Mean annual temperatures in the region may have been 10 to 15 degrees Celsius lower than the modern average, with correspondingly more severe winters.

The growing season — the period when plant growth is possible — would have been substantially shorter.

The landscape would have been dominated by cold-adapted grasses, sedges, and mosses, with minimal tree cover at lower elevations.

In these conditions, the energy cost of survival was high.

Staying warm required substantial caloric intake and substantial insulation — the fur clothing that Upper Paleolithic Siberians clearly wore, as evidenced by the sewing needles found at multiple sites.

Finding and processing food required the kind of systematic, coordinated effort that only a complex social group can sustain.