Experimental and archaeological data for the identification of projectile impact marks on small-sized mammals

The role of small game in prehistoric hunter-gatherer economy is a highly debated topic. Despite the general assumption that this practice was uneconomic, several studies have underlined the relevance of the circumstance of capture – in terms of hunting strategies and technology – in the evaluation of the actual role of small mammals in human foraging efficiency. Since very few studies have focused on the recognition of bone hunting lesions, in a previous work we explored the potential of 3D microscopy in distinguishing projectile impact marks from other taphonomic marks, developing a widely-applicable diagnostic framework based on experimental data and focused on Late Epigravettian projectiles. Even though we confirmed the validity of the method on zooarchaeological remains of large-sized mammals, the reliability of the experimental record in relation to smaller animals needed more testing and verification. In this report we thus present the data acquired through a new ballistic experiment on small mammals and compare the results to those previously obtained on medium-sized animals, in order to bolster the diagnostic criteria useful in bone lesion identification with specific reference to small game. We also present the application of this renewed methodology to an archaeological context dated to the Late Glacial and located in the eastern Italian Alps

Nuovi dati faunistici del Bronzo finale e della prima età del Ferro dell’insediamento La Rocca di Chiuso (Lecco) = New faunal data from the Final Bronze Age and the Iron Age settlement of La Rocca di Chiuso (Lecco, Italy)

Nel 1988 il Museo Civico di Lecco effettu\uf2 due sondaggi sul terrazzo del versante settentrionale della Rocca di Chiuso, presso Lecco. Il saggio I, oggetto di questo studio, mise in luce due tratti di muro a secco con andamento SN e la traccia di un terzo allineamento. Il deposito, di limitata profondit\ue0, ha restituito ceramiche dell\u2019et\ue0 del Bronzo finale (XI-X secolo a.C.) e della prima et\ue0 del Ferro (IX-VIII secolo a.C.). Il lotto faunistico conta 191 resti di cui 69 determinati. Si tratta di un complesso poco numeroso ma di notevole interesse perch\ue9 fornisce dati su un areale geografico e su culture ad oggi ancora poco o punto studiate sotto il profilo dell\u2019archeozoologia. Il bue, insieme ai resti attribuibili ai grandi ungulati (44, probabilmente tutti o quasi ad esso riferibili) doveva rappresentare poco pi\uf9 del 42% delle presenze. I resti di capra e pecora e quelli di maiale sono di importanza marginale. Un solo reperto di cane, due resti di cervo. Nonostante la scarsa affidabilit\ue0 statistica il lotto potrebbe riflettere l\u2019economia di una comunit\ue0 essenzialmente agricola, stabile sotto il profilo demografico, e un ambiente aperto, dominato da campi e pascoli.In 1988 the Civic Museum of Lecco carried out some excavations on the northern side terrace of the Rocca di Chiuso near Lecco. In survey 1, object of this paper, two north-south wall sections and the remain of a third wall were found. Pottery of the Final Bronze Age (11th/10th century BC) and of the beginning of the Iron Age (9th/8th century BC) were recovered from it.The faunal assemblage includes 191 remains of which only 69 were identified; it is dated between the Final Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The sample is very small, but of considerable significance because it provides data on a geographical and cultural area that is still today barely studied in archaeozoological terms. Cattle, together with those remains attributable to large ungulates (NISP 44, almost all likely to be cattle) represented less than 42% of the identified remains. The remains of goats and sheep and of small ungulatesare up to about 30%. Pigs is of marginal importance. There were only one dog specimen, and two red deer remains. Despite its poor statistical reliability, the assemblage could reflect an economy of a community with a stable demography mainly based on agricultural activities, and consequently an open landscape dominated by fields and pastures

Earliest evidence of dental caries manipulation in the Late Upper Palaeolithic

Prehistoric dental treatments were extremely rare, and the few documented cases are known from the Neolithic, when the adoption of early farming culture caused an increase of carious lesions. Here we report the earliest evidence of dental caries intervention on a Late Upper Palaeolithic modern human specimen (Villabruna) from a burial in Northern Italy. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy we show the presence of striations deriving from the manipulation of a large occlusal carious cavity of the lower right third molar. The striations have a “V”-shaped transverse section and several parallel micro-scratches at their base, as typically displayed by cutmarks on teeth. Based on in vitro experimental replication and a complete functional reconstruction of the Villabruna dental arches, we confirm that the identified striations and the associated extensive enamel chipping on the mesial wall of the cavity were produced ante-mortem by pointed flint tools during scratching and levering activities. The Villabruna specimen is therefore the oldest known evidence of dental caries intervention, suggesting at least some knowledge of disease treatment well before the Neolithic. This study suggests that primitive forms of carious treatment in human evolution entail an adaptation of the well-known toothpicking for levering and scratching rather than drilling practices

