Mammal Extinction Facilitated Biome Shift and Human Population Change During the Last Glacial Termination in East-Central EuropeEnikő

Studying local extinction times, associated environmental and human population changes during the last glacial termination provides insights into the causes of mega- and microfauna extinctions. In East-Central (EC) Europe, Palaeolithic human groups were present throughout the last glacial maximum (LGM), but disappeared suddenly around 15 200 cal yr BP. In this study we use radiocarbon dated cave sediment profiles and a large set of direct AMS 14 C dates on mammal bones to determine local extinction times that are compared with the Epigravettian population decline, quantitative climate models, pollen and plant macrofossil inferred climate and biome reconstructions and coprophilous fungi derived total megafauna change for EC Europe. Our results suggest that the population size of large herbivores decreased in the area after 17 700 cal yr BP, when temperate tree abundance and warm continental steppe cover both increased in the lowlands Boreal forest expansion took place around 16 200 cal yr BP. Cave sediments show the decline of tundra associated narrow-headed vole and arctic lemming populations at the same time and the expansion of steppic common vole. We found the last dated appearance of arctic lemming at ~ 16 640, narrow-headed vole at ~ 13 340, and estimated the last appearance of woolly mammoth at 12 690 − 16 150 (median: 15 210) and reindeer at 8300 − 14 480 cal yr BP (median: 12 550) using the PHASE model in OxCal. The population decline of the large herbivore fauna slightly preceded the terrestrial vegetation change and likely facilitated it via restricted grazing and the accumulation of plant biomass. Furthermore, we conclude that the Late Epigravettian population had high prey-fidelity; they left the basin when these mammals vanished.