The local paleoenvironment of Kalavan-2 based on small-vertebrate remains and its implications for human-environment-dynamics between 60 and 35 ka in the Armenian Highlands

Kalavan-2, a high-altitude (∼1640 m a.s.l.) open-air site in Armenia, preserves stratified Middle Paleolithic occupations with a rich small-vertebrate record. Luminescence dating has placed site formation between ~60 and 45 ka, but without independent chronological control of the microvertebrate accumulation. Here, we apply accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C dating directly to individual rodent bones, made possible by recent advances in collagen extraction. These new radiocarbon ages refine the chronology to late marine isotope stage 3 (ca. 50–35 ka), in agreement with luminescence estimates. In addition, we conducted detailed taphonomic and taxonomic analyses of the microvertebrates, alongside paleoenvironmental reconstruction using the Taxonomic Habitat Index and Habitat Weighting Method. The microfaunal assemblage, dominated by cold-adapted rodents and insectivores, indicates open, montane steppe conditions during occupation, contrasting with today's mixed forest. Combined chronological and faunal evidence suggests episodic high-altitude hunting by Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers, consistent with models of seasonal mobility. More broadly, this study demonstrates the potential of direct ¹⁴C dating on microvertebrate remains to independently anchor Paleolithic chronologies and strengthen reconstructions of human adaptations in marginal environments.