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Tools from the lithic assemblage recovered during the collection performed in the sectors #1 and #2 reported in Fig. 4a. 1 e Single convex side-scraper on pebble, thick, retouch in little scales, butt lacking; 2 e Pi ece ecaill e on flake, irregular retouch in little scales, butt lacking; 3 e Single convex side-scraper on pebble, thick, retouch in little scales, butt lacking, retains part of the cortex; 4 e Convex transverse scraper on flake, retouch in little scales, punctiform butt; 5 e Denticulate scraper on flake, thick, retouch in little scales, butt lacking; 6 e Single convex side-scraper on pebble, retouch in little scales, straight butt; 7 e Straight transverse scraper on flake retaining a large portion of the cortex, retouch in little scales, cortical butt; 8 e Single convex side-scraper on flake retaining a large portion of the cortex, retouch in little scales, cortical butt; 9 e Convex transverse scraper on thick flake retaining portion of the cortex, retouch in little scales, cortical butt; 10 e Denticulate scraper on a little flake, thick, retouch in little scales, cortical butt; 11 e Double scraper on
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By means of a geomorphological study and the correlation with the geochronologically constrained terraced deposits of the greater area of Rome, we attribute to the aggradational phase during marine isotopic stage (MIS) 5.5 a terraced deposit firstly described in the earliest local geological reports of the 19th century, in which a small set of lith...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... lithic artifacts recovered in Fosso del Cupo Valley, sectors #1 and #2 ( Fig. 4a; Table 1), are represented by 10 tools, essen- tially constituted by small to medium sized scrapers, described in Fig. 5. Moreover, there are 4 irregular cores (three retaining cor- tex; Fig. 6a), and 24 small flakes, only three retaining cortex and six with butt (3 punctiform, 2 cortical, 1 thick faceted convex) (Fig. 6b). One larger tool (#11 in Fig. 5) has been recovered on the terraced surface to the south of Fosso del Cupo, close to sector #3 in ...
Context 2
... Table 1), are represented by 10 tools, essen- tially constituted by small to medium sized scrapers, described in Fig. 5. Moreover, there are 4 irregular cores (three retaining cor- tex; Fig. 6a), and 24 small flakes, only three retaining cortex and six with butt (3 punctiform, 2 cortical, 1 thick faceted convex) (Fig. 6b). One larger tool (#11 in Fig. 5) has been recovered on the terraced surface to the south of Fosso del Cupo, close to sector #3 in Fig. ...
Context 3
... the artifacts are well preserved, without evidence of rolling and smoothing, and do not display patina (Figs. 5 and 6), suggesting that they were actually embedded in the terraced fluvial-lacustrine deposits and emerged on the surface as a consequence of ...
Context 4
... display features similar to those pertaining to the local Pontinian culture (Blanc, 1939), which is characterized by the use of the bipolar technique, a low Levallois index, a high percentage of scrapers and by the presence of naturally backed knives ( Rolfo et al., 2013, and references therein). In particular three sidecrapers (#6, #7 and #8 in Fig. 5) and one flake (#9 in Fig. 6), with cortex made on completely cortical flakes or calotte from small sized pebbles, have typical Pontinian appearance. Although other typical tools recur- ring in the Pontinian assemblages, like transverse and pointed scrapers made on completely cortical flakes or calotte, and cen- tripetal cores are ...
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The Riparo Tagliente site (Verona, Italy) shows three macro phases in which high technological variability can be observed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the specific role of the Middle Paleolithic blade production within this variability. Preliminary results show a complex scenario in which the role of the blade is strictly linked with flak...
Citations
... As already mentioned, a more detailed time sequence is offered by the genus Dama, which occurs from MIS 5e with the extant form D. dama dama (Table 2) in many areas of central and southern Italy and especially in the Apulian area (e.g., Bologna et al., 1994;Petronio et al., 1995;Petronio, 1997, 2002;Petronio et al., 2007;Pandolfi and Petronio, 2011;Pandolfi et al., , 2017Ceruleo et al., 2016Ceruleo et al., , 2023Marra et al., 2018b;Salari et al., 2019c). In fact, in the southern area of Apulia (Salento), many fossiliferous sites (Fondo Cattie, S. Sidero 3, Cava Nuzzo, Cava Donno, Grotta delle Striare, Grotta Romanelli, Grotta del Cavallo, Grotta del Sarcofago, Avetrana, etc.) contain abundant remains of fallow deer, often with particularly advanced forms of M. (T.) gr. ...
