Proto-Aurignacian Lithic Technology, Mobility, and Human Niche Construction: A Case Study from Riparo Bombrini, Italy

Abstract

This study presents an analysis of two Proto-Aurignacian lithic assemblages from the site of Riparo Bombrini to test the idea that there was a correlated change in behavior and paleoenvironmental conditions at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic in Liguria. The available data paint a picture of Level A2 being associated with colder, more open conditions and a logistical mobility strategy reflected in the lithic technological organization by a more expedient signature. In contrast, Level A1 is associated with warmer conditions and the adoption of a more residential mobility strategy reflected by a more curated approach to lithic technology. A correlation between behavioral and ecological changes within the Proto-Aurignacian is thus identified, establishing a degree of dynamism in human behavior in that techno-complex that is usually muffled by traditional techno-typological analyses. The paper concludes with a discussion of what this inherent flexibility in the Proto-Aurignacian means in terms of the development and maintenance of an early modern human niche in coastal Liguria across some of the most dramatic climatic fluctuation documented over the past 45,000 years.