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The stone artefact in the hut γ of the NuragheGenna Maria, object of this study, is part of a compound still unpublished today and dated to the Nuragic period. It was found during a 1991 excavation, revealing a situation unchanged since the collapse occurred between the 10th and 9th century B.C., thus preserving the situation at the time of the collapse to this day. The presence of tartaric acid - the marker considered to determinate the presence of wines or products deriving from grapes - has been determined using HPLC-DAD and UHPLC-HQOMS. So the findings under examination, together with the overall evaluation of the archaeological aspects examined, suggests to positively consider the stone artifact as a "laccus" (the latin word for wine presses, still used in the Sardinian language today ) for grape crushing. The internal slope of the floor of the "laccus" allowed the extraction of juice with rapid separation of juice from berry skins. The presence in Sardinia of a large number of "stone wine presses" ("palmenti" in Italian) such as that of the Nuraghe Genna Maria studied in this article, brings a contribution to their dating and confirm the existence of an oenological industry on the island in the Archaic period (9th-10th century B.C.)., VITIS - Journal of Grapevine Research, Vol. 59 No. 3 (2020): Vitis

Studies of the way Neanderthal groups used knapping technologies and organized their economy and land-use are sparse in Europe and even scantier in the Alps, so only in some regions can cyclical and seasonal residential movements be inferred from data on the exploitation of ungulates with variable levels of migratory behavior. Two of the most widespread methods used in stone knapping were the Discoidal and Levallois. However, analyses of these lithic artifacts are not yet sufficiently integrated into a corpus of zooarchaeological indicators that outline an ecological profile of Neanderthal mobility. To address this issue, this study presents evidence from Grotta di Fumane in northern Italy, where the use of manufacturing technologies is embedded in a dense Late Mousterian sequence. Given the specific ecological and contextual setting on the Southern Alps, we assume that Neanderthals exploited knappable rocks balancing transport costs and utility and that hunting activity was shaped by the availability of game and that well-established, cost-effective patterns were used in carcass processing. Compared on a broader scale with other contexts, these foraging practices show striking differences each other and suggest that a common model for Neanderthal subsistence strategy cannot be applied.

Gli insediamenti gravettiani dell'Europa sono tradizionalmente considerati come l'espressione della capacità di adattamento a condizioni climatiche rigide e talvolta estreme (Bocquet-Appel et alii 2005). Nell'Europa meridionale, climi più miti hanno tuttavia permesso di mantenere il popolamento di vaste regioni e di creare le condizioni per una sostenibilità della frequentazione antropica di aree marginali (Willis et alii 2000), come il limite dell pianura padana settentrionale e lo spartiacque appenninico. L'influenza del clima mediterraneo ha quindi favorito la resilienza dei gruppi di cacciatori-raccoglitori e permesso loro di mantenere reti di scambio su lunga distanza. Il settore più settentrionale degli Appennini, sino a pochi anni fa privo di ritrovamenti, è stato la cornice di una recente indagine effettuata sul sito gravettiano antico del Piovesello, localizzato a 870 m di quota sullo spartiacque ligure-emiliano (Peresani et alii 2016). Ricognizioni di superficie e attività di scavo programmato hanno permesso di indagare una paleosuperficie con manufatti litici in posizione primaria sigillati da una serie di colluvi limosi. L'integrazione di date radiocarbonio, analisi palinologiche e antracologiche ha concorso a ricostruire il paleoambiente dell'area circostante, dimostrando che il sito doveva trovarsi al di sopra del limite della foresta, in un ambiente semidesertico con vegetazione petrofitica, in prossimità delle fronti glaciali in corso di culminazione durante il GS5 (Peresani et alii in stampa). Le tracce della frequentazione umana si rivelano piuttosto effimere e sono legate all'utilizzo di strutture di combustione e alla produzione di manufatti litici, realizzati anche su materie prime provenienti dalla Francia meridionale. Nel loro insieme, le evidenze del Piovesello permettono di approfondire le conoscenze sulle strategie messe in opera dai gruppi gravettiani nel quadro del popolamento umano durante la glaciazione. Sul piano paleoecologico, i risultati di questo studio assumono anche nuove implicazioni per la storia della biogeografia delle piante petrofile e dei loro relitti nell'Appennino settentrionale. THE GRAVETTIAN SITE OF PIOVESELLO ON THE NORTHERN APENNINE WATERSHED. RESULTS FROM A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL, ARCHAEOBOTANIC, PALYNOLOGICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION PROGRAMME - The Gravettian settlements of Europe are traditionally considered as an expression of human adaptation to harsh, up to very extreme, climates (Bocquet-Appel et al., 2005). In Southern Europe, however, ecological conditions prevented complete depopulation of large regions like the Northern Adriatic plain and the Apennine mountain ridge of the Italian Peninsula. The influence of the Mediterranean Sea may have promoted favorable conditions (Willis et al., 2000) for the subsistence of hunters-gatherers and the maintenance of their large-scale networks. Traditionally considered dearth of evidence, the northern margin of the Apennine ridge has recently yielded the Early Gravettian site of Piovesello, located on the Ligurian-Emilian watershed at 870 m a.s.l (Peresani et al., 2016). Survey and excavation revealed the presence of a lithic assemblage in primary position embedded in loamy sediments resulting from low to medium energy colluvial processes. Radiocarbon datings, anthracological and extended palynological analyses have been integrated to reconstruct the palaeoecological context of this camp-site probably positioned above the timberline in a semidesert petrophytic landscape, bounding the fronts of local glaciers close to their maximum expansion at the time of GS5 (Peresani et al., in press). Human activity left ephemeral traces in this short-lived open camp, being represented by stone knapping and fire production and the introduction of flint from very far western sources. Evidence from Piovesello contributes to reconstruct human ecology in a critical period for human population during Late Pleistocene glaciations and also provides hints for the historical biogeography of petrophytic plants and their orographic relics in the northern Apennine.

