Human settlement and vegetation-climate relationships in the Greenland Stadial 5 at the Piovesello site (Northern Apennines, Italy)

Abstract

The Gravettian settlements of Europe are considered as an expression of human adaptation to harsh climates. In Southern Europe, however, favorable vegetation-climate conditions supported hunters-gatherer subsistence and the maintenance of their large-scale networks. This was also the case of the North-Adriatic plain and the Apennine mountain ridge in Italy. Traditionally considered lacking evidence, the northern part of the Apennine ridge has recently yielded the Early Gravettian site of Piovesello, located at 870 m a.s.l. Survey and excavation revealed lithic artifacts in primary position embedded in loamy sediments. Radiocarbon dating, anthracological and extended palynological and microcharcoal analyses have been integrated to reconstruct the palaeoecological context of this camp which was probably positioned above the timberline in an arid rocky landscape, bounding the fronts of local glaciers close to their maximum expansion at the time of Greenland Stadial (GS) 5 (32.04 - 28.9 ka cal BP). Human activity left ephemeral traces represented by lithic artefacts, charcoal, and the introduction of radiolarites from sources in proximity to the site and of chert from very far western sources. Evidence from Piovesello contributes to the reconstruction of human and vegetation ecology during Late Pleistocene glaciations and also provides hints for the historical biogeography of petrophytic plants and their orographic relics in the northern Apennine.

Hunter-gatherers across the great Adriatic-Po region during the Last Glacial Maximum: Environmental and cultural dynamics

“…6 and 9a) leaving the middle (evolved) phase ephemerally recorded by archeological evidence. Data currently available are from Piovesello and Fonte delle Mattinate on the Apennine watershed, Grotta Broion and Riparo Broion in the Berici Hills, Rio Secco in the Carnic Prealps and Pećina kod Rovinjskog Sela to GS-5 (Peresani et al, 2018). The site attests short-term frequentations of a small group mostly equipped with raw blocks of red radiolarite collected a few kilometres away (Peresani et al, 2018).…”

“…By contrast, a handful of finished artefacts have further provenance, suggesting long-range mobility from south-eastern France. Multiple refittings are ascribable to complete reduction sequences on local raw material, with prevalence of maintenance flakes and blades and maintenance products, underrepresentation of end-products and very few retouched tools (Peresani et al, 2018;Zangrossi et al, 2019).…”

Source Apportionment and Characterization of Water Insoluble Single Particulate Matters in Rain Sequences Using Particle Size Analyzer and Scanning Electron Microscopy

“…S10). The identi ed PMs were an oval-shaped organic particle (most probably a pollen grain) and a mineral ber of Si-Mg-Ca-Fe (a), y ashes (b), (d), and (e), biochar or charcoal fragment (Ottosen et al, 2005;Peresani et al, 2018) combined with vegetative detritus (c), a biopolymer/chitin fragment (f).…”

Mobility and social identity in the Mid Upper Paleolithic: New personal ornaments from Poiana Cireșului (Piatra Neamț, Romania)

“…In fact, early Gravettian occupations are generally rare [2]. Italy represents the only region close to the Mediterranean area where sites with early Gravettian occupations are more numerous than in other areas, e.g., Riparo Mochi, Arene Candide, Grotta della Cala, Grotta Paglicci, Grotta Rio Secco, Piovesello [76].…”