The Older Dryas was a stadial (cold) period between the Bølling and Allerød

interstadial Stadials and interstadials are phases dividing the Quaternary period, or the last 2.6 million years. Stadials are periods of colder climate while interstadials are periods of warmer climate. Each Quaternary climate phase is associated with a Ma ...

s (warmer phases), about 14,000 years

Before Present Before Present (BP) years, or "years before present", is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Becaus ...

, towards the end of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

. Its date is not well defined, with estimates varying by 400 years, but its duration is agreed to have been around 200 years. The gradual warming since the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eur ...

(27,000 to 24,000 years BP) has been interrupted by two cold spells: the Older Dryas and the

Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas (c. 12,900 to 11,700 years BP) was a return to glacial conditions which temporarily reversed the gradual climatic warming after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, c. 27,000 to 20,000 years BP). The Younger Dryas was the last stage ...

(c. 12,900–11,650 BP). In northern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the glaciers were thicker and deeper during the Older Dryas than the succeeding Younger Dryas, and there is no evidence of human occupation of Britain. In

Northwestern Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northw ...

there was also an earlier

Oldest Dryas The Oldest Dryas is a biostratigraphic subdivision layer corresponding to a relatively abrupt climatic cooling event, or stadial, which occurred during the last glacial retreat. The time period to which the layer corresponds is poorly defined an ...

(18.5–17 ka BP 15–14 ka BP). The Dryas are named after an indicator genus, the Arctic and Alpine plant Dryas, the remains of which are found in higher concentrations in deposits from colder periods. The Older Dryas was a variable cold, dry Blytt–Sernander period, observed in climatological evidence in only some regions, depending on latitude. In regions in which it is not observed, the Bølling–Allerød is considered a single interstadial period. Evidence of the Older Dryas is strongest in northern Eurasia, particularly part of Northern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, roughly equivalent to

Pollen zone Pollen zones are a system of subdividing the Last Glacial Period and Holocene paleoclimate using the data from pollen cores. The sequence provides a global chronological structure to a wide variety of researchers, such as geologists, climatologi ...

Ic.

Dates

In the

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

oxygen isotope record, the Older Dryas appears as a downward peak establishing a small, low-intensity gap between the Bølling and the Allerød. That configuration presents a difficulty in estimating its time, as it is more of a point than a segment. The segment is small enough to escape the resolution of most carbon-14 series, as the points are not close enough together to find the segment. One approach to the problem assigns a point and then picks an arbitrary segment. The Older Dryas is sometimes considered to be "centered" near 14,100 BP or to be 100 to 150 years long "at" 14,250 BP. A second approach finds carbon-14 or other dates as close to the end of the Bølling and the beginning of the Allerød as possible and then selects endpoints that based on them: for example, 14,000–13,700 BP. The best approach attempts to include the Older Dryas in a sequence of points as close together as possible (high resolution) or within a known event. For example, pollen from the island of

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, records a

Larix Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furth ...

pollen peak and matching sphagnum decline at 14,600–13700 BP. In the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...

, a cooling occurred at 14,700–13,400/13,000, which resulted in a re-advance of the glacier in the initial Allerød. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the

Shulie Lake Throughout its run spanning four decades and multiple media, ''The Howard Stern Show'' has been home to a number of staff members and contributors. Current staff These staffers currently work for and appear on the show on a regular, if not ...

phase, a re-advance, is dated to 14,000–13,500 BP. On the other hand, varve chronology in southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

indicates a range of 14,050–13,900 BP. Capturing the Older Dryas by high resolution continues to be of interest to climatologists.

Description

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

offered an alternation of

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

and

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

environments depending on the

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

line and the

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

. In moister regions, around lakes and streams, were thickets of

dwarf birch ''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region. Description It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-copper ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

, sea buckthorn, and

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

. In the river valleys and uplands, to the south, were open

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

forests. The first trees, birch and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, had spread into Northern Europe 500 years earlier. During the Older Dryas, the glacier re-advanced, and the trees retreated southward, to be replaced by a mixture of grassland and cool-weather alpine species. The

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

has been called "

Park Tundra Park tundra was a plant community that occurred in northwestern Europe after the last ice age ended. History The community was similar to that found today at the ecotone, boundary between tundra and taiga in Siberia: species included the dwarf b ...

," "Arctic tundra," "Arctic pioneer vegetation," or “birch woodlands." It is now in the transition between

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

and

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. Then, it stretched from Siberia to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, in a more-or-less unbroken expanse. To the northwest was the

Baltic ice lake The Baltic Ice Lake is a name given by geologists to a freshwater lake that evolved in the Baltic Sea basin as glaciers retreated from that region at the end of the last ice age. The lake existed between 12,600 and 10,300 years Before Present ...

