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Riparo Dalmeri is an Epigravettian high altitude rock shelter, seasonally occupied for specialized ibex hunting. Its occupation pattern indicates the mobility of human groups from the lowlands to the mountains, in order to exploit a territory which is inaccessible during the winter. This work presents the results of the taphonomic study carried out on the bird bone assemblages from Riparo Dalmeri, where birds play a secondary role as an economic resource, when compared to the intense seasonal exploitation of ibex. Despite its small size, the bird bone assemblage still provides valuable ecological information as well as information about anthropic traces connected with food exploitation and other resources. The most common human modifications detected on the bird bones are those related to butchery: stone tool cut-marks, fresh bone fracture, peeling, crushing, wrenching, and, more rarely, notches or chop-marks. Localized burning traces have also been detected.

Pontecagnano is one of the largest pre-Roman sites in southern Italy, best known for its necropolises, located around the inhabited area. Archaeological excavations of the burial areas have uncover...

Archaeologists investigating Middle Bronze to Early Iron Age periods (1600–900 b.c.) in southern Italy often explore linkages between emerging inequality and foreign trade connections, esta...

Microscopic analysis of backed lithic pieces from the Uluzzian technocomplex (45–40 thousand yr ago) at Grotta del Cavallo (southern Italy) reveals their use as mechanically delivered projectile weapons, attributed to anatomically modern humans. Use-wear and residue analyses indicate that the lithics were hunting armatures hafted with complex adhesives, while experimental and ethnographic comparisons support their use as projectiles. The use of projectiles conferred a hunting strategy with a higher impact energy and a potential subsistence advantage over other populations and species. Microscopic analysis of backed stone pieces from the Uluzzian technocomplex of Italy (45–40 thousand years ago) identifies them as hafted armatures, probably used as projectiles.

Frantz, Laurent/0000-0001-8030-3885; Ersmark, Erik/0000-0003-4186-7498; Sjogren, Karl-Goran/0000-0003-1791-3175; Bergstrom, Anders/0000-0002-4096-9268 WOS:000583031800042 PubMed ID: 33122379 Dogs were the first domestic animal, but little is known about their population history and to what extent it was linked to humans. We sequenced 27 ancient dog genomes and found that all dogs share a common ancestry distinct from present-day wolves, with limited gene flow from wolves since domestication but substantial dog-to-wolf gene flow. By 11,000 years ago, at least five major ancestry lineages had diversified, demonstrating a deep genetic history of dogs during the Paleolithic. Coanalysis with human genomes reveals aspects of dog population history that mirror humans, including Levant-related ancestry in Africa and early agricultural Europe. Other aspects differ, including the impacts of steppe pastoralist expansions in West and East Eurasia and a near-complete turnover of Neolithic European dog ancestry. SciLifeLab National Projects; Erik Philip Sorensen Foundation; Francis Crick Institute from Cancer Research UK [FC001595]; UK Medical Research CouncilMedical Research Council UK (MRC); Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust [210119/Z/18/Z]; European Research CouncilEuropean Research Council (ERC) [852558]; Wellcome Trust Investigator awardWellcome Trust [217223/Z/19/Z]; Vallee Foundation; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of CanadaSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) [SSHRC IG 435-2014-0075]; State Assignment of the Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy; ZIN RAS [AAA-A19119032590102-7]; Smithsonian's Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellowship; AHRC [AH/J001406/1]; SNIC-UPPMAX [b2016004]; UOXF ARC facilityAustralian Research Council; Wolfson College (University of Oxford); ERCEuropean Research Council (ERC) [ERC-2013-StG-337574-UNDEAD]; Natural Environmental Research CouncilNERC Natural Environment Research Council [NE/K005243/1, NE/K003259/1]; NERC Radiocarbon Facility [NF/2016/2/4] Ancient genome sequencing was supported by SciLifeLab National Projects and the Erik Philip Sorensen Foundation (to P.S.). A.B., T.D., and P.S. were supported by the Francis Crick Institute core funding (FC001595) from Cancer Research UK, the UK Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust. P.S. was also supported by the European Research Council (grant no. 852558), a Wellcome Trust Investigator award (217223/Z/19/Z) and the Vallee Foundation. R.J.L. was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (#SSHRC IG 435-2014-0075). Y.K. was supported by State Assignment of the Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy. M.S. was supported by ZIN RAS (state assignment no. AAA-A19119032590102-7). A.T.L. was supported by the Smithsonian's Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellowship. Archaeological work in Serbia was supported by AHRC grant AH/J001406/1. Computations were supported by SNIC-UPPMAX (b2016004) and the UOXF ARC facility. L.F. was supported by the Wellcome Trust (grant 210119/Z/18/Z) and by Wolfson College (University of Oxford). G.L. was supported by the ERC (grant ERC-2013-StG-337574-UNDEAD). G.L. and K.D. were supported by the Natural Environmental Research Council (grants NE/K005243/1 and NE/K003259/1). Dating was supported by the NERC Radiocarbon Facility (NF/2016/2/4).

