Chronology and environment of the Palaeolithic and Neolithic cultures on the southern Russian Far East

The results of geoarchaeological studies of the prehistoric cultural complexes on the Russian Far East (Primorye, or Maritime Province; the Amur River basin; and Sakhalin Island) are presented. Upper Palaeolithic sites are dated to ca. 40,000-10,500 B.P. They existed during the mild climate of the Chernoruchie interstadial (ca. 40,000-21,000 B.P.); during harsh climate at the Last Glacial Maximum, ca. 20,000-18,000 B.P., in several places on the Russian Far East (Primorye, Amur River basin, and Sakhalin); and during climatic amelioration in the Late Glacial time, ca. 16,000-10,500 B.P. The earliest Neolithic sites, represented by Osipovka and Gromatukha cultures, existed at ca. 13,000-10,000 B.P. in the environment of coniferous forests with admixture of broadleaved taxa. Since ca. 8000 B.P., Neolithic cultures appeared in all of the Russian Far East. They existed until ca. 3000 B.P., first during the Holocene Climatic Optimum, ca. 8000-5000 B.P., in the environment of coniferous-broadleaved forests, and later, at ca. 5000-3000 B.P., in the environment of birch-oak and coniferous forests.