the ‘before crisis’ period.

Recent Data of Multidisciplinary Studies of the Major Pleistocene Climatic Events: Glaciations, Formation of Ice-Dammed Lakes, and Their Catastrophic Drainage in Altai (Mountains of Southern Siberia)

The use of geological–geomorphological and geochronological (14C, OSL) methods allowed establishing that the bordering mountains of the Chuya basin (Russian Altai) were affected by glaciation as early as the Middle Pleistocene, about 160–180 ka (MIS 6). However, the ice-dammed lake with the highest (up to 2100 m a.s.l.) strandlines in the Chuya and Kurai basins existed later than 90–80 ka, i.e., in the Late Pleistocene. This chronological benchmark limits the influence of the catastrophic outburst floods of the largest lakes on the accumulation of the Inya formation in the Chuya and Katun river valleys. It is confirmed that a large ice-dammed lake existed and had a water level of at least 1730 m a.s.l. in MIS 2 in the Kurai basin. The lake drained no later than 16 ka. Synchronously (about 17–16 ka) the accumulation of diluvial–lacustrine cyclites began in the Inya mouth. It was found that the accumulation of the Saldzhar formation in the Katun River valley between the mouths of the Chuya and Sema rivers was long-lasting during the entire MIS 2 not only as a result of flood events, but also due to gradual hydrological processes. It is necessary to revise the concept adopted by SibRISC in 2018. This concept assumes (i) the absence of ice-dammed lakes in intermont basins of Russian Altai in MIS 2 and (ii) the accumulation of the Inya and Saldzhar catafluvial formations, as well as the high and medium terraces they deposited in the valleys of the Chuya and Katun rivers before 90 ka.

ЕЩЕ ОДНА НАХОДКА ВОСТОЧНОГО ЗЕРКАЛА СО СФИНКСАМИ НА СРЕДНЕМ ЕНИСЕЕ

The article is devoted to the publication of another metal button mirror with paired figures of sphinxes and a floral ornament with a Kufic inscription, recently discovered on the territory of the Middle Yenisei. In this region, similar items are not only rare (exhibits of the Minusinsk and Abakan museums), but are also markers of the northern border of the distribution of these items in the Mongolian time. The сlarity of the decoration details of the product gives every reason to consider it far from being the latest copy from the original. Sufficiently good preservation of the images on the mirror (epigraphics, fantastic animals and floral decorations) makes it possible to analyze in detail not only individual artistic details, but also to make a probable attribution of the origin and chronology of this object. The peculiarities of the style of the Kufic inscription and images of sphinxes make it possible to date the mirror no later than the 11th–12th centuries, and also to include it in the circle of objects produced in Iran or Central Asia. The absence of such imported items in the south of Western Siberia north of the middle reaches of the Yenisei River is probably due to the historical features of the cultural ties of the medieval population in the initial period of the 2nd millennium AD. Overall, the new find of a mirror with a Kufic inscription and a paired image of the sphinxes on the background of a floral ornament makes it possible to clarify the local and general features of the distribution of such items in Eurasia in the Middle Ages. This, in turn, provides certain grounds for reconstructing the dynamics of the changes in the external relations of Southern Siberia over the past millennium.

From Rodinian passive margin to peri-Siberian continental arc: Evidence from the multiphase Neoproterozoic–early Paleozoic magmatic record of the Zavkhan Block in the Mongolian Collage

