Improving our understanding of the marine- to terrestrial-based transition of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) is crucial for assessing future ice sheet loss in analogous regions of contemporary ice sheets. Current palaeo-ice sheet reconstructions constrain the nature of BIIS wastage from its maximum extents well from c. 27 ka BP during a period of sea level rise and ice sheet instability. However, the drivers and influences of deglaciation from c. 20 ka BP as the BIIS separated into separate, terrestrial-based ice domes amid rapid, high-magnitude climate change remain a challenge to unravel. This study investigates palaeo-ice sheet dynamics in northeast Ireland pertaining to the reorganisation of the central BIIS to constrain and untangle these drivers. A 0.4 m horizontal resolution digital surface model was employed to map 12,979 glacial landforms over a 3905 km2 study area in Northern Ireland. New sedimentological analyses are combined to interrogate palaeo-ice sheet dynamics through a relative chronological framework of six ‘flow stages’ that unravel the deglaciation of the central BIIS c. 20-15 ka. Intrinsic drivers such as meltwater drainage, ice sheet thinning, and ice divide migration heavily influenced the collapse of a major ice divide over northeast Ireland, as well as the initiation of an ephemeral ice stream at its margins. Irish ice dispersing from lowland and upland centres decayed during full stadial conditions as Scottish ice readvanced from a better nourished source, stabilising along the Irish coast. However, more absolute ages are required to better understand these complex, contrasting dynamical behaviours.

ABSTRACT Quaternary palaeoclimatology uniquely provides insights and new evidence about climate variability trends and extremes prior to the instrumental record; yet, its knowledge is rarely integrated into governmental decision‐making. This opinion piece shares lessons and experience from the UKRI‐funded DECADAL project, which bridges palaeoclimate science and policy through co‐production with UK climate services and policy institutions. The views expressed represent a joint perspective of the academic and non‐academic actors involved in the project, highlighting the challenges that we faced and the solutions that we adopted. We found that an iterative collaboration through aligning research questions, outputs and formats with user needs builds trust, increases relevance and creates pathways for long‐term policy uptake. DECADAL demonstrates that engaging with relevant policy and other end‐user groups does not compromise scientific excellence; rather, it drives methodological innovation and rigour, fosters creativity and produces high‐impact, original publications that also have relevance beyond an academic audience. We argue that embedding policy engagement should be viewed as a collective community endeavour rather than the effort of an individual or research team. By embracing co‐production, palaeo‐scientists can strengthen the societal value of their research, open new avenues for innovation and collaboration, and collectively shape climate‐informed decision‐making.

Northeast Africa and Southwest Asia present a rich record of hominin occupations between ca. 100 and 50 thousand years ago (ka) at a critical biogeographic crossroads, with differences in physical landscapes, environmental responses to climate change, and varied population histories contributing to archaeological diversity. Research in Arabia has identified previously unexplained technological heterogeneity amongst stone tool assemblages. To investigate this pattern, we compiled a database of Levallois blank attributes to quantify patterns of variability observed across sites in Northeast Africa, Arabia, and the Levant. A range of alternate explanations for variability within this comparative dataset are explored using Simple Mantel tests and Multiple Matrix regressions including assemblage age, landscape setting, palaeoenvironmental conditions, assemblage size, composition and raw material use, site type, and population history. The results highlight that shape variability in Levallois blanks across the region is best explained by differences in population history. We then train logistical regression models to differentiate the population history associated with Levallois blanks with a >93% agreement rate and apply this model to key Arabian assemblages dating to ca. 55 ka. The results strongly support a Neanderthal attribution. We interpret these findings in the context of wider debates surrounding Neanderthal expansions and a wider role for Arabia in South-West Asian hominin demography.

