Early Levallois and the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic in central Italy

Abstract

In the second half of the 19th century Pleistocene faunas were discovered in two sites, Sedia del Diavolo and Monte delle Gioie, contained in deposits of the Aniene River in the area of Rome (Latium, Italy). Fieldwork by A.C. Blanc in the late 1930’s proved the association of fauna and lithic industry within fluvial deposits interbedded with volcanoclastic layers. A human femoral diaphysis and a metatarsal were later identified in the faunal assemblage from Sedia del Diavolo and evaluated as Neandertal. The lithic assemblages from these two sites were the basis of the definition of the Protopontinian by M. Taschini, which she viewed as a late Middle Pleistocene industry very similar to the later, Upper Pleistocene Pontinian industries, thought to be characteristic of the Latium Mousterian. The chronostratigraphic framework of the Aniene river deposits has been recently updated and the lithic assemblages from these two sites are now confidently dated between 295 and 290 ka, close to the transition from MIS 9 to MIS 8. They fit chronologically between the industries of layers m and d from Torre in Pietra, a site 26 km northwest of Rome. The presence of the Levallois debitage is indisputable yet it occurs within an original technical context, different from what is known in other early occurrences of the Levallois. The date confirms the proposed chronology for the early Levallois in Europe. More importantly these two assemblages demonstrate that this technology can emerge in more diversified contexts than usually described. This suggests that its dispersal in Europe may have been rapid.

First evidence of an extensive Acheulean large cutting tool accumulation in Europe from Porto Maior (Galicia, Spain)

“…Broadly contemporaneous EMP sites in Iberia include the middle stratigraphic unit of Ambrona, Level TD10.1–2 at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca), Bolomor Cave and Cuesta de la Bajada 3 , 72 , 73 . Our dating study of the LCT accumulation at Porto Maior provides a new line of evidence for temporal overlap between these two techno-complexes in SW Europe 3 , 74 .…”

Neandertals on the beach: Use of marine resources at Grotta dei Moscerini (Latium, Italy)

“…As in most if not all MP sites from the Latium [3] the main local raw material is small flint pebbles that have been almost exclusively collected in secondary position in beach deposits or fluvial stream or terraces (Figs 1: 3-4, 6-8 in S2 File). The higher roundness of the flint pebbles at Moscerini than at Sedia del Diavolo/ Monte delle Gioie [8] points to an origin in beach deposits (active or fossil) rather than fluvial deposits or riverbed [10]. In agreement with such a provenience, 89.0% of cortical surfaces on local flint are rolled or abraded ( Table 1 in S2 File).…”

“…Procurement. Raw materials are more diversified at Moscerini than in other lithic industries from Latium we have previously studied [7][8][9]. As in most if not all MP sites from the Latium [3] the main local raw material is small flint pebbles that have been almost exclusively collected in secondary position in beach deposits or fluvial stream or terraces (Figs 1: 3-4, 6-8 in S2 File).…”

New insights into early MIS 5 lithic technological behavior in the Levant: Nesher Ramla, Israel as a case study

“…The Levallois system, both recurrent and preferential modes, has occurred as early as 300 kya (the end of MIS 9, the beginning of MIS 8) in several locations in Western Europe and Africa and around 250 kya in the Levant [10,13,[94][95][96][97][98][99]. The development of the Levallois system is usually considered as a hallmark of the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition (and Early to Middle Stone Age "MSA" transition in Africa) and is seen as a behavioral change expressed by a shift from bifacial technology to a hierarchized pre-planned knapping system for flake/point and blade production [97,98,100].…”