Geochronological and geochemical study of the Neoproterozoic–early Paleozoic magmatic record was carried out in two sections of the Zavkhan Block, one of the largest continental fragments within the Mongolian Collage of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Our results show that two distinct magmatic events occurred in both studied domains, the Late Tonian (c. 840–800 Ma) and the Cambro–Ordovician (c. 510–470 Ma). Based on the variable geochemical signatures and two-stage Nd model ages (TNd.2stgDM=1.4–3.0 Ga), the late Tonian magmatism included both mantle-derived magmas that suffered a crustal contamination as well as partial melts of a heterogeneous continental crust that ranged from Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic (felsic metaigneous rocks or immature metagreywackes) to Neoarchean–Paleoproterozoic (metabasalts or metatonalites). The Cambro–Ordovician basic–acidic magmatism (TNd.2stgDM=1.3–2.2 Ga) reflected interplay between two components, mafic juvenile (depleted-mantle-derived) and felsic, generated by anatexis of Tonian, mainly metabasic crust. The late Tonian (c. 840–800 Ma) magmatic activity is interpreted as result of intracontinental rifting, whereas the Cambro–Ordovician (c. 510–470 Ma) magmatism is linked to a continental magmatic-arc system.The comparison of the data from the Zavkhan Block with other microcontinents of the Mongolian Collage shows that most of them experienced an identical two-stage magmatic evolution. The first stage is interpreted as a result of the Rodinia break-up, whereas the second one was associated with inception of the Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction. Based on similarities in the magmatic record, we conclude that the Mongolian Collage microcontinents were located at the Rodinia periphery, as a part of either the Siberian or Tarim cratons. They were separated in the late Tonian, established a passive margin and drifted towards southern Siberia, where they recorded arc magmatism related to the Cambro–Ordovician subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate.

Positioning the Yangtze Block within Nuna: Constraints from Paleoproterozoic granitoids in North Vietnam

There is no consensus on the Precambrian paleogeographic reconstructions of Yangtze Block through the various supercontinent cycles and its linkage to other continental blocks. New data on the Paleoproterozoic tectonic history of the block enables linkage with other major Nuna-forming continents to be constrained. Zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic and whole-rock elemental data highlight three episodes of Paleoproterozoic granitoids, dated at 2.30–2.27 Ga, 1.85–1.83 Ga, and 1.75 Ga from the Phan Si Pan Complex of the Phan Si Pan Zone, a southeast extension of the Yangtze Block in north Vietnam. The older two episodes of granitoid emplacement have negative εHf(t) values with similar TDM2 ages of 3.3–2.9 Ga, which suggest reworking of Archean basement rocks possibly at syn- to post-collisional settings. The 1.75 Ga A-type trondhjemite with positive εHf(t) values (0 to + 9) formed by partial melting of Paleoproterozoic juvenile crustal materials along with some mantle addition, most likely related to an intra-plate rift setting. Integrating the new results with compilations throughout the Yangtze Block, we suggest that the northern and southwestern Yangtze have different Archean and earliest Paleoproterozoic histories. Furthermore, correlations of Archean-Paleoproterozoic tectono-thermal and detrital zircon signatures between southwestern Yangtze and north Laurentia, and between northern Yangtze and southern Siberia, suggest they were close neighbors at these times. The collision between the northern and southwestern Yangtze in the late Paleoproterozoic is inferred to have led to the assembly of Laurentia and Siberia along a cryptic suture in central Yangtze and widespread crustal magmatism. Thus, we tentatively reconstruct the Yangtze Block as a key tie point between northern Laurentia and southern Siberia within the Nuna Supercontinent.

BIMETALLIC PICK-AXE FROM THE DNIPRO FOREST-STEPPE LEFT BANK: CAUSE FOR CONVERSATION ABOUT THE SIMILAR ARMAMENT OF EARLY SCYTHIAN EPOCH IN EURASIA