Grotta del Cavallo (Apulia-Southern Italy). The Uluzzian in the mirror

The Uluzzian techno-complex is commonly considered to be a \u201ctransitional industry\u201d mostly on the basis of some inferred characteristics such as a chiefly flake-based production, a small amount of Upper Palaeolithic-like tools and a combination of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic elements both in the toolkit and in the technical systems. Following its discovery, the Uluzzian was identified as the Italian counterpart of the French Ch\ue2telperronian and attributed to Neandertals. However, a study issued in 2011 has established the modern character of the two deciduous teeth found in 1964 in the Uluzzian deposit of Grotta del Cavallo, fostering renewed interests to the Uluzzian culture, which real nature is almost unknown to the international scientific community. Here we provide preliminary results of the study on the lithic assemblage from the earliest Uluzzian layer and on backed pieces from the whole Uluzzian sequence of Grotta del Cavallo (Apulia, Italy), the type site of the Uluzzian. Moreover, besides a thorough review on the stratigraphy of Grotta del Cavallo (Supplementary Materials), we provide updated information on the human remains by presenting two unpublished teeth from the reworked deposit of the same cave. We conclude that the early Uluzzians demonstrate original technological behavior and innovations devoid of any features deriving or directly linked with the late Mousterian of Southern Italy. Therefore, the novelty nature of the Uluzzian techno-complex (with respect to the preceding Mousterian) complies with the recent reassessment of the two deciduous teeth from Grotta del Cavallo in suggesting an earliest migration of modern humans in southern Europe around 45,000 years ago

L'Uomo e la Iena macchiata. Tafonomia su resti di ungulati del Gravettiano antico di Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico - FG)

This paper presents a taphonomic study on ungulate bones from two Ancient Gravettian levels of Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico – FG). The analysis of the determined remains and of the large amount of undeterminate fragments was obtained through the individuation of the cutmarks made by stone tools, of the tooth marks produced by carnivores and through the estimation of the degree of bone fragmentation. In addition to an abundant material resulting from the human occupation of the cave, level 23c presents several distinctive features attesting to the presence of the spotted hyena: gnawed and regurgitated bones of ungulates, coprolites, skeletal parts of Crocuta. The comparison between the sample contained in this level and another one recovered in level 22f, which displays only traces of anthropic action like hunting and butchering processes, shows the subordinate role of the hyena in the formation of the bone accumulation in the level 23c

Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Southern Italy: Uluzzian macromammals from Grotta del Cavallo (Apulia)

A taphonomic study of macromammal remains found in Uluzzian layer EIII5 of Grotta del Cavallo (Apulia, southern Italy) was conducted to obtain information about exploitation of animal resources in this period. The Uluzzian is a distinctive culture characterizing the MiddleeUpper Palaeolithic transition in Italy. Comparison of the sample analyzed with Mousterian assemblages from sites in the same region showed significant differences in skeletal part frequencies, whereas similarities were found with data of Gravettian and Epigravettian samples discovered in other Apulian sites. These results suggest probable changes in the management of carcasses by prehistoric hunters living in the region

Homo neanderthalensis e Homo sapiens: lo sfruttamento delle parti scheletriche degli ungulati

Analysis of ungulate bones recovered from some upper and middle Palaeolithic sites of South Italy show differences in the presences of anatomical elements, probably due to different types of exploitation of the skeletal portions between H. neanderthalensis e H. sapiens. Differences, combined with the lack of clear evidences of carnivore activities, concern specially limb bones of small sizes (carpals, tarsals, phalanges, sesamoides), and long bones epiphysis. These skeletal parts result rare in middle Palaeolithic deposits whereas are abundant, in particular the phalanges, in upper Palaeolithic ones. Observations of unidentified bone fragments indicate that, during middle Palaeolithic, in this sites, marrow extraction regarded essentially the treatment of long bones. First and second phalanges were not very used for this practice, while they were often fragmented by Sapiens. Lack of these bones among Neandertal’s meal remains, allow to formulate the hypothesis that these were destroyed probably during their utilisation as fuel

