First settlements in Central Europe: between originality and banality

Organiser: Marta Arzarello [email protected], Marie Hélène Moncel, Carlo Peretto & Anne Marie-Moigne

Thursday 4th (9:00 to 13:30 15:00 to 19:30)C15 Meeting Room

B10The interglacial Holsteinian eldorado and the onset of the Middle Palaeolithic (400-300 ka)

XVII World UISPP Congress 2014 Burgos, 1-7 September

The interglacial Holsteinian eldorado and the onset of the Middle Palaeolithic (400-300 ka)

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ORAL CONTRIBUTION

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1. THE LITHIC ASSEMBLAGES AT THE MIDDLE PALE!OLITHIC ONSET: THE UNCHANGED SUBSTRATUM AND THE NEW NEEDS

Arzarello, Marta (Università degli Studi di Ferrara) [email protected], Marie-Hélène (Muséum National d’Histoire Natu-relle de Paris) [email protected], Carlo (Università degli Studi di Ferrara) [email protected]

The Holstanian period covers a large period of time, from the MIS 11 to the MIS 9 (from 427 to 301 ka) if we refer to the chronological curves. Archaeological data and human activity all over Eurasia show an increase of the number of sites following the Anglian or Elsterian glaciation (MIS 12) which is considered as a main crisis. It is often considered otherwise di!cult to distinguish the two interglacial periods because they are short and share common climatic and environmental features. This period of time is though crucial; it’s characterized by a wide biodiversity, a large faunal dispersion associated to a regionalization of mammal communities and variabil-ity of hominin morphology.

Our aim is to focus on the main well-dated sites all over Europe to identify the common features and the main innovations in their environmental and climatic frame-work. Sites from Spain, Italy, France, Great-Britain, Bel-gium, Germany and Poland will be documented and compared. We will take in account the technological behaviors but also the related subsistence strategies and the environmental and faunal patterns. We will fo-cus also on the sites that have dates consistent with Late Acheulean but have not bifacial tools.

Large behavioral variability is observed with both Late Acheulean and onset of Early Middle Palaeolithic assem-blages with sometimes some remaining bifacial tools, fire use generalization and structured living places. Man-agement of local resources leads to another type of land use with seasonal settlements and evidence of special-ized hunting into a territorial network. A new core tech-nologies appear (Levallois) or previous ones are more and more complex (discoid-type).

The unchanged component that remains rooted for en-vironmental constraints or cultural reasons is often over-looked and continues in some sites till MIS 7.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, the comparison will allow us making an overview of the main changes that occurred in relation to the unchanged substrate.

The Holstanian period indicates that changes obey by a mosaic of new behaviors which occurred at di"erent scales and speeds. It opens to the Neanderthal world from MIS 8.

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2. THE END OF THE LOWER PALEOLITHIC IN THE LEVANT: THE ACHEULO!YABRUDIAN LITHIC TECH!NOLOGY AT MISLIYA CAVE, ISRAEL.

Zaidner, Yossi (Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa; Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel ) [email protected], Mina (Zinman Institute of Archaeol-ogy, University of Haifa, Israel) [email protected]

The end of the Lower Paleolithic in the Levant is marked by the emergence of a new technocomplex known as Acheulo-Yabrudian (400-250 Ky). Stratigraphically placed at the transition between the Acheulian and Mousterian technocomplexes, the Acheulo-Yabrudian is crucial for the understanding of biological, cultural and behavio-ral evolution from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant. While some suggest that emergence of the Acheulo-Yabrudian is accompanied by arrival of new populations, others see continuity within the Levantine Lower Paleolithic and suggest that major technological and behavioral change occurred only with the onset of the Middle Paleolithic.

Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, is one of the rare Levantine sites in which both the Acheulo-Yabrudian and Early Mousterian are present, allowing direct comparison be-tween the two industries. Here we present the analysis of an Acheulo-Yabrudian lithic assemblage from the site and discuss its place within Levantine technological and cultural frameworks. Three technological systems were identified in Misliya Acheulo-Yabrudian assemblage:

1) Bifacial shaping

2) Production of thin flakes fom unidirectional cores and cores with one preferential flaking surface and prepared striking platform. The flakes were usually left unmodified.

3) Production of large and thick, often cortical, flakes from unprepared cores. The flakes were used for manu-



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facturing large scrapers by Quina or semi-Quina retouch.The two former systems are well-known from the Lower Paleolithic assemblages in the Levant, indicating region-al continuity from the Acheulian, while the production of Quina scrapers seems to be a major technological in-novation of the Acheulo-Yabrudian.

The three Acheulo-Yabrudian technological systems described above were not identified in the Early Middle Paleolithic assemblages of Misliya Cave. Moreover, Lev-allois and laminar technologies, and production of re-touched points that mark the emergence of the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant, are absent from the Acheulo-Yabrudian of Misliya Cave, further supporting the view that a marked technological break in the region occurred ca. 250 ky ago with the onset of the Middle Paleolithic.

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3. THE LOWER TO MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC TRANSI!TION AND THE DIVERSIFICATION OF LEVALLOIS TECHNOLOGY IN THE SOUTHERN LEVANT: EVI!DENCE FROM TABUN CAVE, ISRAEL

Shimelmitz, Ron (University of Haifa and David Yellin Aca-demic College of Education) [email protected], Mina (University of Haifa) [email protected], Avraham (University of Haifa) [email protected], Arthur (University of Arizona) [email protected], Steven (University of Arizona) [email protected]

The transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic has received renewed attention recently following the realization that many traits once thought to be char-acteristic of the Middle Paleolithic in fact appeared al-ready in Lower Paleolithic assemblages. In the Levant, the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex constitutes the latest part of the Lower Paleolithic, preceding the Levantine Mousterian. It is dated from 415 to 250 kyr at Tabun Cave. However, the nature of the transition between the Low-er and Middle Paleolithic in the Levant remains highly controversial with a range of opinions. While some sug-gest lines of continuity others claim a complete sepa-ration between the two complexes. Considering the fundamental transformation in human behavior that occurred during the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex, which includes the use of habitual fire and the intensive use of predetermined blank technology among the emer-

gence of other traits, it is of significance whether these transformations continued in the Levant from the Lower Paleolithic to the Middle Paleolithic or whether they were completely swept away by a new wave of humans bringing with them similar as well as di"erent sets of be-haviours. This question can be best elucidated through a search of continuity in technological choices which can reflect socially-learned traditions of stone knapping. Our study is carried out on the long 16 m deep archeologi-cal sequence of Tabun Cave, by combining results from Ronen’s and Jelinek’s excavations, which comprise ca. 100 superimposed layers, ranging from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic. An overview of various reduction sequences, i.e., the Yabrudian scraper-blank production, the blade production of the Amudian, the exploitation of various types of cores on flakes, the variable exploitation of handaxes as cores and the Levallois technology at the site, indicates that although the Acheulo-Yabrudian and the Levantine Mousterian complexes exhibit marked dif-ferences in the macro level, there are also some signifi-cant features of similarity in the micro level, as reflected in particular technological choices within the reduction sequences that suggest some continuity in technologi-cal tradition. Exploring all ranges of reduction sequences can also provide new insights regarding the develop-ment of Levallois technology that burst at the Middle Paleolithic and demonstrate how particular technologi-cal choices that were already embedded in the knap-ping tradition of the Acheulo-Yabrudian are manifested in the particular method of Levallois that characterize the Mousterian of Tabun Cave.

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4. THE END OF LOWER PALAEOLITHIC AND THE BE!GINNING OF MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC IN EAST EU!ROPE AND THE CAUCASUS.

Golovanova, Liubov (Laboratory of Prehistory) [email protected], Vladimir (Laboratory of Prehistory) [email protected]

In East Europe, and the Southern and Northern Cauca-sus, the border between the Lower and Middle Palaeo-lithic is currently marked during MIS 6, after which the archaeological record shows the appearance of Middle Palaeolithic industries in MIS 5e.

In the Southern Caucasus, the available chronologi-cal data from cave sites document a late age (between 350 and 200 ka) for the Acheulean, comparable to the



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final stage of Late Acheulean or Acheulo-Yabrudian in the Levant. The most representative Late Acheulean as-semblages of Acheulo-Kudarian variant are dated from MIS 10 through MIS 7. In the Lesser Caucasus, Acheulean assemblages are known from many locations in volcanic uplands of southern Georgia and Armenia. During the last decade, Dashtadem-3 and Nor Geghi-1 open-air sites – the first stratified Late Acheulean occupations – were excavated in Armenia. The lithic assemblages of Kudaro-Djruchula Mousterian represent the earliest Mid-dle Palaeolithic industry in the Southern Caucasus. Un-til recently, the chronological estimates suggested that Kudaro-Djruchula Mousterian appeared in the Southern Caucasus no earlier than the Last Interglaciation (MIS 5e, 130-115 ka). The recent TL dating in Djruchula Cave has produced the earlier unexpected dates between 260-210 ka for Layer 2. Our most important point of disa-greement with the TL dates is that hominids could not occupy the cave during that time. This is because the cave entrance, opening now at the elevation of only 40 m above the modern riverbed, did not exist that time in the Djruchula River canyon. The geomorphologic stud-ies suggest that the lower parts (at elevations less than ~100 m above modern channels) of river valleys in this part of the Caucasus formed during the Upper Pleisto-cene.

In the Northern Caucasus, the age of Late Acheulean industries is now estimated no younger than the begin-ning of MIS 6, and a chronological hiatus separates local Late Acheulean and Middle Palaeolithic industries. The initial stage of the North-west Caucasian Middle Palaeo-lithic is present by the assemblages from lower levels 5-7 at Matuzka Cave, dated to MIS 5 – MIS 5. In the end of MIS 5, the Eastern Micoquian appeared in the Northern Caucasus.

In the Eastern Europe, the lithic industries of Pre-Mous-terian complex survived until the end of Lower Palaeo-lithic, beyond the distribution range of the Acheulean complex in West Europe and West Asia, including the Southern Caucasus. A large-scale hominin colonization of Eastern Europe began with the spread of leaf point as-semblages in the later Middle Pleistocene (MIS 7 – early MIS 6). Later, the earliest industries representing Eastern Micoquian appear in the region since MIS 5e.

Thus, the now available data provide no evidence for the transition from Lower to Middle Paleolithic in the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. The earliest Middle Paleo-lithic assemblages appeared here as completely formed technological traditions and likely originated from di"er-ent centers, West Asia for the Middle Palaeolithic in the

Southern Caucasus, and Central and the south of North-ern Europe for the Middle Palaeolithic in the Eastern Eu-rope and Northern Caucasus.

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5. THE PRE!MOUSTERIAN INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX IN EUROPE AND THE CAUCASUS BETWEEN 400!300 KA

Doronichev, Vladimir (Laboratory of Prehistory) [email protected]

Since the onset of intensive Acheulean expansion within Western Eurasia at about 0.8-0.75 Ma, the frontier for the maximum distribution of the Acheulean assemblages changed through the time as the Acheulean-making populations of H. heidelbergensis expanded northward in the West Europe and West Asia, and the distribution area of non-Acheulean assemblages reduced. The con-tinuity of stone-working traditions suggests the Middle Pleistocene non-Acheulean hominids originated from the earliest pre-Acheulean hominin population to enter Western Eurasia, and thus the first present the hominin population separated in Europe by at least 1.0 Ma years from the Acheulean-making H. heidelbergensis first pen-etrated to Europe from Africa at about 0.8-0.7 Ma. The unquestionable archaeological records also indicate that the non-Acheulean hominids were the first Homo to set-tle in continental Europe north of Alps and between the Alps and Caucasus since ca. 0.7–0.6 Ma or earlier.

In the late stage of Early Palaeolithic, between 400-300 ka, when the Acheulean expansion reached its maxi-mum spread in Europe, as far eastward as the Rhine River in Northern Europe and the Po River in Mediterranean Europe, and as far northward as the Greater Caucasus in the West Asia, exclusively industries of flake-tools and choppers (defined as Pre-Mousterian complex) were spread in the Central and Eastern Europe, and the Bal-kans, beyond the Acheulean distribution area.

