Earliest Italy: an overview of the Italian Paleolithic and Mesolithic

Earliest Italy is the first and so far the only English language overview of the Italian Palaeolithic and MesolithicContentsChapter 1 The land and the scientists1.1 The geography of Italy1.1.1 A brief description.1.1.2 Climate.1.2 Outline of the history of archaeological research1.2.1 Precursors. Luigi Pigorini and the formal recognition of a new science. 1.2.2 The great debates on the earliest peopling of Italy.1.2.3 More recent trends.Chapter 2 The earliest settlement 2.1 Introduction2.1.1 Modern and traditional dating methods in Italian archaeology. 2.1.2 The palaeogeography of Italy during the Lower and early Middle Pleistocene. Flora and fauna.2.2 The time and the way2.2.1 The date and characteristics of the earliest archaeological record.2.2.2 Human remains.2.2.3 The hypothesis of direct contacts with Northern Africa: archaeology, palaeontology, palaeogeography. The Sicilian sites.2.3 Technological developments2.3.1 Trends in lithic technology.2.3.2 Typological characteristics of the earliest industries. Bifaces and sampling problems. 2.3.3 Bone flaking and bone tools.2.3.4 The evidence for scavenging, hunting, and meat and marrow consumption. 2.3.5 Fire and fire control.2.4 Characteristics of the preferred environments2.4.1 Problems in site preservation. The geographical distribution of open-air sites. An evaluation of the site sample.2.4.2 Characteristics of the local environment.2.4.3 Cave sites compared to open-air sites. Site extension and patterning. 2.5 Comments2.5.1 The date of the first settlement. Long or short chronology?2.5.2 The density of human population. Continuous or discontinuous settlement?2.5.3 Glimpses into social organisation.Chapter 3 Real colonisation3.1 Introduction3.1.1 A critical evaluation of the chronological framework and dating methods. The major gaps in the archaeological record. Lakes and caves.3.1.2 The environment during the late Middle Pleistocene.3.1.3 Some relevant sites.3.1.4 The palaeoanthropological record.3.2 The emergence of technological complexity3.2.1 Interpreting assemblage diversity. Acheulean, handaxes and lack of handaxes. The full development of the Levallois technique. The earliest Middle Palaeolithic.3.2.2 Bone flaking and bone tools.3.2.3 Taking advantage of a seasonal ecological niche: the sites of the Aurelian Formation.3.2.4 Fire and fireplaces. Settling into caves.3.2.5 The settled areas. 3.3 Lower Palaeolithic marine crossings?3.3.1 Flake cleavers and hypothetical contacts with Africa. The way to Sicily.3.3.2 Problems related to archaeological findings in Sardinia. 3.4 Comments3.4.1 Comparative evaluation of site density.3.4.2 Settlement, seasonality and the exploitation of different ecological niches. 3.4.3 Comparing the earlier and the later evidence. A long-term and successful adaptation.Chapter 4 On Neandertals and caves4.1 Introduction4.1.1 Terminology of the last glaciation. The framework. Würmian stadials and isotopic substages. High marine stands and Tyrrhenian beaches.4.1.2 The main characteristics of the Mousterian in Italy. The Pontinian Mousterian. Possibly earlier assemblages.4.1.3 Biases in the archaeological record.4.1.4 Some important sites.4.1.5 The palaeoanthropological record. The skull found in Gr. Guattari. 4.2 A changing environment4.2.1 The temperate beginnings of the last glaciation. Elephants, hippos, fallow deer and other animals of the grasslands. The cave-dwellers: hyenas and bears. Long- lived forests.4.2.2 Isotopic stage 4. A larger continental platform. Loess and other aeolian deposits. A glacial environment in the Mediterranean.4.2.3 Hard times for the pachyderms. The distribution of ibex, chamois, and other "cold" animals. The limited recovery of OIS 3.4.2.4 Dwelling in the open and in previously unoccupied caves. The exploitation of forest environment.4.2.5 Living in a colder climate. Caves and the exploitation of steppe environment. 4.3 Mousterian variability4.3.1 Intrasite variability and patterning. Hearths and lenses of ashes. 4.3.2 Intersite variability. Preferred sites and peripheral sites. Mountain sites. The evidence for killing and butchering sites and for quarry sites.4.3.3 Procurement strategies. Flint and other fine-grained stones.4.3.4 Experimentation and innovation. The exploitation of different animal species. Shells as a raw material. Bone tools. 