Grotta Romanelli (Lecce, Southern Italy) Between Past and Future: New Studies and Perspectives for an Archaeo-geosite Symbol of the Palaeolithic in Europe

Sardella, Raffaele; Iurino, Dawid A.; Mecozzi, Beniamino; Sigari, Dario; Bona, Fabio; Bellucci, Luca; Coltorti, Mauro; Conti, Jacopo; Lembo, Giuseppe; Muttillo, Brunella; Mazzini, Ilaria

doi:10.1007/s12371-019-00376-z

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Grotta Romanelli is located in Southern Apulia and opens at about 7 m a.s.l (Supplementary Figure 1 ). Cave stratigraphy is delimited at the bottom by a Tyrrhenian marine terrace (MIS 5) and consists of two main parts, the lowest of which is called “Terre rosse” and comprises all of the levels below the stalagmite F (dated to 40,000 ± 3,250 by 230 Th/ 238 U method) 38 – 40 . The upper part of the deposit is called “Terre brune” (dated between about 13,800 and at least 8,600 cal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first evidence for Late Pleistocene dogs in Italy

Boschin

Bernardini

Pilli

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The identification of the earliest dogs is challenging because of the absence and/or mosaic pattern of morphological diagnostic features in the initial phases of the domestication process. Furthermore, the natural occurrence of some of these characters in Late Pleistocene wolf populations and the time it took from the onset of traits related to domestication to their prevalence remain indefinite. For these reasons, the spatiotemporal context of the early domestication of dogs is hotly debated. Our combined molecular and morphological analyses of fossil canid remains from the sites of Grotta Paglicci and Grotta Romanelli, in southern Italy, attest of the presence of dogs at least 14,000 calibrated years before present. This unambiguously documents one of the earliest occurrence of domesticates in the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe and in the Mediterranean. The genetic affinity between the Palaeolithic dogs from southern Italy and contemporaneous ones found in Germany also suggest that these animals were an important common adjunct during the Late Glacial, when strong cultural diversification occurred between the Mediterranean world and European areas north of the Alps. Additionally, aDNA analyses indicate that this Upper Palaeolithic dog lineage from Italy may have contributed to the genetic diversity of living dogs. Dogs were the first animals domesticated by humans, long before the advent of agriculture 1. Besides occupying a special place in our present day lives, dogs had important functional and symbolic roles throughout human history. However, the spatiotemporal context of their early domestication is debated from both archaeological and genetic perspectives: there is scant consensus on the location of first domestication centres, and the presence of one or more domestication events 1-5 , as well as a debate on the correct identification of the oldest archaeological specimens considered to represent dogs 6-11. Latest genetic models suggest the presence of dogs in Europe at least 15,000 years ago, and a divergence between dogs and wolves between about 20,000 and 40,000 years ago 5,12. Earlier potential dog domestication attempts may be represented by canid remains from Northern and Eastern Europe, and Russia 6-9,13-15 , even if their attribution to dogs or wolves is debated 5,10,16-20. The earliest archaeological specimens unequivocally attributed to dogs lived around 16,000 years ago 21-23 , and were related to Magdalenian contexts in Western Europe. Available genetic evidence suggests that the domestication process

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first evidence for Late Pleistocene dogs in Italy