The assemblages of Pre-Mousterian complex are variable due to their functional di"erentiation and other reasons, but generally comprise the next three components: (1) simple (mostly primary and orthogonal, and also rare unipolar and centripetal) cores with short reduction sequences, consisting of flaking of 1-3 flakes from one platform, followed by the core rotation or discard; (2) flake-tools, which are made mostly (but not exclusively) on small-sized flakes with beveled platforms and include varieties of simple side-scrapers, denticulates, notches,



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thick end-scrapers, awls, and convergent pieces, as well as small numbers of tools with flat ventral retouch or bifacial retouched edges; and (3) large-sized tools are al-ways present and include mostly unifacial choppers, and more rare chopping-tools and proto-bifaces (or pointed choppers) with partial bifacial processing. Nevertheless, despite the absence of complex technologies for blank and tool production, the hominids that produced lithic industries of Pre-Mousterian complex acquired a high behavioural plasticity to settle in most uncomfortable (within Western Eurasia) forested and forest-steppe en-vironments with cold winters in Central and Eastern Europe. The hominids developed tool inventories well suited for bone- and woodworking, made real wooden throwing spears found in Schöningen 13 and composite tools with wooden hafts that are found in Schöningen 12.

In contrast to the Acheulean complex in West Europe and West Asia, assemblages of Pre-Mousterian complex do not show a transition (temporally being placed now during MIS 8 – MIS 7, between ca. 300-200 ka in both the regions) toward the Middle Palaeolithic technology and typology. In contrast to the Acheulean to Middle Palaeolithic transition, which is associated with final ne-anderthalization of H. heidelbergensis and the origin of H. neanderthalensis, the assemblages of Pre-Mousterian complex disappear with the spread of early Middle Pal-aeolithic Neanderthals.

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6. MIS 11!9 LOCALITY OF MEDZHIBOZH, UKRAINE : ARCHEOLOGICAL AND PALEZOOLOGI!CAL EVIDENCE

moigne, anne-marie (MNHN.Paris) [email protected], Vadim (Institute of NIAS Kiev) [email protected], Sergei (Kien taras Schevchenko Nat Univ) [email protected]

Lower Paleolithic localities near Medzhibozh town, Khmelnitsky region in the west of Ukraine, represent a group of multilayered sites on southern Bug River. Two localities Medzhybozh 1 which age is defined as the be-ginning of Zavadovka episode MIS 11 and Medzhybozh A Lubny time MIS 13-15 contain Early and Middle Pleis-tocene deposits , remains of fauna, stone artifactsand presumable trace of hearths

Multidisplinary studies stratigraphy,micromorphology, paleontology ( large mammals micro-mammals, shells)

techno-typology and zooarchaeology are combined/ Medzhybozh studies are directly relevant of study of re-construction of the ancient migration paths at the terri-tory of the North western Eurasia in the East European segment

Faunal large Mammals list (NISP= 450) reveal few car-nivores, Ursus deningeri and Ursus thibetanus, a typical association for interglacial middle Pleistocene period. Dominance of cervids as Cervus elaphus, Dama clac-toniana and Capreolus suessenbornensis, Sus scrofa, Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis and Castor !ber confirm the temperate climate as well as biochronological attri-bution. Faunal list correspond to the humid and forest environment already described from the microfauna and shell analysis (Rekovetz, 2009).Cervid are mostly represented by adult animals. Bones are caracterised by systematic intentional breakage with percussion notch-es and cutmarks. Rhino ribs and vertebra present also long and deep cutmarks. Carnivore activity is rare.

From archaeological point of view, six distinct assem-blages of Medzhibozh 1 and Medzhibozh A horizons should most adequately be defined as belonging to the industries of technological Mode 1 (Oldowan). Materi-als cultural horizons despite of relatively late age (about 400 Ka) are characterized by the predominance of chop-pers, choppings, isolated retouched flakes, few flake and knapped, broken and fragmented pieces of various raw materials showing a minimum of secondary working. Available inventories contain no good instances of core knapping, as well as almost no morphologically stable shaping of flake tools and no signs of bifacial technology.The upper culture-bearing horizons provide likely re-mains of hearths. By its parameters the first culture-bear-ing horizon of Medzhibozh A resembles a living floor. This human occupation could be one the most ancient in Ukraine. Human activities, as subsistance can be com-pared to western sites as Orgnac 3 or Cagny l’Epinette but technological sequence is di"erent. During Mis 11 and 9, a large variability can be observed in Europe.

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7. THE ONSET OF THE MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC IN THE CENTRAL BALKANS

Mihailovic, Dusan (Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bel-grade) [email protected], Ana Belen (Instituto Internacional de Investi-gaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria (IIIPC), Universidad de Cantabria) [email protected]



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Recent investigations in Serbia shed some more light on changes in the settlement pattern, technology and economy at the time of transition from the Lower to the Middle Palaeolithic in this part of Europe.

In the course of site surveying of the right bank of the Za-padna (Western) Morava river, in central Serbia, a whole series of sites, which could be dated to the end of Lower and the beginning of Middle Paleolithic have been re-corded on the highest river terrace. There, to the more or less extent, choppers, Levallois and Kombewa cores and blanks, denticulated and notched tools on asymmetri-cal flakes, Quinson points and Clactonian elementswere discovered. All that indicates the possibility that river val-leys in the central Balkans had been intensively settled during the end of Middle and the beginning of Upper Pleistocene.

Settlements on hilly and mountainous areas had been recorded already half a million years ago. This is con-firmed by the discovery of mandible of Homo erectus s.l. in Mala Balanica near Ni# for which it has been estab-lished a minimum age between 397 and 525 ka. In the same cave, as well as in the nearby Velika Balanica cave, stratigraphic levels with Charentian-like assemblages, dated to the Middle Pleistocene according to the micro-fauna found, have been confirmed. On the meantime, macrofaunal results show evidence of regular use of fire and many elements of Middle Palaeolithic behavior like hunting middle-sized game (red deer and ibex), orienta-tion to prime age individuals and suboptimal transport strategy of hunted animals has been confirmed at this site.

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8. FIRST SETTLEMENTS IN CENTRAL EUROPE: BE!TWEEN ORIGINALITY AND BANALITY

Rocca, Roxane (UMR 7041 ArScAn AnTET) [email protected]

The situation of Central Europe during Lower Palaeolith-ic seems to be original. Evidence of human occupations before 0.5 million years ago is sparse and handaxes are absent during the entire duration of the Lower Palaeo-lithic. Despite being located on the Out of Africa route towards Europe, this region has not yielded the archaeo-logical evidence that could have been expected.