4.3.5 Regional differentiation in earlier industrial assemblages.4.3.6 Chronological diversification. Typological and technological trends in the final Mousterian.4.4 Comments4.4.1 Caves and site preservation. Human beings and other cave- dwellers. Adapting to caves.4.4.2 The colder the better? Biomass problems. Hunting and the consumption of meat. 4.4.3 More comparisons with previous and later periods. Towards the definition of a "Middle Palaeolithic package". Chapter 5 Moderns vs. Neandertals5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 The search for the Synthétotype of Laplace. The so-called "Protoaurignacian". Surface collections and the problem of mixed industries.5.1.2 Typological and technological characteristics of the Uluzzian and of the Italian Aurignacian. The "Circeian". The geographical distribution inside and outside Italy.5.1.3 The main stratigraphic sequences.5.1.4 Problems in absolute dating. Limitations and new developments in the radiocarbon chronology. A relative chronology for Italy.5.1.5 The fluctuating environment. Fauna and flora. Pedogenesis and other geo-pedological phenomena.5.1.6 On humans and volcanoes. The final part of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Italy.5.1.7 Palaeoanthropological evidence.5.2 Exploring and exploiting5.2.1 Intrasite complexity and intersite differentiation. Dwelling structures and mobile shelters. Quarry sites.5.2.2 The exploitation of local resources and the planning of seasonal movements. The exploration of mountainous areas.5.2.3 Island sites. Elba and Sicily compared. 5.3 Uluzzian and Aurignacian compared5.3.1 Contemporaneity or succession of Uluzzian and Aurignacian? 5.3.2 Uluzzian, Aurignacian and late Mousterian. The possible origins of the Uluzzian and of the Aurignacian.5.3.3 Technical achievements. Microliths and composite tools. Bone and antler tools.5.3.4 Ornaments and symbolic activity. 5.4 Comments5.4.1 Intruders and aboriginal settlers: possible scenarios for the populating of Italy.5.4.2 Living in an underpopulated world. Palaeodemographic and geographic constraints. The disappearance of human groups from Italy.Chapter 6 Fully equipped hunter-gatherers6.1 Introduction6.1.1 West European and Italian environments.6.1.2 The palaeoanthropological record. The date of the Grimaldi burials as related to the history of Palaeolithic archaeology. Dating problems. Consequences of sampling bias. 6.2 Archaeological evidence inside and outside the peninsula6.2.1 Some major sites6.2.2 The first Gravettian evidence and the hiatus in the archaeological record.6.2.3 Typology and problems of terminology. Criticism of the "Laplace System".6.2.4 An evaluation of the stratigraphic sequence of Gr. Paglicci, Apulia, as a reference sequence for the whole peninsula. South-eastern France as an alternative reference area. 6.2.5 The Gravettian with Noailles burins: Europe and Italy. 6.2.6 The evidence for other Gravettian assemblages, including those with Font Robert points.6.2.7 The Early Epigravettian compared to other European evidence, including Arenian and Solutrean. 6.3 The approach to a new territory6.3.1 Explorers and hunting parties. Projectile points and their distribution. The elusive Sicilian evidence. The adaptation to a different environment.6.3.2 Mobile camp sites. Base camps. Flint procurement.6.3.3 Hunting strategies. An evaluation of the evidence for specialised hunting sites. Shifts in hunting practices.6.4 Ritual behaviour and practical constraints6.4.1 Burying only a segment of the society in caves. The evidence for selection. Burial practices and burial goods. Long-distance relationships.6.4.2 The date of the "Venus" figurines. Location, raw material constraint and the search for steatite. Comparisons with other European figurines.6.4.3 Parietal art. The isolated paintings of Gr. Paglicci. Comparisons with French paintings. More on long-distance relationships.6.4.4 Engravings and mobile art.6.4.5 Body ornamentation in chronological context.6.5 Comments6.5.1 Colonising an empty land? The discrete geographic distribution of sites.6.5.2 Low population density and demographic instability. Evidence of social asymmetry. The possible bases of social asymmetry.6.5.3 Gravettian and Aurignacian settlement compared. A definitive colonisation.6.5.4 The Glacial Maximum in Europe and in Italy. A changing social organisation in a changing world.Chapter 7 The great shift7.1 Introduction7.1.1 The late glacial and early post-glacial record. Why we shall not split this chronological time-span.7.1.2 Calibration and absolute chronology. The problem of the Evolved Epigravettian.7.1.3 Discussing the terminology. Final Epigravettian and Mesolithic: different meanings in Italian archaeology. Sauveterrian and Castelnovian.7.1.4 Reference sites of Late Pleistocene and early Holocene date.7.2 Different niches in a changing landscape7.2.1 The general environment: deglaciation, forest development, the rising sea-level. The fauna. Volcanic eruptions.7.2.2 Cliffs and lagoons. The exploitation of marine resources.7.2.3 The coastal areas. The dwindling Great Adriatic Plain. A glacial marshland.7.2.4 At the foothills and up the mountains.7.2.5 Where mountain and sea merge.7.2.6 Away from the coasts and out of the mountains.7.2.7 A new world: Sicily. Nautical skills. The problematic Sardinia.7.3 Local and regional diversification7.3.1 Regionalisation in the lithic industry. Romanellian and Epiromanellian. Bouverian. Sicilian industries. 7.3.2 Technological complexity. The limited evidence of bone tool manufacture. A general trend toward microlithisation. Grinding and pounding. Dwelling structures. The vanished record.7.3.3 Engravings of the mainland an