We present a multidisciplinary study of a fossiliferous site located in the Vulsini Volcanic District, on the western side of the Tiber River Valley north of Rome, highlighting the peculiar geologic factors that contributed to the origin and preservation of an outstanding archaeological record testifying of the early human frequentation in this region. Mighty explosive eruptions since at least 500 ka affected the investigated area eventually culminating in the formation of the huge Bolsena caldera. Tectonic deformation accompanying volcanic activity caused large fault displacements, shaping the ground surface and contributing to route the path, and possibly to trigger, the catastrophic emplacement of volcaniclastic flows. A sedimentary trap originated by fault scarp cutting through a streambed was likely the cause for the large accumulation of bones and stone artifacts ripped up and carried by a volcaniclastic flow at 322 ka. The analysis of the fossil assemblage reveals both gnawing traces by carnivores and cut-marks from the percussion tools employed by humans to butch the carcasses. However, the occurrence of retouched and unretouched blanks within the lithic assemblage also testifies for provenance from a wider area of human activity, which included hunting and scavenging, probably at a nearby butchering site.

The avifaunal assemblage from unit A9 of Grotta di Fumane provides clear evidence of the human consumption of birds and contributes to an understanding of the role of avifaunal resources in the subsistence strategies of Middle Palaeolithic hominids. In the course of these analyses, some new species of birds were identified along with the most common species already recorded in other cultural layers of Fumane. The exploitation of these resources is testified by taphonomic indicators, which are recognized on 6.5% of the total assemblage, and by a non-random spatial relationship among the bone elements, the morphology of the cave and the hearths. Further, evidence for the exploitation of feathers from various raptors and other birds backdates, although by a few millennia, the acquisition of valuable elements of avian plumage, strengthening the growing body of data that demonstrates the appearance of modern behavior in extinct autochthonous populations of Europe well before the immigration of modern humans.

Labial striations on the anterior teeth have been documented in numerous European pre-Neandertal and Neandertal fossils and serve as evidence for handedness. OH-65, dated at 1.8 mya, shows a concentration of oblique striations on, especially, the left I1 and right I1, I2 and C1, which signal that it was right-handed. From these patterns we contend that OH-65 was habitually using the right hand, over the left, in manipulating objects during some kind of oral processing. In living humans right-handedness is generally correlated with brain lateralization, although the strength of the association is questioned by some. We propose that as more specimens are found, right-handedness, as seen in living Homo, will most probably be typical of these early hominins.

