Palaeoloxodon and human interaction: depositional setting, chronology and archaeology at the Middle Pleistocene Ficoncella site (Tarquinia, Italy)

The Ficoncella site in northern Latium (Italy) represents a unique opportunity to investigate the modalities of a short occupation in an alluvial setting during the Lower Palaeolithic. The small excavation area yielded a lithic assemblage, a carcass of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, and some other faunal r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-04, Vol.10 (4), p.e0124498-e0124498
Main Authors: Aureli, Daniele, Contardi, Antonio, Giaccio, Biagio, Jicha, Brian, Lemorini, Cristina, Madonna, Sergio, Magri, Donatella, Marano, Federica, Milli, Salvatore, Modesti, Valerio, Palombo, Maria Rita, Rocca, Roxane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animals
Archaeological sites
Archaeology
Bone and Bones
Bones
Chronologies
Chronology
Elephants
Excavation
Flood plains
Floodplains
Fossils
Geochronology
Geological data
Historic sites
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Italy
Lithic
Occupations
Pleistocene
Rivers
Sediments
Stratigraphy
Tool Use Behavior
Valleys
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Summary:The Ficoncella site in northern Latium (Italy) represents a unique opportunity to investigate the modalities of a short occupation in an alluvial setting during the Lower Palaeolithic. The small excavation area yielded a lithic assemblage, a carcass of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, and some other faunal remains. The main objectives of the study are to better characterize the depositional context where the Palaeoloxodon and the lithic assemblage occur, and to evaluate with greater precision the occupation dynamics. A 25 m-long well was drilled just above the top of the terrace of the Ficoncella site and faunal and lithic remains were analyzed with current and innovative techniques. The archaeological site contains floodplain deposits as it is located next to a small incised valley that feeds into a larger valley of the Mignone River. A tephra layer capping the site is 40Ar/39Ar dated to 441± 8 ka. Collectively, the geochronologic, tephrochronologic and geologic data, suggest the site was occupied during MIS 13. The new results should prompt further research at Ficoncella in order to improve our understanding of the dynamics of human settlement in Europe during the Early to Middle Pleistocene.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0124498