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In questo lavoro vengono presentati i risultati delle ultime tre campagne di scavo effettuate a Grotta di Fumane. Le ricerche hanno riguardato la parte orientale esterna della grotta per una superficie totale di 6 m2 con l’obiettivo di indagare le unità basali del Musteriano Finale A10 e A11, datate ad oltre 48 ka cal BP (Peresani, 2012; López-García et alii, 2015). È stata esposta una sequenza finemente stratificata di sottili livelli antropizzati all’interno dell’unità A10 e di un unico livello in A11 con strutture di combustione distribuite lungo l’intera sequenza stratigrafica. L’insieme faunistico mostra caratteristiche tipiche dell’accumulo antropico e ricalca quello della sovrastante unità A9 (Cassoli, Tagliacozzo, 1991; Romandini et alii, 2014). L’industria litica denota una marcata presenza del metodo Levallois, in particolare la modalità unipolare per la produzione di supporti allungati, e una presenza, per quanto largamente minoritaria, del metodo Discoide nella parte alta dell’unità A10 (Gennai, 2017). Nel complesso, le unità A10 e A11 hanno rivelato importanti testimonianze del comportamento dei Neandertaliani del MIS3 che saranno contestualizzate in questa regione del Mediterraneo centrale. I risultati inducono a proseguire le ricerche., Sezione di Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica, Vol 13 (2017): IV IAPP - Ferrara 2018

Riassunto - La revisione tassonomica e tafonomica dei resti faunistici provenienti dalla nicchia terminale del Covolo Fortificato di Trene ha arricchito le conoscenze sulle modalità di sussistenza di gruppi di cacciatori dell’Epigravettiano antico presenti sui Colli Berici (Vicenza) nella grande Pianura Padana circa 20.000 14C anni BP. Durante la frequentazione il sito era immerso in un ambiente prevalentemente forestale a clima temperato freddo con presenza di zone umide nella piana sottostante come testimoniano alce, cervo, cinghiale e vertebre di pesce. L’analisi ha rilevato la presenza di tracce antropiche su resti di alce e orso speleo, il quale utilizzava la grotta come tana durante lo svernamento. Lo studio si è concentrato sui resti dell’urside, interessato da tracce di macellazione, rivolte all’acquisizione di pellicce. Un confronto con altri siti coevi e poco distanti, Grotta di Paina e Grotta del Buso Doppio del Broion, associa la presenza di orso delle caverne sia alle punte a cran che alle gravette. Questo potrebbe rivelare indirettamente una probabile continuità nelle strategie di caccia e sussistenza tra i gruppi di cacciatori raccoglitori in un ampio lasso di tempo ed un attardamento nei Colli Berici di Ursus spelaeus durante l’ultimo massimo glaciale (LGM), quando questa specie sembra fosse già estinta in buona parte d’Europa. Summary - Gravettian and Epigravettian hunters in the Berici Hills (Vicenza): two case of cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) exploitation The taxonomic and taphonomic revision of faunal remains from the terminal niche at Covolo Fortificato di Trene has enriched our knowledge on the subsistence modality of Epigravettian hunters fron Berici hills (Vicenza, Italy) in the great Po plain around 20.000 14C yr BP. During human occupation, the site was in a predominantly forest environment under cold-temperate climate conditions with wetland areas on the underlying plain, as shown by the presence of elk, red deer, wild boar and fish vertebrae. Analyses revealed anthropic traces on the remains of elk and cave-bear, who used the cave as their den for hibernation. The study focused on Ursidae remains, affected by butchering marks due to fur extraction. Moreover, a space-limited comparison with contemporary sites like Grotta di Paina and Grotta del Buso Doppio del Broion associate the presence of cave bear with cran and gravette points. This could possibly reveal a continuity in the hunting and subsistence strategies between hunter-gatherers group durin a wide span of time. These data may also show a possible survival of Ursus spelaeus duringLGM, while it seems to have been extinct in large parts of Europe., Sezione di Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica, Vol 11, N° 2 (2015)

During the MIS3 the Northern Adriatic region was covered by open birch-conifer forests, xerophytic scrubs and steppe (Pini et al., 2009), forming a corridor that was crossed by the late Neanderthals and first Modern Humans (Karavanić and Janković, 2006; Peresani, 2011). In this key-region of Mediterranean Europe, where the end of the Middle Paleolithic and the Early Upper Palaeolithic remain undocumented, reliable archaeological contexts are needed to reconstruct the Neanderthal demise and the appearance of AMH. In this scenario, a new contribution comes from Grotta Rio Secco, a cave located at the fringe of the Carnic Pre-Alps and initially explored in 2002, 2010 and 2011 (Peresani and Gurioli, 2007; Peresani et al., 2012). Excavations have exposed a sequence with Early Gravettian and final Mousterian occurrences. The Early Gravettian dates to 33.0–31.2ky Cal BP and records short-term frequentations, suggested by a handful of selected blades and retouched tools made of flint collected outside the region. A sequence of several thin layers dated to 46.0–42.1ky Cal BP represents the final Mousterian. The lithic material shows evidence of Levallois blade and flake technology, discoid and other flaking methods. Formal tools were produced using low quality flint availbale at short distance from the plateau. Animals hunted by Neanderthals were primarily large ungulates, such as bovids, and brown bear. Although the cavity is not yet completely explored, it preserves an archive of potential interest for achieving markers of mobility, settlement dynamics and economy. The implementation of the project with fieldwork and laboratory studies will provide new elements to reconstruct the factors leading to the presence of Neanderthal groups in this area, considered so marginal in comparison to the north Adriatic plain that extended towards south in prehistoric times.

