Theriofaunal remains from Pleistocene deposits in the south chamber of Denisova Cave (2022-2024 collection)

Results of the analysis of a new paleontological collection from the South Chamber of Denisova Cave are provided herein. The collection includes more than 40,000 specimens from layers 19-11. Identifiable bone remains, with their share of 7.5 % on average in the section, belong to at least 37 mammal species. Heavily crushed bone material accumulated in the cave mainly because of the feeding activity of large predators, primarily cave hyenas. Hyena clans used the cave as a shelter and a den for breeding offspring. A significant portion of bones, teeth, and its fragments has traces of digestion. In collections from the lower part of the section, primarily layers 18 and 17, most bone remains have traces of human activity, such as splitting, cuts, and burning. An analysis of the expanded collection of large mammal remains from the South Chamber, including materials from 2017-2024, showed that steppe and forest-steppe landscapes prevailed near Denisova Cave in the second half of the Middle Pleistocene and in the Upper Pleistocene. During interglacial and glacial periods, they occupied half to most of the territory, while the forest area most likely never exceeded its third. The 2022-2024 collection contains detailed descriptions of beaver remains, and predators: brown bear, cave hyena, cave lion, snow leopard, and lynx. Of large herbivores - mammoth, two species of horses - Equus ferus and E. ovodovi, woolly rhinoceros, giant deer, reindeer, Baikal yak, bison, Mongolian gazelle, saiga antelope, Siberian ibex, and argali. For the first time, Pleistocene remains of aurochs have been found in Denisova Cave and in the south of Western Siberia.