Palynostratigraphy and preliminary reconstruction of environmental conditions in forming the upper part of Pleistocene section in eastern gallery of Denisova cave

We present here the preliminary sporo-pollen analysis result of samples from lithological layers 9 and 11, formed the upper layer of Pleistocene section in the Eastern gallery of Denisova Cave in Altai. When layers 9 and 11 accumulated, the open mountain-steppe and mountain-forest-steppe association, which had been over a few developmental phases, dominated the landscape, surrounding cave. The phases when forest formation prevailed was relatively short. The changes in environmental conditions arose from shifts between interstadial climate stages (sometimes close to interglacial) and relatively short cold and dry or cold and wet periods, which were relevant to stadials of Upper Pleistocene stratigraphic scale. As is shown, often the boundaries of palyno- and climate-stratigraphic units do not coincide with lithostratigraphic. It arise from specifics of sedimentation and post-sedimentological transformation of the cave deposits, continuance of their forming and global climatic fluctuation in that period.