The exploitation of ungulate bones in Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens

Analysis of ungulate bones recovered from a number of Upper and Middle Palaeolithic sites in southern Italy revealed differences in the presence of anatomical elements. There is a lack of clear evidence of carnivore activities, and differences can be attributed to human activity. Indeed, these differences were probably due to different patterns of skeletal exploitation between Homo neanderthalensis and H. sapiens. Small limb bones (carpals, tarsals, sesamoids, long bone epiphyses and especially phalanges) are rarely found in Middle Palaeolithic deposits, but are abundant in the Upper Palaeolithic. The observation of unidentified bone fragments at these sites indicates that during the middle Palaeolithic, marrow extraction regarded essentially the treatment of long bones. First and second phalanges were not frequently used for this practice, but they were often fragmented by H. sapiens. Lack of these bones among the remains of meals of Neanderthal suggests that these bones were probably destroyed by their utilisation as fuel. © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007

Allevamento e caccia: i resti di macrofauna

Nel sito di Lugo di Romagna sono stati determinati a livello tassonomico 178 reperti di macrofauna rinvenuti in due macroaree: MaA (il complesso delle strutture di perimetrazione) e MaB (la capanna e le sottostrutture limitrofe). Il numero esiguo di resti determinati è dovuto alla forte frammentazione del materiale legata sia ad azioni antropiche (frequenti le ossa con tracce di combustione e con rotture legate alla macellazione o al calpestio) sia alla cattiva conservazione del materiale osseo all'interno del deposito argilloso. Gli elementi riferiti a specie domestiche sono in totale 119, di cui 113 ungulati. Tra i domestici è nettamente prevalente la presenza di ossa di bovini (40,4 % del totale), seguita dagli ovicaprini (20,2 %) e da basse quantità di suini (2,8%). Nell'insieme dei selvatici sono stati rinvenuti numerosi resti di capriolo che con 31 reperti risulta la seconda specie per abbondanza del sito

Archeozoology and taphonomy of bird remains from Grotta di Castelcivita (Salerno, Italy) and clues for human-bird interactions

Grotta di Castelcivita (Campania, Southern Italy) is a cave-site containing a key archaeological sequence for the study of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Southern Italy. A Late Mousterian occupation, whose modelled dates span from 47.6 to 41.1 ka cal BP, is followed by layers bearing evidence of the Uluzzian techno-complex, which underlie an articulated Protoaurignacian sequence. The prehistoric deposit is sealed by volcanic sediments attributed to the Campanian Ignimbrite (dated to 39.85 ± 0.14 ka BP), which represent a terminus ante quem for the Palaeolithic occupation of the cave. We present here the study of the avifauna collected during the excavations carried out at Castelcivita by the University of Siena in the years 1975–88. The examined sample is composed of 631 specimens, out of which 486 have been identified according to species, genus, family or order. Bird remains belong to 36 species and at least to 175 individuals. In the Late Mousterian the abundance of species adapted to open environments indicates a cool-temperate climate; water birds, and wood and forest birds are present as well. During the Uluzzian a shift towards colder climatic conditions is testified by the increase in steppe grassland species. In the Protoaurignacian the presence of birds of open and dry environments is more marked, even if climate seems to shift toward milder conditions at the end of this phase. Taphonomic analyses have provided significant evidence for the exploitation of birds by humans across the whole sequence. Clues of human activity on bird remains are attested both in the Mousterian and, more rarely, in the Protoaurignacian by traces, possibly indicating the intentional removal of feathers (in the Mousterian) and other kinds of carcass manipulation. The Uluzzian sample is the richest in human modifications. Some of them are related to an interest for feathers (on Pyrrhocorax graculus, Falco subbuteo and an Accipitriformes of large size). Other modifications (fresh bone fractures, burnt bones, peeling, arrachement) testify to carcass treatments of Galliformes, Anseriformes, Columbiformes, Charadriiformes and Passeriformes. In the Protoaurignacian traces due to anthropogenic activity are rare and there is an increase in bone modifications caused by carnivores. Results allow us to assume that at Castelcivita humans consistently hunted birds for several purposes and exploited (especially during the Uluzzian) some species to acquire an exclusive and ethnographically well-documented resource such as feathers