Understanding Late Pleistocene landscapes of central Italy : a multidisciplinary approach
It is now clear in archaeology that a full interpretation of sites cannot be realised if information about the environmental setting and constraints of the surrounding context are not available. The Latium coast (central Italy) has been extensively investigated since the 19th century and is one of the regions with the highest number of prehistoric sites in Italy. In spite of this, multidisciplinary environmental reconstructions of this region are still absent. This thesis deals with investigations of the travertine quarry Cava Muracci (Latium, central Italy), where excavations were carried out between 2012 and 2016. Seven caves were discovered, coprolites, a large faunal assemblage and a small lithic collection were found at one of them (i.e. Area 3) which was revealed to be a cave hyena den dating between 44â34 ka BP. A holistic palaeoecological study has been undertaken to increase our knowledge of the environment of the coastal Latium, the so-called Pontine Plain. Pollen analysis of cave hyena coprolites, an extremely undervalued resource, has been carried out for the first time in the region. This study has provided new insights into the vegetation and climate of the Pontine Plain, previously known only
Gatta, Maurizio
Understanding Late Pleistocene landscapes of central Italy : a multidisciplinary approach. It is now clear in archaeology that a full interpretation of sites cannot be realised if information about the environmental setting and constraints of the surrounding context are not available. The Latium coast (central Italy) has been extensively investigated since the 19th century and is one of the regions with the highest number of prehistoric sites in Italy. In spite of this, multidisciplinary environmental reconstructions of this region are still absent. This thesis deals with investigations of the travertine quarry Cava Muracci (Latium, central Italy), where excavations were carried out between 2012 and 2016. Seven caves were discovered, coprolites, a large faunal assemblage and a small lithic collection were found at one of them (i.e. Area 3) which was revealed to be a cave hyena den dating between 44â34 ka BP. A holistic palaeoecological study has been undertaken to increase our knowledge of the environment of the coastal Latium, the so-called Pontine Plain. Pollen analysis of cave hyena coprolites, an extremely undervalued resource, has been carried out for the first time in the region. This study has provided new insights into the vegetation and climate of the Pontine Plain, previously known only
late_pleistocene landscape central_italy multidisciplinary approach clear archaeology full interpretation site realise information environmental_setting constraint surround context available coast central_italy extensively investigate since region high number prehistoric sit italy spite multidisciplinary environmental reconstruction region still absent deal investigation quarry central_italy excavation_carry cave discover large faunal_assemblage small lithic collection find area reveal cave date holistic palaeoecological study undertaken increase_knowledge environment coastal so_called plain pollen analysis cave extremely resource carry first_time region study provide_new insight vegetation climate plain previously know