The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy)
Abstract Bone accumulation in Palaeolithic archaeological sites is often the result of activities carried out by hunter-gatherer groups. Cultural choices may have influenced prey representation in archaeological assemblages, distorting their palaeoecological meaning. We present a comparison between...
Published in: | Quaternary Research |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.59 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000595 |
id |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/qua.2018.59 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcambridgeupr:10.1017/qua.2018.59 2024-10-06T13:48:03+00:00 The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy) Boschin, Francesco Boscato, Paolo Berto, Claudio Crezzini, Jacopo Ronchitelli, Annamaria 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.59 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000595 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Quaternary Research volume 90, issue 3, page 470-482 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 journal-article 2018 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.59 2024-09-11T04:04:43Z Abstract Bone accumulation in Palaeolithic archaeological sites is often the result of activities carried out by hunter-gatherer groups. Cultural choices may have influenced prey representation in archaeological assemblages, distorting their palaeoecological meaning. We present a comparison between large mammal and small mammal assemblages from the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of Grotta Paglicci (Apulia, southern Italy) that extends from the Marginally Backed Bladelet Aurignacian (about 39,000 cal yr BP) to the Final Epigravettian (about 13,000 cal yr BP). At Paglicci, the high frequency of horse and ibex remains indicates open and dry environments for most of the Upper Palaeolithic. This is confirmed by the predominance of the common vole among small mammals. The alternation between horse and ibex, which takes place during the Upper Palaeolithic, however, looks to be more related to variations in hunting territories. Taxon frequencies change abruptly at 17,955–16,696 cal yr BP, with an increase in woodland-related ungulates together with micromammals, indicating a climatic evolution towards milder and more humid conditions. Results demonstrate that when the association of ungulate taxa is considered as a whole, it has a good palaeoecological signal, whilst considering taxa separately can help to better understand cultural choices of past hunter-gatherer communities. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common vole Cambridge University Press Quaternary Research 90 3 470 482 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Bone accumulation in Palaeolithic archaeological sites is often the result of activities carried out by hunter-gatherer groups. Cultural choices may have influenced prey representation in archaeological assemblages, distorting their palaeoecological meaning. We present a comparison between large mammal and small mammal assemblages from the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of Grotta Paglicci (Apulia, southern Italy) that extends from the Marginally Backed Bladelet Aurignacian (about 39,000 cal yr BP) to the Final Epigravettian (about 13,000 cal yr BP). At Paglicci, the high frequency of horse and ibex remains indicates open and dry environments for most of the Upper Palaeolithic. This is confirmed by the predominance of the common vole among small mammals. The alternation between horse and ibex, which takes place during the Upper Palaeolithic, however, looks to be more related to variations in hunting territories. Taxon frequencies change abruptly at 17,955–16,696 cal yr BP, with an increase in woodland-related ungulates together with micromammals, indicating a climatic evolution towards milder and more humid conditions. Results demonstrate that when the association of ungulate taxa is considered as a whole, it has a good palaeoecological signal, whilst considering taxa separately can help to better understand cultural choices of past hunter-gatherer communities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Boschin, Francesco Boscato, Paolo Berto, Claudio Crezzini, Jacopo Ronchitelli, Annamaria |
spellingShingle |
Boschin, Francesco Boscato, Paolo Berto, Claudio Crezzini, Jacopo Ronchitelli, Annamaria The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy) |
author_facet |
Boschin, Francesco Boscato, Paolo Berto, Claudio Crezzini, Jacopo Ronchitelli, Annamaria |
author_sort |
Boschin, Francesco |
title |
The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy) |
title_short |
The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy) |
title_full |
The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy) |
title_fullStr |
The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy) |
title_full_unstemmed |
The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy) |
title_sort |
palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of grotta paglicci (upper palaeolithic, southern italy) |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.59 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589418000595 |
genre |
Common vole |
genre_facet |
Common vole |
op_source |
Quaternary Research volume 90, issue 3, page 470-482 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2018.59 |
container_title |
Quaternary Research |
container_volume |
90 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
470 |
op_container_end_page |
482 |
_version_ |
1812176209616830464 |