Indications of pleistocene man on Sardinia

Abstract

Human fossils found in a Pre-Neolithic cave deposit (Corbeddu cave, Sardinia) represent the first human remains associated with an endemic impoverished island fauna. Radiocarbon dating by AMS in Utrecht provided the chronological framework of the cave sediments for better understanding of the time-related human activities. The aberrant morphology of the human fossils and the unique character of worked deer bones discovered, suggest the development of an endemic Pleistocene human culture, adapted to the restricted island conditions and the hunting of ochotonids and deer. IntruduclionIn 1982 excavations were started in Corbeddu cave on Sardinia in search of an explanation for the aberrant Pleistocene fauna of this island. In spite of the fact that the presence of only a few endemic taxa do indicate island conditions, the deer Megaceros cazioti did not become small and did not evolve short legs, as is normally observed in deer populations on islands [l]. Also the presence of a canid Cynotherium sardous, although small, is not in agreement with the absence of large carnivores in typical island faunas. Excavation 1982Excavation in hall 2 of the cave revealed three different layers, as is shown in fig. 1. Based on the archaeological material from layer 1, the lower part of this layer was estimated to represent the Lower-Neolithic [2]. The boundary between layers 1 and 2 is very sharp. Below this boundary the Pleistocene island fauna with the ochotonid Prolagus sardus, the deer Megaceros cazioti and the canid Cynotherium sardous was found in an excellent state of preservation. Very striking is the taphonomy in layer 3 in which fossils of M. cazioti were found which were scratched, grooved and polished. Together with a remarkable positioning of some bones with respect to each other, it suggests human activity [2]. This was a surprising discovery because the first human habitation on the Mediterranean islands was always considered to be represented by the Neolithic [3]. As a large predator the Sardinian Pleistocene man could very well be responsible for the fact that no short-legged dwarf-deer evolved.0168-583X/87/$03.50 0 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland Physics Publishing Division) Excavations 1983-1986The aim of the following systematic excavations was to collect more information about this possible Pleistocene man and his environment. In layer 2 a human temporal bone and a maxilla were found in the same level. They represent the first human remains found in association with an endemic Pleistocene island fauna. There are some interesting differences between these fossils and Homo sapiens from the mainland. The most striking features are the extremely broad molars and the small incisors, a peculiar combination unknown in Homo sapiens [4]. An aberrant human ulna was found in hall 1.In the top of layer 3 bones of a single skeleton of Cynotherium sardous were found spread over the entire excavation pit, which indicate a level inside the unstratified homogeneous clay. More than 5000 fossils of M. cazioti wer...

Radiocarbon and U-series dating of the endemic deer Praemegaceros cazioti (Depéret) from “Grotta Juntu”, Sardinia

“…The ancestry of this cervid has been identified in the Early-Middle Pleistocene continental species Praemegaceros verticornis (Azzaroli, 1961;Caloi and Palombo, 1995 and references therein) which dispersed towards the Corsican -Sardinian paleobioprovince close to the EarlyeMiddle Pleistocene boundary, at a regressive phase of the sea level. Previous studies point to an extinction of P. cazioti around 9000 yBP due to the arrival of Mesolithic humans on the Sardinian island (Sondaar, 2000;Sondaar and Van der Geer, 2002;Vigne et al, 2002), as suggested by the remains found in the Corbeddu Cave (Klein Hofmeijer et al, 1987;Klein Hofmeijer, 1997). Accurate dating of fossils in the Juntu cave would be therefore of noticeable importance in order to better understand this extinction event in the Sardinia region.…”

Early Neolithic obsidians in Sardinia (Western Mediterranean): the Su Carroppu case

“…An Upper Palaeolithic human phalanx was indirectly dated by 14 C ages and stratigraphic correlations between two trenches at about 20 ky, while the Epipalaeolithic human remains found in one of these trenches were dated by 14 C at 8750 AE 140 BP. Obsidian was absent in these excavations [33,32,51e53], as in the only two other known Epipalaeolithic sites of Sardinia [20,21,31,32,55,56]. All are coastal or subcoastal sites, probably related to occasional trips or short seasonal settlements on the island.…”

Διερεύνηση Και Εφαρμογή Των Χρονολογικών Τεχνικών Της Φωταύγειας Στη Γεωχρονολόγηση Των Παράκτιων Τεταρτογενών Σχηματισμών Του Ευβοϊκού Κόλπου

“…Τα κροκαλοπαγή είναι οφιολιθικά, με μέγεθος κροκαλών που ποικίλλει από θέση σε θέση. Ακολουθεί η απόθεση κάτω-μειοκαινικών πηλιτών, οι οποίοι εμφανίζουν έντονη τεκτονική καταπόνηση και εναλλάσσονται με ενστρώσεις μικρού πάχους αργίλων, ψαμμιτών, ψαμμιτοκροκαλοπαγών, λεπτόκοκκων άμμων και κροκαλοπαγών Doukas, 1986;Klein Hofmeijer et al, 1987 (Guernet, 1971).…”