Pubblicazioni

BERTO C., BOSCATO P., BOSCHIN F., LUZI E., RONCHITELLI A. (2017) – Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic context during the Upper Palaeolithic (late Upper Pleistocene) in the Italian Peninsula. The small mammal record from Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia, Southern Italy), Quaternary Science Reviews, 168, 30-41.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379116305777?via%3Dihub

Abstract

Changes in large mammal population and biotic regionalism of the Italian Peninsula during Upper Pleistocene have been well documented over the last twenty years. On the other hand, only few studies have focused on the changes in small mammal fossil assemblages.

Grotta Paglicci is a key archaeological site for Italian prehistory. It is well dated and it shows an uninterrupted chronological sequence of Upper Palaeolithic lithic industries, ranging from the Aurignacian to the Late Epigravettian.

Small mammal remains from the Upper Palaeolithic layers of this cave have been identified and the assemblage has been analysed through the application of Simpson diversity index, Habitat Weighting and Bioclimatic model methods. The results show remarkable differences through the record: major climatic changes (GS2 is particularly well defined) are visible and a clear turning point is observable at the Bølling-Allerød interstadial transition. This is in line with environmental and climatic oscillations already detected in the Italian Peninsula. These data also suggest that a strong regionalism characterized the south-eastern Italian Peninsula during the Late Pleistocene.

WIERER U., RONCHITELLI A., BORGIA V., 2017 – Aspetti della produzione laminare e lamellare nel Gravettiano antico di Grotta Paglicci, in ” Preistoria e Protostoria della Puglia” (a cura di F. Radina), Studi di Preistoria e Protostoria – 4, Poster, Firenze, 617-624.

https://www.academia.edu/35479386

Riassunto

Viene presentato lo studio tecno-funzionale dell’industria litica dello strato 23 di Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia) datato a 28.100 ± 400 BP non cal e attribuito al Gravettiano antico. La catena operativa era finalizzata esclusivamente alla produzione di lame e lamelle. La tecnica di distacco avveniva mediante la percussione diretta, effettuata sia con la pietra tenera che con il percussore organico. Nello strumentario litico sono state identificate diverse categorie tecno-funzionali. L’insieme delle lame, caratterizzato da una forte variabilità morfo-tecnica e dimensionale, comprende utensili riferibili ad attività “domestiche”, tra cui si segnala il ruolo funzionale di molte fratture. Le lamelle erano destinate ad essere trasformate in strumenti a dorso profondo, soprattutto punte a dorso, verosimilmente immanicate su armi da getto composite.

Abstract

This work regards the techno-functional study of the lithic industry from layer 23 of Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia) dated 28.100 ± 400 BP uncal. and attributed to the Early Gravettian. The châine opératoire, finalized at blade-bladelet production, shows a ramification at the point of bladelet production, maybe to increase its productivity. Both soft stone and organic hammers were used for the detachments by the direct percussion. Among the lithic implements different techno-functional categories have been identified. The blade assemblage, characterized by a high morpho-technical and dimensional variability, comprises the tool-set referable to “domestic” activities, as shown by the use-wear referable to cutting, scraping and grooving. An interesting aspect is the functional role of many fractures. The bladelets were transformed into backed tools, mainly backed points, most probably hafted on throwing weapons both in apical and lateral position.

CREZZINI J., BOSCATO P., RICCI S., RONCHITELLI A., SPAGNOLO V., BOSCHIN F., 2016 – A spotted hyaena den in the Middle Palaeolithic of Grotta Paglicci (Gargano promontory, Apulia, Southern Italy), Archaeological Anthropological Sciences, 8/2, 227-240.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-015-0273-0

DOI 10.1007/s12520-015-0273-0

Abstract

The Palaeolithic sequence of Grotta Paglicci (Gargano promontory, Apulia, Southern Italy) is one of the most important in the Mediterranean area: It comprises the whole Upper Palaeolithic cultural sequence known for the region, as well as Early Middle Palaeolithic and Lower Palaeolithic levels. These earlier phases are best represented in a collapsed room located outside the present-day cave (the so called external rock shelter). In this area, a new excavation, started in 2004, brought to light Middle Palaeolithic animal remains associated with evidence of spotted hyaena (SU 64 and 53). The spatial distribution analysis of remains from SU 53 revealed the presence of a bone accumulation area and a wider dispersal of hyaena coprolites. Three main ungulate species (aurochs, fallow deer and red deer) as well as carnivores (spotted hyaena, wolf, fox, wild cat and lynx) and lagomorphs have been identified. The majority of aurochs remains are located in the main accumulation; among these specimens, a complete metatarsal connected with three tarsal bones has been found; a talus and a complete tibia, probably belonging to the same limb, have also been identified. The multidisciplinary study carried out in this paper highlights a specific bone accumulation and scattering pattern in a spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) den. In addition, taphonomy of lagomorph remains indicates the presence of other depositional agents.

