This volume is concerned with the morphology and paleobiology of the human remains from Sunghir. As such, it is intended to contribute to our knowledge and understanding of the occupants of that locale in northern Russia during the Interpleniglacial [marine isotope stage (MIS) 3]. However, the Sunghir human remains take on meaning, and can be properly evaluated, only in the context of a broader sample of Late Pleistocene humans. The paleontological sources of the comparative samples are indicated below. In most cases, references are not provided for the specimens or sites, since to do so would be to provide an extensive bibliography for Late Pleistocene human remains. References are provided principally for the smaller non-western Eurasian and immature samples and for those of debated affinities. The principal sample of concern consists of individuals from the same general time period during MIS 3 as the Sunghir humans and those who generated the same general archeological complex. The time frame, sensu lato, is between ~30,000 and ~20,000 14C years BP, or ~34,000 and ~24,000 cal years BP. The archeological technocomplex (which is defined by more than just lithic technology), is the Mid Upper Paleolithic (or the Gravettian sensu lato, especially in central and western Europe). This complex is taken here to include a variety of regional variants, including the “Sunghirian” (see discussion in chapter 2). The regional differences in the archeological complexes, technologically or stylistically, are not of concern here; it is apparent that, despite differences in details of especially lithic technology, there was a broad level of cultural uniformity that extended across western Eurasia (Roebroeks et al. 2000) and probably continued into eastern Asia (Gerasimov 1935; Norton and Gao 2008). What is of most relevance is the general level of cultural elaboration and related patterning, as it might have affected the behavior, biology, and adaptations of the Sunghir humans. As a result, the comparative framework is principally that provided by the human remains from this time period.