Numerous cryptotephra layers originating from Icelandic volcanoes and further afield have reached Northern Europe during the Holocene. Refining the precise timing and the relative frequency of local and distal eruptions requires well-resolved continuous sediment archives. Lake Nautajarvi is located in central-southern Finland (61 degrees 48 ' N, 24 degrees 41 ' E), and contains a continuous sequence of 9898 varves. Nautajarvi was isolated from the Baltic Sea basin at the Lake Ancylus phase similar to 9600 varve yr BP. We present a tephrostratigraphic record of Nautajarvi for targeted intervals within the Holocene, aiming to identify tephra from the largest eruptions, to enable an alignment with other varved lakes in Northern Europe containing tephra layers, like Diss Mere, Tiefer See and Meerfelder Maar. Geochemical analyses were produced for 26 peaks in tephra concentration, with five cryptotephra deposits corresponding to known eruptions from the mid and late Holocene. The far-travelled KS2 eruption from Ksudach caldera in Kamchatka is identified, enabling an alignment to Greenland, which is strengthened by the identification of the Hekla 4 tephra in Nautajarvi. Close to the KS2 deposition in Nautajarvi, a Hekla-type eruption correlating to the Lairg A/Hekla 5 is also identified-macroscale counting of the varves between the KS2 and Lairg A layers enables a constrained age estimate (7001 +/- 44 Cal yr BP) of the Lairg A eruption to be made. The widespread Glen Garry tephra was also identified within the Nautajarvi sequence, with an age estimate of 2088 +/- 21 varve yr BP. Finally, there is also a tentative correlation to the Suduroy tephra, with an older age estimate than from the sites in which it was originally identified (8459 +/- 84 varve yr BP). The remaining layers correspond to eruptions from more distal sources-several chemistries may correlate to mid-Holocene eruptions from North America (Mount Rainier, Aniakchak, Katmai), with one shard tentatively associated with Azorean chemistry. This record provides well-constrained age estimates for two key Holocene tephras (Glen Garry, Lairg A) and highlights the potential for far-travelled tephras from North America and Kamchatka to reach Northern Europe, emphasising the benefits of further tephra studies in Scandinavia. (c) 2025 The Author(s).Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Understanding the timing of Late Pleistocene population expansions and interactions is hindered by myriad factors among which the imprecision of absolute dating is of particular concern. The identification and geochemical characterization of cryptically preserved volcanic ash layers (cryptotephra) in archaeological sites can alleviate this problem, and in the southern Caucasus and Armenian Highlands has allowed for the correlation of lithostratigraphic units at Palaeolithic sites in the two geographic regions. Compositionally distinct tephras (isochrons) allow specific stratigraphic layers to be linked temporally at the sites of Ortvale Klde (OK, Georgia) and Lusakert-1 (LKT-1, Armenia). The similar to 30 ka V-18/Nemrut Formation tephra from the Nemrut volcano, eastern T & uuml;rkiye is correlated with an Upper Palaeolithic layer at OK and a Late Middle Palaeolithic layer at LKT-1. This isochron suggests the long-term regional coexistence of technologically distinct populations, and the late survival of Late Middle Palaeolithic hominins. These results appear to capture a critical and until now elusive moment in hominin evolution, a period when two distinct tool-making groups, generally assumed to be Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, occupied the same region and likely interacted. However, careful comparison of results with site-specific sedimentological, taphonomic, archaeological, and chronometric data throw these correlations into question. Closer consideration of newly available glass geochemistry for Nemrut suggests further correlations: OK Layer 4c correlates to the V-30 tephra in Lake Van (similar to 42-37 ka); LKT-1 Lithostratigraphic Unit (LU) 4 correlates to both the similar to 60 ka V-45/Cekmece and similar to 62 ka V-51/Ahlat Pumice 6; and the younger LKT-1 LU 3 also correlates to the V-51, but with a different compositional range to those seen in the older LU 4. The only way to reconcile the range of compositions observed is that there are additional Nemrut eruptions that have similar glass chemistries to the deposits characterized, and that our current understanding of Nemrut's eruption stratigraphy is incomplete thus hampering our ability to resolve the age(s) of these distal tephra deposits with confidence. Therefore, while the analysis of cryptotephra holds great promise for understanding the timing of key evolutionary events, its application in the southern Caucasus and Armenian Highlands, and elsewhere, must be predicated on the careful consideration of site-specific contextual data rather than chemistry alone.

The south Levantine mid-Middle Palaeolithic (mid-MP; ~130–80 thousand years ago (ka)) is remarkable for its exceptional evidence of human morphological variability, with contemporaneous fossils of Homo sapiens and Neanderthal-like hominins. Yet, it remains unclear whether these hominins adhered to discrete behavioural sets or whether regional-scale intergroup interactions could have homogenized mid-MP behaviour. Here we report on our discoveries at Tinshemet Cave, Israel. The site yielded articulated Homo remains in association with rich assemblages of ochre, fauna and stone tools dated to ~100 ka. Viewed from the perspective of other key regional sites of this period, our findings indicate consolidation of a uniform behavioural set in the Levantine mid-MP, consisting of similar lithic technology, an increased reliance on large-game hunting and a range of socially elaborated behaviours, comprising intentional human burial and the use of ochre in burial contexts. We suggest that the development of this behavioural uniformity is due to intensified inter-population interactions and admixture between Homo groups ~130–80 ka. The Middle Palaeolithic of southwest Asia witnessed interactions and knowledge sharing between archaic and modern humans ~130,000–80,000 years ago. These interactions led to increased behavioural complexity and consolidation of a uniform behavioural set across Homo groups in the region.