The Late Pleistocene certainly represents a crucial period for faunal renewal, especially in the Italian area, characterised by diverse climatic and environmental conditions. The critical reappraisal of data on several taxa of mammals that occur
for the first time in Italy during the Late Pleistocene (particularly Crocidura gr. suaveolens, Lepus timidus, Sicista spp., Cricetulus migratorius, Arvicola gr. amphibius-italicus, Microtus (Terricola) gr. savii-brachycercus, Mammuthus primigenius, Mustela erminea, Lynx lynx, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Alces alces, Rangifer tarandus, Cervus elaphus and Dama dama) has made it possible to verify their real biochronological limits, on the basis of fully recognisable morphological features. This review also provides an opportunity to highlight the difficulties involved in establishing the elements that could enable the identification of Faunal Units valid for Italian territory as a whole. Moreover, previous attempts to identify Faunal Units corresponding to the two most important phases of the Late Pleistocene (last interglacial and last glacial) have been reexamined. The two Apulian local faunas previously identified as type of the Late Pleistocene Faunal Units do not have biochronological features that could justify their validity for the whole of mainland Italy, but can only be considered valid locally, in a more limited geographical context.
RIASSUNTO Il Pleistocene superiore rappresenta certamente un periodo cruciale per il rinnovamento faunistico, soprattutto nell’area italiana, caratterizzata da diverse condizioni climatiche e ambientali. La revisione critica dei dati di numerosi taxa dei
mammiferi che compaiono per la prima volta in Italia durante il Pleistocene superiore (in particolare Crocidura gr. suaveolens, Lepus timidus, Sicista spp., Cricetulus migratorius, Arvicola gr. amphibius-italicus, Microtus (Terricola) gr. savii-
brachycercus, Mammuthus primigenius, Mustela erminea, Lynx lynx, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Alces alces, Rangifer tarandus, Cervus elaphus e Dama dama) ha permesso di verificarne i reali limiti biocronologici, sulla base di caratteri
morfologici pienamente riconoscibili. Questa revisione offre anche l’occasione per mettere in luce le difficoltà di stabilire gli elementi che potrebbero consentire l’individuazione di Unità Faunistiche valide per l’intero territorio italiano. Sono
stati, inoltre, riesaminati i precedenti tentativi di identificare Unità Faunistiche corrispondenti alle due fasi più importanti del Pleistocene superiore (ultimo interglaciale e ultimo glaciale). Le due associazioni faunistiche pugliesi precedentemente identificate come tipo delle Unità Faunistiche del Pleistocene superiore non presentano caratteri biocronologici che ne giustifichino la validità per l’intero territorio dell’Italia continentale, ma possono ritenersi valide solo localmente, in un contesto geografico più ristretto.
... As a matter of fact, the correlation of only one outcrop in this region previously attributed to MIS 5 (Evangelista and Porcari, 1988) has been confirmed based on morpho-structural investigation (Ceruleo et al., 2016). It is a site described by Ponzi (1866-67) in the small valley of Fosso del Cupo, near Montecelio village not far from the town of Tivoli. ...
... The re-examination of the chronostratigraphy of the sites correlated with MIS 9, MIS 7 and MIS 5 in this region, permitted us to confirm the absence of D. dama tiberina in the deposits older than MIS 8.5 (Via Mascagni succession), while this fallow deer widely occurs with E. hydruntinus in almost all the sites referred to MIS 8.5 and MIS 7 (Sedia del Diavolo, Batteria Nomentana, Vitinia, Torre in Pietra u.l., Saccopastore). In the only site so far referred to MIS 5, Fosso del Cupo (Ceruleo et al., 2016), the presence of D. dama dama has been reported. Therefore, the two occurrences above should be considered distinctive of the Vitinia FU, encompassing MIS 8-5 and MIS 7, while in the first part of the Late Aurelian (MIS 5), besides many taxa occurring in the previous FUs, E. hydruntinus is less frequent and the fallow deer D. d. dama, derived from D. d. tiberina, appears (Di Stefano and Petronio, 1997;Petronio et al., 2007). ...
