6533b832fe1ef96bd129aecb
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Poggetti Vecchi (Tuscany, Italy): A late Middle Pleistocene case of human-elephant interaction
Paul MazzaFederico MasiniMarta Mariotti LippiChiara CapalboChiara CapalboAndrea SavorelliClaudia GiulianiClaudia GiulianiFabio SantanielloStefano GrimaldiFrancesco CianiFloriano CavannaFabio CavulliBiancamaria ArangurenGiuditta GrandinettiAnna RevedinPasquino PallecchiGiacomo ComenciniMarco Benvenutisubject
Buxus010506 paleontologyFood ChainTaphonomyPleistoceneElephantsFossil bone01 natural sciencesNatural (archaeology)Vertebrate taphonomy Lithic and wooden artifacts Early Neanderthals Thermal water springs Central ItalyAnimals0601 history and archaeologyEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsNeanderthals0105 earth and related environmental sciences060101 anthropologyTool Use BehaviorbiologyPalaeoloxodonFossilsPaleontology06 humanities and the artsSettore GEO/01 - Paleontologia E Paleoecologiabiology.organism_classificationArchaeologyDiggingGeographyArchaeologyItalyAnthropologydescription
Abstract A paleosurface with a concentration of wooden-, bone-, and stone-tools interspersed among an accumulation of fossil bones, largely belonging to the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, was found at the bottom of a pool, fed by hot springs, that was excavated at Poggetti Vecchi, near Grosseto (Tuscany, Italy). The site is radiometrically dated to the late Middle Pleistocene, around 171,000 years BP. Notable is the association of the artifacts with the elephant bones, and in particular the presence of digging sticks made from boxwood (Buxus sp.). Although stone tools show evidence of use mainly on animal tissues, indicating some form of interaction between hominins and animals, the precise use of the sticks is unclear. Here we discuss about the role played by the hominins at the site: paleobiological and taphonomic evidence indicates that the elephants died by a natural cause and were butchered soon after their death. The associated paleontological and archeological evidence from this site provides fresh insights into the behavior of early Neanderthals in Central Italy. The discovery of Poggetti Vecchi shows how opportunistically flexible Neanderthals were in response to environmental contingencies.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-01-01 |