Animal resources and subsistence strategies

Several faunal assemblages excavated in deposits of different antiquity (from Lower Paleolithic to Bronze Age), located in Northern, Central and Southern Italy, were studied from the archeozoological and taphonomic point of view. Data obtained by different Authors allow reconstruction of subsistence strategies adopted by prehistoric humans in these areas and through time, in particular as far as the exploitation of animal resources is concerned. The following assemblages were considered: Isernia La Pineta (Molise; Lower Paleolithic), Grotta Breuil (Latium; Middle Paleolithic), Grotta della Ghiacciaia (Verona; Middle Paleolithic), Riparo di Fumane and Riparo Tagliente (Verona; Middle and Upper Paleolithic), Riparo Mochi (Liguria; Upper Paleolithic), Grotta della Continenza (L'Aquila; Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic), Grotta dell'Edera (Trieste; Mesolithic and Neolithic), Grotta della Cala at Marina di Camerota (Salerno; Eneolithic), Contraguda (Sassari; Neolithic), Castellaro Lagusello (Mantova; Bronze Age). Exploitation of the vegetal resources has been analyzed in the Neolithic sites of Colle Santo Stefano (Fucino), Settefonti (L'Aquila) and Catignano (Pescara).     

Living-floors and structures from the Lower Paleolithic to the Bronze Age in Italy

New researches have been performed on the analysis of some Italian dwelling structures dating from the Lower Paleolithic to Bronze Age. Different methods have been applied to each study according to the extensions of the areas explored. The following sites have been analyzed: Isernia La Pineta (Molise), Visogliano (Trieste) - Lower Paleolithic; Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce), Grotta Grande and Riparo del Molare (Salerno) - Middle Paleolithic; Grotta di Fumane (Verona), Riparo Tagliente (Verona), Grotta Continenza (Fucino L'Aquila), San Bartolomeo (Maiella Mountain, Abruzzo) - Upper Paleolithic; Mondeval de Sora (Belluno), Alpe Veglia (Verbania) and Grotta Edera (Aurisina, Trieste) -Mesolithic; Cala Giovanna Piano (Pianosa Island, Livorno), Contraguda (Perfugas, Sassari), Colle Santo Stefano (Fucino, L'Aquila), Catignano (Pescara), Settefonti (L'Aquila) - Neolithic; Castellaro Lagusello (Monzambano, Mantua) - Bronze Age.     

Exploring Neanderthal skills and lithic economy. The implication of a refitted Discoid reduction sequence reconstructed using 3D virtual analysis

Lithic refitting studies have consistently contributed to address two specific research aims: the intra-site mobility and identification of preferential areas or latent structures, and the in-depth analysis of the knapping technologies and core reduction strategies. Multiple refits, in particular, can produce highly detailed data on knapped stone technology. Elucidating human skills and lithic economy, a potential still rarely evaluated for Discoid technology: a stone knapping method largely spread across the Middle Paleolithic of Europe. The opportunity to explore Neanderthal knapping behavior is provided from the remarkable discovery of a primary lithic waste concentration in the Mousterian Discoid level of the Grotta di Fumane, Italy, dated to at least 47.6 ky cal BP. With a combined approach that included the 3D virtual interaction, we were able to reproduce a complete reduction sequence that supports the technological analysis conducted on the lithic assemblage. Results lead to a better comprehension of the knapper's technological and technical behavior, including the detection and quantification of economic objectives and productivity.     

Blades,bladelets and flakes: A case of variability in tool design at the dawn of the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy

Neanderthals left diverse sets of cultural evidence just before the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in Europe. Within this evidence, the production of lithic implements plays a key role in detecting possible affiliations (or lack thereof) with the techno-complexes that occurred during the few millennia before the large-scale spread of the Proto-Aurignacian. This crucial phase has also been recorded in the North of Italy, where around 44–45 ky cal BP, the last Neanderthals were still using the Levallois knapping technique, in common with the technology adopted at several sites in the central Mediterranean region. A similar picture is seen at the Grotta di Fumane, which provides the evidence presented in this paper. The production technology employed produced different levels of variability with respect to the production of blades, sometimes pointed, and the use of recurrent centripetal flaking at the end of the reduction sequence, in addition to bladelet and Discoidal volumetric structures. This variability does not outweigh the dominant tendency towards the use of elongated Levallois blanks and other by-products for shaping into basic retouched tools such as simple or convergent scrapers and points. A break from this apparently well-rooted use of the unipolar Levallois method is recorded in the Uluzzian where, instead, flakes and cores were made using the centripetal modality.     

