Abstract
ABSTRACTThe tempo and mode of Homo sapiens dispersal in Eurasia and the demise of Neanderthals has sparked debate about the dynamics of Neanderthal extinction and its relationship to the arrival of H. sapiens. In Italy, the so‐called ‘Transition’ from Neanderthals to H. sapiens is related to the Uluzzian technocomplex, i.e. the first archaeological evidence for modern human dispersal on the European continent. This paper illustrates the new chronology and stratigraphy of Uluzzo C, a rock shelter and Uluzzian key site located in the Uluzzo Bay in southern Italy, where excavations are ongoing, refining the cultural sequence known from previous excavations. Microstratigraphic investigation suggests that most of the deposit formed after dismantling of the vault of the rock shelter and due to wind input of loess deflated by the continental shelf. The occasional reactivation of the hydrology of the local karst system under more humid conditions further contributed to the formation of specific layers accumulating former Terra Rossa‐type soil fragments. Superposed on sedimentary processes, strong bioturbation and the mobilization and recrystallization of calcite have been detected. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from Uluzzo C Rock Shelter are congruent with previously published radiocarbon ages obtained on shell beads and tephrachronology from adjacent sites preserving the Uluzzian technocomplex such as Grotta del Cavallo, confirming the onset for the Uluzzian in the area to ca. 39.2–42.0 ka. The OSL chronology from Uluzzo C also provides a terminus post quem for the end of the Mousterian in the region, constraining the disappearance of the Neanderthals in that part of Italy to ≥46 ± 4 ka.
Highlights
The taxonomic reassessment of modern human teeth retrieved from the Uluzzian deposit of Grotta del Cavallo (Benazzi et al, 2011), coupled with a clarification of the stratigraphic sequence (Moroni et al, 2018) and its geochronology (Douka et al, 2014; Zanchetta et al, 2018), makes the Uluzzian technocomplex a crucial element to unravel the biocultural processes that occurred during the MP/UP transition in Europe
We decided not to remove these layers but leave them as evidence of the original cave filling, and for eventual future analyses, we exclusively sampled these layers for micromorphology and Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating
The arrival of H. sapiens in Europe and the demise of the Neanderthals are two potentially inter‐related events that are hotly debated by the archaeological and palaeoanthropological community (e.g. Benazzi et al, 2011; Higham et al, 2011; Fewlass et al, 2020; Hublin et al, 2020). This debate is characterized by a wide range of assumptions, ranging from the idea of the relative inability of Neanderthals to survive competition with H. sapiens (e.g. Sano et al, 2019), to an assumed cognitive comparability of Homo neanderthalensis with H. sapiens (e.g. d'Errico et al, 1998; d'Errico and Banks, 2013, 2015)
Summary
The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic (MP/UP) transition corresponds to the period between 50 and 40 ka BP, broadly identifying the time span when modern humans migrated into Europe and Neanderthals disappeared (Benazzi et al, 2011, 2015, 2020; Douka et al, 2014; Higham et al, 2014; Fewlass et al, 2020; Hublin et al, 2020). The taxonomic reassessment of modern human teeth retrieved from the Uluzzian deposit of Grotta del Cavallo (Benazzi et al, 2011), coupled with a clarification of the stratigraphic sequence (Moroni et al, 2018) and its geochronology (Douka et al, 2014; Zanchetta et al, 2018), makes the Uluzzian technocomplex a crucial element to unravel the biocultural processes that occurred during the MP/UP transition in Europe. In addition to Grotta del Cavallo, the most notable examples
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