1,721,010 research outputs found
The exploitation of ungulate bones in Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens
No full textAnalysis 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
No full textNel 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
A peculiar exploitation of ungulates at Grotta di Santa Croce: bone grease rendering and nutritional patterns among Neanderthals in southern Italy
No full textEvidence acquired in the past years highlighted the high complexity of Neanderthal subsistence strategies in terms of the spectrum of exploited species (mammals, birds, aquatic resources). However, in many sites diet was mainly focused on the acquisition and processing of large and medium-sized ungulates. In these cases, the evaluation of killing profiles and skeletal frequencies has allowed to highlight behavioural variability among Mousterian populations living in different geographical areas. In the frame of these studies, zooarchaeology and taphonomy of the Middle Palaeolithic phases (MIS 4/MIS 3) from the external deposit of Grotta di Santa Croce (Apulia, southern Italy) are presented in this paper. Faunal assemblage is almost exclusively composed of horse and aurochs remains. The sample, which is not altered by carnivore activities, mainly consists of intensively fractured limb bone shafts and isolated teeth. Epiphyses, tarsal/carpal bones, and phalanges are quite rare, as well as unidentified spongy bone fragments. Analysis of tooth eruption and wear points to the exploitation of adult individuals, rather than juveniles and sub-adults. Body part profiles, as well as mortality ones point to a specific hunting behaviour that may reflect particular nutritional needs. The hypothesis of an intense exploitation of fats is discussed
L'abitato della media età del Bronzo di Gorgo del Ciliegio (Sansepolcro, Arezzo). Dati preliminari sul contesto paleoambientale
No full textThe settlement of Gorgo del Ciliegio (Sansepolcro-Arezzo) is situated on an ancient terrace on the left bank of the Afra Creek, at about 400 metres above sea level, near-by the tuscan-emilian Appennines divide. During the six last years (2001 -2006) an area of approximately 178 square meters was investigated, resulting in the fi ndings of a living fl oor with several structures (pole holes, combustion structures, pits of different typology), including a small food oven of particular interest. The pottery retrieved from the deposit is represented by cylindrical, troncoconic and globular vessels, among which milk boilers are present, carinated shapes (bowls, cups) and some sherds decorated in the Appennine styles, which has allowed for the attribution of the site to an early phase of the Middle Bronze 3 (BM3). The Middle Bronze Age people settled on a preserved portion of an alluvial surface (T1a) standing about 10 meters higher than the coeval active channel of the Afra Creek, whose deposits are bounded by the surface T2. This location ensured a relative protection from fl oods being, at the same time, close to a large water source. Sedimentological features of the alluvial gravels bounded on top by T1a and T2 surfaces,
suggest a significantly different fl uvial style during the late Holocene compared to the modern Afra Creek. Before (e.g. T1a deposits) and during (e.g. T2 deposits) the human occupation at this site, the Afra Creek was characterized by a relatively wide (about 150 meters) valley with multiple shallow channels inside, fi lled by gravels. This style can be observed in some modern creeks of the Upper Tiber River basin, indicating local condition of channel overfilling. On the whole this ancient style contrasts with the modern one in which a few tens meter wide Afra Creek is deeply entrenched in the bedrock and still affected by erosive processes. Despite the different valley morphology attained during the late Holocene, the terracing of the Afra Creek recorded at the site, attests to successive readjustment of the river profile to repeated perturbation of base level possibly due to the active tectonic setting of the Upper Tiber River valley. The preliminary results of the archeozoological study demonstrate that the inhabitants of Gorgo del Ciliegio were involved in the rearing of mostly sheep-goats and pigs and cattle in the second place, and in the hunting of deer and roe-deer; domestic dogs were present on the site. Such a pattern and the geographic location of the site, might suggest that Gorgo del Ciliegio community mostly practised mobile pastoralism and the dogs may have been kept to assist with herding the animals. Preliminary pollen analysis of the archaeological soil, reveals a scarcity and a bad preservation of the pollen grains possibly due to a highly acidic environment. Nevertheless, few grains of Urticaceae point to local anthropic impact on the vegetation cover, fully consistent with the settlement activity
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Late pleistocene last occurrences of the narrow-nosed rhinoceros Stephanorhinus hemitoechus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) in Italy