Not only Chauvet: Dating Aurignacian rock art in Altxerri B Cave (northern Spain)

The discovery and first dates of the paintings in Grotte Chauvet provoked a new debate on the origin and characteristics of the first figurative Palaeolithic art. Since then, other art ensembles in France and Italy (Aldène, Fumane, Arcy-sur-Cure and Castanet) have enlarged our knowledge of graphic activity in the early Upper Palaeolithic. This paper presents a chronological assessment of the Palaeolithic parietal ensemble in Altxerri B (northern Spain). When the study began in 2011, one of our main objectives was to determine the age of this pictorial phase in the cave. Archaeological, geological and stylistic evidence, together with radiometric dates, suggest an Aurignacian chronology for this art. The ensemble in Altxerri B can therefore be added to the small but growing number of sites dated in this period, corroborating the hypothesis of more complex and varied figurative art than had been supposed in the early Upper Palaeolithic.     

Biogeochemical cycling of sulphur in karst and transfer into speleothem archives at Grotta di Ernesto, Italy

Trace amounts of sulphur in speleothems suggest that stalagmites may act as archives of sulphur deposition, thereby recording aspects of atmospheric variability in sulphur content. Accurate interpretation of this novel sulphur archive depends upon understanding how biogeochemical cycling in the soil and epikarst above the cave may modify the precursor atmospheric values of sulphur concentration and isotopic composition prior to incorporation into the speleothem record. Dual isotope analysis of δ³⁴S-SO₄ and δ¹⁸O-SO₄ is used to trace biogeochemical transformations of atmospheric sulphur through the cave system at Grotta di Ernesto in the Italian Alps and builds towards a framework for interpretation of speleothem sulphur archives which depends on overlying ecosystem dynamics and karst hydrological properties. A three component model of atmospheric sulphate signal modification is proposed to be driven by (1). vegetation and soil cycling, (2). the degree of groundwater mixing in the karst aquifer; and (3). redox status. The relative influence of each process is specific to individual drip flow sites and associated stalagmites, rendering each sulphur archive a unique signal of environmental conditions. Under conditions found in the soil and epikarst above Grotta di Ernesto, the dual isotope signatures of sulphate sulphur and oxygen incorporated into speleothem carbonate, closely reflect past conditions of industrial sulphur loading to the atmosphere and the extent of signal modification through biogeochemical cycling and aquifer mixing.     

Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia,Perissodactyla) from the middle Pleistocene levels of Grotta Romanelli (Lecce,southern Italy)

The rhinoceros remains collected during the past century in the lower levels XII (= K) and XI (= I) of the famous Pleistocene locality of Grotta Romanelli (Lecce, southern Italy) are described and compared in detail for the first time. Some remains are referred to Stephanorhinus sp. and others are assigned here to the late early-middle Pleistocene European species Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis based on several morphological characters. Based on its olivine-bearing texture, the volcanoclastic ash sampled from some rhinoceros bones can be referred to the first phase of the Monte Vulture activity (around 630 ka). The results of the stable isotope analyses suggest that the climate in the lowest levels of Grotta Romanelli could have been more arid than it was at the time of the upper level IX, which is generally referred to the late Pleistocene. In addition, both recent day δ¹⁸O_ppt values and MAT are very similar to values calculated for levels X and XII, suggesting that the climate at those times may have been close to the Present one, whereas climate in level IX may have been somewhat cooler. The presence of Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis suggests a middle Pleistocene age for the lower levels of Grotta Romanelli, in agreement with the results obtained from the volcanoclastic material.     

Paleoenvironmental analysis

New analysis has been carried out concerning the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of some Italian sites dating from the Middle Pleistocene to the Bronze Age. Different aspects have been investigated on each site considering the data collected. The following sites have been analyzed: Isernia La Pineta (Molise); Visogliano and Caverna degli Orsi (Tieste); Toirano Caves (Liguria); Grotta Paglicci (Gargano); Riparo del Molare (Salerno); Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce); Castellaro Lagusello (Monzambano, Mantova).     