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in the Levant is characterized by key archaeological shifts, including the interaction between Neanderthals and AMH and the appearance and dispersal of the Upper Palaeolithic. During this period there is also potential for abrupt climatic transitions to influence the distribution of humans across the region. One issue is the precision and resolution to which we can date Levantine archaeological sites and the wider environmental record. Ongoing studies have demonstrated that archaeological sites in this region receive volcanic ash horizons (tephra), which can be utilised as a tool to provide chronological markers to date archaeological sites and to link them to important palaeoclimate records (Barzilai et al., 2022).Here we present the detailed cryptotephra stratigraphic profiles from two Jordanian archaeological sites in the Jebel Qalkha area, one Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) to Epipalaeolithic site – Tor Hamar, and another Late Middle Palaeolithic (LMP) site – Tor Faraj. The data include tephra shard concentrations in different cultural layers. We also present new major and trace element geochemical data that trace the majority of these tephra layers to Anatolian volcanic centres. This allows existing radiometric ages for some of these tephra to provide additional age constraints in these archaeological sites. Our data show the potential for sites in this region to be correlated into Anatolian and Aegean volcanic records and distal environmental records from marine cores and the Dead Sea sequence (Kearney et al., 2022). This would allow further underpinning of studies that link environmental change with early human adaptations in the region. Barzilai, O., Oron, M., Porat, N., White, D., Timms, R., Blockley, S., Zular, A., Avni, Y., Faershtein, G., Weiner, S. and Boaretto, E., 2022. Expansion of eastern Mediterranean Middle Paleolithic into the desert region in early marine isotopic stage 5. Scientific reports, 12(1), p.4466.Kearney, R., Schwab, M. J., Neugebauer, I., Pickarski, N., and Brauer, A.: The TephroMed project: Precise synchronising of two key palaeoclimatic ICDP records of the eastern Mediterranean using tephra, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-468, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-468, 2022.

Changbaishan volcano (China/North Korea) is one of the most active and hazardous volcanic centers in Northeast Asia. Despite decades of intensive research, the eruption history of this stratovolcano remains poorly constrained. One of the major puzzles is the timing of the eruption that produced the Tianwen Yellow Pumice (TYP) deposit at the caldera rim. Here we identify a new cryptotephra layer in sediment core 13PT-P4 from the East Sea. Grain-specific major, minor, and trace element analyses of glass shards allow a clear correlation of this distal tephra to the proximal TYP deposit of Changbaishan. Age-depth modeling using radiocarbon (14C) dates of sediment bulk organic fractions and other tephrochronological markers from the sediment sequence constraints the age of the cryptotephra and thus the TYP eruption to 29,948-29,625 cal yr BP (95.4% confidence interval). Our findings lead to a revision of the history of Changbaishan explosive activity, and show that the volcano has been particularly active during ca. 51-24 ka BP in the last 100 ka. Using high resolution palaeo-proxy records, we find the TYP tephra almost coeval with regional to hemispheric-scale climatic changes known as Heinrich Event 3 (H3). With its precise age determination and wide geographic dispersion, the tephra offers a key isochron for dating records of past climatic changes and addressing the phasing relationships in environmental response to H3 across East Asia. Improving the knowledge of past volcanism is critical for volcanic hazard mitigation. Changbaishan volcano is one of the most dangerous volcanic centers in Northeast Asia, but its eruption history is not clearly understood. A classic example is the eruption that produced the magnificent Tianwen Yellow Pumice (TYP) deposited at the crater rim. Previous studies suggested a range of very different ages for this major eruption. In this study we trace its volcanic ash into a marine sediment core from the East Sea. By radiocarbon age-depth modeling we are able to say with a high level of certainty that the eruption occurred sometime between 29,948 and 29,625 cal yr BP. The new results demonstrate the dispersal potential of ash from the eruption and shed light on the history and frequency of Changbaishan explosive activity. In addition, the TYP eruption is found to coincide with hemispheric-scale and regional environmental changes. As a consequence, the volcanic ash can be used as a key time mark for dating sediment sequences and for investigating past environmental changes in East Asia. Our study also demonstrates the potential of using distal volcanic ash in reconstructing past explosive volcanism. Timing of the Changbaishan Tianwen Yellow Pumice (TYP) eruption is resolved through proximal-distal tephra correlation and radiocarbon age-depth modeling Eruption history of the Changbaishan volcano is revised, and dispersal potential of the TYP tephra is shown for the first time A demonstration that the TYP tephra, as a regional marker, has great potential for sediment sequence-based palaeoenvironmental studies

