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Riparo dell’Oscurusciuto (Ginosa-TA): la chiusura del ciclo Levallois alla fine del Paleolitico medio
No full textThis rock - shelter preserves a stratigraphic sequence more than 6 meters deep and with a surface of
about 60 square meters which contains several very rich Middle Paleolithic layers. The investigated layers date back to
the first part of MIS3. Lithics from US1 and 4 is characterized by a predominance of recurrent unipolar Levallois system
aimed at achieving flat standardized items with parallel or convergent edges usable lengthwise. An independent
blade/bladelet volumetric debitage is also attested, even if to a less extent. In this case technical objectives are elongated
products variable in thickness and showing flat butts. Items transformed by retouching are principally embodied by convex
side-scrapers and points with different morphologies, whereas denticulates are less numerous
La variabilità tecnica del Musteriano della Grotta di Santa Croce (Bisceglie - BT)
No full textThe technofunctional
study of lithic assemblages from the Mousterian layers of the talus located at the exterior of the cave have highlighted
the co-occurrence of two main operative chains: the discoid and the volumetric laminar ones. According to the use
wear analysis, products from the volumetric system show a higher degree of standardization and a more specialized function
which was mainly aimed at processing hard/medium-hard material. Conversely discoid items were devoted to more differentiated
activities. Interestingly both management flakes and exploited cores were opportunistically used as tools, thus
being, in every respect, ascribable to the category of discoid production objectives
Studio tecno-funzionale dei supporti a morfologia triangolaredell’US 8 del Riparo l’oscurusciuto (Ginosa - Taranto)
No full textData from many middle Paleolithic sites demonstrate that Neanderthals were able to hunt a wide range of preys and that they could use regular hunting strategies to capture also medium and large - sized animals, perhaps by killing them at a distance. In addition to the evidence of faunistic remains and of the high meat-intake diet observed by biochemical analysis, this assertion is based on the discovery of wooden javelins and thrusting spears in German and English middle Pleistocene sites. More recently scholars’ interest has been on functional interpretation of lithic points of the middle Paleolithic and the middle Stone Age and on their performance if used as spear points. These studies are especially based on morphometric (“ballistic”), residue (presence of adhesives for hafting) and use - wear (mainly impact scars) analyses. This paper focuses on 107 points and general triangular tools from US 8 of the Oscurusciuto rock shelter as part of a wider project on spear point technology related to some lithic assemblages of the middle Paleolithic of Southern italy (Castelcivita Cave and Oscurusciuto Shelter), which has been financed by Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria. The shelter opens on the northern side of a ravine in mesozoic limestone
underlying Quaternary calcarenites and has accumulated more than 5 m of deposits, consisting of silty sands with stone artefacts and bone remains. The ongoing excavations began in 1998 and are being carried out by the Department of Environmental Sciences “G. Sarfatti” of the University of Siena, in co-operation with the Archaeological office of Puglia, the city of Ginosa and the local division of legambiente. Artifacts were at first analysed from a technological perspective; six groups (technological categories) have been identified based on different core reduction systems: A) convergent Levallois products; B) unipolar recurrent Levallois products; c) high transformation degree products; D) pseudolevallois blanks obtained from Levallois débitage; E) volume débitage products; F) on - edge débitage products. Some flakes (n. 14) belonging to the first group have features in common: they are unretouched, smaller, shorter and broader, with maximum length at the base. Groups B, c and E contain only deeply retouched tools. Basal thinning is always absent. Further observations underline the presence of two techno functional main groups. The first
one can be identified with the A category and it is the only one which produces triangular tools directly during the reduction stage. In the second group the triangular shape is, on the other hand, due to the retouching process and elongated convex and/or concave cutting edges are pursued. The macro wear and micro wear analysis have shown that use - wear traces are on the whole seldom present and broken tips are vary rare and not very characteristic; nevertheless tip fractures are described and taken into account. Other criteria have been considered so we may test whether the US 8 triangular tools (or same of them) could be effective as spear points. These criteria included mass, cross-sectional area (TcSA) and perimeter, tip penetrating angle and length / width ratio
