The Middle Pleistocene site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Central Italy) on the Lower/Middle Palaeolithic transition

Abstract

The archaeological site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Central Italy), under excavation since 2008, is located in the Upper Volturno Valley, near the top of a fluvial terrace attributed to the Middle Pleistocene. Several anthropic levels have been recognized within a stratigraphic sequence of more than two meters in thickness, characterized by alternating gravelly and sandy fluvial layers rich in pyroclastic materials, attributable to the end of MIS 11–beginning of MIS 10, according to the obtained radiometric dates (40Ar/39Ar and ESR/U-series). In this paper we discuss the chrono-stratigraphic record, the paleontological and zooarchaeological data and we provide a detailed techno-economic analysis of the lithic industry, characterized by the coexistence of handaxes and Levallois debitage. The site of Guado San Nicola represents the oldest evidence of the emergence of prepared-core technologies in the Italian Peninsula, adding new data to the debate on the Lower/Middle Palaeolithic transition in Western Europe.