ABSTRACTLake sediments are ideal archives to evaluate the interactions between climatically driven environmental responses and human activity on seasonal to multi‐decadal timescales. This study focuses on the unique sediments of Diss Mere, the only lake in England providing an annually laminated (varved) record for most of the Holocene. We combine microfacies analysis with X‐ray core scanning data to explore the influence of natural and human‐led changes on sediment deposition over the past 10 200 years and evaluate the sensitivity of the lake sediments to climate variability through time. Variability of titanium (Ti), calcium (Ca) and silica (Si) explain most of the lithological changes observed in the sediment and we identify three stages with low (10 290–2070 cal a bp), intermediate (2070–1040 cal a bp) and intensified (1040 cal a bp – present) human influence. During the first stage, where varved sediments are preserved, Ti is low due to the minimal detrital input into the lake. Ca and Si during this stage reveal high‐amplitude variability responding to seasonal changes in sediment deposition. The termination of varved sediment preservation and increases in sedimentation rates coincide with a major rise in Ti after this first stage, marking the intensification of human activity around the lake. Ca is used here as an indicator of temperature‐included calcite precipitation, and the long‐term variability of the Ca profile resembles Holocene temperature evolution. This continues during periods of intensified human activity, suggesting that the Diss Mere sediments remain sensitive to climate through time.

Archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Armenian Highlands and wider southern Caucasus region emphasises the significance of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (c. 57–29 ka) as a crucial period for understanding hominin behaviours amidst environmental fluctuations. Ararat-1 cave, situated in the Ararat Depression, Republic of Armenia, presents potential for resolving emerging key debates regarding hominin land use adaptations during this interval, due to its well-preserved lithic artefacts and faunal assemblages. We present the first results of combined sedimentological, geochronological (luminescence and radiocarbon), archaeological and palaeoecological (macrofauna, microfauna and microcharcoal) study of the Ararat-1 sequence. We demonstrate sediment accumulation occurred between 52 and 35 ka and was caused by a combination of aeolian activity, cave rockfall and water action. Whilst the upper strata of the Ararat-1 sequence experienced post-depositional disturbance due to faunal and anthropogenic processes, the lower strata remain relatively undisturbed. We suggest that during a stable period within MIS 3, Ararat-1 was inhabited by Middle Palaeolithic hominins amidst a mosaic of semi-arid shrub, grassland, and temperate woodland ecosystems. These hominins utilised local and distant toolstone raw materials, indicating their ability to adapt to diverse ecological and elevation gradients. Through comparison of Ararat-1 with other sequences in the region, we highlight the spatial variability of MIS 3 environments and its on hominin land use adaptations. This demonstrates the importance of the Armenian Highlands for understanding regional MP settlement dynamics during a critical period of hominin dispersals and evolution.

Sodmein Playa is one of the rare Pleistocene open-air sites in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Based on the associated stone artefact material, it could be assigned to the Middle Stone Age/Last Interglacial. However, it has not yet been possible to clarify whether the sediments at the basin originated during the Pleistocene or later during Holocene wet phases. Our integrative approach combining Optically Stimulated Luminescence chronology, and cryptotephra analysis, allows us to link the environmental archive of Sodmein Playa with the site of Sodmein Cave. Sodmein Playa indicates wetter climate conditions starting around 9 ka with a (relative) maximum around 7 ka, in line with the general framework of the Holocene Humid Period in Northeast Africa. Despite the climatic similarity, regional environmental differences can still be identified and the effective available water around Sodmein Playa is reduced. The results are well integrated into the current archaeological knowledge with the change from hunter-gatherers to herders during the Holocene in the area. Analyses of cryptotephra reveal a wide range of source regions, including Eastern and Central Anatolian, the Azores, and the Aegean, as well as those which remain uncorrelated. A tentative correlation with the Holocene cryptotephra record from Sodmein Cave is established.

