TAPHONOMIC ANALYSIS ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM THE CIOTA CIARA CAVE (PIEDMONT, ITALY) AND NEW EVIDENCE OF CAVE BEAR AND WOLF EXPLOITATION WITH SIMPLE QUARTZ FLAKES BY NEANDERTHAL

The Ciota Ciara cave is located in the karst area of Monte Fenera (Borgosesia - VC) and, with the Ciotarun cave, it is the only Middle Palaeolithic site in Piedmont where the presence of Homo neanderthalensis has been confirmed by discoveries of human remains. Preliminary taphonomic and archaeozoological studies have been performed on a portion of the palaeontological remains from the Stratigraphic Unit 14 (1144 bones). The studies confirmed the presence of cut-marks on Ursus spelaeus and Canis lupus, made by lithic instruments. The position of the cut marks on the bones can be related to skinning and butchery. An experimental butchery has been performed to test the efficiency of the tools made by local quartz during slaughtering activities. The archaeozoological analysis of the faunal remains of S.U. 14, identified cut-marks with weak peculiarities, probably due to the use of quartz tools. The analysis of the experimental collection allowed distinguishing between cut-marks made by quartz tools from those made by flint tools. A preliminary experimentation, conducted on more than 50 different cut-marks made with flakes of three different raw materials (vein quartz, quartzite and flint), allow us to hypothesize that it is possible to distinguish cut-marks made with unretouched flakes of different raw materials

TAPHONOMIC ANALYSIS ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM THE CIOTA CIARA CAVE (PIEDMONT, ITALY) AND NEW EVIDENCE OF CAVE BEAR AND WOLF EXPLOITATION WITH SIMPLE QUARTZ FLAKES BY NEANDERTHAL

The Ciota Ciara cave is located in the karst area of Monte Fenera (Borgosesia - VC) and, with the Ciotarun cave, it is the only Middle Palaeolithic site in Piedmont where the presence of Homo neanderthalensis has been confirmed by discoveries of human remains. Preliminary taphonomic and archaeozoological studies have been performed on a portion of the palaeontological remains from the Stratigraphic Unit 14 (1144 bones). The studies confirmed the presence of cut-marks on Ursus spelaeus and Canis lupus, made by lithic instruments. The position of the cut marks on the bones can be related to skinning and butchery. An experimental butchery has been performed to test the efficiency of the tools made by local quartz during slaughtering activities. The archaeozoological analysis of the faunal remains of S.U. 14, identified cut-marks with weak peculiarities, probably due to the use of quartz tools. The analysis of the experimental collection allowed distinguishing between cut-marks made by quartz tools from those made by flint tools. A preliminary experimentation, conducted on more than 50 different cut-marks made with flakes of three different raw materials (vein quartz, quartzite and flint), allow us to hypothesize that it is possible to distinguish cut-marks made with unretouched flakes of different raw materials

The Mousterian lithic assemblage of the Ciota Ciara cave (Piedmont, Northern Italy): Exploitation and conditioning of raw materials

The Ciota Ciara cave is situated in Monte Fenera’s karst (Borgosesia – Vercelli), at 670 metres above sea level. It is the most important evidence of a Middle Palaeolithic settlement in Piedmont: the cave was used by Homo neanderthalensis during the OIS 5, in a mild-humid period, as proven by faunal remains. The environment was characterized by deciduous woodland and glades. The intersection between different habitats, the presence of lithic raw materials, the karst morphology and water sources were certainly the main factors that encouraged human settlement during the Upper Pleistocene period, between 80.000 and 70.000 BP.In 2009 systematic excavations began in the cave by the University of Ferrara, in partnership with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Piemonte e del Museo di Antichità Egizie. Research focused on the cave’s atrium where three stratigraphic units were investigated: 13, 103 and 14.The exploited raw materials’ characterization were made by the stereo-microscope observations and through the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). Several lithologies are represented in different proportion: quartz is the predominant exploited raw material, followed by spongolite, sandstone, mylonite and opal. The archaeological record consists of various typologies of quartz: macro-crystalline pegmatite quartz, micro-crystalline pegmatite quartz and hyaline quartz. All these types of raw materials have been found in the proximity of the archaeological site, within 5 km range.The lithic assemblage is made of flakes, retouched tools, cores and debris. The raw materials exploitation was achieved through the direct percussion technique with various methods: S.S.D.A., discoid and Levallois. The reduction sequences on quartz are complete, although no refitting was found. The reduction sequence is not complete for most part of the other raw materials. The débitage products are small-medium size (1-4 cm) and have different morphologies.The use-wear analysis on quartz’s artefacts was carried out using the low power approach. The preservation state of the lithic assemblage is very good and no chemical, mechanical or post-depositional alterations are evident. The use-wear analysis shows a predominance of medium-hard and medium-soft materials processing.The lithic industries characteristics show the production strategies adaptation typical of the Middle Palaeolithic to the characteristics of the non-sedimentary raw materials