, which was truncated by the edge of the glacier. Species had access to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and southern Sweden. Most of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and the

Baltic countries The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

were under the ice or the lake for most of the period. Northern

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

was glaciated. Between Britain and the

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

were rolling hills prolifically populated with animals. Thousands of specimens, hundreds of tons of bones, have been recovered from the bottom of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, called " Doggerland," and they continue to be recovered. There are many more species found for the period than in this article. Most families were more diverse than they are today, and they were yet more so in the last interglacial. A great

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

, especially of mammals, continued throughout the end of the

, and it may be continuing today.

Evidence

The Older Dryas is a period of cooling during the

Bølling–Allerød warming The Bølling–Allerød interstadial (), also called the Late Glacial Interstadial, was an abrupt warm and moist interstadial period that occurred during the final stages of the Last Glacial Period. This warm period ran from 14,690 to 12,890 ye ...

, estimated to be from 13,900 to 13,600 years before present (BP), and the estimated ages can vary using different age dating methods. Numerous studies on chronology and palaeoclimate of last deglaciation show a cooling event within Bølling–Allerød warming that reflects the occurrence of Older Dryas. The determination of paleotemperatures varies from study to study depending on the sample collected. δ¹⁸O measurements are most common when analyzing Ice core samples whereas the changing abundance pattern of fauna and flora are most commonly used when examining lake sediments. Moraine belts are usually studied in places with palaeoglacier presented. As for ocean sediments, the variations of alkenone levels and faunal abundances were measured to model paleotemperatures in separate studies showed in the following sections.

Ice core δ¹⁸O evidence

The North

Greenland Ice Core Project The Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP) was a research project organised through the European Science Foundation (ESF). The project ran from 1989 to 1995, with drilling seasons from 1990 to 1992. In 1988, the project was accepted as an ESF-associa ...

(GRIP) members drilled an undisturbed ice core from North Greenland (75.1 8N, 42.3 8W). The ice core record showed a cold oscillation between 14,025 to13,904 years BP, which is reflected in the increased δ¹⁸O during this period. This cold oscillation was also observed in earlier ice core records (GRIP and GISP2) drilled in early 1990s by GRIP members.

Lake sediment evidence

A multi-proxy study on late glacial lake sediments of Moervaart palaeolake shows multiple pieces of evidence in various aspects to support Older Dryas. The lake sediment had an erosional surface prior to Older Dryas suggesting a change to colder climate. Microstructure observation of the sediments shows that fossil soil wedges or frost cracks were observed in the top of Older Dryas deposits, which indicates mean annual air temperatures below −1 to 0 ℃ and cold winters. This conclusion is also supported by the presence of ''

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

us'', which indicates a protecting snow cover in winter. This change is also shown on the records at the Rieme sites on the Great SandRidge of Maldegem-Stekene at

Snellegem Snellegem is a town in Jabbeke, Belgium. It is located between Jabbeke and Zedelgem. It is about 8 km from the city of Bruges. See also *West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag o ...

in NW Belgium, and many other sites in north-western Europe. δ¹⁸O measurements show a decreasing trend in δ¹⁸O at the transition to the Older Dryas, which corresponds to the ice core record of precipitation in the northern hemisphere. Pollen analysis shows a temporary decrease in the pollen levels of trees and shrubs with a short-term increase of herbaceous pollen. The changed pollen pattern suggests an increased abundance of grass as well as a retreat of tree and shrubs. The change of vegetation distribution further indicates a colder and drier climate during this period. As for aquatic plant evidence, both aquatic and semi-aquatic botanical taxa show a sharp decrease, suggesting lower lake levels caused by drier climate. The drier climate is also reflected by increased salinity indicated by diatom analysis. The change of Chironomids population also indicates a colder climate. ''Microtendipes'' is an indicator of intermediate temperature in Late glacial deposits in northern Europe (Brooks and Birks, 2001). The abundance of ''Microtendipes'' peaked in the early part of Older Dryas suggesting a cold oscillation. The mollusc data (''

Valvata piscinalis ''Valvata piscinalis'', common name the European stream valvata or European valve snail, is a species of minute freshwater snail with gills and an Operculum (gastropod), operculum, an Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Valva ...

'' as a cold-water indicator) suggests a lower summer temperature comparing to previous Bølling period.

Ocean sediment evidence

Recent research on sea surface temperature (SST) for the past 15,000 years in southern Okinawa modelled the Paleoclimate of ocean sediment core (ODP 1202B) using an alkenone analysis. The results show a cooling stage at 14,300 to 13,700 years BP between Bølling and Allerød warm phases, corresponding to the Older Dryas event. Another study on an ocean sediment core from Norwegian Trench also suggests a cooling between Bølling and Allerød warm phases. The glacial polar faunal study on ocean sediment core Troll 3.1 based on ''Neogloboquadrina pachyderma'' abundances suggests that there were two cooling events before Younger Dryas in which one of the events occurred within Bølling-Allerød interstadial and can be associated with Older Dryas.