BOSCHIN F., BOSCATO P., 2016 – Equus ferus e Equus hydruntinus nella serie epigravettiana di Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico – Foggia), Annali dell’Università di Ferrara – Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica (a cura di U. Thun Hohenstein, M. Cangemi, I. Fiore, J. De Grossi Mazzorin), 12/1, 307-312.

https://annali.unife.it/museologia/article/view/1296

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15160/1824-2707/1296

Riassunto

La caccia agli equidi ha rappresentato un’importante fonte di sostentamento a Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia) nel corso dell’Epigravettiano. Il cavallo risulta in alcuni casi la specie più abbondante, come nel livello 10e, attribuito alle fasi finali dell’Epigravettino antico, dove è presente tra gli ungulati con oltre il 50% dei resti. Questo equide viene sostituito dall’idruntino in occasione di oscillazioni climatiche più temperate. Questa alternanza risulta ben evidente soprattutto a partire dal taglio c del livello 6 (17386±288 cal. 2σ BP, Epigravettiano finale) fino al tetto della sequenza (13313±191 cal. 2σ BP). La presenza dei resti di idruntino non raggiunge però percentuali elevate (al massimo 29 % nel taglio b dello strato 4, datato 13816±276 cal. 2σ BP). Nei livelli in cui è stato possibile eseguire un confronto, dati preliminari mostrano per il cavallo una maggiore quantità di denti definitivi emergenti e di denti decidui rispetto all’idruntino. Nel taglio a3 del livello 16 riferito all’Epigravettiano antico (19843±208 cal. 2σ BP) ad esempio, il 27,8% dei denti isolati e delle mandibole di cavallo è riferibile a soggetti giovani e subadulti, mentre per l’idruntino le stesse due classi di età non superano il 6,6%. Ciò farebbe supporre una diversa modalità di sfruttamento delle due specie.

Abstract

During the Epigravettian, horse (Equus ferus) and Equus hydruntinus represented important resources for the human subsistence at Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia). Horse is sometimes the most abundant species, such as for instance in level 10e (final stage of the Early Epigravettian) where its remains represent the 50% of NISP among ungulates. This species was replaced by E. hydruntinus during more temperate climatic oscillations. This phenomenon can be appreciated for istance from level “c” of layer 6 (17386±288 cal. 2σ BP, Final Epigravettian) to the top of the sequence (13313±191 cal. 2σ BP). E. hydruntinus remains are never very abundant (the maximum, 29%, is reached in level “b” of layer 4, 13816±276 cal. 2σ BP). When a comparison was possible, preliminary data show that deciduous teeth, or erupting permanent theet, are more abundant among horse remains than E. hydruntinus ones. It was observed for istance in level A3 of layer 16 (Early Epigravettian, 19843±208 cal. 2σ BP), where the 27,8% of horse isolated teeth and jaws belong to juvenile and subadult individuals, whilst only the 6,6% of the same kind of specimens of E. hydruntinus can be attributed to these age classes. This fact could be related to different exploitation strategies of the two species.

CREZZINI J., BOSCHIN F., 2016 – 3D digital microscopy and taphonomy: two examples from Palaeolithic sites (Grotta dei Santi–Grosseto and Grotta Paglicci-Foggia), Annali dell’Università degli Studi di Ferrara – Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica, (U. Thun Hohenstein, M. Cangemi, I. Fiore, J. De Grossi Mazzorin eds.),12/1, 3-10.

https://annali.unife.it/museologia/article/view/1311

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15160/1824-2707/1311

Riassunto

L’Unità di Ricerca di Ecologia Preistorica dell’Università di Siena sta portando avanti un ampio studio volto alla realizzazione di nuove metodologie di analisi tafonomiche, condotte attraverso l’utilizzo della microscopia digitale 3D. Le modificazioni sulle superfici ossee (scores, punctures, cut marks, alterazioni chimiche) possono essere infatti analizzate da un punto di vista morfometrico permettendo l’individuazione di caratteri diagnostici che possono essere elaborati statisticamente, evitando l’esclusivo utilizzo di osservazioni soggettive. In questo contributo vengono presentati alcuni dati riguardanti strie di macellazione ottenute in prove sperimentali, strie provocate da carnivori moderni e tracce rilevate su resti di macromammiferi provenienti da due siti paleolitici: la Grotta dei Santi (Grosseto) e Grotta Paglicci (Foggia). Lo scopo è quello di mettere a confronto tracce lasciate da diversi agenti e capire, testando il metodo su campioni archeologici, verso quale direzione possa essere sviluppato questo tipo di ricerca in modo da favorire in futuro una migliore interpretazione di alcune evidenze tafonomiche.