At the end of the Lower Palaeolithic, between 400 and 300 ka in Central Europe the lithic industry are charac-

terize by a small tool production. We will analyses this typical production thanks to two lithic assemblages (Vé-rtesszölös in Hungary and Bilzingsleben in Germany). If those assemblages are original compared to the West-ern Acheulean, some elements can by liked to some other industries in Southern Europe.

The results of this study of the first lithic industries from Central Europe, allow a reconsideration of settlement dynamic in Europe at the end of Lower Palaeolithic. The classical division between Estern and western Europe, can be discuss, according to the criteria taken into ac-count in the definition of the di"erent Lower Palaeolithic cultural entities and technological systems.

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9. MENEZ-DREGAN I, LAYER 4: A TRANSITIONAL LAYER BETWEEN THE LOWER AND MIDDLE PAL-AEOLITHIC IN BRITTANY

Ravon, Anne-Lyse (Université Rennes 1) [email protected], Jean-Laurent (CNRS) [email protected]

Menez-Dregan I is a lower palaeolithic site situated at plouhinec, finistère, in brittany. It is an ancient marine cave whose roof has gradually collapsed. Layer 4 from the site of menez-dregan I is the last occupation of this deposit, at the boundary between the lower and middle palaeolithic. Geological correlations tend to place layer 4 in OIS 9 or 11, although the only TL dating available for this level gave an age of 270 ky.

This study focuses on the lithic industry from the 1991-2004 excavations and was undertaken in order to cap-ture the various types of technical behaviour that could communicate the transition between lower and middle palaeolithic. We present the lithic industry of this layer, which simultaneously combines lower palaeolithic char-acteristics, such as large quantities of pebble tools (due to the environment of the site), and the emergence of characteristics that are common to the middle palaeo-lithic, such as standardisation of flake production, or adapting knapping methods to the dimensions of the raw materials (discoid knapping for quartzite, bipolar flaking on an anvil for small flint pebbles).

The lithic industry from layer 4 and its three levels (4a, 4b and 4c) has been analyzed. The lithic industry in-cludes flakes (33.1%), flake fragments (28.4%), debris



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(21%), retouched flake tools (7%), cores (4.3%), pebble tools (3.2%), pebble fragments (1.7%); 1.3% are miscel-laneous pieces. The raw materials used in layer 4 are flint (71%), quartz (13%), sandstone (10%), microgranite (5%), quartzite (0.8%) and glossy sandstone (0.5%), and were collected from the fossil beaches in or nearby the deposit. Retouched flake tools are mostly denticulates (68.2 %), scrapers (19.7 %) and notches (12.1 %). Layer 4 of Menez-Dregan I has been attributed to the “colom-banian” by J.-L. Monnier on the basis of the composition of its lithic industry: a predominance of cobble tools among the heavy-duty tools, retouched light-duty tools on flake-supports comprising mostly notches and den-ticulates, and knapping method akin to the “clactonian” (wide butts rarely faceted, prominent bulbs, wide open flaking angles). The Levallois method is absent, bifaces are absent or extremely rare, and there are few scrapers. The colombanian proves to be a facies of the lower pal-aeolithic, contemporary with classic acheulean but typo-logically distinct.

However, standardisation of flake production leads us to foresee a change in the lithic industry of layer 4, and al-lows us to highlight a transitional period from the lower palaeolithic to the middle palaeolithic in the latest occu-pation of this deposit. This study is a contribution to the documentation of the diversity and variability of lower and middle palaeolithic lithic industries, demonstrating that the large amount of cobble tools in layer 4 are an un-changed component due to environmental constraints.

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10. A NEW KEY!SITE FOR THE END OF LOWER PAL!AEOLITHIC AND THE ONSET OF MIDDLE PALAEO!LITHIC AT ETRICOURT!MANANCOURT "SOMME, FRANCE#

Hérisson, David (UMR7194, INRAP) [email protected], Emilie (INRAP, UMR7194) [email protected], Jean-Luc (INRAP, UMR8591) [email protected], Sylvie (INRAP, UMR8591) [email protected], Pierre (UMR8591) [email protected], Yoann (INRAP, UMR6566) [email protected], Nick (Quaternary TL Survey) [email protected]

Rare are new testimonies for the MIS 11 to 9 in Eurasia. The discovery and the excavation of a new site in 2012 at Etricourt-Manancourt (Somme, France) in a very large area was an exceptionnal event.

In 2010, at the place of the future retention basin, a pal-aeolithic trial excavation was carried out by Emilie Goval on 170 000 square meters. It produced many flint arte-facts, proving the existence of at least two important Middle Palaeolithic sites. In 2012, an excavation on the first favourable sector was conducted by David Hérisson over 6 months on 4500 square meters. This excavation has been leaded by a multidisciplinary sicentific team, including prehistorians, geomorphologists. This allows us to apply an reliable chronostratigraphical approach based on the sequential analysis of glacial-interglacial deposit successions.

Five palaeolithic occupations have been excavated in situ, dating from 330 to 80 ky. The youngest occupation dates from 70-80 ky and corresponds to a recent phase of the Middle Palaeolithic. The next two layers belong to the Early Middle Palaeolithic during the Saalian, between 190 and 240 ky. Finally, the two oldest layers have dates between 330 and 280 ky and belong to theLower Pal-aeolithic. In addition to this archaeological wealth, the sedimentary sequence is very dilated (11 meters high) and presents for the first time inNorthern France a con-tinuous record of the three last interglacial-glacial cycles.This talk will present archaeological and chronostrati-graphical results of the excavation of Etricourt-Manan-court and its input with high resolution datas to discuss behavioural changes occurring at the end of the Lower Palaeolithicand the onset of the Middle Palaeolithic.

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11. IS IT POSSIBLE TO RECOGNIZE STRUCTURED LIVING!PLACES AND ACTIVITIES AT CAGNY!L’EPINETTE, SOMME BASIN ?

Tu!reau, Alain (université de Lille) [email protected], Agnes (université de Lille) [email protected], Patrick (CNRS) [email protected], Anne-Marie (Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle) [email protected], Floriane [email protected]

Fine Fluviatil deposits (end of MIS 10 and MIS 9) from Cagny-l’Epinette site permits the discovery of numerous bones of big mammals (bos primigenius, cervus elaphus, Equus caballus mosbachensis) which show us many sig-nals of anthropic activities and acheulean artefacts, all both records in di"erent stratigraphic units. Refittings have been made between lithic, bones and teeth in



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di"erent of those units. Pieces have been damaged by taphonomic aspects underlined by the orientation of ar-tefacts. Nevertheless, a great part of lithic and bones dis-coveries are well preserved (absence of patina and rolled edges). A spatial analysis associated with stratigraphy try to treat taphonomic aspects correlated to anthropic ac-tivities.

