The origin of early Acheulean expansion in Europe 700 ka ago: new findings at Notarchirico (Italy)

Abstract

Notarchirico (Southern Italy) has yielded the earliest evidence of Acheulean settlement in Italy and four older occupation levels have recently been unearthed, including one with bifaces, extending the roots of the Acheulean in Italy even further back in time. New 40 Ar/ 39 Ar on tephras and ESR dates on bleached quartz securely and accurately place these occupations between 695 and 670 ka (MIS 17), penecontemporaneous with the Moulin-Quignon and la Noira sites (France). These new data demonstrate a very rapid expansion of shared traditions over Western Europe during a period of highly variable climatic conditions, including interglacial and glacial episodes, between 670 and 650 (i.e., MIS17/MIS16 transition). The diversity of tools and activities observed in these three sites shows that Western Europe was populated by adaptable hominins during this time. These conclusions question the existence of refuge areas during intense glacial stages and raise questions concerning understudied migration pathways, such as the Sicilian route. Recent data in prehistory tend to break down the previously supposed clear boundary between anatomically "modern" humans (Homo sapiens), associated with modern cognitive abilities, and earlier hominin species, such as Neanderthals and their ancestors, Homo heidelbergensis. The earliest Acheulean Homo heidelbergensis groups arrived in Europe ca. 1.0-0.7 Ma ago, and were exposed to challenging environmental conditions, which may have stimulated new cultural responses. These included behavioral innovations that could have potentially derived from African or Levantine origins during these early time ranges. During this period, named the Mid-Pleistocene revolution, Northern Europe was characterized by constraining climatic conditions, especially during glacial stages (1.25-0.7 Ma). Major topographic and sea-crossing barriers constituted considerable challenges

Palaeolithic archaeology of the Bytham River: human occupation of Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene and its European context

“…Significantly, both hard and soft hammers were used. At Moulin Quignon (Antoine et al, 2019) and Notarchirico (Pereira et al, 2015;Moncel et al, 2019Moncel et al, , 2020, the handaxes are shaped by removing large, bold flakes by hard hammer, with patches of remnant cortex often on the butt and sinuous cutting edges. The core technology utilises a variety of multi-directional techniques and the flake tools are again dominated by simple notches, denticulates and scrapers.…”

“…In southern Italy, Notarchirico consists of a series of volcanic and fluvial deposits infilling a basin, where tephrostratigraphic correlation and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates show that the sequence spans 670 ± 4 ka to 614 ± 4 ka (Lefèvre et al, 2010;Pereira et al, 2015;Moncel et al, 2019Moncel et al, , 2020. The microfauna and palynology indicate a cold, open environment and therefore the sequence has been attributed to MIS 16.…”

Reassessment of the ‘Abbevillien’ in the perspective of new discoveries from the Lower Palaeolithic and Quaternary sites of Abbeville (Somme, northern France)

“…The bifaces are not crudely made. Moreover, this definition is no longer based solely on the archaic biface guiding fossil, but also on other behavioural changes that occurred between 700 and 550 ka regarding biface production but also core technologies (Moncel et al ., 2013, 2019, 2020a,b; Gallotti and Peretto, 2015; Pereira et al ., 2015).…”

“…In England, bifaces are found in younger assemblages dated between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 15 and MIS 13 (i.e. Ashton et al ., 2011; Hosfield, 2011; Ashton and Lewis, 2012; Preece and Parfitt, 2012; Candy et al ., 2015; Voinchet et al ., 2015), suggesting late dispersion of Acheulean culture in this part of Europe while present from 900 ka in Spain, and from 650 to 670 ka ka in the centre of France and Italy (la Noira, Notarchirico; Moncel et al ., 2020a,b) and in the Somme Valley, northern France, immediately south of the English Channel (Moulin Quignon; Antoine et al ., 2019).…”

Coastal curios? An analysis of ex situ beach finds for mapping new Palaeolithic sites at Happisburgh, UK

“…Currently, the site of La Boella (Tarragona, Spain) has handaxe technology that is associated with an Early Pleistocene fauna and attributed to c. 1 Ma to 900 ka (Vallverdú et al, 2014;Mosquera et al, 2015). Elsewhere in Europe la Noira (France) has well made handaxes with an age attribution to early MIS 16 (c. 676-622 ka; Moncel et al, 2013Moncel et al, , 2016, recent fieldwork at Moulin Quignon (Abbeville, France) also suggests the use of handaxe technology during MIS 16 (Antoine et al, 2020) and the site of Notarchirico, Italy, has handaxes dating to c. 695 ka (MIS 17;Moncel et al, 2020). All other sites from the Early Pleistocene or the first half of the early Middle Pleistocene have assemblages consisting of simple cores and flakes and lack signs of handaxe manufacture.…”