Between hearths and volcanic ash: the SU 13 palimpsest of the Oscurusciuto rock shelter (Ginosa e Southern Italy): analytical and interpretative questions
No full textThe Oscurusciuto rock shelter, located in the ravine of Ginosa (Taranto), is one of the key sites for the
study of Neanderthal groups in Southern Italy. The rich stratigraphic sequence of the site, which is ascribable
entirely to the Middle Palaeolithic, is rich in anthropic remains and combustion structures,
attesting occupation by Neanderthals during MIS 3. This paper is focused on the study of Stratigraphic
Unit (SU) 13, made up of a compact sandy sediment mixed with pyroclastic sediment derived from the
underlying tephra level (SU 14). The latter has been identified as Monte Epomeo green tuff (dated Ar/Ar
55 ± 2 ka). The first stable human occupation of the shelter after tephra deposition is represented by unit
13. Our aim here is that of separating the Stratigraphic Unit into its main components so as to obtain a
high temporal resolution on the activities which took place in this SU, and to reconstruct the individual
events which formed the palimpsest. In order to fulfil these objectives, a multidisciplinary approach was
needed through which data could be integrated from the microstratigraphy of the hearths; from the
technological study of the lithic industries; from the individuation of the Raw Material Units (RMUs);
from refitting and co-joining and from spatial analysis (GIS science/tool). The integration of these
analytical methods reveals that SU 13 of the Oscurusciuto rock shelter was the product of a series of
events ascribable to a short time span. This layer was formed by sediment aggradation and cementation
(e.g., brecciation) processes. Human activities contributed to the sediment build up with the introduction
of wood ash, lithic raw materials and bones. The results show the importance of using integrated
research methods in order to identify short anthropic events within a palimpsest
Continuity and replacement in flake production across the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition: a view over the Italian Peninsula
No full textAn assessment of the role of flake production across the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition produces
many similarities across the Italian peninsula. From the northern belt of the Po plain up to
the southern Apennines, several lithic assemblages that date to the very final Mousterian, the
Uluzzian and the Aurignacian reveal either continuities or abrupt replacements in the procedure
of core exploitation for the extraction of flakes. Final Mousterian tradition in Levallois flake/blade
production is replaced during the Uluzzian by innovations developed to extract different kinds of
flakes, such as the use of new inventories of tool sets, including arched backed tools, end scrapers
and splintered pieces. The appearance of the Proto-Aurignacian may have led to a complete
rupture of this system or have maintained some continuities that will be discussed in terms of raw
material exploitation and the significance of tool use. Flake production, even if subordinate to
the blade and bladelet systems, makes its reappearance in the early Aurignacian as independent
reduction sequences
Between hearths and volcanic ash: The SU 13 palimpsest of the Oscurusciuto rock shelter (Ginosa e Southern Italy): Analytical and interpretative questions
Full text linkThe Oscurusciuto rock shelter, located in the ravine of Ginosa (Taranto), is one of the key sites for the
study of Neanderthal groups in Southern Italy. The rich stratigraphic sequence of the site, which is ascribable
entirely to the Middle Palaeolithic, is rich in anthropic remains and combustion structures,
attesting occupation by Neanderthals during MIS 3. This paper is focused on the study of Stratigraphic
Unit (SU) 13, made up of a compact sandy sediment mixed with pyroclastic sediment derived from the
underlying tephra level (SU 14). The latter has been identified as Monte Epomeo green tuff (dated Ar/Ar
55 ± 2 ka). The first stable human occupation of the shelter after tephra deposition is represented by unit
13. Our aim here is that of separating the Stratigraphic Unit into its main components so as to obtain a
high temporal resolution on the activities which took place in this SU, and to reconstruct the individual
events which formed the palimpsest. In order to fulfil these objectives, a multidisciplinary approach was
