Between the hammerstone and the anvil: bipolar knapping and other percussive activities in the late Mousterian and the Uluzzian of Grotta di Castelcivita (Italy)

Arrighi, Simona; Marciani, Giulia; Rossini, Matteo; Santos, Marcos César Pereira; Fiorini, Andrea; Martini, Ivan; Aureli, Daniele; Badino, Federica; Bortolini, Eugenio; Figus, Carla; Lugli, Federico; Oxilia, Gregorio; Romandini, Matteo; Silvestrini, Sara; Ronchitelli, Annamaria; Moroni, Adriana; Benazzi, Stefano

doi:10.1007/s12520-020-01216-w

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…In Western Europe, in the same timeframe, this interaction has been suggested as a trigger for the development of Chatelperronian material culture ( Roussel et al 2016 ), whereas the Uluzzian techno-complex in Mediterranean Europe may tentatively be better explained by an additional, yet uncharacterized expansion from the Hub ( Benazzi et al 2011 ; Marciani et al 2020 ) although genomic data from Uluzzian strata are still lacking. The Uluzzian techno-complex is indeed characterized by unprecedented versatility and efficient management of production costs, considerably lower standardization in design compared with Mousterian industries, lower time, and energy expenditure for initialization and management of volumes, and a much shorter response time to change in raw material or environmental conditions ( Riel-Salvatore 2007 , 2009 , 2010 ; Moroni et al 2013 ; Moroni et al 2018 ; Peresani et al 2019 ; Arrighi, Marciani et al 2020 ; Collina et al 2020 ; Marciani et al 2020 ; Silvestrini et al 2021 ). In addition, this technological change is linked to the appearance of complementary tools ( sensu [ Haidle et al 2015 ]; e.g., [ Sano et al 2019 ]), innovations in hunting strategies ( Boscato and Crezzini 2012 ; Romandini et al 2020 ), and a shared package of symbolic artifacts ( Arrighi, Bortolini et al 2020 ; Arrighi, Moroni et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics and Material Culture Support Repeated Expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a Population Hub Out of Africa

Vallini

Marciani

Aneli

et al. 2022

Genome Biology and Evolution

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The population dynamics that followed the Out of Africa (OoA) expansion and the whereabouts of the early migrants before the differentiation that ultimately led to the formation of Oceanian, West and East Eurasian macropopulations have long been debated. Shedding light on these events may, in turn, provide clues to better understand the cultural evolution in Eurasia between 50 and 35 ka. Here, we analyze Eurasian Paleolithic DNA evidence to provide a comprehensive population model and validate it in light of available material culture. Leveraging on our integrated approach we propose the existence of a Eurasian population Hub, where Homo sapiens lived between the OoA and the broader colonization of Eurasia, which was characterized by multiple events of expansion and local extinction. A major population wave out of Hub, of which Ust’Ishim, Bacho Kiro, and Tianyuan are unadmixed representatives, is broadly associated with Initial Upper Paleolithic lithics and populated West and East Eurasia before or around 45 ka, before getting largely extinct in Europe. In this light, we suggest a parsimonious placement of Oase1 as an individual related to Bacho Kiro who experienced additional Neanderthal introgression. Another expansion, started before 38 ka, is broadly associated with Upper Paleolithic industries and repopulated Europe with sporadic admixtures with the previous wave (GoyetQ116-1) and more systematic ones, whereas moving through Siberia (Yana, Mal’ta). Before these events, we also confirm Zlatý Kůň as the most basal human lineage sequenced to date OoA, potentially representing an earlier wave of expansion out of the Hub.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics and Material Culture Support Repeated Expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a Population Hub Out of Africa

Vallini

Marciani

Aneli

et al. 2022

Genome Biology and Evolution

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“…The predominant presence of a recent Uluzzian at Uluzzo C is confirmed by technological analysis of the lithics (Silvestrini et al ., this volume); in fact, the schemes of the chaînes operatoires , having as a main goal the production of bladelets and flakelets, characteristic of the Uluzzian technocomplex (contra Mussi et al ., 2006; Zilhão et al ., 2015), strongly matches the European UP (Marciani et al ., 2020), and can be broadly compared with layer D of Grotta del Cavallo (Moroni et al ., 2018). Data from Uluzzo C thus confirm the Uluzzian as having fully modern behaviour expressed through techno‐typologically complex lithic toolkits and highly adaptive subsistence strategies, a so‐called ‘Uluzzian package’ (Douka et al ., 2014; Sano et al ., 2019; Arrighi et al ., 2020a,b,0c; Romandini et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to Uluzzo – archaeological, palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of the Mid–Upper Palaeolithic sequence at Uluzzo C Rock Shelter (Apulia, southern Italy)