The paper is devoted to a newfound artefact of the Scythian archaic epoch — a bimetallic pick-axe, discovered in the Vorskla River basin, near the city of Akhtyrka of Sumy region of Ukraine. Pick-axes are a kind of close-in fighting weapon, along with picks and axes, quite rare for the Scythian Age. The specimen under study belongs to a relatively small group of bimetallic pick-axes, consisting of an iron (or steel) warhead and a bronze socket. Like most bimetallic pick-axes, the specimen from Akhtyrka has a bird’s head with slotted eyes and a curved beak (part of the beak is lost) under the striker, cast together with the socket.
 The bimetallic pick-axes from Akhtyrka is, at the moment, the most western reliable find of this type of weapon. The paper includes a catalog of bimetallic pick-axes of the early Scythian Age from Eurasia, numbering 24 items: 2 — Western Siberia, 4 — Southern Urals, 3 — Volga-Kama region, 3 — Western Asia (3; most likely 2 pick-axes kept in the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum are from the same region), Aral Sea (1), Colchis, Western Georgia (3), North Caucasus (2), Kuban (1), Taman (1), Northern Azov region, Eastern Ukraine (1), Vorskla basin, Eastern Ukraine (1). Most of the bimetallic pick-axes (18 items) have a sculptural image of a bird’s head between the striker and the socket.
 The main chronological indicators of the time of existence of the bimetallic pick-axes are 4 assemblages: mound 84 of the Uygarak burial ground (first half of the 7th century BC); mound 5 of the Kichigino-I burial ground (second half — late 7th century BC); grave G of the Ananyino ground burial; grave near the village of Imirler (both — second half of the 7th — early 6th century BC). In the light of the discussion that has been going on for more than 20 years about the dating of the early Scythian culture, it seems important that none of these complexes dates back to the 8th century BC. Accordingly, the time of existence of bimetallic pick-axes must be attributed to the 7th — first half of the 6th century BC.
 The chronological priority of the Uygarak pick-axe in relation to the Asia Minor pick-axes allows us to conclude that the latter are markers of the advance of the Saka military contingent to the Middle East, as part of the famous Asia Minor campaigns of the Scythians. Accordingly, the finds of pick-axes in the Caucasus, the Kuban region and Eastern Ukraine should be considered as markers of the movement of some part of the Scythian military contingent to Europe during or immediately after the Asiatic campaigns. The concentration of pick-axes in the area of the Ananyino culture is explained by the migration of part of the Scythian or Saka military contingent, recorded by Herodotus.
 The dating of the main chronological indicators makes it possible to draw a correlation with bronze pick-axes, which have become widespread in the eastern regions of Eurasia. The variety of forms of bronze pick-axes from Southern Siberia, Altai and Tuva, as well as their chronological priority, allow us to conclude that bimetallic pick-axes are derived from bronze ones. Apparently, in the first half of the 7th century BC a technological innovation takes place, as a result of which the bronze blade are replaced with an iron / steel plate inserted into a bronze socket. The currently available archaeological sources make it possible to connect this innovation with the Aral Sea region and the historical Sakas but it is still premature to draw final conclusions.

Chemical Elements Concentration, Variations in Mineral Composition, and Current Rate of Sedimentation in Sapropel Deposits of Small Lakes in the Taiga Zone of Southern Siberia

Abstract —We studied the bottom sediments of lake systems located in the taiga landscape of Siberia. In the south of Western Siberia, there are 11 lakes in the subzone of the south taiga and 9 lakes in the subtaiga subzone. On the territory of the south of Eastern Siberia in the taiga zone there are 10 lakes on the southern coast of Lake Baikal, 5 lakes on its east coast and 6 lakes are located on the territory of the national park “Alkhanai” in Transbaikalia. Studies of the chemical composition of water, soil, and sediment samples were conducted at the Analytical Center for Multi-Elemental and Isotope Research SB RAS, Novosibirsk. The use of a complex of modern analytical methods in the study of the same lake samples made it possible to obtain more reliable information (1861 samples of bottom sediment were studied). Quartz and feldspars of pelitic dimension dominate in the mineral composition of the terrigenous fraction, organic matter and authigenic minerals (opal, pyrite, illite and sometimes calcite) are added to them during the bottom sediments formation. The absolute contents of the studied elements in the bottom sediments of all lakes are lower than their concentrations in the upper continental crust and sedimentary rocks of the Russian Plate, with the exception of Si, Hg, Cd. In the lakes of the subtaiga of the south of Western Siberia, an exception was established for Ca in the bottom sediments of which carbonates predominate. Contents variations of a number of elements in the bottom sediments of taiga lakes in different regions do not significantly differ. The dispersion of their concentrations between lakes with a total catchment area and lakes from different regions are comparable (Ca, Sr, Al, Mn, Fe, Cd, Hg, etc.). The current sedimentation rate in natural occurrence in the lakes of the taiga zone (southern Siberia) vary from 1.1 to 2.9 mm/year. Moreover, it is comparable to the current sedimentation rate in the lakes of the forest-steppe and steppe zones of south of Western Siberia.

