The article presents the results of a palynological study of two Late Paleolithic sites (Olimpiya-5, Ogonki-5) and one Early Neolithic site (Slavnaya-5) located in the south of Sakhalin Island. During the existence of Late Paleolithic sites on Southern Sakhalin, the distribution of dark coniferous fir-spruce forests can be reconstructed, which suggests the presence of relatively warm phases during the last stadial, coinciding with the Dansgor-Eshger oscillations. The natural conditions at the beginning of the Holocene in Southern Sakhalin were relatively warm, although the almost complete absence of broad-leaved pollen indicates that the Boreal period is not the Holocene climatic optimum for this region.

Key words: palynological analysis, reconstructions of natural conditions, Late Paleolithic, Early Neolithic, Sakhalin.

Introduction

The meridional extent and intermediate geographical position of the island between the continental and insular landmasses of North and East Asia make Sakhalin a unique site for studying the history of settlement and development of human societies in the changing natural conditions of the Late Glacial and Holocene periods. In recent decades, numerous archaeological sites (Ogonki-5, Sokol, Olimpia-5, Porechye-4, Slavnaya-4 and -5, Pugachevo-1, etc.) belonging to the Late Paleolithic and Early Neolithic have been discovered and studied in detail on the island [Vasilevsky, 2003, 2008; Vasilevsky, Grishchenko, Orlova, 2010; Grishchenko, 2011; Grishchenko et al., 2010]. At the same time, no systematic paleoecological study of the monuments has been carried out so far. The difficulty of palynological studies at open archaeological sites in Southern Sakhalin lies in the low concentrations of pollen and spores in the lower horizons, which makes it impossible to conduct statistical analysis and build spore-pollen diagrams. Determining the chronology of monuments is complicated by the lack of organic material for radiocarbon dating (Grishchenko, 2011). Despite these problems, this paper is the first attempt at palynological study of three sites located in the south of Sakhalin (Ogonki-5, Olimpiya-5, Slavnaya-5). Interpretation of the obtained data allowed us to characterize the Late Paleolithic and Neolithic of Southern Sakhalin in the context of changes in the natural environment.

Natural conditions of Southern Sakhalin

In the southern part of Sakhalin Island, there are two extended mountain structures that extend into the meridian-

In this direction, the Western and Eastern Sakhalin Mountains are separated by the Tym-Poronai Lowland. Located to the south, the Susunaiskaya lowland stretches for about 100 km from the Aniva Bay in the south to the Naiba River in the north. It is bounded on the west by the West Sakhalin Mountains, and on the east by the Susunaiskiy Ridge and Korsakov Plateau.

The climate of Sakhalin is temperate-monsoon, although due to the meridional stretch of the island, its indicators vary significantly from north to south. Average annual temperatures are -2.0 ... -2.7 °C in the north and 4.0-4.5 °C in the south, and precipitation is 500-600 and 800-1200 mm / year, respectively (Alexandrova, 1982).

The modern vegetation of the island belongs to the Boreal type, but the variety of original forms distinguishes it from the communities of this type in Siberia and Europe (Tolmachev, 1959). On Sakhalin, there are formations that have no analogues in the boreal vegetation proper, for example, Sakhalin large grass (with Polygonum sachalinense, Angelica ursina, Heracleum lanatum, Pleurospermum kamtschaticum, Senecio palmatus, etc.) and stone birch forests from Betula ermanii with dense thickets of bamboo endemic to the south of the island Sasa spp.

Southern Sakhalin, together with the southern Kuril Islands and Hokkaido Island, is part of the Sakhalin-Hokkaido Province of the East Asian Floristic Region (Takhtadjian, 1978). According to geobotanical zoning (Tolmachev, 1955), the southeast of the island and the Susunai lowland, where the archaeological sites under study are concentrated, belong to the subzone of dark coniferous forests with a predominance of fir, and the extreme southwest-to the subzone of dark coniferous forests with an admixture of broad-leaved ones. The main forest-forming species of the former are Abies sachalinensis, A. mayriana, Picea ajanensis, and R. glehnii, while the latter also contains Quercus mongolica, Q. crispula, Phellodendron sachalinense, Padus ssiori, Taxus cuspidata, and others.

