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Human occupation continuity in southern Italy towards the end of the Middle Palaeolithic: a palaeoenvironmental perspective from Apulia.

Authors :
Boschin, Francesco
Columbu, Andrea
Spagnolo, Vincenzo
Crezzini, Jacopo
Bahain, Jean‐Jacques
FalguèRes, Christophe
Benazzi, Stefano
Boscato, Paolo
Ronchitelli, Annamaria
Moroni, Adriana
Martini, Ivan
Source :
Journal of Quaternary Science; Feb2022, Vol. 37 Issue 2, p204-216, 13p
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

After the last interglacial [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e] Europe was affected by several harsh climatic oscillations. In this context southern Italy acted, like the rest of peninsular Mediterranean Europe, as a 'glacial refugium', allowing the survival of various species, and was involved in the spread of 'cold taxa' (e.g. woolly mammoth and woolly rhino) only during the coldest phases (MIS 4 and MIS 2). Both late Mousterian and early Upper Palaeolithic sites testify to a human occupation continuity in southern Italy and especially in Apulia in this time span. Here we present a focus on three key Apulian Palaeolithic sequences (Grotta di Santa Croce, Riparo L'Oscurusciuto and Grotta del Cavallo – layers F‐E) jointly spanning from the late MIS 4 to the demise of Neanderthals around 43 ka. Novel chronological, sedimentological and zooarchaeological data are discussed for the first time in the light of the palaeoenvironmental information provided by recent analyses carried out on a speleothem from Pozzo Cucù cave (Bari) and the results of the magnetic susceptibility analysis from Riparo L'Oscurusciuto. This integrated reading allows a better understanding of the role played by the Apulian region as both a refugium for late Neaderthals and a suitable habitat for the early settling of modern humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
02678179
Volume :
37
Issue :
2
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Journal of Quaternary Science
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
155146822
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3319