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12. THE ACHEULIAN OF THE SOMME BASIN "FRANCE# : VARIABILITY AND CONVERGENCE IN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Lamotte, Agnes (université Lille 1) [email protected]!reau, Alain (Université Lille 1) [email protected]

Around Amiens, several acheulean sites dated between stages MIS 12 to 9, are located in the Somme Valley. We are dealing with the sites of Cagny-la-Garenne I, Cag-ny-la-Garenne II, Cagny-la-Ferme de l’Epinette, Cagny-l’Epinette, Revelles and Gentelles. The aim of the com-munication is to present in each site, and during time and space, the raw material procurement, the core sta-tus, the biface and tool-flake status, but also many as-pects of shaping and knapping like the hammer pres-ence or specialized aspects of lithic classes. We’ll present a synthesis of datas which will underlines changing in lithic main categories of artefacts, variability or conver-gences in the production systems. Some focus will be made in/or between main artefacts with the care to quantify those phenomenon.

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13. COMPORTEMENTS TECHNIQUES DES ACHEULÉENS DE LA GROTTE D’ALDÈNE "CESSERAS, HÉRAULT, FRANCE#.

Rossoni-Notter, Elena (Musée d’Anthropologie préhistorique de Monaco) [email protected], Olivier (UMR 7194, Muséum National d’Histoire Na-turelle) [email protected], Patrick (Musée d’Anthropologie préhistorique de Monaco) [email protected], Suzanne (Musée d’Anthropologie préhistorique de Monaco) [email protected]

La grotte d’Aldène (Cesseras, Hérault, France), aussi ap-pelée grotte de la Coquille ou de Fauzan se compose

d’un vaste réseau karstique s’étendant sur plusieurs niveaux étagés. Ce site est remarquable par la conserva-tion de ses gravures et tracés digitaux pariétaux attribués au Paléolithique supérieur mais aussi par ses empreintes de pas d’ours, d’hyènes et d’Hommes (Mésolithique). Cependant, les plus anciens témoignages d’occupation anthropique se situent au niveau du porche e"ondré et de l’entrée de la grotte.

Cette zone fut fouillée par le Musée d’Anthropologie préhistorique de Monaco, entre 1971 et 1991, puis de 1996 à 1998. Le remplissage, tronqué par l’exploitation industrielle des phosphates, a néanmoins conservé plu-sieurs témoins stratigraphiques (T1 à T9) attestant d’une longue séquence d’occupations acheuléennes (cf. Taya-cien) et pré-moustériennes, depuis la fin du stade iso-topique 13 jusqu’au stade 5.5.

Les études interdisciplinaires conduites (paléobota-nique, paléontologie, micropaléontologie, paléoclima-tologie, sédimentologie, datations radiométriques par U/Th et ESR) ont permis de mettre en place un cadre paléoenvironnemental et chronostratigraphique pour chaque unité archéostratigraphique. Certaines de ces unités, appartenant à di"érents témoins sédimentaires, ont pu en outre être corrélées.

L’étude de l’ensemble des industries lithiques caracté-rise, par di"érentes approches (pétroarchéologique, structurelle et technologique), la diversité des com-portements techniques des groupes ayant séjourné aux abords de la Cesse et propose une interprétation réactualisée des technocomplexes en présence. Par ail-leurs, le vaste développement stratigraphique d’Aldène donne l’occasion de décrire et positionner chron-ostratigraphiquement les principales innovations tech-niques de ces périodes telles que l’apparition du con-cept Levallois, du feu, ainsi que des structurations de l’espace (foyer, dallage).

Ces résultats, confrontés à ceux de sites pénécontempo-rains de l’arc méditerranéen franco-ligure, contribuent à la connaissance des comportements techniques, à la charnière du Paléolithique inférieur et moyen (Modes 2-3).

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14. BONE RETOUCHERS FROM MIDDLE PLEIS!TOCENE SITES. A FOCUS ON ORGNAC 3, CAGNY!L’EPINETTE, CUEVA DEL ANGEL AND LAZARET CAVE



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Moigne, Anne-Marie (MNHN) [email protected], Marie-Helene (MNHN-CNRS) [email protected], Patrick (Université de Lille) Patrick.Auguste(at)univ-lille1.fr Valensi, Patricia (Lazaret) [email protected], José (Cueva del Angel Project) [email protected]!reau, Alain (Université de Lille) [email protected] Lamotte, Agnès (Université de Lille) [email protected], Cecilio (Cueva del Angel Project) [email protected]

Boen retouchers are common for the Middle Palaeolithic (from MIS 7 to 3) and are now considered as a part of the tool kit of Neanderthals. They exist in Middle Pleistocene sites even they are few and attest to thre scarcity of use of bones for shaping tools. Some sies allow us describ-ing the onset of bone use. Our aim is to present details about the bone retouchers in assemblages yielding bifa-cial tools ans often described as Late Acheulean.

The sites studies are Orgnac 3 and Cagny-l’Epinette (MIS 9 in France), Cueval del Angel (Spain, MIS 11-7) and the Lazaret cave (MIS 6, France). We will examine the num-ber, supprut, types of species, size and types of marks of the retouchers; The results will be compared to retouch-ers already published (Cueva del Bolomor and Gran Do-lina TD10 in Spain, Qesem in Israel, La Micoque and Payre in France).

Our corpus yielded between 1 and 6 retouchers by lev-el in one or several layers for each site. They are made on fragments of bones of the main species hunted on the site. Marks indicate specific processes for selecting bones and allow us suggesting hypotheses for theur use: for retouching bifacial tools and flake-tools and for direct percussion.

The onset of the bone use is one of the features attest-ing behavioral changes from MIS 9 in Europe. Data will be discussed in relation to the characteristics of the lithic assemblages and the subsistance strategies.

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15. FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HANDAX!ES FROM TERRA AMATA "SOUTHERN FRANCE, MIS11#

Viallet, Cyril (UMR 7194 - UPVD - MNHN) [email protected]

We present preliminary result of handaxes structural and functional analysis. Artifacts come from Terra Amata in southern France and are assigned to the MIS 11. Terra Amata deposit reveals one of the oldest traces of fire-place in Eurasia.