The rhinoceros remains collected during the past century in the lower levels XII (= K) and XI (= I) of the famous Pleistocene locality of Grotta Romanelli (Lecce, southern Italy) are described and compared in detail for the first time. Some remains are referred to Stephanorhinus sp. and others are assigned here to the late early-middle Pleistocene European species Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis based on several morphological characters. Based on its olivine-bearing texture, the volcanoclastic ash sampled from some rhinoceros bones can be referred to the first phase of the Monte Vulture activity (around 630 ka). The results of the stable isotope analyses suggest that the climate in the lowest levels of Grotta Romanelli could have been more arid than it was at the time of the upper level IX, which is generally referred to the late Pleistocene. In addition, both recent day δ18Oppt values and MAT are very similar to values calculated for levels X and XII, suggesting that the climate at those times may have been close to the Present one, whereas climate in level IX may have been somewhat cooler. The presence of Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis suggests a middle Pleistocene age for the lower levels of Grotta Romanelli, in agreement with the results obtained from the volcanoclastic material.

This work reviews the anthropogenic exploitation of small mammals during a crucial time span for the reconstruction of human behavior at the dawn of the Middle - Upper Palaeolithic boundary in the Northern Mediterranean region. Data are sourced from faunal assemblages recovered in the final Mousterian levels of Grotta di Fumane (A5-A6 complex) and the Late Mousterian levels of Riparo Tagliente (levels 35 and 36) and Grotta di San Bernardino (units II and IV), in the North of Italy. As a whole, these records mostly comprise ungulates, rather than bird and carnivore bones, and derive from primary accumulation processes more than from post-depositional activities or direct carnivore actions. Broadly, the taphonomic analyses reveal the presence of human modifications referable to different butchering activities on almost all of the ungulates. Small mammal bones are present throughout the late MP sequences in variable quantities, with canids and rodents represented in each of the assemblages. This work highlights new qualitative taphonomic records produced by humans within a large area that reveal Neandertals’ exploitation of small mammals as game. At Grotta di Fumane, foxes have been butchered in order to exploit fur and meat. Similarly, at Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino and Riparo Tagliente some large rodents bear cut-marks related to the same purposes. Krapina Cave is the only other Mousterian site containing evidence of small game explotation (beaver and marmot) that is in close geographical proximity to the caves analyzed here.

Given the still scanty amount of data ascribable to the interaction between raptors and hominins, this contribution aims to fuel the debate on the complexity of Neanderthal behavior during MIS3 in Western Eurasia. Nowadays, large raptors in general are scarce in nature, due to being top consumers in the trophic chain, and attracted hominins possibly as advantageous indicators of scavenging and feeding opportunities. Nevertheless, a symbolic rather than alimentary significance was designed from several taphonomic investigations, demonstrating various deliberate actions for removing wings, feathers and talons from raptors of different sizes. Following the results of taphonomic examinations of four raptors' (cf. Aegypius monachus , cf. Gypaetus barbatus , Clanga clanga and Falco columbarius ) bones recovered from layer A9 at Fumane Cave, Italy, the data produced are here compared and supported by experimental butchering and contextualized within a wider context that ranges into the Early Upper Palaeolithic. Comparable to previous examples from Fumane and from other sites, the traces impressed on the surface of the wing bones suggest the recovery of the feathers or the wing tip adorned of the primary feathers, but also more complex and insisted interventions aimed to prepare the bone for a possible functional use.

Fossil hominids often processed material held between their upper and lower teeth. Pulling with one hand and cutting with the other, they occasionally left impact cut marks on the lip (labial) surface of their incisors and canines. From these actions, it possible to determine the dominant hand used. The frequency of these oblique striations in an array of fossil hominins documents the typically modern pattern of 9 right‐ to 1 left‐hander. This ratio among living Homo sapiens differs from that among chimpanzees and bonobos and more distant primate relatives. Together, all studies of living people affirm that dominant right‐handedness is a uniquely modern human trait. The same pattern extends deep into our past. Thus far, the majority of inferred right‐handed fossils come from Europe, but a single maxilla from a Homo habilis, OH‐65, shows a predominance of right oblique scratches, thus extending right‐handedness into the early Pleistocene of Africa. Other studies show right‐handedness in more recent African, Chinese, and Levantine fossils, but the sample compiled for non‐European fossil specimens remains small. Fossil specimens from Sima del los Huesos and a variety of European Neandertal sites are predominately right‐handed. We argue the 9:1 handedness ratio in Neandertals and the earlier inhabitants of Europe constitutes evidence for a modern pattern of handedness well before the appearance of modern Homo sapiens., Portions of this work was funded by the Dirección General de Investigación of MINECO, projects number CGL2012‐36682, CGL2015‐65387‐C3‐1‐P, CGL2015‐65387‐C3‐2‐P, CGL2015‐65387‐C3‐3‐P (MINECO/FEDER), CERCA Programme and project AGAUR 2014SGR900 of Generalitat de Catalunya.