Abstract

The Research Unit of Prehistoric Ecology of the University of Siena is testing the potentiality of a digital microscope that captures 3D images of the bone surface. The aim of this research is to develop new methods for understanding the origin of different bone modifications (e.g. scores, punctures, cut marks, chemical corrosion) using morphometry. It allows to find diagnostic criteria that can be processed through statistics, avoiding the exclusive use of subjective observations. In this paper different bone modifications have been analysed: cut marks produced during butchery experiments, modern tooth marks and striae located on macromammal remains coming from two Palaeolithic sites: Grotta dei Santi (Grosseto) and Grotta Paglicci (Foggia). The aim is to compare bone modifications of different origin and to test the method on archaeological samples, in order to understand how this can be employed to better interpret the taphonomic evidences in future works.

BORGIA V., BOSCHIN F., RONCHITELLI A., 2016 – Bone and antler working at Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia, Southern Italy), Quaternary International, 403, 23-39.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040618215013646

DOI:10.1016/J.QUAINT.2015.11.116

Abstract

In this article we present evidence of the hard animal tissue exploitation at Paglicci Cave (Rignano Garganico, Foggia, southern Italy).

The analysis of the 104 bone and antler tools found in the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of the cave, as well as recent studies on faunal remains, have allowed us to reconstruct the choices made by the prehistorichunters both in terms of hunting and exploitation of hard animal materials for tool fabrication. Most of the archeozoological sequence is characterized by the abundance of remains of species related to open or steppe environments, such as caprines (especially ibex), horses and aurochs.

Starting from Final Epigravettian (about 17.000 BP cal.) these taxa decrease in favor of deer, wild boar and hidruntinus, reflecting an important climatic change leading to more humid and temperate conditions. Only some hunted animals bones were chosen for making the tools: deer, horse, aurochs and wild boar. A noteworthy observation concerns the lack of an interconnection between the kinds of species represented in the faunal assemblages and those used for the production of bone (and antler) tools.

Even though the small number of pieces in each individual layer did not allow for statistical inferences, we could draw some interesting conclusions on the morpho-technological features of the artifacts, finding that some tool types appear to be linked to particular periods.

FU Q., POSTH C., HAJDINJAK M., PETR M., MALLICK S., FERNANDES D., FURTWANGLER A., HAAK W., M. MEYER, MITTNIK, NICKEL B., PELTZER A., ROHLAND N., SLON V., TALAMO S., LAZARIDIS I., LIPSON M., MATHIESON I., SCHIFFELS S., SKOGLUND P., DEREVIANKO A.P., DROZDOV N., SLAVINSKY V., TSYBANKOV A., GRIFONI CREMONESI R., MALLEGNI F., GELY B., VACCA E., GONZALEZ MORALES M.R., STRAUS L.G., NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH C., TESCHLER-NICOLA M., CONSTANTIN S., MOLDOVAN O.T., BENAZZI S., PERESANI M., COPPOLA D., LARI M., RICCI S., RONCHITELLI A., VALENTIN F., THEVENET C., WEHRBERGER K., GRIGORESCU D., ROUGIER H., CREVECOEUR I., FLAS D., SEMAL P., MANNINO M.A., CUPILLARD C., BOCHERENS H., CONARD N.J., HARVATI K., MOISEYEV V., DRUCKER D.G., SVOBODA J., RICHARDS M.P., CARAMELLI D., PINHASI R., KELSO J., PATTERSON N., KRAUSE J., PAABO S. & REICH D., 2016 – The genetic history of Ice Age Europe, Nature, 534, pp. 200-205.

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature17993

DOI 10.1038/nature17993

Abstract

Modern humans arrived in Europe ~45,000 years ago, but little is known about their genetic composition before the start of farming ~8,500 years ago. Here we analyse genome-wide data from 51 Eurasians from ~45,000–7,000 years ago. Over this time, the proportion of Neanderthal DNA decreased from 3–6% to around 2%, consistent with natural selection against Neanderthal variants in modern humans. Whereas there is no evidence of the earliest modern humans in Europe contributing to the genetic composition of present-day Europeans, all individuals between ~37,000 and ~14,000 years ago descended from a single founder population which forms part of the ancestry of present-day Europeans. An ~35,000-year-old individual from northwest Europe represents an early branch of this founder population which was then displaced across a broad region, before reappearing in southwest Europe at the height of the last Ice Age ~19,000 years ago. During the major warming period after ~14,000 years ago, a genetic component related to present-day Near Easterners became widespread in Europe. These results document how population turnover and migration have been recurring themes of European prehistory.