Quantifying the human-environment interaction in the northern European Upper Palaeolithic

Northern Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic was a climatically unstable frontier zone shaped by ice-sheet dynamics, permafrost, sea-level change and repeated ecological habitat reorganisation. This study quantifies human–environment interaction north of 50°N by combining the European Upper Palaeolithic Palaeoecological and Archaeological Dataset with time-sliced palaeoclimate reconstructions. Principal components analysis (PCA) of bioclimatic variables, non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination of modified artefacts and faunal assemblages, species distribution modelling of key prey taxa, and artefact–macrofauna co-occurrence analyses were used to evaluate relationships between climate, faunal communities, lithic artefact types and technocomplex affiliation. The results show substantial overlap between technocomplexes in climatic, lithic and faunal space, indicating that technocomplexes cannot be treated as simple ecological units. Climatic variation largely reflects geographic gradients, especially longitude and continentality. The Gravettian shows the clearest internal structuring, with eastern mammoth-dominated assemblages corresponding to distinct lithic patterns and genetic evidence for population differentiation. In contrast, Aurignacian, Hamburgian and Creswellian assemblages show comparatively limited compositional separation. Modelled habitat suitability and archaeological number of identified specimen (NISP) representation diverge markedly, demonstrating that faunal assemblages reflect human selection, preservation as well as ecological availability. Human–environment interaction was therefore dynamic, selective, and shaped by cultural choice.