Whatever drove that choice, it was a real choice made by real people whose inner lives and beliefs are not directly recoverable from the bones and objects they left behind.

The World Of 24,000 Years Ago

The environment around Lake Baikal 24,000 years ago was not the environment we see today.

The Last Glacial Maximum — the peak of the most recent Ice Age, when global temperatures were at their lowest and ice sheets were at their greatest extent — was approaching or at its height during the period when MA-1 lived.

In North America, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of what is now Canada and extended south into the United States.