The period of existence of the studied archaeological sites covers the interval from the late Pleistocene (-24 Ka BP*, Ogonki-5) to the end of the Early Holocene (~9 Ka BP, Slavnaya-5). In the late Pleistocene, dark coniferous forests dominated on the territory of Sakhalin, with a gradual loss of broad-leaved species from the stand. At the same time, the climate during the entire MIS 2 stage was characterized by near-millennial fluctuations, the so-called Dansgaard-Eschger oscillations (Takahara et al., 2010). During the last late Pleistocene cold snap, the Susunai lowland developed a periglacial intermountain grass-shrub tundra in combination with larch forest tundra (Alexandrova, 1982). Cold larch-pine forests are being reconstructed in the central-western part of Sakhalin and in central Hokkaido during the last glacial maximum. The warming events of the last stadial are characterized by the predominance of spruce in the stand [Igarashi and Zharov, 2011]. At the end of the Pleistocene, larch-birch forest tundra developed in the south-east of Sakhalin in a cool and dry climate (Mikishin and Gvozdeva, 1996). The first significant warming was recorded between 14 and 12 thousand years ago. when the role of dark coniferous formations increased, fir and broad-leaved species (oak, elm, hornbeam) appeared in the stand. The Late Dryas cooling period (13.0-11.5 Ka BP) is not pronounced on Sakhalin (Igarashi and Zharov, 2011; Mikishin and Gvozdeva, 1996). During the Holocene, warming was followed by colder phases. The question of the Holocene "thermal maximum" remains debatable. N. A. Khotinsky (1977) associated it with the Boreal period, while the results of a later palynological study of peat bogs in the south-east of Sakhalin indicate that the warmest period of the Holocene was the Atlantic (Mikishin and Gvozdeva, 1996). At this time, the south-east of the island was dominated by heat-loving broad-leaved forests.

Research objects

The multilayered Late Paleolithic settlement Ogonki-5 (46°46 '53.2" NW, 142°28 '52.9" EW; Anivsky district) is located on the left bank of the Lyutoga River in the southwestern part of Sakhalin Island (Fig. 1). Pit 2010. (N 1) covers four lithological layers comparable to layers 3-6 identified on this site and described by A. A. Vasilevsky [2008]. Vegetation around the monument is represented by thickets of Saza bamboo, the removed upper arable layer is currently overgrown with aspen. The main vegetation type in the surrounding area is a birch-fir forest with a grass layer of Saza bamboo and ferns.

The multilayered Late Paleolithic site Olimpia-5 (46 ° 50 '38.1" NW, 142°45 '22.1" EW; Anivsky district; Fig. 1) is confined to a promontory-like projection of the foothill plume of the southern tip of the Susunai Range at the junction with the swampy plain of the Susunai lowland and the hills of the Korsakov Plateau [Grishchenko et al., 2010]. The monument is located under the canopy of a birch-fir forest with an undergrowth of mountain ash and a grass layer of large grasses and ferns.

* All dates except those marked as ^14s are calendar dates.

Figure 1. Location of the investigated archaeological sites in Southern Sakhalin.

The site of the first stage of the Early Neolithic Slavnaya-5 (47°43 '51.7" N, 142°32 '10.9" E; Dolinsky district, Fig. 1) is located on a marine accumulative terrace cut by an unnamed stream (Grishchenko, 2011). Vegetation in the vicinity of the monument is represented by dark coniferous taiga dominated by fir and spruce.

Methods and materials

For palynological analysis, 8 samples were taken in 2008 with an interval of 5 cm from the deposits of the Slavnaya-5 site, in 2010 38 samples with an interval of 2 - 3 cm from pit 1 of the Ogonki-5 monument and 15 samples with an interval of 5 cm from pit 1 of Olimpia-5. Each sample (75-100 g of dry matter) was processed in a chemical laboratory using the V. P. Grichuk separation method (Pollen Analysis, 1950). 40% hydrofluoric acid was used to remove silicates (Faegri and Iversen, 1989). Lycopodium spore tablets for calculating pollen and spore concentrations were added only to samples from the Slavnaya-5 site. No acetolysis was performed.

Pollen grains, spores, and non-pollen palynomorphs (NII) were counted using an Imager.D2 light microscope (Zeiss) at x400 magnification. Determinants and atlases were used to determine the taxonomic affiliation of pollen and spores (Kupriyanova, 1965; Kupriyanova and Aleshina, 1972; Reille, 1992, 1995, 1998). Each sample contained from 100 to 500 grains, with the exception of samples in which spores and pollen are isolated. In addition, coal particles ranging in size from 20 to 100 microns were counted. Determination of their number in palynological preparations can be used for regional (20-100 km) reconstructions of forest fires [Gobet et al., 2003; Whitlock and Larsen, 2001]. One of the indicators of fire-related events is the ratio of the total number of coal particles to the sum of pollen and spores (Yr/PS) [Blackford, 2000].

Based on the results of palynological analysis, spore-pollen diagrams were constructed using the Tilia-Tilia-Graph software (Grimm, 1991). Pollen and spore content in samples with a low concentration (in which it was not possible to count more than 100 grains) is presented on them not as a percentage, but in absolute numbers.