Boschin

Bernardini

Pilli

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…The cave lies within the area of the Regional Natural Park "Costa Otranto-Santa Maria di Leuca and Bosco di Tricase". From the beginning of the twentieth century, Grotta Romanelli was considered a key site for Mediterranean Quaternary studies, due to its remarkable importance as the first evidence of the Upper Paleolithic period in the Italian Peninsula and the first record of rock art in the Euro-Mediterranean area (Graziosi 1973;Sardella et al 2018Sardella et al , 2019. The deposit was discovered in 1874 by Ulderigo Botti (Botti 1874), but only during the earlier 1900s, Paolo Emilio Stasi realized the first excavation campaigns (Stasi and Regalìa 1904).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1e-g). Nowadays, Grotta Romanelli is recognized as a key site for the Mediterranean Pleistocene for its archeological and paleontological content and the relative stratigraphical, geomorphological and radiometric data (Sardella et al 2018(Sardella et al , 2019.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2015, new multidisciplinary research fieldwork began, coordinated by Sapienza University of Rome together with other research institutions and with the authorization of Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Brindisi, Lecce e Taranto, with the aim to provide an updated stratigraphic and chronological scheme as well as to describe the fossil remains and artifacts (Giustini et al 2018;Sardella et al 2018Sardella et al , 2019, which is also triggering a revision of the large mammal faunas from the region (Sardella et al 2014;Mecozzi et al 2017Mecozzi et al , 2018Mecozzi et al , 2019Iannucci et al 2020;Iurino Fig. 1 Geographical position of Grotta Romanelli (a-c).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rediscovering Lutra lutra from Grotta Romanelli (southern Italy) in the framework of the puzzling evolutionary history of Eurasian otter

Mecozzi

Iannucci

Bona

et al. 2021

PalZ

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A river otter hemimandible has been rediscovered during the revision of the historical collections of G.A. Blanc from Grotta Romanelli, complementing the ongoing multidisciplinary research fieldwork on the site. The specimen, recovered from the level G (“terre rosse”; early Late Pleistocene or late Middle Pleistocene), is here assigned to Lutra lutra. Indeed, morphological and morphometric comparisons with other Quaternary Lutrinae fossils from Europe allow to exclude an attribution to the relatively widespread and older Lutra simplicidens, characterized by distinctive carnassial proportions. Differences with Cyrnaonyx antiqua, which possessed a more robust, shellfish-feeding dentition, support the view of a successful niche repartition between the two species during the late Middle to Late Pleistocene of Europe. The occurrence of Lutra lutra from the “terre rosse” of Grotta Romanelli suggests deep modifications of the landscapes due to the ecological adaptation of the taxon, and indicates that the Eurasian otter spread into Europe at the Middle–Late Pleistocene transition.

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“…Most studies focus on terrestrial environments: coastal areas [9][10][11][12][13][14][15], mountain areas [16][17][18], karst areas [19][20][21][22], volcanic areas [23][24][25][26] and even urban areas [27][28][29][30]. In recent years research has been conducted on underwater geoheritage and marine geosites ( [13] and references therein]) and on archaeogeosites, i.e., sites linking archaeological and geological interests [31][32][33][34]. New insights are being given on geosites risk of degradation and interaction with human actions [35,36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geosites Inventory in Liguria Region (Northern Italy): A Tool for Regional Geoconservation and Environmental Management

Ferrando

Faccini

Poggi³

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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The Liguria Region in Northern Italy is characterized by a wide geological and geomorphological variety, encompassing an important and valuable geoheritage. The Ligurian regional law (L.R. 39/2009) protects and enhances geodiversity and geosites, establishing the Regional Inventory of Geosites; however, an approved official inventory is still lacking. In this work, a first reasoned inventory of 120 geosites is proposed for the Liguria Region on the basis of field surveys and literature review. A quantitative assessment of the value and the degradation risk of geosites has been carried out: the value assessment takes into account scientific, additional and potential-for-use values; the degradation risk assessment considers geosites’ fragility and vulnerability. The results, providing knowledge on the Ligurian geoheritage, can serve as the basis for the Regional Inventory of Geosites and can be useful tools for the implementation of any regional geoconservation strategy or environmental management plan.

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Grotta Romanelli (Lecce, Southern Italy) Between Past and Future: New Studies and Perspectives for an Archaeo-geosite Symbol of the Palaeolithic in Europe

Cited by 15 publications

References 21 publications

The first evidence for Late Pleistocene dogs in Italy

The first evidence for Late Pleistocene dogs in Italy

Rediscovering Lutra lutra from Grotta Romanelli (southern Italy) in the framework of the puzzling evolutionary history of Eurasian otter

Geosites Inventory in Liguria Region (Northern Italy): A Tool for Regional Geoconservation and Environmental Management

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