40Ar/39Ar and ESR/U-series data for the La Polledrara di Cecanibbio archaeological site (Lazio, Italy)

Abstract

La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (20km from Rome) discovered in 1984, is a famous Middle Pleistocene site of the Italian peninsula (Lazio) mainly thanks to its excellent preservation state and its richness in archaeological and faunal remains. This deposit presents a typical Aurelian faunal assemblage with a large number of “elephants” specimens. A human tooth and scavenging traces on “elephants” bones were also pointed out. Palaeontological and archaeological remains are located in deposits characterized by its high percentage of white volcanic material blocks embedded in a fine matrix, laying on a fluvial volcano-sedimentary sequence. This archaeological sequence belongs to the Aurelia Formation, and was correlated to the MIS 10-9. To refine this age assignment we provided a multi-methods investigation including both 40Ar/39Ar and ESR/U-series methods. 40Ar/39Ar measurements made on single K-feldspars minerals extracted from white pumices within the archaeological horizon suggest a deposition age of 325±6ka while the ESR/U-series analyses applied on fossil enamel teeth highlighted a minimum age of 304±25ka, in agreement with the 40Ar/39Ar ages. These results allowed us to place with confidence the occupation as well as palaeontological assemblage of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio contemporaneously to the middle part of the MIS 9 period just after the interglacial optimum s.s. La Polledrara di Cecanibbio is hence now the most precisely and accurately dated Lower Palaeolithic site among the numerous sites from the Lazio province.