Results and interpretation

Ogonyki-5

Layer 1. The pollen and spore content in this layer is high, which makes it possible to adequately reflect the percentage of taxa on the spore-pollen diagram (Figure 2). The palynological complex is characterized by a predominance of coniferous tree pollen: spruce (Picea, up to 80 %) and fir (Abies, up to 60 %) with an admixture of pine pollen grains (Pinus s/g Haploxylon, P. s/g Diploxylon). This layer contains the highest pollen content of deciduous species such as Betula, Alnus, and Salix, as well as broad - leaved species such as Tilia, Juglans, and Carpinus. Herbaceous taxa are mainly represented by compositaceae, grasses, and sedges. There is also a high content of Epilobium pollen. Among the spore-bearing plants, plowshares predominate.

During the accumulation of the layer in the vicinity of the monument, there was a dark-coniferous fir-spruce taiga with an admixture of birch and broad-leaved species.

Layer 2. The ratio of Picea and Abies pollen remains the same as in layer 1. The content of pollen grains of pine (including drift Pinus s/g Diploxylon) increases. Pollen from AInaster and Carpinus was recorded in the sample from a depth of 27 cm. Single pollen grains of broad-leaved species (Tilia, Juglans, Carpinus) are found at a depth of 31-33 cm. Among herbaceous plants, the pollen of asteraceae, grasses and sedges is most abundant. Several samples have a relatively high content of pollen grains ErPoYit. In the layer, especially in its middle part, the number of fern spores increases, with the general dominance of plow spores. In the lower part of the layer, pollen and spores are absent or their content is minimal.

2. Spore-pollen diagram of sediments from the Late Paleolithic Ogonki-5 site. NP - non-pollen palynomorphs, Others - woody, Tr. - herbaceous, Sp. - spores.

A colder version of the fir-spruce dark coniferous taiga is being reconstructed than during the accumulation of layer 1.

Layer 3. Of the five samples, only two contain pollen and spores. These are pollen grains of coniferous (spruce, fir, pine), compound flowers, spores of ferns and plowshares.

Layer 4. Of the four samples, two contained single grains of coniferous and plow spore.

Olimpia-5

Layer 1. The spore-pollen spectrum of the upper palynological sample is subrecent, reflecting modern vegetation dominated by Betula sect birch. Albae and conifers (Abies, Picea). 3) is characterized by the predominance of coniferous pollen (Abies, Picea, Pinus s/g Haploxylon). Birch pollen occupies a significant place. Among herbaceous taxa, Artemisia, Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Asteroideae, and Cichorioideae play a leading role.

During the accumulation of the layer, mixed birch-dark coniferous forests grew in the vicinity of the Olympia-5 monument. The high percentage of Pinus s / g Haploxylon pollen may reflect the development of cedar elk with Pinus pumila in the mountainous regions of Southern Sakhalin.

Layer 2. The palynocomplex is characterized by a decrease in the participation of fir and spruce pollen and a sharp increase in the content of spores of plowshares (Lycopodium clavatum and L. dubium). The composition of the palynological spectra also makes it possible to reconstruct mixed birch-dark coniferous forests, but probably of a colder type than during the accumulation of layer 1.

Layer 3. The samples contain only a few plow spores.

Layer 4. Single pollen grains of Picea, Pinus, Betula, Cyperaceae and spore Sphagnum were found.

Slavnaya Street-5

Layer 1. Palynocomplex (Fig. 4) is characterized by the highest content of woody plant pollen in the section (up to 80 %), among which pine pollen prevails (up to 50 %), fir (up to 30 %) and spruce (up to 20 %). Hardwoods are represented by a small amount of pollen grains of Betula, Alnus, Salix and Tilia. A few pollen samples from herbaceous taxa belong to Cyperaceae, Artemisia, Poaceae, and Asteroideae. Among the spore plants, ferns (Pteridium aquilinum, Dryopteris, Ophyoglossum) and plowshares dominate.

Layer 2. The content of spores of ferns and plovers increases noticeably. The proportion of herbaceous taxa dominated by sagebrush and sedge pollen is increasing. Woody vegetation is mainly represented by pollen grains of pine, spruce, fir, birch and alder.

Fig. 3. Spore-pollen diagram of deposits of the Late Paleolithic site Olimpia-5.

Figure 4. Spore-pollen diagram of sediments from the Slavnaya-5 Early Neolithic site. See Figure 2 for reference.

Layer 3. The only sample from this layer is dominated by spores of ferns and plowshares. The number of pollen grains of herbaceous plants with a predominance of Artemisia (up to 20 %) and Cyperaceae (up to 10%) increases. Tree taxa are represented by pollen from pine, birch, alder, and willow.

Layer 4. Only single pine pollen grains and fern spores were detected in two samples.

A distinctive feature of the palynospectros of the monument is the presence in the lower and middle parts of the section (depth 20-40 cm) of a large number of coal particles (830-2500) ranging in size from 20 to 100 microns (Fig. 4) (Rudaya, 2011). The ratio of their number to the sum of pollen and spores (Ug/PS) reaches 450 at a depth of 3-5 cm, and in the upper part of the section it is 0.0-0.1 (Fig. 4). The correlation coefficient between the sum of pollen and spores and the number of coal particles is quite high (r = -0.7) and shows a strict negative trend. the link.