New and noteworthy records of Plants, Lichens and Lepidoptera in Altai Territory and Republic of Altai (Southern Siberia)

New and noteworthy records of Plants, Lichens and Lepidoptera in Altai Territory and Republic of Altai (Southern Siberia)

What defines the “Minusinsk Style” in the earliest rock art of the Minusinsk Basin, southern Siberia?

This article defines a set of features typical of a particular rock art complex in the Minusinsk Basin of south-central Siberia; the so-called “Minusinsk Style.” The combination and repetition of specific typological and technological features allow us to consider not only morphological data, but also employ an image processing strategy. Here, we analyze not only formal signs describing visual characteristics of rock art, but also ways of organizing visual space within depictions – a suite of behaviors referred to as image construction methods.We analysed classic examples of the earliest rock art imagery in the Minusinsk Basin – “Minusinsk Style” petroglyphs. Until recently, this corpus of images was defined based solely on typological characteristics of zoomorphic representations. In recent years, technological aspects of petroglyph production have been studied more broadly. Here, we identify features specific to this stylistic assemblage in the rock art of the Minusinsk Basin.Although morphological components can be relatively easily imitated, it is much more difficult to replicate image construction methods, which makes them more reliable markers for defining specific rock art styles.

Insight into the Natural History of Pathogenic Variant c.919-2A>G in the SLC26A4 Gene Involved in Hearing Loss: The Evidence for Its Common Origin in Southern Siberia (Russia).

Pathogenic variants in the SLC26A4 gene leading to nonsyndromic recessive deafness (DFNB4), or Pendred syndrome, are some of the most common causes of hearing loss worldwide. Earlier, we found a high proportion of SLC26A4-related hearing loss with prevailing pathogenic variant c.919-2A>G (69.3% among all mutated SLC26A4 alleles that have been identified) in Tuvinian patients belonging to the indigenous Turkic-speaking Siberian people living in the Tyva Republic (Southern Siberia, Russia), which implies a founder effect in the accumulation of c.919-2A>G in Tuvinians. To evaluate a possible common origin of c.919-2A>G, we genotyped polymorphic STR and SNP markers, intragenic and flanking SLC26A4, in patients homozygous for c.919-2A>G and in healthy controls. The common STR and SNP haplotypes carrying c.919-2A>G were revealed, which convincingly indicates the origin of c.919-2A>G from a single ancestor, supporting a crucial role of the founder effect in the c.919-2A>G prevalence in Tuvinians. Comparison analysis with previously published data revealed the identity of the small SNP haplotype (~4.5 kb) in Tuvinian and Han Chinese carriers of c.919-2A>G, which suggests their common origin from founder chromosomes. We assume that c.919-2A>G could have originated in the geographically close territories of China or Tuva and subsequently spread to other regions of Asia. In addition, the time intervals of the c.919-2A>G occurrence in Tuvinians were roughly estimated.

Genetic legacy of southern Middle Siberian mountain and foothill populations of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.): Diversity and differentiation