The search for diagnostic criteria useful in hunting lesions identification is a new branch of investigation. Though recently there has been an increase in studies focused on this issue, no experimental works exist that analyze marks left by backed, morphologically standardized lithic projectiles like those used by the hunter-gatherers that peopled a large part of Europe during the Late Glacial. As such, this paper aims to provide comparison data for identifying archaeological Late Epigravettian projectile impact marks. At the same time, the potential of 3D scanning microscopy to distinguish hunting injuries from other taphonomic marks is assessed. The morphometric analyses, based on the descriptive criteria developed from other recent studies, highlight the presence of peculiar features of experimentally produced drag and puncture marks. These data are interpreted as a result of the specific design of Late Epigravettian lithic projectiles. The outcomes of 3D digital analysis confirm the crucial role of this methodological approach in taphonomic study, offering new clues in PIMs (Projectile Impact Marks) archaeological identification and distinction from cut marks, carnivore tooth marks and corrosion cavities.

Cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus ), brown bear ( Ursus arctos ), and Neanderthals were potential competitors for environmental resources (shelters and food) in Europe. In order to reinforce this view and contribute to the ongoing debate on late Neanderthal behavior, we present evidence from zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses of bear bone remains discovered at Rio Secco Cave and Fumane Cave in northeast Italy, an extended geographic area north of the Adriatic Sea. The remains from both caves come from layers dated to 49-42 ky cal. BP, and suggest close interactions between humans and bears, with data not only limited to the association of Mousterian lithic artifacts with numerous bear remains, but also the detection of clearly preserved traces of human modification such as cut and percussion marks, which enable a reconstruction of the main steps of fur recovery and the butchering process. Examples of Neanderthal bear exploitation are extremely sporadic in Europe, and Grotta Rio Secco and Grotta Fumane can be considered rare cases of remain accumulations generated by the human predation of bears of varied age classes during or near the end of hibernation. All of this evidence suggests that bears had a strategic role in the nomadic economy of Neanderthal hunting groups.

We present the results of a multi-disciplinary investigation on a deciduous human tooth (Pradis 1), recently recovered from the Epigravettian layers of the Grotte di Pradis archaeological site (Northeastern Italian Prealps). Pradis 1 is an exfoliated deciduous molar (Rdm2), lost during life by an 11—12-year-old child. A direct radiocarbon date provided an age of 13,088—12,897 cal BP (95% probability, IntCal20). Amelogenin peptides extracted from tooth enamel and analysed through LC¿MS/MS indicate that Pradis 1 likely belonged to a male. Time-resolved 87Sr/86Sr analyses by laser ablation mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS), combined with dental histology, were able to resolve his movements during the first year of life (i.e. the enamel mineralization interval). Specifically, the Sr isotope ratio of the tooth enamel differs from the local baseline value, suggesting that the child likely spent his first year of life far from Grotte di Pradis. Sr isotopes are also suggestive of a cyclical/seasonal mobility pattern exploited by the Epigravettian human group. The exploitation of Grotte di Pradis on a seasonal, i.e. summer, basis is also indicated by the faunal spectra. Indeed, the nearly 100% occurrence of marmot remains in the entire archaeozoological collection indicates the use of Pradis as a specialized marmot hunting or butchering site. This work represents the first direct assessment of sub-annual movements observed in an Epigravettian hunter-gatherer group from Northern Italy., The authors are grateful to Municipal Administration of Clauzetto, Pradis Cave Museum and the Superintendence for Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Friuli Venezia Giulia for granting permission to study the tooth. This project was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement no. 724046–SUCCESS awarded to S.B.; www.erc-success.eu and Grant Agreement no. 803147–RESOLUTION awarded to S.T.; https://site.unibo.it/resolution-erc/en) and by the MIUR FARE programme 2018 (FARE Ricerca in Italia: Framework per l'attrazione e il rafforzamento delle eccellenze—SAPIENS project to S.B.). A.N. is supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship (grant number H2020-MSCA-IF-2018-842812-WEAN IT). E.Ba. is supported by EQUIPEX ASTER-CEREGE and ANR MARCARA and thanks Y. Fagault and T. Tuna for technical support. The Frankfurt Isotope & Element Research Center (FIERCE) is financially supported by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG; INST 161/921-1 Forschungsgroßgeräte and INST 161/923-1 Forschungsgroßgeräte), which is gratefully acknowledged. This is FIERCE contribution No. 91. We acknowledge Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste for providing access to its laboratory facilities and the TomoLab staff for technical support. The authors deeply thank prof. Anna Cipriani for the use of geochemical facilities at UNIMORE (https://www.geochem.unimore.it/). Dr. Filippo Genovese is thanked for the help during LC-MS analyses. The ‘Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena’ is acknowledged for funding the UHPLC-ESI-Q Exactive system at the Centro Interdipartimentale Grandi Strumenti (CIGS), UNIMORE. Two anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their constructive comments on our manuscript.