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Despite the widespread application of high-resolution quantitative methods in bone taphonomy, very few studies have focused on projectile impact marks. Therefore, in a previous work, we explored the potential of 3D microscopy in distinguishing bone hunting injuries from other taphonomic marks, developing a widely applicable diagnostic framework based on experimental data and focused on Late Epigravettian projectiles. This paper aims to continue that research by applying 3D morphometrical analysis to zooarcheological bone surfaces, in order to verify the validity and feasibility of this method and evaluate the reliability of the experimental record. Here, we present the detailed analysis of a projectile impact mark, found on a rib of Ursus arctos from the Late Epigravettian site of Cornafessa rock shelter. The injury, located on the rib's external surface, consists of a drag with several flint fragments embedded. X-ray μCT volume rendering and SEM imaging allowed us to analyze bone microstructure and drag's qualitative features, while 3D measurements, processed through statistic, confirmed the interpretation of this mark as a hunting injury. The drag's morphometric features are consistent with the experimental ones, connecting this mark to Late Epigravettian composite projectiles and declaring this evidence as the first direct proof of a bear hunted by using bow and arrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dearth of evidence for late Neanderthals in Europe reduces our ability to understand the demise of their species and the impact of the biological and cultural changes that resulted from the spread of anatomically modern humans. In this light, a recently investigated cave in the northern Adriatic region at the border between the Italian Alps and the Great Adriatic Plain provides useful data about the last Neanderthals between 46.0 and 42.1 ky CAL B.P. Their subsistence is inferred from zooarchaeological remains and patterns in Middle Palaeolithic lithic technology. Unexpected evidence of the ephemeral use of the cave during the early Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian period shows a change in lithic technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]