6533b7dafe1ef96bd126e141

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Late Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers in the Central Mediterranean: New archaeological and genetic data from the Late Epigravettian burial Oriente C (Favignana, Sicily)

Swapan MallickSwapan MallickSwapan MallickDavid ReichDavid ReichDavid ReichIain MathiesonLuca SineoPier Francesco FabbriDomenico Lo VetroNadin RohlandFabio MartiniGiulio Catalano

subject

Mediterranean climate010506 paleontologygeography.geographical_feature_categoryRange (biology)Last Glacial MaximumContext (language use)Settore BIO/08 - Antropologia010502 geochemistry & geophysicsLate epigravettian Funerary practices Ancient DNA Central-western Mediterranean Sicily01 natural sciencesArchaeologyhumanitieslaw.inventionLate glacial Late epigravettian Funerary practices Ancient DNA Central-western mediterranean SicilyGeographyAncient DNACavelawPeriod (geology)Radiocarbon dating0105 earth and related environmental sciencesEarth-Surface Processes

description

AbstractGrotta d’Oriente, a small coastal cave located on the island of Favignana (Sicily, Italy) is a key site for the study of the early human colonization of Sicily. The individual known as Oriente C was found in the lower portion of an anthropogenic deposit containing typical local Late Upper Palaeolithic (Late Epigravettian) stone assemblages. Two radiocarbon dates on charcoal from the deposit containing the burial are consistent with the archaeological context and refer Oriente C to a period spanning about 14,200-13,800 cal. BP. Anatomical features are close to those of Late Upper Palaeolithic populations of the Mediterranean and show strong affinity with Palaeolithic individuals of San Teodoro. Here we present new ancient DNA data from Oriente C. Our results, confirming previous genetic analysis, suggest a substantial genetic homogeneity among Late Epigravettian hunter-gatherer populations of Central Mediterranean, presumably as a consequence of continuous gene flow among different groups, or a range expansion following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2019-07-04Quaternary International
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.01.025