Moraine evidence

The study on late-glacial climate change in White Mountains (New Hampshire, USA) refined the deglaciation history of White Mountain Moraine System (WMMS) by mapping moraine belts and related lake sequences. The result suggests that the Littleton-Bethlehem (L-B) readvance of ice sheet occurred between 14,000 and 13,800 years BP. The L-B readvance coincided with the Older Dryas events and provides the first well-documented and dated evidence of Older Dryas. Another Glacial chronology and palaeoclimate study on moraine suggests a cold oscillation in the second late-glacial (LG2) following the first late-glacial readvance (LG1) at around 14,000±700 to 13,700±1200 years BP. The LG2 cold oscillation around 14,000 years BP can correspond to the cooling of Greenland Interstadial 1 (GI-1d-Older Dryas) that happened around the same time period, which is the first chronological evidence that supports the presence of Older Dryas in the Tatra Mountains.

Flora

Older Dryas species are usually found in sediment below the bottom layer of the bog. Indicator species are the Alpine plants: :*''

Betula pubescens ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

'' or downy birch (Central Europe); :*'' Pinaceae'' or pine family (Poland); :*'' Dryas octopetala'', or dryas; :*'' Salix herbacea'', or dwarf willow; :*''

Oxyria digyna ''Oxyria digyna'' (mountain sorrel, wood sorrel, Alpine sorrel or Alpine mountain-sorrel) is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae).Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd ed., 2013, p. 108 It is native to arctic ...

'', or mountain sorrel. Grasslands species are the following: :*''

Artemisia Artemisia may refer to: People * Artemisia I of Caria (fl. 480 BC), queen of Halicarnassus under the First Persian Empire, naval commander during the second Persian invasion of Greece * Artemisia II of Caria (died 350 BC), queen of Caria under th ...

'', sagebrush or wormwood; :*'' Ephedra'', or joint-fir. :*''

Hippophae ''Hippophae'' is the genus of sea buckthorns, deciduous shrubs in the family Elaeagnaceae. The name sea buckthorn may be hyphenated to avoid confusion with the unrelated true buckthorns (''Rhamnus'', family Rhamnaceae). It is also referred to a ...

Fauna

A well-stocked biozone prevailed on the Arctic plains and thickets of the Late Pleistocene. Plains mammals were most predominant: Artiodactyls: :*''

Bison priscus The steppe bisonSeveral literatures address the species as ''primeval bison''. or steppe wisent (''Bison'' ''priscus'')
– Y ...

'', the steppe wisent or steppe bison :*''

Rangifer tarandus Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

'', the reindeer or caribou :*'' Megaloceros giganteus'', the Irish elk :*'' Alces alces'', the elk :*'' Cervus elaphus'', the red deer :*''

Ovibos moschatus The muskox (''Ovibos moschatus'', in Latin "musky sheep-ox"), also spelled musk ox and musk-ox, plural muskoxen or musk oxen (in iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᒃ, umingmak; in Woods Cree: ), is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, i ...

'', the musk ox :*''

Saiga tatarica The saiga antelope (, ''Saiga tatarica''), or saiga, is a critically endangered antelope which during antiquity inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe spanning the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the northwest and Caucasus in ...

'', the saiga Perissodactyls: :*''

Equus ferus The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the endangered Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii''). The Europea ...

'', the wild horse. Many authors refer to it as ''Equus caballus'', but the latter term is most correctly reserved for the domestic horse. Ferus is presumed to be one or more ancestral or related stocks to caballus and has been described as "caballine". :*''

Coelodonta antiquitatis ''Coelodonta'' (, from the Greek κοιλία, ''koilía'' and οδούς, ''odoús'', "hollow tooth", in reference to the deep grooves of their molars) is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia between 3.7 million years to 10,000 ...

'', woolly rhinoceros

Proboscidea The Proboscidea (; , ) are a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. From ...

: :*''

Mammuthus primigenius The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with '' Mammuthus subp ...

'', the woolly mammoth So much meat on the hoof must have supported large numbers of

Carnivora Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...

: Ursidae: :*'' Ursus arctos'', the brown bear :*''

Ursus spelaeus The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ''sp ...

'', the cave bear Hyaenidae: :*''

Crocuta crocuta The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

'', the spotted hyena

Felidae Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the ...

: :*'' Panthera spelaea'', the cave lion

Canidae Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found within th ...

: :*'' Canis lupus'', the wolf :*''

Alopex lagopus The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in c ...