The high content of coal particles and the absence of pollen and spores in layer 4 may indicate forest fires in the immediate vicinity of the Slavnaya-5 monument. This is also indicated by the high values of the Ug/PS ratio recorded in layers 2 and 3.The accumulation period of the latter is characterized by a decrease in the role of conifers and the development of communities with birch, alder, mixed grasses and ferns in the grassy tier. Such plant groups can be part of the "pioneer" vegetation in the areas of clearings or harems.

During the accumulation of layers 1 and 2, the forests consisted of dark coniferous trees, such as spruce and fir, whose pollen tends to be deposited relatively locally (Bezrukovaetal., 2005). The forest-forming species of the overlying mountain belt could be pine (for example, Pinus pumila), represented in the spore-pollen spectra by a significant number of pollen grains. From deciduous woody plants grew birch, alder and willow. The grassy cover consisted of various types of forest grasses with a significant participation of ferns and plovers.

Late Paleolithic and Neolithic of Southern Sakhalin in the context of environmental changes

The time of operation of the Late Paleolithic sites Ogonki-5 and Olimpia-5 coincides with the marine isotope stage MIS 2, which is characterized by the most severe climate of the last glacial period. At the same time, palynological data obtained from sections of monuments do not reflect the development of periglacial vegetation in the region during the accumulation of layers containing stone industries (see the table). Thus, during the formation of the second cultural horizon of the Ogonki-5 site, dated in the range of 21.5 - 16.0 thousand years AGO, it is possible to reconstruct the distribution of dark coniferous fir-spruce formations. Colder climatic conditions than during the accumulation of the first cultural horizon (16-12 Ka BP) are indicated by the almost complete absence of broad - leaved pollen grains. The predominance of spruce pollen was also noted

Characteristics of deposits at Ogonki-5, Olimpiya-5, Slavnaya-5 monuments

End of the table

for warming events of the last glacial maximum recorded in the Khoe section (Middle Sakhalin). where, in addition, pollen grains of pine and larch are abundant, but not of fir (Igarashi et al., 2002; Igarashi and Zharov, 2011). Currently, the vegetation of the southern and central parts of the island also varies significantly. Green moss dark coniferous forests with spruce predominance grow in the central regions, larch-dark coniferous and larch-birch forests are often found. The south of the island is dominated by dark coniferous forests dominated by fir, broad-leaved trees, and a developed carpet of ferns (Tolmachev, 1955). A special feature of the spore-pollen spectra of sediments at the Ogonki-5 and Olimpia-5 sites is the high content of plow spores. Analysis of subfossilized palynological samples also revealed their abundance in the spectra of dark coniferous forests of Middle and Southern Sakhalin (Mikishin and Gvozdeva, 1996). Thus, we can conclude that in the southern part of the island, even during the last stadial, there were phases when rather mild climatic conditions were preserved, which allowed the development of Late Paleolithic cultures.

The stone industry and ceramic fragments found at the Slavnaya-5 Early Neolithic site correspond to the well-studied complex of "arrowhead plate cultures" of Hokkaido Island at the Yubetsu-Ichikawa site (Kimura, 1999). The Hokkaido and Sakhalin materials of this culture are dated in the range of 10-8 KA BP (Grishchenko, 2011), which makes it possible to assign the cultural layers containing them to the Early Holocene. Palynological data obtained from layers with artefacts indicate the development of vegetation cover in the vicinity of the Slavnaya-5 site, similar to the modern zonal dark coniferous taiga with Picea ajanensis and Abies sachalinensis with Betula ermanii undergrowth, mixed grasses, and numerous species of ferns and plantain. The upper levels of the mountains could be covered with cedar elfin.

Conclusion

The time of existence of the Late Paleolithic sites Ogonki-5 and Olimpia-5 corresponds to marine isotope stage 2, which is the coldest stage of the last glacial. Based on palynological data, the distribution of dark coniferous fir-spruce formations in Southern Sakhalin can be reconstructed. This suggests the presence of relatively warm phases during the last stadial, which probably coincide with the Dansgaard-Eschger oscillations, during which the following events occurred:

active sedimentation, including layers containing cultural horizons rich in Paleolithic artifacts.

The results of a palynological study of the Early Neolithic site Slavnaya-5 indicate a warm climate at the beginning of the Holocene (Boreal period) in Southern Sakhalin. Although the almost complete absence of broad-leaved pollen indicates that the Boreal period is not the Holocene climatic optimum for this region.

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The article was submitted to the editorial Board on 08.11.12, in the final version-on 13.11.12.

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