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a widespread and economically important tree species in Eurasia. Southern Siberian, Scots pine mountain and foothills forests are especially valuable natural objects that help to stabilize environmental conditions. Due to the associated impact of natural and anthropogenic factors, the habitats of the species in southern Siberia are constantly shrinking. In this regard, the study of genetic diversity and structure of Scots pine forests in southern Siberia is very relevant. Here, we studied the genetic diversity and structure of eight Scots pine populations located in southern Middle Siberia (Russia). A high level of genetic diversity (HE = 0.518) was detected in the studied populations. No recent bottleneck effect, isolation by distance or isolation-by-environment were detected. Most genetic diversity was found within populations, while only 7% of genetic diversity occurred among populations. Both STRUCTURE analysis and UPGMA clustering showed two genetic groups. Two populations from the Minusink basin and a population from the Western Sayan Mts. formed the first group and the second group was composed of the other populations from Kuznetsk Alatau Mts., Central Tuva basin and Todzha basin. Our findings suggest that the studied Scots pine populations originate from different gene pools. The pattern of genetic diversity revealed by our study may be useful for the elaboration of conservation measures of genetic resources of Scots pine in southern Middle Siberia.

The Earliest Paleolithic Assemblages from Denisova Cave in the Altai

The article presents the results of multidisciplinary studies of the Early Middle Paleolithic assemblages from the lower part of the Denisova Cave Pleistocene sequence in the East Chamber and the Main Chamber of the cave. Data on geochronology, small and large vertebrate fauna, palynology, stratigraphy and micromorphology of sediments containing the earliest archaeological fi nds at the site, as well as on petrography, traceology and archaeozoology are presented. We des cribe human fossils and aDNA studies based on them. These materials demonstrate that the fi rst inhabitants of the cave and those associated with the Early Middle Paleolithic traditions were Denisovans. On the basis of the collection, which includes over 35,000 artifacts, the technology and typology of the Denisova industry are reconstructed. We focus on the comparison of the Denisova Early Middle Paleolithic with chronologically closest industries of North and Central Asia. The most similar industry is the Acheulo-Yabrudian of the Near East. Parallels concern primary reduction techniques and tool types. A hypothesis explaining the appearance of Middle Paleolithic traditions in Southern Siberia is proposed. We demonstrate continuity in the evolution of the lithic industries of Denisova up to the autochthonous emergence of the Upper Paleolithic ca 50,000 years ago.

Mesoproterozoic (ca. 1.26 Ga) Srednecheremshansk mafic–ultramafic intrusion in the southern Siberia: Signature of the Mackenzie event in Siberia

Several published Mesoproterozoic paleogeographic reconstructions suggest proximity of northern Laurentia and southern Siberia. However, the apparent absence of the traces of the ca. 1.27 Ga giant Mackenzie magmatic event in southern Siberia was somewhat contradictory to this hypothesis. Here we present geochronological, mineralogical, geochemical, Nd isotopic, and paleomagnetic data from the Srednecheremshansk dyke-shaped intrusion, which was recently found in the Sharyzhalgay uplift of the southern part of the Siberian craton and which can be related to the Mackenzie event. The plagioclase-bearing peridotite of this intrusion yielded U-Pb (ID-TIMS) baddeleyite concordia age of 1260 ± 3 Ma, which is interpreted as the time of their emplacement. This age is close to the previously published baddeleyite age of gabbro from the same intrusion (1258 ± 5 Ma). The Srednecheremshansk intrusion is composed of ultramafic and mafic rocks. The main rock-forming minerals of the intrusion are olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, phlogopite, and plagioclase in various proportions. Sulfide mineralization of the intrusion is represented by pentlandite nodules. The chemical composition of Srednecheremshansk ultramafic and mafic rocks correspond to subalkaline peridotite gabbro and gabbro. These rocks are characterized by negative ɛNd(t) values range from −6.3 to −6.9. Ultramafic and mafic rocks have similar geochemical and isotopic characteristics, indicating their generation from a single subcontinental lithospheric mantle source. The chemical composition of the Srednecheremshansk intrusion is similar to those of the ca. 1.27 Ga Muskox mafic–ultramafic intrusion of the Mackenzie Large Igneous Province in northern Laurentia. Paleomagnetic data permit a variety of possible Laurentia-Siberia reconstructions in Mesoproterozoic. The combination of geochronological, geochemical, and paleomagnetic data allows the relation of the Srednecheremshansk intrusion with the Mackenzie magmatic event.