Following a recent chronostratigraphic revision of 17 fossiliferous sites hosting assemblages constituting local faunas of the Aurelian Mammal Age for peninsular Italy, we provide a re-structured biochronological framework and discuss the current validity and significance of the middle Pleistocene Faunal Units (FU) for this region. Contrasting with the previous model of a wide faunal renewal during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9 (∼330 ka), the First Occurrences (FO) of several species of the Torre in Pietra FU are significantly backdated and referred to the Fontana Ranuccio FU (530-400 ka). We show that the faunal renewal was more gradual and occurred earlier than previously assumed. Many taxa that are typical of the late Pleistocene register their FO in the Fontana Ranuccio FU, latest Galerian, which is characterized by the almost total disappearance of Villafranchian taxa and by the persistence of typical Galerian taxa such as Dama clactoniana, Bison schoetensacki and Ursus deningeri, and by the FO of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis, S. hemitoechus, Hippopotamus amphibius, Cervus elaphus eostepahnoceros, Ursus spelaeus, Canis lupus, and Vulpes vulpes. The next Torre in Pietra FU is characterized only by the FO of Megaloceros giganteus and Mustela putorius. However, we observe that MIS 9 marks the actual moment when the faunal assemblages of this region are represented only by those taxa characterizing the late middle Pleistocene and late Pleistocene. For this reason, we propose to still consider the Torre in Pietra (lower levels) local fauna as a conventional boundary for the Galerian-Aurelian transition. Finally, we remark that the strong faunal renewal in MIS 13, with five FOs, coincides with the temperate climatic conditions due to the absence of marked glacial periods that could have favored the FO and the subsequent spread of these taxa.
... As a matter of fact, the correlation of only one outcrop in this region previously attributed to MIS 5 (Evangelista and Porcari, 1988) has been confirmed based on morpho-structural investigation (Ceruleo et al., 2016). It is a site described by Ponzi (1866-67) in the small valley of Fosso del Cupo, near Montecelio village not far from the town of Tivoli. ...
... The re-examination of the chronostratigraphy of the sites correlated with MIS 9, MIS 7 and MIS 5 in this region, permitted us to confirm the absence of D. dama tiberina in the deposits older than MIS 8.5 (Via Mascagni succession), while this fallow deer widely occurs with E. hydruntinus in almost all the sites referred to MIS 8.5 and MIS 7 (Sedia del Diavolo, Batteria Nomentana, Vitinia, Torre in Pietra u.l., Saccopastore). In the only site so far referred to MIS 5, Fosso del Cupo (Ceruleo et al., 2016), the presence of D. dama dama has been reported. Therefore, the two occurrences above should be considered distinctive of the Vitinia FU, encompassing MIS 8-5 and MIS 7, while in the first part of the Late Aurelian (MIS 5), besides many taxa occurring in the previous FUs, E. hydruntinus is less frequent and the fallow deer D. d. dama, derived from D. d. tiberina, appears (Di Stefano and Petronio, 1997;Petronio et al., 2007). ...
The Aurelian Mammal Age for peninsular Italy was introduced on the basis of faunal assemblages mainly
recovered at sites along the Via Aurelia west of Rome. These sites exposed a set of sedimentary deposits
currently attributed to the Aurelia and to the Vitinia Formations correlated with MIS 9 and MIS 7,
respectively. In the present paper we reconstruct the geologic-stratigraphic setting in the western sector
of Rome within the wider context of glacio-eustatically controlled, geochronologically constrained aggradational successions defined for this region. We present a chronostratigraphic study based on dedicated
field surveys, that, combined with five new 40Ar/39Ar ages and eighteen trace-element and EMP
glass analyses of volcanic products, allow us to revise age and correlation with the Marine Isotopic Stages
for 10 sites out of 12 previously attributed to the Aurelia Formation and the Torre in Pietra Faunal Unit. In
particular, we demonstrate a MIS 13/MIS 11 age for several sections along the Via Aurelia between
Malagrotta and Castel di Guido. Based on this new geochronological framework, the first occurrences of
Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpes in Italy are antedated to MIS 11, within the Fontana Ranuccio Faunal Unit of
the Galerian Mammal Age, consistent with the wider European context. This contribution is intended as
the groundwork for a revision of the Middle Pleistocene Mammal Ages of the Italian peninsula, according
to the improved chronostratigraphy of the geologic sections hosting the faunal assemblages.