No full textSeveral taxa belonging to the so called megafauna became extinct during the late Quaternary in Eurasia. The extinction chronology of the narrow-nosed rhinoceros, Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, in Europe is still uncertain and only estimated around 45 ka. A systematic revision of several rhinoceros findings reveals that this species occurred in Italy at least untill 41 ka BP, at the onset of the Heinrich Event 4. Climatic fluctuations during MIS 3 and habitat fragmentation probably created an increase of small S. hemitoechus populations in southern Europe which had a tendency to become extinct
Settlement, space organization and land-use of a small Middle Bronze Age community of central Italy. The case study of Gorgo del Ciliegio (Arezzo-Tuscany)
No full textThe Middle Bronze Age site of Gorgo del Ciliegio is located in the Afra valley (Upper Tiber basin) in the proximity of strategic trans-Apennine passes connecting the Tyrrhenian regions of Central Italy to the Po plain and the Umbrian-Marches territories. At Gorgo del Ciliegio a Middle Bronze Age small settlement composed of a single house and various kinds of ancillary features was discovered. Through a multi-disciplinary approach it was possible to gather a large amount of information about settlement dynamics implemented by people living at Gorgo del Ciliegio and about the ways in which this community interacted with and took advantage of the surrounding environment/landscape, while adapting the site's economy to natural features. This paper focuses on the evidence provided by material culture, environment and landscape considered as interrelating indicators of social identity and economic strategies. In order to contextualize these issues, broad space was given to the spatial organization and the architectural features as key factors of socio-economic complexity. The authors conclude that Gorgo del Ciliegio was a farm settlement being probably part of a more extensive settlement system, composed of several farms dispersed along the Afra valley. This specific context proved to be particularly suitable for interweaving relations and exchanges with the Adriatic regions, and thus promoting (and being promoted by) the development of an economy mainly based on mobile pastoralism
Wounded to death. Holistic, multimodal reconstruction of the dynamics in a case of multiple perimortem cranial injuries from a medieval site in northern Italy
No full textThe current study focuses on the remains of an adult male individual unearthed during archaeological excavations inside the church of San Biagio in Cittiglio (Northern Italy). The skull displayed four lesions in the form of defects in the cranium that involved the occipital squama, the right nuchal portion, the right parietal, and the right occipito-mastoid area. At macroscopic observation, the lesions showed polished surfaces, sharp margins, V-shaped cross-sections, and evidence of parallel microstriations. The investigation required a multi-analytical approach, which combined macroscopic assessment, computed tomography, photogrammetric three-dimensional reconstruction, and 3D digital microscopy that allowed us to obtain a morphometric characterization of the evidence. Our objective was to reconstruct the dynamics of an ancient violent event by applying a modern scientific approach to the analysis of the injuries observed in the skull of an osteoarchaeological individual. Digital microscopy allowed us to evaluate the micromorphometric aspect of the lesions, and to obtain microscopic quantitative data such as linear and angular measurements in the three dimensions. The complete absence of bone reaction at the site of the lesions revealed the perimortem nature of the injuries. Through the holistic, combined approach employed in the current study it was concluded that this individual was most likely struck four times in rapid succession from behind with a straight bladed implement, consistent in form with a long sword of the time. At the end of our study, it was possible to reconstruct the dynamics for each lesion and to hypothesize the reconstructive sequence of the violent event
Projectile weapon injuries in the Riparo Tagliente burial (Veneto, Italy) provide early evidence of Late Upper Paleolithic intergroup conflict
Full text linkEvidence of interpersonal violence in the Paleolithic is rare but can shed light on the presence of ancient conflict in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies. Projectile injuries suggest confrontations between groups and have primarily been identified through lithic elements embedded in bones. Recently, the study of projectile impact marks (PIMs) has allowed for the recognition of projectile injuries in the absence of embedded elements. We report here the discovery and study of one of the earliest evidence of PIMs in human paleobiological record, found in the burial from Riparo Tagliente (individual Tagliente 1, Veneto, Italy), directly dated to ca. 17,000-15,500 cal BP. Analyses through SEM and 3D microscopy demonstrate that the femur and the tibia show clear evidence of PIMs impacting the bone from different directions. This could be due to the presence of multiple attackers, or to the victim turning between impacts. No trace of healing is present; one PIM is close to the femoral artery, which can cause a rapid death if pierced. Evidence at Riparo Tagliente could be attributed to conflict between different groups of hunter-gatherers expanding in newly opened Alpine territories during climatic amelioration after the Last Glacial Maximum
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