This paper presents the results of the archaeozoological and taphonomic study on a sample of about 55,000 bone remains collected in the Gravettian occupation levels (Layer D) of Riparo Mochi (Balzi Rossi, Ventimiglia - Italy). Humans are the main agent responsible for the accumulation of the faunal remains as indicated by the presence of impact cones, butchering striae, burned bones and by the almost complete absence of carnivore traces. The faunal assemblage includes an association rich in artiodactyls and, to a lesser extent, lagomorphs, rodents, and carnivores adapted to different environments and climates. Hunting focused mainly on red deer and ibex, and the site was occupied mainly during winter-spring. The whole faunal sample was divided into "phases" in order to recognize possible paleontological, paleoecological, and palaeoeconomic variations which may have occurred in the area of the rock-shelter during the investigated period.

Multidisciplinary investigations at Pagliare di Sassa (L'Aquila, central Italy) suggest that the local succession accumulated from the late Early to the early Middle Pleistocene in a lacustrine environment. In the upper part, clastic sediments are part of an alluvial fan prograding into the lake, grading to a braided fluvial system. The pollen record confirms that a significant glacial phase occurred just before the onset of the Jaramillo inversion. These data, coupled with evidence from the nearby but earlier Madonna della Strada sequence, allow reconstruction of part of the environmental evolution of L'Aquila basin before the Jaramillo Subchron. The mammal species of Pagliare di Sassa include Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis, mostly of open environments, already present at Madonna della Strada. The faunal turnover characterizing the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition is indicated by the appearances of taxa typical of the Italian early to middle Galerian faunas, such as Praemegaceros verticornis, together with Megaloceros savini. The occurrence of Mimomys savini together with Microtus ex gr. Microtus hintoni-gregaloides suggests that this assemblage is earlier than the Isernia La Pineta fauna. A flint implement and a fragmentary herbivore femur with impact scars probably linked to human activity give evidence of the human peopling of intramontane basins of the Apennine chain since the early Middle Pleistocene.

Cetacean mass strandings occur regularly worldwide, yet the compounded effects of natural and anthropogenic factors often complicate our understanding of these phenomena. Evidence of past stranding episodes may, thus, be essential to establish the potential influence of climate change. Investigations on bones from the site of Grotta dell’Uzzo in North West Sicily (Italy) show that the rapid climate change around 8,200 years ago coincided with increased strandings in the Mediterranean Sea. Stable isotope analyses on collagen from a large sample of remains recovered at this cave indicate that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers relied little on marine resources. A human and a red fox dating to the 8.2-kyr-BP climatic event, however, acquired at least one third of their protein from cetaceans. Numerous carcasses should have been available annually, for at least a decade, to obtain these proportions of meat. Our findings imply that climate-driven environmental changes, caused by global warming, may represent a serious threat to cetaceans in the near future.