On a structural point of view, all handaxes (n=16) are ‘cortical basis’, little shaped and only four are retouched. Structural analyses show that handaxes are designed as “handaxes-tools”. Nearly half (n=7) are shaped to optain a distal bevel or a thick tip (n=3). The others are structured for travel with edge (n=4) or tip-edge (n=2).

One handaxe, with an edge as active part, shows use-wear in relation to a tool motion longitudinal translation. For handaxes with distal bevel or thick tip, functional analysis of active part show chipping and crushing marks, associated with a percussive tool-motion. On the opposite part, the cortical basis, pit and scratches are typical of percussion use. The contemporaneity of the two type of use-wear is unprovable. However this as-sociation between the use of percussion and handaxes with distal bevel or thick tip is constant and reflects a specific use for these tools.

In the case of Terra Amata, handaxe is not a unique or multifunctional tool, it is apprehended like a matrix, from which a minimum of three types of tools can be pro-duced. These results should be compared with the func-tional characteristics of other tools – especially cleavers and peacks – to understand the role of handaxes at Terra Amata.

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16. NOTABLE TECHNICAL CHANGES IN WESTERN EUROPE BETWEEN MIS 11 AND MIS 9 AS TOLD BY THE BIFACIAL INDUSTRIES

Nicoud, Elisa (Ecole française de Rome) [email protected]

Bifacial industries in Western Europe between MIS 11 and MIS 9 indicate technical changes that may be in-terpreted as technical invention and innovation. That informs us on previously unseen di"usion of population within Europe at this time.

Conventional technological studies do not o"er a com-prehensive enough approach for analyzing these an-cient industries due to the absence of well-developed “chaînes opératoires”. We performed a technical study



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of 36 lithic assemblages from France, England, Italy and Spain.

During what we usually call “Acheulean” in Western Eu-rope, the biface as a typological entity actually consists of three di"erent technical structures. We identify the “bi-face used as a blank for tools”, the “biface as a tool” and “pebbles/blocks with bifacial removals”. Other tools are made on flakes – by-products of bifacial shaping or from core reduction sequences – but also on small pebbles and various natural fragments.

The bifacial structure changes together with the rest of the production. This major change of the bifacial struc-ture as well as the rest of the production seems to oc-cur around MIS 10. The rhythms and occurrences of this change could reveal a new di"usion of populations within Western Europe, going South, during Middle Pleistocene. In any case, the biface is a secondary phe-nomenon within Lower Palaeolithic in Europe.

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17. NEW ESR DATINGS OF ACHEULIAN LEVELS AT ATAPUERCA DOLINA AND GALERIA SITES AND THEIR POSITION IN THE EUROPEAN PREHISTORIC CONTEXT

Falgueres, Christophe (CNRS) [email protected], Davinia (MNHN) [email protected], Jean-Jacques (MNHN) [email protected], Pierre (MNHN) [email protected]

The Sierra of Atapuerca, Northern Spain, has yielded many prehistoric and palaeontologic data documenting the human history in Eurasia during the last million years. The stratigraphical sequences of three major sites, Gran Dolina, Galería and Sima del Elefante, cover almost the entire period of the Pleistocene from the oldest Hominin bearing levels of Western Europe dated to 1.1 to 1.3 Ma at Elefante (Carbonell et al., 2008) to c.a. 0.2 Ma on the top of the Galería archaeological sequence (Falguères et al., 2013). The upper levels of Dolina and the entire sequence of Galería have provided a rich Acheulian as-semblage documenting the earliest stage of the second human settlement of south-western Europe.

Recent results obtained by combined ESR/U-series dat-ing on 20 herbivorous teeth from di"erent levels at the Galería site allow a chronological comparison with upper levels of Dolina site. For these levels, several data were obtained using independent methods (TL, ESR/U-series,

TIMS) yielding a more accurate idea on the chronology for the first Acheulian levels in these major sites of Mid-dle Pleistocene.

The obtained ages range between 300 and 500 ka and are contemporaneous with the lower part of Arago (France) and Visogliano (Italy) stratigraphical sequences. They succeed from one hand to La Noira site (France) in which Acheulian tools have been identified at more than 650 ka (Moncel et al., 2013) and in the other hand to Mauer (Germany), Pakefield (England) and Isernia la Pineta (Italy) sites recently dated to 600 ka or more and which do not contain Acheulian artefacts.

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18. THE MODE 2 TO MODE 3 TRANSITION IN ATAPU!ERCA. THE LITHIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TD10.1 FROM GRAN DOLINA SITE.

de Lombera-Hermida, Arturo (Institut Català de Paleoecolo-gia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarragona- Grupo de Estudos para a Prehistoria do Noroeste (GEPN) Dpto. Historia I Universidade de Santiago de Compostel) [email protected]é, Andreu (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarragona) [email protected], Marina (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Hu-mana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarragona) [email protected]íguez-Álvarez, Xose Pedro (Institut Català de Paleoeco-logia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domin-go s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarra-gona) [email protected]ía-Medrano, Paola (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarragona) [email protected], Marcos (Área de Prehistoria. Universidad de Bur-gos. Edificio I+D+i. Plaza Misael Bañuelos s/n. 09001, Bur-gos. Spain. [email protected] "Fundación Atapu-erca. Ctra. Logroño Nº 44. 09198 Ibeas de Juarros, Burgos) [email protected], Antonella (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarragona)Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Antonio (Institut Català de Paleoecolo-gia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domingo



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s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarragona)Saladíe, Palmira (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarragona)Carbonell, Eudald (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Hu-mana i Evolució Social (IPHES) C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n - Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) 43007 Tarragona)

The Atapuerca sites o"er a long series of hominin oc-cupations since the Lower Pleistocene. In this sense, it becomes a key site for understanding the continuity and discontinuity of the technological and settlement dy-namics in Western Europe.

The thick sedimentary record from Gran Dolina site com-prises 11 stratigraphic units that cover the last million years. The level TD10 is located in the upper part of the sequence and divided into four lithostratigraphic units (T10.4 to TD10.1, from bottom to top) dated between less than 480 ky and 240 ky. In this work we present the study of the whole lithic assemblage belonging to TD10.1, the uppermost unit.

