The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was widespread in almost all of Europe during the late Pleistocene. However, its distribution changed because of population fluctuations and range expansions and reductions. During Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2), these processes were highly dynamic. Our analyses of 318 radiocarbon dates from 162 localities, obtained directly from mammoth material, confirmed important changes in mammoth range between ~28.6 and ~14.1 ka. The Greenland stadial 3 interval (27.5–23.3 ka) was the time of maximum expansion of the mammoth in Europe during MIS 2. The continuous range was soon fragmented and reduced, resulting in the disappearance of Mammuthus during the last glacial maximum from ~21.4 to ~19.2 ka in all parts of the North European Plain. It is not clear whether mammoths survived in the East European Plain. The mammoth returned to Europe soon after ~19.0 ka, and for the next 3–4 millennia played an important role in the lifeways of Epigravettian societies in eastern Europe. Mammoths became extinct in most of Europe by ~14.0 ka, except for core areas such as the far northeast of Europe, where they survived until the beginning of the Holocene. No significant correlation was found between the distribution of the mammoth in Europe and human activity.

Higher δ15N values in bone collagen of mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) compared with coeval large herbivores is a classic trait of the mammoth steppe. An exception applies to the Epigravettian site of Mezhyrich (ca. 18–17.4 ka cal BP) in the central East European plains, where mammoth bones have δ15N values equivalent to or in a lower range than those of horse specimens (Equus sp.). We expanded our preliminary dataset to a larger sampling size of mammoth, other large herbivores, and carnivores from contemporaneous and nearby sites of Buzhanka 2, Eliseevichi, and Yudinovo. The unusual low mammoth δ15N values were confirmed at Buzhanka 2 and for some specimens from Eliseevichi, while most individuals from Yudinovo displayed the expected high δ15N values, meaning similar to those of the large canids. The possibility of a contrast in migration pattern is not supported since the δ34S values, a marker of mobility, do not correlate with the δ15N values of mammoth bone collagen. No clear chronological tendency could be revealed, at least not at the scale of radiocarbon dating. The low range in δ15N values is likely to reflect a change in the specific niche of the mammoth in the southern part of its distribution.

Bone accumulation in Palaeolithic archaeological sites is often the result of activities carried out by hunter-gatherer groups. Cultural choices may have influenced prey representation in archaeological assemblages, distorting their palaeoecological meaning. We present a comparison between large mammal and small mammal assemblages from the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of Grotta Paglicci (Apulia, southern Italy) that extends from the Marginally Backed Bladelet Aurignacian (about 39,000 cal yr BP) to the Final Epigravettian (about 13,000 cal yr BP). At Paglicci, the high frequency of horse and ibex remains indicates open and dry environments for most of the Upper Palaeolithic. This is confirmed by the predominance of the common vole among small mammals. The alternation between horse and ibex, which takes place during the Upper Palaeolithic, however, looks to be more related to variations in hunting territories. Taxon frequencies change abruptly at 17,955–16,696 cal yr BP, with an increase in woodland-related ungulates together with micromammals, indicating a climatic evolution towards milder and more humid conditions. Results demonstrate that when the association of ungulate taxa is considered as a whole, it has a good palaeoecological signal, whilst considering taxa separately can help to better understand cultural choices of past hunter-gatherer communities.

This article interprets the life conditions of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) from the Upper Paleolithic archaeological site Kraków Spadzista in Poland. We propose that the mammoths’ irregular mortality profile (also known as age profile) was shaped over several decades by major death events, which serially depleted the youngest cohorts. Taphonomic data and comparisons with other Eurasian archaeological and nonarchaeological sites provide context for hypothesizing that the mammoth-bone assemblage was accumulated at least partly through opportunistic human hunting of the most vulnerable animals in mixed herds. Humans exploited heightened mammoth vulnerability during climatic stress periods, killing and butchering most of the animals, although some mammoths in the assemblage may have died from natural causes. The evidence for environmental stress affecting the mammoths includes paleoecological data about local climatic conditions, the abundant signs of mammoth-bone abnormalities in the assemblage, the relatively smaller size of adult female mammoths compared with those from the similarly dated archaeological site Milovice I (Czech Republic), and the unusually high proportion of juvenile mammoths in the assemblage.

The Gravettian settlements of Europe are considered as an expression of human adaptation to harsh climates. In Southern Europe, however, favorable vegetation-climate conditions supported hunters-gatherer subsistence and the maintenance of their large-scale networks. This was also the case of the North-Adriatic plain and the Apennine mountain ridge in Italy. Traditionally considered lacking evidence, the northern part of the Apennine ridge has recently yielded the Early Gravettian site of Piovesello, located at 870 m a.s.l. Survey and excavation revealed lithic artifacts in primary position embedded in loamy sediments. Radiocarbon dating, anthracological and extended palynological and microcharcoal analyses have been integrated to reconstruct the palaeoecological context of this camp which was probably positioned above the timberline in an arid rocky landscape, bounding the fronts of local glaciers close to their maximum expansion at the time of Greenland Stadial (GS) 5 (32.04 - 28.9 ka cal BP). Human activity left ephemeral traces represented by lithic artefacts, charcoal, and the introduction of radiolarites from sources in proximity to the site and of chert from very far western sources. Evidence from Piovesello contributes to the reconstruction of human and vegetation ecology during Late Pleistocene glaciations and also provides hints for the historical biogeography of petrophytic plants and their orographic relics in the northern Apennine.