To provide insights into glacier-climate dynamics of the South Shetland Islands (SSI), NW Antarctic Peninsula, we present a new deglaciation and readvance model for the Bellingshausen Ice Cap (BIC) on Fildes Peninsula and for King George Island/Isla 25 de Mayo (KGI) ~62°S. Deglaciation on KGI began after c. 15 ka cal BP and had progressed to within present-day limits on the Fildes Peninsula, its largest ice-free peninsula, by c. 6.6–5.3 ka cal BP. Probability density phase analysis of chronological data constraining Holocene glacier advances on KGI revealed up to eight 95% probability ‘gaps’ during which readvances could have occurred. These are grouped into four stages – Stage 1: a readvance and marine transgression, well-constrained by field data, between c. 7.4–6.6 ka cal BP; Stage 2: four probability ‘gaps’, less well-constrained by field data, between c. 5.3–2.2 ka cal BP; Stage 3: a well-constrained but restricted ‘readvance’ between c. 1.7–1.5 ka; Stage 4: two further minor ‘readvances’, one less well-constrained by field data between c. 1.3–0.7 ka cal BP (68% probability), and a ‘final’ well-constrained ‘readvance’ after <0.7 ka cal BP. The Stage 1 readvance occurred as colder and more negative Southern Annular Mode (SAM)-like conditions developed, and marginally stronger/poleward shifted westerly winds led to more storms and precipitation on the SSI. Readvances after c. 5.3 ka cal BP were possibly more frequent, driven by reducing spring/summer insolation at 62°S and negative SAM-like conditions, but weaker (equatorward shifted) westerlies over the SSI led to reduced storminess, restricting readvances within or close to present day limits. Late Holocene readvances were anti-phased with sub-aquatic moss layers in lake records unaffected by glaciofluvial inputs. Retreat from ‘Neoglacial’ glacier limits and the recolonisation of lakes by sub-aquatic moss in the post-bomb era (>1950 CE) is associated with recent warming/more positive SAM-like conditions.

The oscillatory behaviour of the climate system on decadal timescales before the instrumental record is hard to quantify. However, knowledge of this variability is important for putting current changes in context and for supporting reliable future predictions. Here we investigate the recurrent component of Holocene climate variability in the North Atlantic sector from 10,500 to 2,000 years ago by conducting a frequency analysis of both an annually laminated climate record from a lake in England and outputs from a long transient simulation of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. We find consistent decadal variability over the past 6,700 years and before 8,500 years before present, probably reflecting predominance of solar and ocean forcings. Between these dates, climate variability was dampened on decadal timescales. Our results suggest that meltwater discharge into the North Atlantic and the subsequent hydrographic changes, from the opening of the Hudson Bay until the final collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, disrupted the decadal cyclic signals for more than a millennium. Given the current acceleration of the Greenland Ice Sheet melting in response to global warming, this study provides long-term evidence of potential challenges predicting future patterns of the climate system. Meltwater discharge to the mid-Holocene North Atlantic disrupted decadal climate variability, suggesting future melting on Greenland may hinder climate predictability in the region, according to an annually laminated lake-sediment record and transient model simulations.

The Kos Plateau Tuff (KPT), was an enormous caldera forming eruption originating from a vent within the Kos/Nisyros/Yali volcanic complex, occurring at 161 ka. It is the largest recognised Late Quaternary eruption in the Eastern Mediterranean. With its distinctive, highly silicic chemical composition, the resulting ash deposits have been used both as a synchronous marker for palaeoenvironmental records in the region, and to provide information on eruption processes and magnitude. Here, we describe ash layers detected at multiple sites (deep-sea sequences and a terrestrial archaeological site) with ages generated by radiometric dating and sapropel correlation, to demonstrate the existence of a later, but geochemically similar eruption from the Kos volcano which has not previously been identified in proximal volcanic units. This eruption is dated to MIS 5e (∼124–129 ka), i.e. ∼40 kyr younger than the KPT. This tephra marks the start of MIS5e, and presents a rare opportunity to independently and precisely align paleoenvironmental records and archaeological sites during a time of rapid warming and sea level rise analogous to the present day. The presence of multiple tephras also implies the possibility of multiple eruptions during this period. This adds to our knowledge of the active and hazardous nature of Kos/Nisyros/Yali volcanic complex.