The archeostratigraphic studies have identified the ex-istence of several occupations within its approximately 1.5 meters thickness. Their artifact densities and occu-pational models di"er; some of them related to base camps and others to sporadic and opportunistic occu-pations. However, no remarkable technical di"erences are observed among them, showing a great technologi-cal homogeneity. Nevertheless, they show more evolved features compared to other Mode 2 assemblages from Atapuerca, and even to the lower section of the TD10 level, currently under excavation (namely TD10.3). These changes are reflected in a selective raw material man-agement strategies; an increase of the hierarchized and predetermined reduction methods; the progressive detriment of LCT in the lithic assemblages with respect to light-duty tools, the latter defined by a greater mor-phological and typological standardization; and the evi-dence of tool-hafting. These technological changes do not suppose a clear-cut rupture with respect to previous technological models, although they are accompanied by other punctuated but significant changes in subsist-ence and behavioral strategies (bone tools and retouch-ers) that later will be consolidated during the Middle Paleolithic.

Hence, the archaeological record from TD10.1 points to a local transition from Mode 2 to Mode 3 technocom-plexes in Atapuerca, parallel to that observed in other European sites.

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19. THE CUEVA DEL ANGEL "LUCENA, SPAIN# ! A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH GALERIA OF ATA!PUERCA AND COVA DEL BOLOMOR

Barroso, Cecilio (Director of the Cueva del Angel research project.) [email protected], Miguel (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. Département de Préhistoire, París.) [email protected]

The Cueva del Angel (Lucena, Spain) site is an archaeo-logical open-air sedimentary sequence remnant of a col-lapsed cave, part of a karst complex. Taphonomical char-acteristics of the herbivore faunal assemblage, the well developed final Acheulean industry and a preliminary 230Th/234U date of 121 +11/-10 ky points to a chronol-ogy stretching from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene (MIS 11 to MIS 5).?

Most of the well known middle Middle Pleistocene Acheulean assemblages of the Iberian Peninsula are located in terraces of major rivers and their industries, made essentially of quartzite cobbles, are far removed from the one encountered in Cueva del Angel. Two sites that would help to clarify where the culture of the Cueva del Angel hominins woud fit are to be found in a cave context, such as Galeria at Atapuerca and Cova del Bolomor in the province of Valencia. These three caves stopped functionning during MIS 5 (Cueva del Angel cave probably collapsed, while Galeria and Bolomor were sealed o" ).

A comparative analysis of the three sites will illustrate how groups of Homo heilderbergensis s.s./ Neander-thals took advantage of karst cavities before the MIS 5 discontinuous event. The reviewed sites illustrate the relative adaptive responses of these human groups to the diverse ecological environments and the faunal and raw material resources available, taking into account the fierce competition for animal nutrients that existed be-tween them and carnivores.

From a comparison of the Acheulean lithic assemblage of Cueva del Angel with the the Acheulean ensemble of Galeria and the so-called non-Acheulean mousterian industry of Bolomor, it appears that there is no clear boundary between the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic in the Iberian Peninsula, and that tools made on flakes, once considered a feature of the Middle Palaeolithic are common in Acheulean industries. This diversity fits very well with the archaeological evidence encountered in other regions of Western Europe.



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20. ACHEULEAN HANDAXES FROM CUEVA DEL ANGEL SITE, LUCENA, SOUTH OF SPAIN: PRELIMI-NARY STUDY OF MORPHOMETRICAL AND FUNC-TIONAL UNITIES.

Celiberti, Vincenzo (CERP Tautavel UPVD Perpignan, UMR 7194 CNRS) [email protected] Ruíz, Cecilio (Fundación Instituto de Investigación de Prehistoria y Evolución Humana) [email protected]égoire, Sophie (CERP Tautavel UPVD Perpignan, UMR 7194 CNRS) [email protected]énez-Cobos, Francisca (Departamento de prehistoria y arqueología - Universidad de Granada) [email protected], Dominique (Laboratoire départemental de préhis-toire du Lazaret, Nice, UMR 7194 CNRS) [email protected], Olivier (MNHN, UMR 7194 CNRS, Musée d’Anthropo-logie préhistorique de Monaco) [email protected], Elena (Musée d’Anthropologie préhistorique de Monaco) [email protected]ía Solano, José Antonio (Departamento de Investiga-ción en Recursos Geológicos, I.G.M.E., Madrid) [email protected], Anne-Marie (MNHN, UMR 7194 CNRS, CERP Tauta-vel) [email protected] The Cueva del Angel archaeological site is a collapsed open-air cave, located on the outskirts of the town of Lu-cena, province of Cordoba, with an excavated and well preserved sedimentary sequence and a stratigraphy evi-dencing a Middle to Upper Pleistocene human occupa-tion. In 1995, a team led by C. Barroso and D. Botella dis-covers a rich stratigraphy on top of the site. To date seven excavation campaigns have yielded numerous faunal remains and substantial late Lower Palaeolithic type lith-ic artifacts, including a number of handaxes, but so far no human fossil. The faunal assemblage dominated by equids, large bovids and cervids has been subjected to intense anthropic actions reflecting selective predation. The fauna may be correlated with the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. Further datations are presently being undertaken to as-sess more precisely the chronology of the sequence.

More than 80,000 lithic artifacts have been found in the site but about 5000 pieces have been extracted from the stratigraphy and coordinated. The assemblage is rela-tively well preserved though a given quantity of flints is highly desilicified. Evidence of fire is observed on about a third of the artifacts throughout the sequence. Three

main petrographical categories of raw material have been distinguished: flint, largely dominant, then quartz-ite and limestone. The source of flint raw material identi-fied comes principally in the form of pebbles, and less frequently small slabs or cobbles. The lithic assemblage is dominated by non-modified flakes and abundant re-touched tools with the presence of 46 handaxes. Many of the flakes show signs of use wear with thin or flat irregu-lar retouch. Whole pebbles, percussion instruments and pebble tools are extremely rare. Side scrapers are largely dominant throughout the stratigraphy and the notched tools are the second most numerous retouched tools. Most of the cores were knapped from flint and the rest from quartzite, reflecting flake raw material distributions. Recurrent unipolar flaking dominates for flint pieces and bifacial discoidal flaking is most commonly observed for the quartzite ones. Levallois flaking methods are how-ever absent in the site.