Spinapolice

Zerboni

Meyer

et al. 2021

J Quaternary Science

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The tempo and mode of Homo sapiens dispersal in Eurasia and the demise of Neanderthals has sparked debate about the dynamics of Neanderthal extinction and its relationship to the arrival of H. sapiens. In Italy, the so‐called ‘Transition’ from Neanderthals to H. sapiens is related to the Uluzzian technocomplex, i.e. the first archaeological evidence for modern human dispersal on the European continent. This paper illustrates the new chronology and stratigraphy of Uluzzo C, a rock shelter and Uluzzian key site located in the Uluzzo Bay in southern Italy, where excavations are ongoing, refining the cultural sequence known from previous excavations. Microstratigraphic investigation suggests that most of the deposit formed after dismantling of the vault of the rock shelter and due to wind input of loess deflated by the continental shelf. The occasional reactivation of the hydrology of the local karst system under more humid conditions further contributed to the formation of specific layers accumulating former Terra Rossa‐type soil fragments. Superposed on sedimentary processes, strong bioturbation and the mobilization and recrystallization of calcite have been detected. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from Uluzzo C Rock Shelter are congruent with previously published radiocarbon ages obtained on shell beads and tephrachronology from adjacent sites preserving the Uluzzian technocomplex such as Grotta del Cavallo, confirming the onset for the Uluzzian in the area to ca. 39.2–42.0 ka. The OSL chronology from Uluzzo C also provides a terminus post quem for the end of the Mousterian in the region, constraining the disappearance of the Neanderthals in that part of Italy to ≥46 ± 4 ka.

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“…The Uluzzian technocomplex is indeed characterized by unprecedented versatility and efficient management of production costs, considerably lower standardisation in design compared to Mousterian industries, lower time and energy expenditure for initialisation and management of volumes, and a much shorter response time to change in raw material or environmental conditions Collina et al, 2020;Marciani et al, 2020;Moroni et al, 2013Moroni et al, , 2018Peresani et al, 2019;Riel-Salvatore, 2007Silvestrini et al, 2021). In addition, this technological change is linked to the appearance of complementary tools (Haidle et al, 2015) , (Sano et al, 2019) , innovations in hunting strategies (Boscato & Crezzini, 2012;Romandini et al, 2020), and a shared package of symbolic artefacts Arrighi, Moroni, et al, 2020). All these almost unique and distinctive elements make it very difficult to infer heritable continuity with local Mousterian material culture, or preferential technological proximity with any other IUP/UP Eurasian technology, and support the hypothesis of an independent population expansion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics and material culture support repeated expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a population hub out of Africa

Vallini

Marciani

Aneli

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The population dynamics that followed the out of Africa expansion (OoA) and ultimately led to the formation of Oceanian, West and East Eurasian macro populations have long been debated. Furthermore, with the OoA being dated between 70 kya and 65 kya and the earliest splits between West and East Eurasian populations being inferred not earlier than 43 kya from modern DNA data, an additional question concerns the whereabouts of the early migrants out of Africa before those differentiations. Shedding light on these population dynamics may, in turn, provide clues to better understand cultural evolution in Eurasia between 50 kya and 35 kya, where the development of new technologies may be correlated to parallel independent evolution paths, to the arrival of new populations, or to long-term processes of cultural and biological exchanges. Here we jointly re-analyze Eurasian Paleolithic DNA available to date in light of material culture, and provide a comprehensive population model with minimal admixture events. Our integrated approach i) maintains Zlaty Kůň genetically as the most basal out of Africa human lineage sequenced to date, also in comparison to Oceanians and putatively links it with non-Mousterian material cultures documented in Europe 48-43 kya; ii) infers the presence of an OoA population Hub from which a major wave broadly associated with Initial Upper Paleolithic lithic industries emanated to populate West and East Eurasia before or around 45 kya, and of which Ust′Ishim, Bacho Kiro and Tianyuan were unadmixed descendants; iii) proposes a parsimonious placement of Oase1 as an individual related to Bacho Kiro who experienced additional Neanderthal introgression; and iv) explains the East/West Eurasian population split as a longer permanence of the latter in the OoA Hub, followed by a second population expansion (before 37 kya), broadly associated with Upper Paleolithic industries, that largely replaced pre-existing humans in Europe, and admixed with the previous wave to form Yana and Mal′ta in Siberia and, to a greater extent, GoyetQ116-1 in Belgium.

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Between the hammerstone and the anvil: bipolar knapping and other percussive activities in the late Mousterian and the Uluzzian of Grotta di Castelcivita (Italy)

Abstract: Between the hammerstone and the anvil. Bipolar knapping and other percussive activities in the late Mousterian and the Uluzzian of Grotta di Castelcivita (Italy)

Cited by 14 publications

References 110 publications

Genetics and Material Culture Support Repeated Expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a Population Hub Out of Africa

Genetics and Material Culture Support Repeated Expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a Population Hub Out of Africa

Back to Uluzzo – archaeological, palaeoenvironmental and chronological context of the Mid–Upper Palaeolithic sequence at Uluzzo C Rock Shelter (Apulia, southern Italy)

Genetics and material culture support repeated expansions into Paleolithic Eurasia from a population hub out of Africa

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