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Development of early human societies in Northern Eurasia depended on large-scale migrations combined with an indigenous evolution. The initial colonisation of Northern Eurasia by anatomically modern humans was proceeded by several migratory waves generally directed from the west to the east. Human displacements were triggered by environmental stress, and coincided with the coldest stages of the Last Ice Age (40,000-10,000 years before present, B.P.), when the conditions for livelihood were less severe in Eastern Europe and Siberia. The transition to Holocene at c. 10,000-9,000 yr. B.P. marked profound changes in the environment, with the rise of temperature by at least 6–12°C and increased humidity, leading to the extension of forests and the gradual establishment of present-day biogeographical zonality. Mesolithic lifestyle featured an increased sedentariness, combined with limited-scale seasonal transhumance. In the conditions of the northbound advancement of forests at 9000-7000 yr. B.P., a network of Mesolithic sites emerged north of the current arctic circle. This included the shelf of the Arctic Ocean, which became accessible, as the coastline was at least 150 km north of its present position. The ‘Neolithic revolution’ in Northern Eurasia occurred in the conditions of the thermal optimum, which became established at 8,000-7,000 yr. B.P., and led to the maximum expansion of forests, further increase of precipitation, the global rise of the sea level, and increased biological productivity of boreal landscapes.

The spread of Neolithic in northern Eurasia is seen as a combination of human migrations, cultural diffusion, with local inventions and adaptations, the intensity of which depended on the local natural and cultural environment. Based on the analysis of radiocarbon dates, archaeological and environmental evidence, we distinguished three basic processes in the Neolithisation of Northern Eurasia which are discussed in the article.