Late Pleistocene human evolution in Sicily: comparative morphometric analysis of Grotta di San Teodoro craniofacial remains

The paleoanthropological remains from Grotta di San Teodoro near Acquedolci (province of Messina, Italy) represent the oldest and largest skeletal collection yet found documenting human settlement of Sicily. The sample, attributed to the Late Epigravettian (between 14,000 and 10,000 years B.P.), consists of seven variously complete adult individuals (San Teodoro 1–7). We compare the cranial sample to an array of both prehistoric and recent samples using multivariate techniques including D² distance analysis, canonical variate analysis, cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling. Overall, the San Teodoro cranial sample displays a morphometric pattern close to Western European groups of similar antiquity, in particular those from Central and Southern Italy. The morphometric affinities indicate that these people probably came from peninsular Italy by sea during the Late Epigravettian epoch. An alternative hypothesis is that they descended from immigrants that arrived by land during a low sea level episode corresponding to the maximum Würmian regression, about 18,000 years B.P, with gene flow accounting for the morphological homogeneity with the populations of peninsular Italy. The San Teodoro skeletal sample provides the first reliable evidence for human settlement of Sicily.     

The fossil bat assemblages from the Grotta dei Pipistrelli in Pantalica (southeastern Sicily,Italy): Chronological and palaeoecological implications

Bat remains are useful for palaeoecological reconstructions, they provide independent information on palaeoenvironment and are good indicators for hypogean microclimates. Nine taxa of Chiroptera divided into three families (Rhinolophidae, Vespertilionidae and Miniopteridae) and four genera (Rhinolophus, Myotis, Plecotus and Miniopterus) were discovered in three fossil assemblages from the Grotta dei Pipistrelli, in Sicily, a key region for an understanding of Quaternary climates and environments. Bat remains were deposited during three distinct timespans: one late Pleistocene, MIS 2, around the Last Glacial Maximum, and two Holocene, both referable to the Atlantic chronozone. The presence of yearlings, adult and old individuals suggests hibernating colonies, but the cave was also utilized as a nursery. The diversity of taxa indicates a composite landscape with prevailing vegetation cover and relatively warm climatic conditions. The percentage variations of the frequencies of the recognized taxa suggest a progressive increase of open spaces in the middle Holocene.     

Bacteria isolated from rock art paintings: the case of Atlanterra shelter (south Spain).

The Sierra de la Plata is an Aljibe yellow sandstone formation from the Acheulian period. There are a few shelters, some of them with rock art paintings. The most representative one, and subjected to anthropogenic pressure, is that of Atlanterra, situated in a residential area. This shelter contains some rock art paintings made with iron oxides. The bacteria present in these paintings were isolated and identified using an automatic method: fatty acid methyl esters profiling. Most of the bacteria belong to the Bacillus genus, B. megaterium being the most abundant species. The isolated strains are able to reduce hematite. This is significant due to the fact that Fe(III)-(hydr)oxides are the most abundant pigments in rock art.     

Preference for and Discrimination of Paintings by Mice

I measured preference for paintings (Renoir vs. Picasso or Kandinsky vs. Mondrian) in mice. In general mice did not display a painting preference except for two mice: one preferred Renoir to Picasso, and the other preferred Kandinsky to Mondrian. Thereafter, I examined discrimination of paintings with new mice. When exposure to paintings of one artist was associated with an injection of morphine (3.0 mg/kg), mice displayed conditioned preference for those paintings, showing discrimination of paintings by Renoir from those by Picasso, and paintings by Kandinsky from those by Mondrian after the conditioning. They also exhibited generalization of the preference to novel paintings of the artists. After conditioning with morphine for a set of paintings consisting of two artists, mice showed discrimination between two sets of paintings also from the two artists but not in association with morphine. These results suggest that mice can discriminate not only between an artist’s style but also among paintings of the same artist. When mice were trained to discriminate a pair of paintings by Kandinsky and Renoir in an operant chamber equipped with a touch screen, they showed transfer of the discrimination to new pairs of the artists, but did not show transfer of discrimination of paintings by other artists, suggesting generalization.     