Inspired by a previous researchs the Authors describe over a hundred sites with fossil remains and lithic industries of the Pleistocene in the Rome area. Most of the described sites contain macromammals but there are also micromammals, malacofauna remains and significant direct and indirect evidence of Homo neanderthalensis. Geology and above all the Pleistocene neotectonics played a preponderant role in the geomorphology of the Roman countryside and determined the greater presence of fossil and palethnological remains on the left banks of the
Tiber, near the confluence with the Aniene river. A series of faults has also determined the continuous displacement of the course of the main river and its delta, favoring the conservation of the numerous fossil deposits, also with the help of the volcanic products of Sabatini and Albani volcanoes. The revision of most of the remains of mammalian fauna and lithic industries, together with the unpublished study of some fossil deposits outside the city area, has made it possible to create in a single publication a significant historical archive which includes data ranging from the early 1800s to the present period. Equally significant is the review of the remains of micromammals and malacofauna which are not decisive for biochronological purposes but are excellent indicators in paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic analysis.
Riassunto - Prendendo spunto da una ricerca precedente gli Autori descrivono oltre
un centinaio di giacimenti contenenti resti fossili e industrie litiche del Pleistocene dell’area di Roma. La maggior parte dei siti descritti contiene macromammiferi ma non mancano micromammiferi, resti di malacofauna e inoltre significative testimonianze dirette e indirette di Homo neanderthalensis. La geologia e soprattutto la neotettonica pleistocenica hanno avuto un ruolo preponderante nella geomorfologia della Campagna Romana e hanno determinato la maggior presenza
di resti fossiliferi e paletnologici nelle sponde sinistre del Tevere, in prossimità della confluenza con l’Aniene. Una serie di faglie ha inoltre determinato il continuo spostamento del corso del fiume principale e del suo delta, favorendo, anche con l’aiuto dei prodotti vulcanici sabatini e albani, la conservazione dei numerosi giacimenti fossiliferi. La revisione della maggior parte dei resti di mammalofauna e di industrie litiche, unitamente allo studio inedito di alcuni giacimenti fossiliferi fuori dall’area della città, ha permesso di realizzare in un’unica pubblicazione un significativo archivio storico che comprende dati che vanno dai primi anni dell’800 al periodo attuale. Altrettanto significativa risulta la revisione dei resti dei icromammiferi e della malacofauna che non sono determinanti ai fini biocronologici ma risultano ottimi indicatori per l’analisi paleoambientale e paleoclimatica.
This work describes the Mousterian lithic artifacts found in the Avetrana karst filling (Apulia), among the oldest of southern Italy. A volcanoclastic layer found at the base of Bed 8, in the highest part of the stratigraphic succession, is also described. The compositional characteristics of the glasses of this volcanoclastic layer indicate a possible area of origin in the Mount Vulture volcano, and allow us to suggest that it is an aeolian fallout that
occurred during or immediately after a late eruption of the Mount Vulture, probably within the 132 ± 12 ka time span. The chronological result relating to the volcanoclastic sediments would place the underlying beds in the last Interglacial, MIS 5e, and the overlying Bed 8 at the onset of last Glacial period, MIS 5d. Moreover, it is in agreement with the paleoclimatic considerations based on the ecological and biogeographical features of mammal assemblages and it has a very important significance also for the biochronology of the Pleistocene. In fact, it allows us to confirm that some taxa found in the Avetrana succession, such as Crocidura gr. suaveolens, Arvicola italicus, the evolved form of Microtus (Terricola) gr. savii, and the modern form of Dama dama, occur for first time in Italy at the beginning of Late Pleistocene.
