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Projectile implements are one of the most frequent transformed lithic blanks within the Upper Paleolithic assemblages. Since the first taxonomic studies, their morphological variability has been used as primary fossil director to define specific regional trends and diachronic phases. However, an exhaustive analysis of manufacturing methods and techniques applied to shape this gear category is extremely rare. In fact, during the Late Epigravettian, except for a certain typological variability, the lack of detailed studies resulted in an apparent homogeneity in armatures production. In this paper, a technological and traceological approach applied to reconstruct the whole chaîne opératoire of armatures manufacture in three Northern Italian sites dated between 17,000 and 12,000 cal BP demonstrates important variations in how projectile implements are fashioned, concerning shape, production methods and retouch techniques. Moreover, a large-scale comparison suggests how renewals in projectile implements production in North-Eastern Italy may result from long-distance connections between human groups over the western Late Epigravettian territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the framework of the NWO project "What went into the melting pot? Land-use, agriculture, and craft production as indicators for the contributions of Greek migrants and local inhabitants to the so-called Greek colonization in Italy (ca. 850–550 BC)", science-based methods are employed to analyze and compare the organization of subsistence strategies in the Greek motherland and in the indigenous and colonial milieus of Italy (Crielaard et al. 2020). As a part of the subproject 'Flora & Fauna', which focuses on farming practices, subsistence strategies and surplus production, Iron Age material from the settlement of Krania in the Pieria region of Greece was analyzed. The site was excavated in 2001 and revealed occupation phases from the 3rd millennium BC to the Hellenistic period. The amount of ceramics recovered demonstrates the importance of trade with the rest of Greece, in particular Corinth, providing evidence for long-standing contacts and networks. Two pit structures contained a high concentration of material, notably charcoal and ceramics dating to the 9th-8th centuries BC. This material constitutes an interesting case study in itself but also as a regional comparandum with other Greek assemblages. This paper discusses how anthracological analysis can contribute to our understanding of human-environment interactions, anthropogenic practices and environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of palynological and geoarchaeological investigation carried out on the Greek-Roman site of Pantanello – ancient Metapontum – in the Metaponto Plain (southern Italy). This area, archaeologically investigated since the '70s, is an example of the long-term interaction between human communities and the environment. A total of 29 pollen samples and 43 bulk samples for sedimentological and mineralogical analyses were collected from three 2-m-deep trenches excavated in the vicinity of the archaeological complex of Pantanello and the alluvial plain of the Basento River. Our multidisciplinary investigation permitted to elucidate the main natural and human-controlled sedimentary processes that took place in the last two millennia. Large part of sedimentation occurred in fluvial environments and led to the accumulation of fine and organic matter-rich deposits. This happened in alluvial to swampy environments at the margin of the Basento River plain. Since the Greek occupation of the area, human communities contributed to the sedimentation with different degree of intensity. In fact, human agency (herding and cultivation) tuned the intensity of soil erosion and slope processes, thus activating the colluvial mobilization of coarse sediments into the sedimentary sequence. Pollen analyses allowed exhaustive landscape reconstructions of the site, giving specific details on the land use and its transformations during the Greek and Roman phases. The increased human exploitation of the area altered the intensity of surface processes (erosion and sedimentation) and the evolution of plant cover promoted by natural dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, first lower molars identified as Microtus arvalis from nine archaeological and palaeontological sites of the Italian Peninsula were analysed from a morphometric point of view, focusing on the development of the anterior part of the tooth. We used the data obtained to reveal possible patterns of evolution during the Late Pleistocene, as well as similarities and differences among the Italian samples and between Italian and European populations from the same timeframe. Factors such as the relative isolation provided by the Italian Peninsula, its milder climatic setting, intra-specific population dynamics, and the south-north displacement of Italian groups are taken into account to explain the environmental and historic causes of the peculiarities displayed by Italian samples of Microtus arvalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of faunal communities of the past, and how they have changed to become what they are now, is fundamental to the understanding of the changes in ecosystems that we are witnessing and that are coming in the future. In this paper, we present the small mammal assemblage from Grotta del Sambuco (Massa Marittima, Grosseto), belonging to two archaeologic stratigraphic Units, 5 and 6, both dated to Marine Isotope Stage 2. The assemblage from Unit 6 can be defined as "non-analogue", due to the occurrence of the Narrow-headed Vole Lasiopodomys anglicus and the Southern Birch Mouse Sicista subtilis. Non-analogue communities (i.e., with no equivalent in present time) are frequent during Late Pleistocene in the Italian Peninsula. Starting with Grotta del Sambuco, we describe some of the different factors leading to the origins and disappearance of past non-analogue small mammal assemblages in Italy. Climatic changes and the consequent shifts in geographic distributions of the species play a major role in shaping these communities, eventually leading to extirpation and extinction of cold- or continental-adapted species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]