Abstract
Excavated in 1949, Grotta dei Moscerini, dated MIS 5 to early MIS 4, is one of two Italian Neandertal sites with a large assemblage of retouched shells (n = 171) from 21 layers. The other occurrence is from the broadly contemporaneous layer L of Grotta del Cavallo in southern Italy (n = 126). Eight other Mousterian sites in Italy and one in Greece also have shell tools but in a very small number. The shell tools are made on valves of the smooth clam Callista chione. The general idea that the valves of Callista chione were collected by Neandertals on the beach after the death of the mollusk is incomplete. At Moscerini 23.9% of the specimens were gathered directly from the sea floor as live animals by skin diving Neandertals. Archaeological data from sites in Italy, France and Spain confirm that shell fishing and fresh water fishing was a common activity of Neandertals, as indicated by anatomical studies recently published by E. Trinkaus. Lithic analysis provides data to show the relation between stone tools and shell tools. Several layers contain pumices derived from volcanic eruptions in the Ischia Island or the Campi Flegrei (prior to the Campanian Ignimbrite mega-eruption). Their rounded edges indicate that they were transported by sea currents to the beach at the base of the Moscerini sequence. Their presence in the occupation layers above the beach is discussed. The most plausible hypothesis is that they were collected by Neandertals. Incontrovertible evidence that Neandertals collected pumices is provided by a cave in Liguria. Use of pumices as abraders is well documented in the Upper Paleolithic. We prove that the exploitation of submerged aquatic resources and the collection of pumices common in the Upper Paleolithic were part of Neandertal behavior well before the arrival of modern humans in Western Europe.
Highlights
Moscerini is one of the largest coastal caves in the Latium, between Sperlonga and Gaeta and about 5 km from Grotta Sant’Agostino [1]
The lower part of the sequence might have accumulated during MIS 5, in agreement with [5] correlation of the basal sandy beach deposits with the Last Interglacial supported by amino-acid chronology (AAR)
As in most if not all MP sites from the Latium [3] the main local raw material is small flint pebbles that have been almost exclusively collected in secondary position in beach deposits or fluvial stream or terraces (Figs 1: 3–4, 6–8 in S2 File)
Summary
Moscerini is one of the largest coastal caves in the Latium, between Sperlonga and Gaeta and about 5 km from Grotta Sant’Agostino [1]. A test pit was opened inside the cave approximately 15 meters away from the modern entrance (Fig 2A) It was excavated by arbitrary levels (labelled Interno 1 to Interno 4, from the top to the base). Its lowest level had many yellow and light grey pumices and some unretouched pebbles of 4–5 cm in diameter It is interpreted as a sandy beach deposit and considered to date from the Last Interglacial. In the absence of in situ measurement of external dose rate, these ESR dates must be considered cautiously and cannot support any detailed interpretation of the chronology of the archaeological sequence. The lower part of the sequence might have accumulated during MIS 5, in agreement with [5] correlation of the basal sandy beach deposits (layer 44) with the Last Interglacial supported by AAR (amino acid geochronology). For a detailed reconstruction of southern Latium sea levels during the Last Interglacial see [6]
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