UDC 551.891 (235.222)+903.32 ANTHROPOGENIC DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE NORTHWESTERN ALTAI* To assess the relationship between the dynamics of the natural environment and the development of the culture of primitive man in North and Central Asia, the most important materials are layered Paleolithic monuments of the Northwestern Altai. Interdisciplinary studies of these sites, in addition to the actual archaeological, stratigraphic and paleontological works, include the study of the development of topography, modern vegetation and wildlife, the creation of reconstructions of the history of flora and fauna, changes in climatic conditions in the Neo-Pleistocene. Analysis of the structure of modern natural complexes allowed us to develop descriptive and graphical models of the relationship between topography, plant and animal communities. On this basis, reconstructions of Holocene and Neo-Pleistocene natural complexes were performed. To characterize the natural complexes of the Neo-Pleistocene, two most contrasting epochs were chosen: the climatic optima of the interglacial periods of the middle Neo-Pleistocene and the maximum of the last cooling of the upper Neo-Pleistocene. Keywords: Neo-Pleistocene, Holocene, paleontology, paleogeography, paleoecology, natural environment, structure of natural complexes. Introduction One of the main tasks of paleolithology is to reconstruct the dynamics of the natural environment in recent geological times, since ancient man was an integral part of the natural communities in which he was formed and developed. The study of changes in plant and animal communities in the Neo-Pleistocene reveals the mechanisms of interaction of primitive man with various natural components. This problem is most effectively solved by a comprehensive study of multilayered Paleolithic sites. Currently, graphic models of the spatial structure of natural complexes for various stages of geological history are widely used in geobotany and biocenolog ... Read more