needed through which data could be integrated from the microstratigraphy of the hearths; from the
technological study of the lithic industries; from the individuation of the Raw Material Units (RMUs);
from refitting and co-joining and from spatial analysis (GIS science/tool). The integration of these
analytical methods reveals that SU 13 of the Oscurusciuto rock shelter was the product of a series of
events ascribable to a short time span. This layer was formed by sediment aggradation and cementation
(e.g., brecciation) processes. Human activities contributed to the sediment build up with the introduction
of wood ash, lithic raw materials and bones. The results show the importance of using integrated
research methods in order to identify short anthropic events within a palimpsest
THE CONTRIBUTION OF ARCHAEOMETRY TO RECONSTRUCT HUMAN MOBILITY DURING THE PALAEOLITHIC OF PORTOSELVAGGIO (NARDÒ-LE)
No full textGrotta Torre dell’Alto (GTA) is one of the most important caves among the numerous Pleistocene sites located in the
Mesozoic limestone along the Neretina coast (Nardò-LE), excavated between 1961 and 1967.“Museo della Preistoria di
Nardò” started a project to reconstruct the evolutive dynamics of this coast and the organisation of prehistorical groups,
reviewing stratigraphic series, faunal fossils and lithic tools of GTA.A selection of 186 chert artefacts was analysed with a
non-destructive multiparametric protocol (NM-PCI), based on petrographical, micropaleontological and chemical variables. The
obtained data were compared to those of geological chert from Porto Selvaggio (Nardò), Bradanic through, Tavoliere plain, Murge
and Gargano promontory, obtained with the same protocol.The lithological variety observed in the three archaeological levels of
GTA investigated points to different source areas. The high frequency of silicified calcarenites and calcilutites and the scarce
presence of radiolarites and nodular chert among artefacts correlates with the lithologies present in the Bradano and Tavoliere
plains, both fed by sediments from the outer units of the Southern Apennine belt. Two tools were made with nodular chert
compatible with the lithotypes in the terraced deposits of the Gulf of Manfredonia (FG).In summary, all the lithologies identified
in the lithic industries certainly come from secondary deposits that are no less than 120 km away. Moreover, raw material data
indicates a low-selective use of resources to produce tools, but suggests that Neanderthals’ territory was a considerable area
and points to the scale of their mobility. NM-PCI protocol proved to be an accurate and useful tool to obtain a consistent dataset
on archaeological and geological chert easily expandable on a large sample population to make the reconstruction of the
alternated mobility models during this phase more detailed and reliable
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
Middle Palaeolithic technical behaviour: Material import-export and Levallois production at the SU 13 of Oscurusciuto rock shelter, Southern Italy
Full text linkThe Oscurusciuto rock shelter, located in southern Italy (Puglia), has yielded a long Middle Palaeolithic stratigraphy rich in lithic assemblages, fireplaces and faunal remains, attesting Neanderthal occupation during the MIS 3. This paper is focused on the stratigraphic unit 13, consisting of a sandy compact deposit mixed with pyroclastic sediment above a thick level of tephra-US 14, identified as Mt. Epomeo green tuff (dated Ar/Ar ~ 55 ka).
Level 13 represents the first stable human occupation after the deposition of tephra. Our goal was to examine the lithic assemblage of this stratigraphic unit by means of an interdisciplinary approach (technology, RMU, refitting program) in order to identify the economic behaviour and technical strategies of Neanderthals occupying the stratigraphic unit 13 of Oscurusciuto.
The technical strategies applied indicate fragmentation of the reduction processes, as well as probable events of importation and exportation of objects. The lithic material were introduced at different stages of manufacturing. Pieces were introduced in the form of rough objects (pebbles), as well as semi-finished items, and as finished tools. This fragmentation of the chaîne opératoire also demonstrate the palimpsest nature of the level which is made up of different events happening one after another.
The main concept of debitage was Levallois, generally realized on local jasper and siliceous limestone pebbles or cortical flakes. Jasper and siliceous limestone flakes, backed flakes and convergent flakes were the technological objectives of the debitage. A marginal volumetric debitage aimed at producing bladelets was also attested
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