The Gravettian settlements of Europe are considered as an expression of the human adaptation to harsh climates. In Southern Europe, however, favorable vegetation-climate conditions supported hunters-gatherers subsistence and the maintenance of their large-scale networks. This was also the case of the North-Adriatic plain and the Apennine mountain ridge in Italy, where the ephem-eral site of Piovesello locates at 870 m a.s.l. Cultural and palaeobotanical evidence allows to reconstruct human and vegetation ecology at a glaciated area in the Northern Apennine during Greenland Stadial 5 and also provides hints for the historical biogeography of petro-phytic plants and their orographic relics.

The development of open-air cultural heritage and archaeological areas is based upon their optimal safeguarding and management, and through the public awareness they generate. In this paper, considering different management issues and end goals, we will demonstrate how, through cooperation among specialized professionals, local authorities and the public, it is possible to revitalize public areas with distinct cultural heritage features. Case studies of two sites are considered, both managed by our volunteer archaeological group: the first is the site of Luceria, a Roman vicus located in a hilly rural area, while the second is the St. Paul Garden, an urban green space connected with indoor classical and medieval archaeological excavations. Our current effort is to create a broad range of activities in order to take advantage of the full potential of these areas. The activities are centred on public awareness, and include educational initiatives, experimental reconstructions, safeguarding the historical and archaeological heritage, and informing the public about it. The network of small archaeological sites we are working on is a self-sustainable approach in order to overcoming each area’s weak points.

The Italian Apennine is dearth of evidence dating to the Mid Upper Paleolithic and at the present state one of the best known Gravettian settlement in this area is represented by the site of Fonte delle Mattinate, on the Marche Apennine ridge. After that discovery, no advancements have been made in surveying other patches of this long but crossable mountain chain, until the discovery of the site of Piovesello, which is located on the Ligurian-Emilian Apennine watershed at 870 m of elevation. After the discovery of the first artefacts in 2007 and a survey in 2012, fieldwork has been carried out in 2013 and hundreds of flaked jasper artifacts were found in primary position embedded in loamy sediments in a very limited area at the edge of a small lacustrine context. Radiocarbon dating, together with pollen and charcoal analysis, provided first insight on paleoecological context around the human settlement, shedding light on the attractiveness of this place positioned in proximity of the tree-line at the MIS 3/2 boundary.

MCM-22 zeolites with Si/Al in the 9–46 range were synthesised in rotating autoclave and characterised by X-ray diffraction, 1H, 29Si and 27Al magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen physisorption. For the Si/Al = 21, 30 and 46 samples both X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy revealed the crystallisation of pure MCM-22. Besides the latter, crystals of ferrierite also formed during the synthesis of the Si/Al = 9 sample. Based on the 1H MAS NMR spectra of dehydrated samples, the different proton species present on the MCM-22 samples were determined and quantified. Information about the incorporation of Al ions into the zeolite framework, as well as on the preferential crystallographic sites occupied in dependence on the Si/Al ratio of the sample, was obtained by 27Al MAS NMR spectroscopy. From 29Si MAS NMR spectra, differences in the degree of crystallinity of the samples were assessed, the results being in agreement with the diffraction data. Nitrogen physisorption runs revealed the microporous nature of the adsorbents, with a supermicropore to ultramicropore volume ratio in good agreement, for the best crystallised samples, with the porous structure with supercages and sinusoidal channels of the ideal MCM-22 crystal.

The liquid-phase adsorption of thiophene from thiophene/iso-octane solutions has been investigated in batch conditions at room temperature and atmospheric pressure on MCM-22 zeolites with Si/Al in the 9–46 range. Thiophene adsorption was found to occur in two steps whatever the Si/Al ratio of the adsorbent. The presence of ferrierite besides the MCM-22 phase caused a significant loss of the adsorption performance. For pure MCM-22 samples, the Si/Al ratio influenced the adsorption performance. Based on the acid properties of the samples, investigated by adsorption microcalorimetry of ammonia, the adsorption features were interpreted by assuming that positively charged species were originated during the first step; these species underwent successive reaction with weakly adsorbed species formed in the second step, leading to heavy molecular weight organosulphur compounds. Direct evidence for the occurrence of reactive adsorption of thiophene involving its transformation into heavy molecular weight organosulphur compounds was obtained by GC/MS investigation of the nature of the adsorbed material recovered after the adsorption experiments. The peculiar structure of MCM-22 zeolites made possible the formation of long-sized organosulphur compounds. Due to the mechanism by which thiophene is transformed (i.e. progressive addition of other thiophene molecules), the size of the resulting products was found to depend also on the concentration of the weakly adsorbed thiophene molecules able to interact with those already activated through protonation.

