Beatrice Vacca Bertini Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate house, West street, S 1 4 ET Sheffield, B. Vacca@sheffield. ac. uk Introduction: The site is one of the most important Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Italian Peninsula for its rock art and its nine intact human burials. The site is located in the Apennines of northern Calabria, in southern Italy, in the municipality of Papasidero, in the province of Cosenza. It is comprised of a 4 m high and 25 m long cave and a 34 m long natural rock shelter and situated at 300 metres above sea level and 25 Km from the Tyrrhenian coast, within the Pollino National Park. The material derives from excavations carried out in 2000 -2007 at the Romito cave (Martini et al 2007). The site was occupied from ca. 24. 000 to 10. 000 BP and presents an Upper Palaeolithic stratigraphic sequence associated with the Gravettian and Epigravettian cultural phases, sealed by a Neolithic deposit. Gravettian Epigravettian Results of the study: Faunal remains from the site are the result of an anthropogenic accumulation, as shown by the scarce presence of carnivores and carnivore-associated gnawing marks and by the high number of butchery marks. Among the ungulates the most represented species are Ibex (Capra ibex), 44%, Wild boar (Sus scrofa), 24. 6 %, Chamois (Rupicapra sp. ), 15. 9% and Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), 12. 2%. Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus), Aurochs (Bos primigenius) and Wild horse (Equus ferus) are also represented in the assemblage with very low percentages. Carnivores are represented by a few remains of Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Bear (Ursus arctos), while Lagomorphs are exclusively represented by the Hare (Lepus sp. ). Conclusions: Gravettian Epigravettian In the Gravettian Ibex, 71. 4%, Red deer, 13. 5%, and Chamois, 8. 5%were the primary food source and the most relevant species for the economy of the site. In the Gravettian levels Ibex, the most represented species, highly increased in the transition from Middle to Late Gravettian, where it reached a peak of 66% (levels H 3 H 1). The other ungulates represented, Wild boar, Roe Deer and Horse, provided a negligible contribution to the human economy. The carnivores are only represented by a few remains belonging to Fox and Brown bear. SPORADIC OCCUPATION OF THE SITE IN THE GRAVETTIAN The study has revealed significant changes in the choice of hunted species between the Gravettian and the Epigravettian period. The results of the study on the bone assemblage highlighted an economy based on the hunting of the ungulates living in the area surrounding the site that represented the primary food source. The considered chronological range was a period of remarkable climatic and environmental change. However the faunal composition was influenced not only by palaeoclimatic variation but also by the particular geomorphology of the area, and human impact. Therefore climatic change don’t seem to be the only explanation for changes observed in the faunal composition during the Gravettian and Epigravettian periods. The aim of the ongoing investigation and further data analysis is to reveal to what extent climatic change during the Upper Palaeolithic influenced the faunal composition and how human choice and possible changes in hunter gatherer hunting strategy had an impact on the fauna. Wild boar substantially increased in frequency from the Early to the Late Epigravettian in comparison with the Gravettian, becoming one of the most represented species, with a percentage of 25. 8%. In this period Ibex lost the predominance it had in the Gravettian, dropping to 43. 3% of the assemblage. Red deer and Chamois maintained frequencies similar to those they had in the Gravettian with percentages of 12. 2% and 15. 9% respectively. INTENSIVE OCCUPATION OF THE SITE IN THE FINAL EPIGRAVETTIAN Bone modifications: Both the study of butchery marks and the analysis of fractures revealed a butchery activity and management of carcasses for food purposes. Tipology, morphology and position of fractures, mainly located in the diaphysal portion of bones, indicate the exploitation of bones aimed at marrow and fat extraction, as an integration of the diet. Fractures were made on fresh bones after defleshing in a predepositional context. Observation of burning marks showed the prevalence of higher burning stages, related with long lasting fires at higher temperatures. Modifications provide thus evidence for an intense anthropic action and bone exploitation, also explaining the high level of fragmentation of the studied sample. References: Craig et Al. 2010, Stable isotope analysis of Late Upper Palaeolithic human and faunal remains from Grotta del Romito (Cosenza), Italy, Journal of Archaeological Science XXX, 1 -9. Martini et Al. 2007, L’ Italia tra 15. 000 e 10. 000 anni fa. Cosmopolitismo e regionalità nel Tardoglaciale, Millenni, Atti della Tavola Rotonda , Novembre 2005, Museo Fiorentino di Preistoria “Paolo Graziosi”, Firenze. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Dr. U. Albarella for his help and suggestions, Prof. F. Martini for the complete availability of the archaeological material, Prof. J. Moggi Cecchi and E. Borzatti von Löwenstern (Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Florence) for the access to the reference collection used for the identification of the bone assemblage in this work.
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