Origin and Diet of the Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers on the Mediterranean Island of Favignana (ègadi Islands,Sicily)

Hunter-gatherers living in Europe during the transition from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene intensified food acquisition by broadening the range of resources exploited to include marine taxa. However, little is known on the nature of this dietary change in the Mediterranean Basin. A key area to investigate this issue is the archipelago of the Ègadi Islands, most of which were connected to Sicily until the early Holocene. The site of Grotta d’Oriente, on the present-day island of Favignana, was occupied by hunter-gatherers when Postglacial environmental changes were taking place (14,000-7,500 cal BP). Here we present the results of AMS radiocarbon dating, palaeogenetic and isotopic analyses undertaken on skeletal remains of the humans buried at Grotta d’Oriente. Analyses of the mitochondrial hypervariable first region of individual Oriente B, which belongs to the HV-1 haplogroup, suggest for the first time on genetic grounds that humans living in Sicily during the early Holocene could have originated from groups that migrated from the Italian Peninsula around the Last Glacial Maximum. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses show that the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of Favignana consumed almost exclusively protein from terrestrial game and that there was only a slight increase in marine food consumption from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene. This dietary change was similar in scale to that at sites on mainland Sicily and in the rest of the Mediterranean, suggesting that the hunter-gatherers of Grotta d’Oriente did not modify their subsistence strategies specifically to adapt to the progressive isolation of Favignana. The limited development of technologies for intensively exploiting marine resources was probably a consequence both of Mediterranean oligotrophy and of the small effective population size of these increasingly isolated human groups, which made innovation less likely and prevented transmission of fitness-enhancing adaptations.     

The Pleistocene deer hunter of Sardinia

The Pleistocene mammalian fauna of Sardinia isendemic and consists of only a few taxa, indicating island conditions at the time.A sharp faunal break in the Middle Pleistocene separates an older fauna with Nesogoral from a younger one (Middle/Upper Pleistocene) which contains mainly deer (Megaceros cazioti), and ochotonid (Prolagus sardus), a small canid (Cynotherium sardous), and Tyrrhenicola.Commonly paleoecological conditions on islands have led to the development of faunas with dwarfed species, showing a low gear locomotion due to lack of large carnivores. In this aspect the younger Pleistocene fauna of Sardinia is different. A deer with the proportion of mainland species and a small canid were found. This is suggestive of the presence of a large predator. Indeed, together with this fauna a human temporal bone, showing some distinctive characters, was found in Grotta di Corbeddu, Oliena, Sardinia.These findings gave rise to further excavations in the same cave. A paleolithic settlement was discovered and two types of bone artefact could be distinguished. ¹⁴C dating revealed an age of 13590±140 yrs. B.P.These results suggest the development of an endemichuman culture, adapted to the restricted island environment and to the monotonous prey of deer and ochotonids, different from any known culture of that age.     

Microbiology of the stalactites from Grotta dei Cervi, Porto Badisco, Italy.

The active stalactites from Grotta dei Cervi, Porto Badisco, southeastern Italy, were sampled to investigate the microbial communities present in these speleothems. Sampling was carried out in a transect about 150 m long in the central gallery, where numerous Gram-positive bacteria were isolated. Actinomycetes of the genus Streptomyces were the most abundant, followed by members of the genus Bacillus. Further isolates were assigned to the genera Amycolatopsis, Arthrobacter; Agromyces. Micrococcus, Nocardiopsis and Rhodococcus of the order Actinomycetales. The ability of actinomycetes to colonize subterranean environments is discussed.     

Brain activity accompanying perception of implied motion in abstract paintings

Early 20th century artists including Duchamp and Balla tried to portray moving objects on a static canvas by superimposing objects in successive portrayals of an action. We investigated whether implied motion in those paintings is associated with activation of motion-sensitive area MT+. In Experiment 1, we found that observers rated these kinds of paintings higher in portraying motion than they did other abstract paintings in which motion is not intended. We also found that observers who had previously experienced abstract paintings with implied motion tended to give higher motion ratings to that class of paintings. In Experiment 2, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity of observers while viewing abstract paintings receiving the highest and the lowest motion rating scores in Experiment 1. We found MT+, but not primary visual cortex (V1), showed greater BOLD responses to abstract paintings with implied motion than to abstract paintings with little motion impression, but only in observers with prior experience viewing those kinds of paintings. These results imply that the neural machinery ordinarily engaged during perception of real visual motion is activated when people view paintings explicitly designed to convey a sense of visual motion. Experience, however, is necessary to achieve this sense of motion.     