Italy is very rich in Middle Palaeolithic sites, and the Veneto region ranges among those with the best archaeozoological information. Most of the Middle Palaeolithic sites are located in caves and rock shelters situated at the mouths of the Alpine valleys, in the piedmont slopes. The two sites that offer the best archaeozoological data are Grotta di Fumane and Grotta S. Bernardino. Grotta S. Bernardino was occupied alternately by humans and carnivores, in particular bear. The fauna is largely dominated by ungulate remains, with red and roe deer prevalent over chamois and ibex; elk and giant deer are also present. Among the carnivores, the most frequent species is cave bear followed by lynx and leopard. Furthermore, hare, beaver and marmot are present together with remains of both fish and birds. It is possible that bears or birds of prey introduced the rare fish remains. In the Mousterian levels, hunting of the most common species was mainly directed towards young adult and adult individuals, suggesting the possibility of selective hunting. Marmot, beaver and probably bear, together with some species of birds (ducks, geese and Galliformes) were also hunted. At Grotta Fumane, Mousterian and Aurignacian levels reveal evidence of human activity related to carcass processing and bone exploitation. The most frequent ungulates are red deer, followed by roe deer and ibex; less frequent are chamois, bovids and giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus). Among the carnivores, bears (both Ursus arctos and Ursus spelaeus) are present, as are wolf, red fox and hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Hare and marmot are also present together with abundant bird remains. The most common species of bird are: Tetrao tetrix, Crex crex and Pyrrhocorax graculus. Mortality data for ungulates suggest that young adults and adults were preferentially selected. The faunal assemblage indicates that economic, ecological and climatic changes took place between the Mousterian and the Aurignacian levels. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.04.005 Fieldwork performed during the last 15 years in various Early Pleistocene East African sites has significantly enlarged the fossil record of Homo erectus sensu lato (s.l.). Additional evidence comes from the Danakil Depression of Eritrea, where over 200 late Early to early Middle Pleistocene sites have been identified within a ~1000 m-thick sedimentary succession outcropping in the Dandiero Rift Basin, near Buia. Along with an adult cranium (UA 31), which displays a blend of H. erectus-like and derived morpho-architectural features and three pelvic remains, two isolated permanent incisors (UA 222 and UA 369) have also been recovered from the 1 Ma (millions of years ago) Homo-bearing outcrop of Uadi Aalad. Since 2010, our surveys have expanded to the nearby (4.7 km) site of Mulhuli-Amo (MA). This is a fossiliferous area that has been preliminarily surveyed because of its exceptional concentration of Acheulean stone tools. So far, the site has yielded 10 human remains, including the unworn crown of a lower permanent molar (MA 93). Using diverse analytical tools (including high resolution µCT and µMRI), we analysed the external and internal macromorphology and microstructure of the three specimens, and whenever possible compared the results with similar evidence from early Homo, H. erectus s.l., H. antecessor, H. heidelbergensis (from North Africa), Neanderthals and modern humans. We also assessed the UA 369 lower incisor from Uadi Aalad for root completion timing and showed that it compares well with data for root apex closure in modern human populations.

Diversity in the used bone found in the European Middle Paleolithic is very low, but bone retouchers are the most abundant and the most common. This paper focuses on the detailed study of numerous bone retouchers found in nine Middle Paleolithic sites bordering the French Massif Central in Southeastern France. Multidisciplinary and recent data on chronology and biostratigraphy on the archaeological sequences and the great number of bone retouchers have permitted a meaningful comparative regional analysis. Their occurrences and characteristics allow us to speculate about the skills and choices of the knappers using these bone tools, for instance deliberate selection or opportunistic choices within the butchery remains, as well as commenting on the length of time and the way that sites were occupied. Furthermore, in most of the studied layers we observed a strong disparity between the abundance of bone retouchers and the number of retouched lithic products presents, raising questions about their function and their role within the stone tool reduction sequence (primary retouching, resharpening stone tool cutting-edges, producing marginal and micro-retouch or in some cases semi-Quina retouch). Results are compared with a large European database, allowing us to discuss the characteristics of the bone retouchers in the Neanderthal world.