The present analysis will be based on handaxes, who were configured mainly on large flakes or fractured peb-bles. Some conserve more or less cortical residue. The degree of raw material selection, the morphology and quality of blanks, the interaction between débitage and façonnage (shaping) and their operational sequence (similarities and di"erences in methods and techniques), the function of the site, are some of the conditioning or determining factors in the operational schema of bifacial shaping. These pieces allow us to produce a new way of understanding the way those bifaces are made and used. The technological approach through the diacritic analysis and a morphometrical study will present the dif-ferent steps of productions and the identification of the functioning and the functional unities linked to the mor-phology and technology of the tools.

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21. A REDIFINITION OF A CLACTONIAN AND ACHEULIAN SEQUENCE IN CENTRAL ITALY: NEW RESEARCHES IN VALLE GIUMENTINA "ABRUZZO#

Nicoud, Elisa (Ecole française de Rome) [email protected], Daniele (Università di Siena)Pagli, Marina (ArScAn AnTET)Villa, Valentina (Paris 1/Pisa/EFR/LGP UMR 8591) Agostini, Silvano (Soprintendenza Abruzzo)Boschian, Giovanni (Università di Pisa)Chaussé, Christine (Inrap/UMR 8591 LGP)Degeai, Jean-Philippe (CNRS UMR 5140)



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Fusco, Fabio (Università Bologna)Hernandez, Marion (Max Plank Institut)Kuzucuoglu, Catherine (CNRS UMR 8591)Lahaye, Christelle (Université Bordeaux Montaigne/ UMR 5060)Lemorini, Cristina (Università di Roma)Mazza, Paolo (Università di Firenze)Mercier, Norbert (CNRS UMR 5060)Robert, Vincent (CNRS UMR 8591)Virmoux, Clément (CNRS UMR 8591)Zupancich, Andrea (Università di Roma)

Many models have been established to show settlement dynamics in Europe and the Italian peninsula during Middle and Upper Pleistocene: the Out of Africa theory (Acheulian dispersal from Africa), the hypothesis of an evolution of bifacial industries withinEurope around MIS 10, and the idea of a cultural mosaic in Italia.

But, these models need more technical data and ac-curate chronologies. This statement leads us to reopen researches at Valle Giumentina (Ecole française deRome-project 2012-2016). Valle Giumentina is a little valley within the Majella mountain range that has been sealed during Pleistocene. Nine archaeological levels assigned to Clactonian, Acheulian and Mousterian cultures have been discovered during the1950’excavations by A.M. Radmilli and J. Demangeot.

A technical study of lithic industries from ancient and new excavations give new results on this extraordinary open air site. Since 2012, hundreds of lithic artefacts have been discovered with few faunal remains. Use wear analysis shows well preserved marks. Lithostratigrafic correlations between the ancient and the new excava-tion are in progress thanks to a new stratigraphic sec-tion of 17m high and a45 msedimentary core. We try to characterize the environment and the age of human oc-cupations. The morphology of the Quaternary deposits is known by electric resistivity. OSL and Ar/Ar dating are in progress on sands and volcanic deposits. Palynology and malacology are also started.

Valle Giumentina is of great interest both for Prehistory and Quaternary chronostratigraphy. It will help us to comprehend the Middle Pleistocene cultural evolution inEuropeand the Mediterranean area.

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22. 40AR/39AR CONSTRAINTS ON THE AGE OF LOWER PALAEOLITHIC SITES IN CENTRAL ITALY

"LATIUM AND MOLISE# DURING THE 400!300 KA PERIOD

Nomade, Sébastien (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France) [email protected], Alison (Département de Préhistoire du Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, UMR 7194 du CNRS, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France) [email protected] Bahain, Jean-Jacques (Département de Préhistoire du Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, UMR 7194 du CNRS, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France) [email protected], Marta (Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropo-logiche, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, C.so Ercole I d’Este 32, 44100 Ferrara, Italy) [email protected], Carlo (Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologi-che, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, C.so Ercole I d’Este 32, 44100 Ferrara, Italy) [email protected], Marcello (Membre du Conseil scientifique, Musée archéologique «Biagio Greco» Mondragone (Caserta) [email protected]ères, Christophe (Département de Préhistoire du Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, UMR 7194 du CNRS, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France) [email protected], Hervé (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’En-vironnement, IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France) [email protected], Pierre (Département de Préhistoire du Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, UMR 7194 du CNRS, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France) [email protected], Vincent (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’En-vironnement, IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France) [email protected], Grazia (: Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, Piazza delle Finanze 1, 00185 Rome, Italy) [email protected], Ana Paola (Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, Piazza delle Finanze 1, 00185 Rome, Italy) [email protected]

Building a precise and accurate chronology for the cul-tural and hominins evolutions during the Lower Palaeo-lithic in Western Europe has always been a challenge. The Italian Peninsula, because of the quality, the number of sites from the Middle Pleistocene as well as the contem-poraneous volcanic activity is a unique place in Western Europe. In the frame of a Italian-French multidisciplinary



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team we started two years ago a program that aim at im-proving the chronology of some of the landmark sites of the Latium and Molise provinces using several methods (40Ar/39Ar, ESR-U/Th) and covering the period between 1 Ma and 300 ka.

In this contribution we will present the first 40Ar/39Ar ages constraints we obtained using single sanidine crystal laser fusion method on three archeological sites: la Polledrara, Torre in Pietra, both located North East of Roma (Latium) and Guado San-Nicola found in the South of the Isernia la Pineta site (Molise).

These new ages show that all the investigated sites are all dated within a narrow time window between 400 to 310 ka that also encompassed the Devil footsteps that were found on the Roccamonfina volcano slope and the Ceprano calvarium (Scaillet et al., 2009, Nomade et al., 2012). Thank to these new chronological anchors we will discuss the cultural evolution in central Italy during the short period that covers the end of interglacial 11 and the interglacial 9. During our presentation we will also introduce a new approach we have developed based on the systematic 40Ar/39Ar dating of sanidine single crys-tal in fluvial deposits.

Based on the first results we have we show that we are now able to evaluate the reshu$e of the volcanic mate-rials within fluvial units, identify the sources (the volcano and sometimes a specific eruption) as well as give an maximum age to the deposition of these sediments. Our approach using the systematic dating of single crystal could be used in almost all archeological sites in Central and Southern Italy that contain primary volcanic depos-its such as tephras or sedimentary layers containing feld-spar crystals (Sanidine, Leucite).

First settlements in Central Europe: between originality and banality

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