Distribution of microorganisms on ancient wall paintings as related to associated faunal elements

Knowledge of the bioreceptivity of wall paintings to microbially induced decay processes has increased considerably in the last few years. Indoor wall paintings are widely recognised as a favourable environment for microbial biofilms in general and for microscopic fungi in particular. This environment also provides a suitable substrate for insects, spiders and other arthropodas. A combination of mycological and entomological studies of indoor wall paintings demonstrates an important ecological correlation between fungi and arthropods in the developmental processes of this complex microbial community. The co-existence of microscopic fungi and arthropods on the surface of wall paintings suggests an ecological interaction between them. Faunal impacts on the growth of biofilms due to grazing and propagule dispersal cannot be overlooked. Along with the above-mentioned perturbations, arthropods can directly damage the wall paintings by bioabrasion during grazing on the biofilm, as well as by the production of dwelling cavities. In this publication, we present the ecological connections between the major microscopic inhabitants of these important objects of cultural heritage. The additional role of arthropods as a remarkable source of organic substrate (e.g., chitin, spidersilk and faecal pellets) available for many micromycetes is discussed.     

Emplacement and Displacement: Perceiving the Landscape Through Aboriginal Australian Acrylic Painting

Aboriginal Australian acrylic paintings have long been considered representations of mythologically invested landscape. This understanding has been made problematic by recent writings on ‘dwelling’. As common usage of the term ‘landscape’ seems to prioritize vision, to suggest that the acrylic paintings are landscapes only strengthens the suspicion that they are artifacts of displacement or distancing, rather than examples of the emplacement emphasized in this ‘dwelling perspective’. However, this paper will demonstrate that the relationship between acrylic painting and the land is more complex than such an interpretation. It will argue that the Aboriginal objectification of their relationship to the land is not inherently a distancing of the land.     

Biodecay of cultural heritage as a space/time-related ecological situation — an evaluation of a series of studies

Mural paintings and stone monuments are exposed to natural and man-made hazards for time spans sometimes longer than 10,000 years without total decay. On the other hand, a high percentage of the mineral physical heritage suffers severe damage and even total loss within a few decades. Several factors influence this general situation. The mural paintings of Lascaux and Altamira had been stabilized in a protective environment for millennia until they were re-exposed to severe environmental risks. Wall paintings and stone sculptures may remain unaltered for many years through: (1) stabilized and protective environments, (2) development of a protective patina (biofilm, minerals, organics) or, (3) more recent additional paint or mortar layers, which themselves are exposed to environmental hazard instead of the fresco underneath. Natural or artificial coverage, however, will invariably hinder evaluation and appreciation of the object of art. Detrimental microorganisms often only sporadically interact with these precious paintings. Many microbes settling on and in mural paintings are of a unusual metabolic type, namely poikilotrophic organisms. These poikilotrophs are capable of forming a biocoenosis on and in mural paintings, which may establish itself within a few months or years and then remains unchanged in a dormant or non-cultivable state for many years, or even centuries. The same holds true for chemical and physical alterations brought about by microorganisms. After a damaging initiation period of growth, the microflora may turn into a biofilm, which continues to live at extremely low levels of metabolic activity. In this way, detrimental chemical, physical and biological activities may be screened or shielded off for a very long period of time. In order to understand these processes, we have studied poikilotroph sub-aerial biofilms of mural paintings and sculptures excavated after long periods of dormancy. Several methods for the characterization of the physical properties of the colonies of fungi involved in colonization and deterioration of mural paintings and stone monuments are described. The fairy-tale of “The Sleeping Beauty” maybe an excellent metaphor for this phenomenon. The main issue, however, is to understand the physical or mechanical impact of the poikilotroph flora on the materials of the physical heritage studied.