Ce PCR regroupait en première année de fonctionnement 47 chercheurs professionnels et bénévoles, plusieurs collaborateurs occssionnels et un prestataire privé pour analyses spécialisées, autour de la thématique « espaces et subsistances » dans le sud-est du Massif central, entre moyenne montagne et couloir rhodanien. Les travaux conduits s’appuient sur les résultats mutualisés de fouilles programmées de longue durée menées tant en Ardèche qu’en Haute-Loire, mais ausi sur les matériaux provenant de fouilles anciennes revisitées. Ils s’attachent au terrain (prospections, sondages, reprises de stratigraphies), aux études de matières premières (pétroarchéologie) et d’outillages lithiques (technologie, typologie, fonctionnalités), aux ressources carnées (archéozoologie) et à leur exploitation comparée (taphonomie), aux caractéristiques intimes des témoins archéologiques par une panoplie analytique diversifiée à haute résolution (isotopes, mico-traces, tracéologie et résidus, combustions...), à la chronologie révisée des occupations humaines par des méthodes de datation croisées (AMS, TL, OSL, RPE, U/Th), à la modélisation des niches éco-culturelles concernées et à la facilitation des échanges entre acteurs concernés (missions et réunions). Les résultats obtenus avant 2014 ont fait l’objet de synthèses et ont été principalement publiées ou soumises à des revues expertisées : Quaternary International, ERAUL, Comptes Rendus Palévol, L’Anthropologie, RST, Society of American Archaeology, Société préhistorique française, PlosOne.

At Grotta di Fumane, signatures such as butchering traces, burned bones, fragmentation and scanty carnivore traces prove that the faunal remains from the Uluzzian layers (A4 and A3) are the product of human activity. Human modifications are also present on the bones of birds like black grouse, Alpine chough, and large raptors like the golden eagle. Faunal evidence indicates that human hunting focused on red deer and ibex, but also on giant deer, roe deer, bison and chamois. Wolf, fox and brown bear were exploited as well. All age classes of red deer and adult ibex were preyed upon. The presence of young ungulates suggests that the cave was used throughout the year. The faunal assemblage of the final Uluzzian layers chronicles climatic cooling with respect to the previous Mousterian period, and modifications in hunting comparable to those characteristic of the Aurignacian occupation.

National audience

We describe and analyze a Neandertal postcranial skeleton and dentition, which together show unambiguous signs of right-handedness. Asymmetries between the left and right upper arm in Regourdou 1 were identified nearly 20 years ago, then confirmed by more detailed analyses of the inner bone structure for the clavicle, humerus, radius and ulna. The total pattern of all bones in the shoulder and arm reveals that Regourdou 1 was a right-hander. Confirmatory evidence comes from the mandibular incisors, which display a distinct pattern of right oblique scratches, typical of right-handed manipulations performed at the front of the mouth. Regourdou's right handedness is consistent with the strong pattern of manual lateralization in Neandertals and further confirms a modern pattern of left brain dominance, presumably signally linguistic competence. These observations along with cultural, genetic and morphological evidence indicate language competence in Neandertals and their European precursors.

Considerable research supports the high frequency of right-handedness in living Homo sapiens, with worldwide rates of approximately nine right- for every one left-hander. Right-handedness appears to be a uniquely human trait, as no other primate species, no matter how proficient in tool use, shows frequencies even close to the strong right bias typical of humans (Cashmore, Uomini, & Chapelain, 2008 ; McGrew & Marchant 1997 ; Steele & Uomini, 2009). Here we review our research on human fossils from Sima de los Huesos (Atapuerca, Spain) and their likely descendants, the European Neandertals. We document hand preference in fossils by scratch patterns that occur on the labial (lip) face of incisors and canines, and contend that these patterns provide a reliable means for identifying predominant hand use in these samples. Manipulatory marks on the anterior teeth show a persistent pattern of right-handed actions, implying that the modern human pattern of dominant right-handedness extends deep into the European past.