'', the Arctic fox Mustelidae: :*'' Gulo gulo'', the wolverine The sea also had its share of carnivores; their maritime location made them survive until modern times: Phocidae: :*'' Pagophilus groenlandica'', the harp seal :*''

Pusa hispida The ringed seal (''Pusa hispida'') is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The ringed seal is a relatively small seal, rarely greater than 1.5 m in length, with a distinctive patterning of dark spots surrounded by light g ...

'', the ringed seal Odobenidae: :*'' Odobenus rosmarus'', the walrus Of the

Cetacea Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

Odontoceti The toothed whales (also called odontocetes, systematic name Odontoceti) are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales possessing teeth, such as the beaked whales and sperm whales. Seventy-three species of ...

, the Monodontidae: :*''

Delphinapterus leucas The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the whi ...

'', the beluga Delphinidae: :*'' Orcinus orca'', the killer whale Of the

Mysticeti Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their ...

Eschrichtiidae Eschrichtiidae or the gray whales is a family of baleen whale (Parvorder Mysticeti) with a single extant species, the gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), as well as three described fossil genera: '' Archaeschrichtius'' and ''Eschrichtioide ...

: :*'' Eschrictius robustus'', the gray whale The top of the food chain was supported by larger numbers of smaller animals farther down, which lived in the herbaceous blanket covering the tundra or steppe and helped maintain it by carrying seeds, manuring and aerating it. Leporidae: :*'' Lepus tanaiticus'', the hare Ochotonidae: :*''

Ochotona spelaeus A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but wi ...

'', the pika Cricetidae: :*'' Lemmus obensis'', Siberian lemming :*'' Dicrostonix'', collared lemming :*''

Lagurus lagurus The steppe lemming or steppe vole (''Lagurus lagurus'') is a small, plump, light-grey rodent, similar in appearance to the Norway lemming ('' Lemmus lemmus''), but not in the same genus. The steppe lemming eats shoots and leaves and is more act ...

'', steppe lemming :*''

Microtus gregalis The narrow-headed vole (''Microtus gregalis'') is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. Ranging over northern and central Asia and also into Alaska, it is the only species in the subgenus ''Stenocranius''. Description The narrow-headed ...

'', narrow-headed vole :*''

Arvicola terrestris The European water vole or northern water vole (''Arvicola amphibius''), is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brow ...

'', water vole Sciuridae: :*''

Spermophilus ''Spermophilus'' is a genus of ground squirrels in the Sciuridae, squirrel family. As traditionally defined the genus was very species-rich, ranging through Europe, Asia and North America, but this arrangement was found to be paraphyletic to ...

'', ground squirrel Dipodidae: :*'' Allactaga jaculus'', the jerboa

Humans

Eurasia was populated by '' Homo sapiens sapiens'' (

Cro-Magnon man Early European modern humans (EEMH), or Cro-Magnons, were the first early modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') to settle in Europe, migrating from Western Asia, continuously occupying the continent possibly from as early as 56,800 years ago. They i ...

) during the late Upper Paleolithic. Bands of humans survived by hunting the mammals of the plains. In

they preferred reindeer, in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

the woolly mammoth. They sheltered in huts and manufactured tools around campfires. Ukrainian shelters were supported by mammoth tusks. Humans were already established across

and in North America.http://www.palaeolithic.dk/books/JAS_39/excerpt.pdf Eriksen, Berit Valentin; Reconsidering the geochronological framework of Lateglacial hunter-gatherer colonization of southern Scandinavia. Two domestic dogs ('' Canis familiaris'') have been found in late Pleistocene Ukraine and were a heavy breed, similar to a Great Dane, perhaps useful to run down Elephantidae. The large number of mammoth bones at campsites make it clear that even then, the Elephantidae in Europe were approaching the limit of their duration. Their bones were used for many purposes, one being the numerous objects of art, including an engraved star map. Late Upper Palaeolithic culture was by no means uniform. Many local traditions have been defined. The

Hamburgian culture The Hamburg culture or Hamburgian (15,500-13,100 BP) was a Late Upper Paleolithic culture of reindeer hunters in northwestern Europe during the last part of the Weichsel Glaciation beginning during the Bölling interstadial. Sites are found close ...

had occupied the lowlands and Northern Germany before the Older Dryas. During the Older Dryas, contemporaneous with the Havelte Group of the late Hamburgian, the Federmesser culture appeared and occupied Denmark and southern Sweden, following the reindeer. South of the Hamburgian was the longstanding

Magdalenian The Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; French: ''Magdalénien'') are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is named after the type site of La Madele ...

. In Ukraine was the Moldovan, which used tusks to build shelters.

Notes

References

External links

Stone Age
2009-11-01)
Late Glacial Palaeoenvironments at Hijkermeer, DrentheLateglacial hunter-gatherer colonization of southern Scandinavia
{{Ice Ages Chronology Holocene Ice ages Paleoclimatology Palynology Blytt–Sernander system