Cryptotephra layers deposited in annually-laminated (varved) lake records can be precisely dated and used as a means to correlate archives, testing the spatio-temporal variability of climatic transitions, environmental change and human activity. The site of Diss Mere, East Anglia, is recognised for its high-precision chronology, which is varved through the period similar to 2070-10,290 cal. BP. Here we present the results of further cryptotephra research from Diss Mere. Upon reinspection of these sediments and using the high-precision varve chronology to guide our investigation, we identified two, previously undescribed Icelandic cryptotephra layers in the Diss Mere record. The discovery of an important tephrostratigraphic marker, Hekla 4, extends the known ash dispersal from this eruption southwards and we provide an updated and highly resolved age for this key tephra of 4435 +/- 16 cal. BP. Given the widespread distribution of this tephra layer in Northwest Europe, the Diss Mere record could be integrated into this tephrostratigraphic network, allowing precise comparison of palaeoenvironmental archives across Europe. The second addition to the Diss Mere tephrostratigraphy is a cryptotephra layer deriving from the Torfajokull volcanic system in Iceland, with an age of 7828 +/- 39 cal. BP. At present, this tephra layer is yet to be identified elsewhere and adds complexity to the isochron assignment of Lairg A and Lairg B tephras in records. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The study of fire history and driving mechanisms at long time scales can provide a theoretical background for future fire management in forested regions. The alpine lake sediments from Daye Lake in the Qinling Mountains, east‐central China, were used to explore the influence of climate, vegetation and human activity on fires since the LGM, based on charcoals and black carbon. During the last glacial period, fire activity was mostly controlled by regional aridity under a weak East Asian summer monsoon, while human‐induced fires were commonly dominated in the late Holocene. Fire activity was found to be linked to biomass through temperature variability. The biofuel dominated by conifers induced high intensity fires in the last glacial, and herbs contributed more to the high fire frequency over the mid‐late Holocene. With predicted future rising temperatures, increased vegetation cover and extreme climate events may increase the fire risk in the region.

Marine Isotopic Stage 5 is associated with wetter climatic conditions in the Saharo-Arabian deserts. This stage also corresponds to the establishment of Middle Paleolithic hominins and their associated material culture in two geographical provinces in southwest Asia-the Eastern Mediterranean woodland and the Arabian Peninsula desert. The lithic industry of the Eastern Mediterranean is characterized by the centripetal Levallois method, whereas the Nubian Levallois method characterizes the populations of the Arabian desert. The Negev Desert, situated between these regions is a key area to comprehend population movement in correlation to climatic zones. This investigation addresses the nature of the Middle Paleolithic settlement in the Negev Desert during MIS 5 by studying the site of Nahal Aqev. High resolution chronological results based on luminescence dating and cryptotephra show the site was occupied from MIS 5e to MIS 5d. The lithic industries at Nahal Aqev are dominated by centripetal Levallois core method. These data demonstrate that Nahal Aqev is much closer in its cultural attributes to the Eastern Mediterranean Middle Paleolithic than to the Arabian Desert entity. We conclude that Nahal Aqev represents an expansion of Middle Paleolithic groups from the Mediterranean woodland into the desert, triggered by better climatic conditions. These groups possibly interacted with hominin groups bearing the Nubian core tradition from the vast region of Arabia.

ABSTRACTThe significance of the southern Caucasus in understanding Pleistocene hominin expansions is well established. However, the palaeoenvironments in which Palaeolithic occupation of the region took place are presently poorly defined. The Hrazdan river valley, Armenian Highlands, contains a rich Palaeolithic record alongside Middle Pleistocene volcanic, fluvial and lacustrine strata, and thus offer exciting potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. We present the first results of sedimentological, geochemical, tephrostratigraphical and biological (diatoms) study of the sequence of Bird Farm 1, located in the central part of the valley. These data show six phases of landscape development during the interval 440–200 ka. The sequence represents the first quantitative Pleistocene diatom record from the Armenian Highlands and the southern Caucasus, and indicates the persistence of a deep, stratified lacustrine system, with evidence for changing lake productivity that is tentatively linked to climate. Furthermore, major element chemical characterization of visible and crypto‐tephra horizons in the sequence enables the first stages of the development of a regional tephrostratigraphy. Together, the evidence from Bird Farm 1 demonstrates the importance of lacustrine archives in the region for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and highlights the potential for linkages between archives on both a local and regional scale.