A large and varied avifaunal bone assemblage from the final Mousterian levels of Grotta di Fumane, northern Italy, reveals unusual human modifications on species that are not clearly relatable to feeding or utilitarian uses (i.e., lammergeier, Eurasian black vulture, golden eagle, red-footed falcon, common wood pigeon, and Alpine chough). Cut, peeling, and scrape marks, as well as diagnostic fractures and a breakthrough, are observed exclusively on wings, indicating the intentional removal of large feathers by Neandertals. The species involved, the anatomical elements affected, and the unusual type and location of the human modifications indicate an activity linked to the symbolic sphere and the behavioral modernity of this European autochthonous population.

Seven Vindija (Croatia) Neandertal teeth, dated about 32,000 years ago, were analyzed to determine patterning of scratches on the anterior teeth. Oblique scratches exclusively on the labial faces of incisors and canines represent a distinctive pattern, characteristic of hand directed, non-masticatory activities. At Vindija and elsewhere these scratches reveal activities, which were performed primarily with the right hand. The late Neandertals from Vindija, combined with other studies, show that European Neandertals were predominately right-handed with a ratio 15:2 (88.2%), a frequency similar to living people. Studies of teeth from Atapuerca extend this modern ratio to more than 500,000 years ago and increase the frequency of right- handers in the European fossil record to almost 94%. Species-wide, preferential right-handedness is a defining feature of modern Homo sapiens, tied to brain laterality and language with the 9:1 ratio of right- to left- handers - a reflection of the link between left hemispheric dominance and language. Up-to-date behavioral and anatomical studies of Neandertal fossils and the recent discovery of their possession of the FOXP2 gene indicate Neandertals (and, very likely, their European ancestors) had linguistic capacities similar to living humans.

International audience

I resti faunistici rinvenuti nei diversi contesti urbani di San Salvo ci forniscono un quadro dell’importanza economica e alimentare delle diverse specie animali tra il VI e il XVII secolo. La quantità di frammenti ossei riferibili alle principali categorie di animali domestici (bovini, ovicaprini e suini) sembra indicare un maggior consumo di carne bovina tra il VI-VIII secolo e i secoli che vanno dal XIII al XIX in cui sembra affermarsi maggiormente la pastorizia. Il campione bovino, in tutte le fasi abitative, è composto prevalentemente da individui adulti macellati soltanto alla fine del loro ciclo lavorativo nei campi e da scarsi individui più giovani, allevati più propriamente per la produzione carnea. Gli ovicaprini sembrano essere costituiti soprattutto da pecore, solo nel XIII-XIV secolo si ha una maggior presenza di resti di capra. Il campione dei secoli XIII-XIV mostra una pastorizia articolata e la presenza di animali giovani e vecchi sottolinea un interesse sia per la produzione di carne che di lana e latte. Invece il campione dei secoli XVI-XVII, costituito quasi esclusivamente da individui adulti di cui la maggior parte senili, indica una particolare attenzione per la produzione di lana. I resti suini del VI-VIII secolo appartengono tutti a individui giovani o subadulti e ciò indica la ricerca di tagli di carne più pregiata. Molto particolare è invece il campione proveniente dal riempimento superiore di una sepoltura a camera ipogea, databile tra il VII e il IX secolo, che ha restituito 250 resti ossei di maialini appartenenti ad almeno 20 individui di cui 17 appena nati; gli scheletri erano pressoché completi e senza tracce di preparazione alimentare. Nelle fasi più tarde sono invece presenti sia animali giovani che adulti. Il maiale, oltre ad essere fonte di carne sia fresca che conservata, salata o affumicata, forniva anche la gran parte dei grassi alimentari (lardo, strutto) usata nella preparazione dei cibi. Il consumo di pollame sembra invece da riferirsi ad un’economia a conduzione domestica. L’allevamento degli animali da cortile, come galline e oche doveva infatti fornire un contributo soprattutto per l’economia familiare dei ceti meno abbienti. Gli equidi (cavallo e asino) sono scarsissimi e compaiono solo nelle fasi finali di occupazione e probabilmente non utilizzati nell’alimentazione. Infine tra gli scarsi animali selvatici sono presenti cervi, caprioli e cinghiali. Mentre tra le piccole prede sono documentati tassi, volpi e istrici probabilmente cacciati con lacci e trappole. E’ inoltre documentata la cattura di testudinati e rane, e il consumo di pesce e di molluschi marini (ostrica, piè d’asino e seppia).