Systematic versus on-demand early palliative care: results from a multicentre, randomised clinical trial

Background Early palliative care (EPC) in oncology has been shown to have a positive impact on clinical outcome, quality-of-care outcomes, and costs. However, the optimal way for activating EPC has yet to be defined. Methods This prospective, multicentre, randomised study was conducted on 207 outpatients with metastatic or locally advanced inoperable pancreatic cancer. Patients were randomised to receive ‘standard cancer care plus on-demand EPC’ (n = 100) or ‘standard cancer care plus systematic EPC’ (n = 107). Primary outcome was change in quality of life (QoL) evaluated through the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Hepatobiliary questionnaire between baseline (T0) and after 12 weeks (T1), in particular the integration of physical, functional, and Hepatic Cancer Subscale (HCS) combined in the Trial Outcome Index (TOI). Patient mood, survival, relatives' satisfaction with care, and indicators of aggressiveness of care were also evaluated. Findings The mean changes in TOI score and HCS score between T0 and T1 were −4.47 and −0.63, with a difference between groups of 3.83 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.10–7.57) (p = 0.041), and −2.23 and 0.28 (difference between groups of 2.51, 95% CI 0.40–4.61, p = 0.013), in favour of interventional group. QoL scores at T1 of TOI scale and HCS were 84.4 versus 78.1 (p = 0.022) and 52.0 versus 48.2 (p = 0.008), respectively, for interventional and standard arm. Until February 2016, 143 (76.9%) of the 186 evaluable patients had died. There was no difference in overall survival between treatment arms. Interpretations Systematic EPC in advanced pancreatic cancer patients significantly improved QoL with respect to on-demand EPC

Small and large mammals from the Ciota Ciara cave (Borgosesia, Vercelli, Italy): An Isotope Stage 5 assemblage

The Ciota Ciara cave is located within the Monte Fenera karst system (Borgosesia, Vercelli, Italy) at 670 m a.s.l. The cave entrance presents a deposit with Mousterian quartz and flint industry. The faunal remains from Stratigraphic Units 13, 14 and 103 are the subject of this work and are presented here as a whole for the first time. The large mammal assemblage is dominated by Ursus spelaeus. In addition, a few remains of carnivores such as Panthera leo spelaea, Panthera pardus, Meles meles have been found together with ungulates such as Cervus elaphus and Rupicapra rupicapra. The small mammal assemblage is characterized by a high biodiversity, especially in bats, by the dominance of Clethrionomys glareolus and by a relatively large number of Pliomys coronensis, a species that seems to disappear from the Italian Peninsula at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 5 or during the beginning of MIS 4. The changes in frequency of the small and large mammals between the two S.U. suggest a change from a relatively cold-humid (S.U. 14) to a warmer-still humid climate (S.U. 13). Although no radiometric dates are available yet, the small and large mammal assemblages, the presence of Pliomys coronensis and the climate change inferred by the variation of the small mammal frequencies allow us to correlate these two units of the Ciota Ciara cave to a relatively warm moment of Marine Isotope Stage 5