As extension of previous studies on polycyclic planar systems which synthetic approach and antiproliferative activity against leukemic cells (FLC, DRTL) were reported, now we became interested to test their antireplicative activity against human immunodeficiency virus since the incorporation of the pyrrole moiety has already led to several classes of non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. For this purpose new and non new derivatives of the planar system pyrrolo[1,2-f]phenanthridine and their “non-rigid analogues” were chosen as model framework reaching in total to more than forty compounds variously functionalized. The need for the search of new anti-HIV agent is still pursued because of the increasing spread of the disease in spite of several prevention campaigns, and because of the rapid appearance of drug resistant viral strains which limits drug effectiveness. Among the current anti-HIV agents the reverse transcriptase inhibitors the Nevirapine and TIBO have an important clinical role. It is suggested that they interact with an allosteric site of the enzyme assuming a “butterfly conformation.” This type of conformation is proposed in our “non-rigid” analogue derivatives tested. Molecular modelling studies by using some physico-chemical descriptors (molecular volume, accessible surface area) evidenced good similarities when compared with planar derivatives and highly described substituted pyrroles and were found in good agreement with the docking studies performed by Ding et al, which proposed a receptor having a “butterfly shape region”. At the same time, the superimposition in the conformation of the minimum of energy between Nevirapine, some selected planar compounds and the corresponding non-rigid analogues showed a good geometric fit between the structures (RMS in the range 0.0270-0.0455). These data suggest that a lot of our derivatives could fit favourably in the same binding pocket. Biological screenings evidenced that only few derivatives showed a moderate selectivity against HIV-1, suggesting that even planar molecules having suitable size can inhibit virus replication probably interacting with the same receptor. Moreover, an interesting biological new data has emerged: a planar derivative showed unique properties being able not only to reduce the virus-induced cyto-pathogenecity, but also to stimulate the growth (20-35%) of the same lymphocytes. Considering that the stimulation of the lymphocytes cells can be a crucial factor in anti-AIDS therapy, this class of compounds can be considered for further developments of new candidates which join anti-AIDS and immuno-stimulant activity.

The site of Riparo Broion (Vicenza, northeastern Italy) preserves a stratigraphic sequence documenting the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition, in particular the final Mousterian and the Uluzzian cultures. In 2018, a human tooth was retrieved from a late Mousterian level, representing the first human remain ever found from this rock shelter (Riparo Broion 1). Here, we provide the morphological description and taxonomic assessment of Riparo Broion 1 with the support of classic and virtual morphology, 2D and 3D analysis of the topography of enamel thickness, and DNA analysis. The tooth is an exfoliated right upper deciduous canine, and its general morphology and enamel thickness distribution support attribution to a Neanderthal child. Correspondingly, the mitochondrial DNA sequence from Riparo Broion 1 falls within the known genetic variation of Late Pleistocene Neanderthals, in accordance with newly obtained radiocarbon dates that point to approximately 48 ka cal BP as the most likely minimum age for this specimen. The present work describes novel and direct evidence of the late Neanderthal occupation in northern Italy that preceded the marked cultural and technological shift documented by the Uluzzian layers in the archaeological sequence at Riparo Broion. Here, we provide a new full morphological, morphometric, and taxonomic analysis of Riparo Broion 1, in addition to generating the wider reference sample of Neanderthal and modern human upper deciduous canines. This research contributes to increasing the sample of fossil remains from Italy, as well as the number of currently available upper deciduous canines, which are presently poorly documented in the scientific literature.

This article presents the results of archaeological exploration at De Nadale Cave, a new Late Middle Palaeolithic site recently discovered in the Berici Hills, a karstic plateau in the north-east of Italy. A first survey and field campaigns have brought to light a small cavity almost totally filled with sediments embedding one single Mousterian layer sandwiched by sediments avoid of any relevant archaeological remains. A large herbivore tooth has been U-Th dated, with a minimum age of 70.2 +1/-0.9 ky BP. Several economic and cultural aspects make this site peculiar with respect to the others at the regional scale. The faunal remains record the abundance of large ungulates, mostly Megaloceros giganteus, but also Cervus elaphus and Bos/Bison. Their bone surfaces bear traces of human modification produced during skinning, dismembering, and fracturing of the carcasses and the long bone shafts for marrow recovery. There is a high number of bone retouchers in proportion to the fragmented shafts, used for shaping and rejuvenating different types of scrapers. The lithic industry shows typical Quina characteristics in its technology and typology, with several thin and thick scrapers made of non-local flint due to its absence in proximity of the site. On-going research will investigate in more detail a so specific evidence in the Middle Palaeolithic of the North-Adriatic rim.