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A stag-moose Cervalces sp. (Cervidae) skull with antler beams of substantially different lengths has been analyzed. This skull was found in the lower reaches of the Yana River along with the lower jaw and four vertebrae. Its geological age has been assigned to the range from the very end of Eopleistocene to the first half of the early Neopleistocene. The unequal lengths of the beams in the individual analyzed was reproduced during each antler regeneration throughout the animal’s life. This may be indicative of the genetic nature of the phenomenon, even though a nongenetic cause of this disproportion is also possible, as many field observations and experimental data demonstrated frequent asymmetric disturbances in antler growth in modern deer due to injuries, especially forelimb injuries. If the genetic hypothesis is true, such an anomaly may be a manifestation of intensive form genesis, a putative adaptive reaction to the first substantial cooling of the climate in the Pleistocene. Antler beam proportions are the most valuable criterion for species and subspecies taxonomy and diagnosis of fossil moose. The case described by us does not render this trait useless, since the case is exceptionally rare. However, this genetic anomaly may be indicative of an increase in evolutionary trait variability during periods of significant climate change, which should be borne in mind when the morphology of animals that lived during such epochs is interpreted.

In recent years, new accumulations of mammoth faunal remains have been discovered in the northern part of the Yana-Indighirka lowland. Such areas are referred to as “mammoth graveyards” since the discovery of the Berelekh complex of geoarchaeological locales. It's been determined that all of these locales contain various amounts of evidence of past human activity associated with the use of bone accumulations as a valuable raw material source (mammoth ivory). These locales indicate that humans were widely spread in Arctic Siberia during the Late Pleistocene (MIS 3 and 2). At least some of these sites could have formed as a result of ancient people hunting mammoths. In this article we discuss two newly discovered sites, which currently represent the northernmost evidence of human presence in the Arctic at the end of the Pleistocene. They were found in the Maksunuokha River valley, to the south of the Shirokostan Peninsula. The Urez-22 site (MKR/U22) is located at 71°42′ N and is currently the northernmost Paleolithic site in the world. The Lake Nikita site (NKL) is situated 40 km away from Urez-22, and both sites contain numerous remains of mammoth. The NKL site material represents the earlier of the two ancient human habitation episodes. This site's age is estimated at ∼13,800 to 13,600 years ago. The NKL site is a complete chronological and cultural “duplicate” of the Berelekh site, which points to a relatively wide spread of this culture in Northeast Asia. New World implements, similar to those found at the Berelekh site and NKL, are known as the Chindadn points. At this point, they represent the only tangible evidence of the cultural connection between the materials from Northeast Asia and Northwest North America. The age of Urez-22 can be estimated at the time slice of ∼14,900 to 13,900 years ago. Archaeological material was encountered in redeposited concentrations, created by a low-energy stream. Artifacts from Urez-22 demonstrate the spread of microblade industry, older than the early Holocene, for the first time in the Siberian Arctic. This new material indicates noticeable cultural originality of the region during the Late Paleolithic and promises success in the future search for Paleolithic sites in the Yana-Indighirka lowland.

To clarify unanswered questions of site formation, geology and the archaeology of the Berelekh geoarchaeological complex, a special survey was undertaken in 2009 of the area surrounding the site. Several geological units have been revealed. By establishing the spatial and temporal relationship of these deposits—as well as their age—we have reconstructed the formation history of the Berelekh bone bed. The mammoth bone deposit belongs to a paleochannel. Radiocarbon dating of mammoth remains at Berelekh demonstrates rapid accumulation during the Bolling warming. Human involvement in its formation is, at best, questionable, since there is no real overlap between the radiocarbon dates associated with past human activity, and those of the mammoth bone bed. This study confirms that humans used mammoth bone remains after the bone bed was deposited. Culturally, the Berelekh “site” does not have any relationship to the so-called “Dyuktai culture.” Instead, the Berelekh archaeological finds (side notched stone pendants) show certain similarities to non-microblade terminal Pleistocene assemblages found from Yenisei to Kamchatka. Additionally, the Berelekh complex presents a clear analogy with lithics found in Eastern Beringia. Teardrop-shaped incomplete bifaces found in the assemblage are comparable to the Chindadn points of Alaska. The nature of this “Chindadn connection” is intriguing but it is the only visible cultural link between Western and Eastern Beringia.

In 2001, the Yana RHS archaeological site was discovered in the lower Yana river valley, Arctic Siberia. Its radiocarbon age is about 28 000 BP. While enormous amount of Pleistocene mammal bones was excavated from the site, the mammoth bones occurred at an unexpectedly low frequency. That was interpreted as an indication of the limited role of mammoths in the subsistence economy of the Pleistocene Yana people. In 2008, next to the excavation local ivory miners opened a mass accumulation of mammoth accompanied by the artifacts. About one thousand mammoth bones from at least 26 individuals, and few wooly rhinoceros, bison, horse, reindeer, and bear bones have been unearthed there. Stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating provide evidence for cultural layer of Yana RHS and the mass accumulation of mammoth to be coeval. The geology and taphonomy of Yana mass accumulation of mammoth indicate its anthropogenic nature. Discovery of the anthropogenic mass accumulation of mammoth next to the Yana site suggests a greater role of mammoth in the subsistence practices of the Pleistocene Yana people than previously thought.

The little known Achchagyi–Allaikha mass assemblage of mammoths and the well-known Berelyokh site (Lower Indigirka River, Arctic Siberia) were studied. Detailed study of the Achchagyi–Allaikha site provided ample data concerning its geology, stratigraphy, taphonomy, and the gender-age structure of the taphocoenosis. The Achchagyi–Allaikha assemblage included redeposited bones from numerous young (not less than 21) and some adult female mammoths, with limited quantities of Bison, Equus and Rangifer bones. Collagen from mammoth bones preserved at the Achchagyi–Allaikha site ( n = 6) was radiocarbon-dated at 12,490 ± 80 to 12,400 ± 60 BP. At the Berelyokh site, eight mammoth bones were radiocarbon-dated at 12,720 ± 100 to 11,900 ± 50 BP, one bison bone was dated at 12,380 ± 150 BP, and one mammoth bone dated at 36,500 ± 1000 (redeposited bone included in younger sediments). The mass accumulations are synchronous and are similar in their mode of formation. The assemblage of mammoths in the Achchagyi–Allaikha and Berelyokh sites resulted from simultaneous deaths of a large number of animals (probably herd-family groups) in one or several seasons. It is very probable that the deposits in both cases were not of cultural origin. The formation of the burials is a direct consequence of short but strong climatic warming (Bolling Oscillation) that resulted in many unfavorable environmental conditions. Among these, the increase of snow cover and stronger spring floods were very notable. Bolling warming is a model of the large-scale Holocene event. Mass death of mammoths during the Bolling phase was a prelude to their final extinction.

A newly discovered Paleolithic site on the Yana River, Siberia, at 71°N, lies well above the Arctic circle and dates to 27,000 radiocarbon years before present, during glacial times. This age is twice that of other known human occupations in any Arctic region. Artifacts at the site include a rare rhinoceros foreshaft, other mammoth foreshafts, and a wide variety of tools and flakes. This site shows that people adapted to this harsh, high-latitude, Late Pleistocene environment much earlier than previously thought.