Collagen stable isotopes provide insights into the end of the mammoth steppe in the central East European plains during the Epigravettian

Abstract Higher δ 15 N 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 δ 15 N 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 δ 15 N values were confirmed at Buzhanka 2 and for some specimens from Eliseevichi, while most individuals from Yudinovo displayed the expected high δ 15 N values, meaning similar to those of the large canids. The possibility of a contrast in migration pattern is not supported since the δ 34 S values, a marker of mobility, do not correlate with the δ 15 N 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 δ 15 N values is likely to reflect a change in the specific niche of the mammoth in the southern part of its distribution.