Abstract

Isernia La Pineta (south-central Italy, Molise) is one of the most important archaeological localities of the Middle Pleistocene in Western Europe. It is an extensive open-air site with abundant lithic industry and faunal remains distributed across four stratified archaeosurfaces that have been found in two sectors of the excavation (3c, 3a, 3s10 in sect. I; 3a in sect. II). The prehistoric attendance was close to a wet environment, with a series of small waterfalls and lakes associated to calcareous tufa deposits. An isolated human deciduous incisor (labelled IS42) was discovered in 2014 within the archaeological level 3 coll (overlying layer 3a) that, according to new 40Ar/39Ar measurements, is dated to about 583–561 ka, i.e. to the end of marine isotope stage (MIS) 15. Thus, the tooth is currently the oldest human fossil specimen in Italy; it is an important addition to the scanty European fossil record of the Middle Pleistocene, being associated with a lithic assemblage of local raw materials (flint and limestone) characterized by the absence of handaxes and reduction strategies primarily aimed at the production of small/medium-sized flakes. The faunal assemblage is dominated by ungulates often bearing cut marks. Combining chronology with the archaeological evidence, Isernia La Pineta exhibits a delay in the appearance of handaxes with respect to other European Palaeolithic sites of the Middle Pleistocene. Interestingly, this observation matches the persistence of archaic morphological features shown by the human calvarium from the Middle Pleistocene site of Ceprano, not far from Isernia (south-central Italy, Latium). In this perspective, our analysis is aimed to evaluate morphological features occurring in IS42.

Highlights

  • IntroductionThe Isernia La Pineta site (south-central Italy, Molise) is an extensive open-air archaeological site of the Lower Palaeolithic

  • The Isernia La Pineta site is an extensive open-air archaeological site of the Lower Palaeolithic

  • Incisal wear has exposed a large strip of dentine on the flat horizontal incisal edge (BL width 1.4 mm along the midline) corresponding to the 4th wear stage [38]

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Summary

Introduction

The Isernia La Pineta site (south-central Italy, Molise) is an extensive open-air archaeological site of the Lower Palaeolithic. The abundant lithic assemblage and faunal remains are distributed across four archaeosurfaces and two sectors Abundant lithic industries and faunal remains were recovered associated with the human tooth. The faunal assemblage, characteristic of the Middle Galerian, is represented by Bison schoetensacki, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis, Hippopotamus cf antiquus, Premegaceros solilhacus, Cervus elaphus cf acoronatus, Dama cf roberti, Capreolus sp., Sus scrofa, Hemitragus cf bonali. The faunal assemblage has been attributed to the Early Toringian by the presence of the small mammals Arvicola mosbachensis, Sorex aff. The climate during the human occupation was probably more arid and cooler than at present and the environment was characterized by an arboreal steppe [7]

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