Le indagini archeologiche, condotte nella cittadina di Vaste negli anni novanta, hanno restituito un particolare contesto archeologico nel sito di Piazza Dante: un complesso cultuale. Gli scavi sviluppati lungo il lato orientale della piazza, hanno portato alla luce una serie d’ambienti i cui livelli di frequentazione sono datati al IV-III sec. a.C. In prossimità degli stessi sono state individuate tre cavità ipogeiche, che hanno restituito resti di animali assieme a materiale ceramico ed oggetti di chiara valenza cultuale. La differente planimetria, la particolarità dei rinvenimenti faunistici all’interno della cavità 3, la presenza di una conchiglia di grandi dimensioni e una testa femminile in pietra calcarea, inducono a pensare al differente ruolo che tale cavità ha svolto rispetto alle altre due. Si differenzia, inoltre, per la presenza di una lastra in pietra locale con foro centrale (omphalos), ubicata sul fondo della stessa e per le maggiori dimensioni rispetto alle altre due. Questo dato fa pensare che le offerte alimentari (maialini), unitamente ai pasti rituali (ovicaprini), non fossero lasciate nei contenitori ceramici, ma versate nel foro della lastra al fine di avere un contatto diretto con il mondo degli inferi e quindi con le divinità ctonie. Le analisi archeozoologiche condotte sul materiale faunistico proveniente dalle tre cavità, permette di avere una miglior comprensione delle pratiche rituali svolte all’interno della sfera cultuale messapica.

Lo studio dei resti di pesce provenienti da cinque diversi siti pugliesi è stato effettuato su un campione relativamente ridotto, si tratta di 170 frammenti determinati, ma nonostante l’esiguità del campione si sono ottenuti dati preliminari abbastanza chiari ed omogenei su ciò che veniva consumato nell’antichità. Nel sito “Fondo Giuliano” a Vaste, nella necropoli datata al V secolo, nei riempimenti delle tombe sono stati rinvenuti molti resti di ittiofauna, associati a resti di altri animali, che denotano la pratica rituale del refrigerium, cioè il consumo di cibo nei pressi delle tombe e la loro deposizione come offerta al defunto. Da questa prima analisi si è constatato che la dieta basata sui prodotti ittici era formata prevalentemente da specie di Serranidi, pesci che vivono sia in vicinanza della costa (esemplari piccoli) sia ad elevate profondità (esemplari di grossa taglia), tra cui cernie, spigole, ma sono presenti anche pesci appartenenti ad altre famiglie, tra cui dentici, orate, e tonni, specie dalle carni saporite e pregiate.

Lo studio si propone di analizzare aspetti dell’economia legati all’allevamento, alla caccia ed alla pesca di un insediamento di cui sono note archeologicamente la fase di frequentazione indigena-maora e quella relativa all’impianto ed all’abbandono del presidio militare di età imperiale. In età pre-romana l’attività di tipo pastorale appare rivolta soprattutto all’utilizzo dei suini; ampia, per il periodo di III-IV sec. d.C., risulta la presenza delle tre principali specie domestiche, bovini, ovicaprini e suini, con una predominanza della prima rispetto alle altre. La frequente attestazione di animali da tiro contribuirebbe a delineare una sostenuta economia di tipo agrario-estensiva nel territorio. Il confronto tra i due periodi storici considerati non mostrerebbe sostanziali variazioni, ad eccezione, in età imperiale, di un rafforzamento dell’agricoltura a scapito dell’allevamento suino, e dell’intensificazione di pratiche pastorali collegabili a pecore e capre. Di particolare interesse appare anche il ruolo svolto nell’economia e nell’artigianato del sito da faune proprie del Nord Africa (camelidi, grandi felidi) e dalla pesca.