Elsevier

Journal of Human Evolution

Volume 68, March 2014, Pages 1-13
Journal of Human Evolution

On the chronology of the Uluzzian

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.12.007Get rights and content

Abstract

The Uluzzian, one of Europe's ‘transitional’ technocomplexes, has gained particular significance over the past three years when the only human remains associated with it were attributed to modern humans, instead of Neanderthals as previously thought. The position of the Uluzzian at stratified sequences, always overlying late Mousterian layers and underlying early Upper Palaeolithic ones, highlights its significance in understanding the passage from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic, as well as the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans in southeastern Mediterranean Europe. Despite several studies investigating aspects of its lithic techno-typology, taxonomy and material culture, the Uluzzian chronology has remained extremely poorly-known, based on a handful of dubious chronometric determinations. Here we aim to elucidate the chronological aspect of the technocomplex by presenting an integrated synthesis of new radiocarbon results and a Bayesian statistical approach from four stratified Uluzzian cave sequences in Italy and Greece (Cavallo, Fumane, Castelcivita and Klissoura 1). In addition to building a reliable chronological framework for the Uluzzian, we examine its appearance, tempo-spatial spread and correlation to previous and later Palaeolithic assemblages (Mousterian, Protoaurignacian) at the relevant regions. We conclude that the Uluzzian arrived in Italy and Greece shortly before 45,000 years ago and its final stages are placed at ∼39,500 years ago, its end synchronous (if not slightly earlier) with the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption.

Introduction

In 1964, Arturo Palma di Cesnola coined the term ‘Uluzzian’ to describe the technocomplex he identified a year earlier at Cavallo Cave (Grotta del Cavallo) in southern Italy (Palma di Cesnola and Borzatti von Löwenstern, 1964). The distinct, dark Uluzzian layers overlay a long series of Mousterian deposits and were superposed by a late Upper Palaeolithic (Late Epigravettian) phase from which they were separated by a thin stalagmitic crust and a tephra layer.

The Uluzzian layers were rich in lithic elements of Upper Palaeolithic character, terrestrial and marine faunal remains and several hearths. They contained bone points, perforated shell beads, mineral pigments, as well as two human deciduous teeth. The technocomplex was assigned to the Upper Palaeolithic (‘Leptolithic’) tradition, yet archaic at its lower layers, due to the presence of particular tool-types (lunates) that do not exist in the preceding Mousterian levels. Palma di Cesnola immediately recognized parallels with the Franco-Cantabrian Châtelperronian, and efforts to elucidate the geographical, techno-typological and chronological span of the Uluzzian, as well as its role in the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition, began.

In 2011, almost 50 years after the initial discovery of the technocomplex, the Uluzzian was brought to the forefront again. The two deciduous teeth from Cavallo Cave, the only human remains associated with the Uluzzian so far, were identified as belonging to anatomically modern humans and not Neanderthals, as was the consensus until then (Benazzi et al., 2011). The parallel radiocarbon dating of associated shell beads found across the Cavallo Uluzzian stratigraphy rendered the teeth the oldest currently-known remains of modern humans in Europe (Benazzi et al., 2011).

The geographic span of the Uluzzian has remained almost unchanged over the last decades and several authors have described the techno-typological features of the assemblages assigned to it. The chronology of the Uluzzian, however, remained poorly understood. Given the importance of the technocomplex in our understanding of the appearance and spread of modern humans in Europe, a chronological synthesis is long due and is the main focus of the present article.

Section snippets

Geography

The presence of the Uluzzian has been reported in about 20 caves and open-air localities of peninsular Italy (Palma di Cesnola, 1989, Palma di Cesnola, 1993, Riel-Salvatore, 2007, Riel-Salvatore, 2009, Ronchitelli et al., 2009). These include sites mainly in Apulia (Cavallo, Uluzzo, Parabita, Mario Bernardini, Serra Cicora, Torre Testa, Falce del Viaggio, Foresta Umbra), Basilicata (Atella Basin), Campania (Cala, Castelcivita, Tornola), Calabria (San Pietro a Maida, Punta Safò), Tuscany (La

Studied sequences

Given the distinct techno-typological features and important stratigraphic position of the Uluzzian and, as of recent, its connection with the earliest modern humans in Europe, a reliable chronology is of uttermost importance in understanding aspects of the initial appearance, expansion and eventual demise of the technocomplex, which have remained unknown thus far. The reliable dating of the Uluzzian has been one of the major goals of a project initiated by the authors and performed at the

New chronological framework

In the current project, 18 radiocarbon measurements were obtained for the Uluzzian layers of Cavallo, Castelcivita, Fumane and Klissoura 1 (Table 2). Shell, charcoal and bone collagen were the three types of dated material. Bones were dated only in the case of Fumane. In all other sites tested bones preserved no collagen therefore alternative material was used. All determinations were produced using the latest preparative methods (ultrafiltration for bones, ABOx-SC for charcoal, CarDS for

Discussion

The new chronology has wider archaeological implications for our understanding of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in southern peninsular Europe (limited here to Italy and Greece). Below we discuss key points arising from this new chronological framework.

Conclusions

We present here the first integrated chronological synthesis for the Uluzzian, currently assumed to be the oldest modern human technocomplex in Europe. By using a series of new radiocarbon determinations on shell, bone and charcoal substrate, all produced with the latest preparative methods at the Oxford Radiocarbon laboratory, and a purpose-built Bayesian statistical framework, we constrained the age of the Uluzzian and compared it with that for previous and succeeding technocomplexes

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank R.E.M. Hedges for his support and guidance throughout the period that this work was undertaken. Several colleagues were instrumental to our study, and are specially thanked: A. Palma di Cesnola, H. Klempererova, M. Koumouzelis, A. Moroni, F. Ranaldo and J. Riel-Salvatore. We would also like to acknowledge the continuing support of the Puglia and Campania Archaeological Superintendence branches, for facilitating excavation and study of the material. The dating work has

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      BP Neanderthals and their distinctive cultures disappeared and were replaced by Anatomically Modern Humans, representing at the origin of the Aurignacian and, later, the Gravettian (Higham et al., 2014). It is still an open question, whether so-called “transitional industries”, such as Szeletian, Bohunician, Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician, Zwierzyniecian, Ulluzian, Chatelperonian, were made by Anatomically Modern Humans or Neanderthals (Nerudová, 2000; Ringer, 2001; Tostevin and Škrdla, 2006; Moncel and Voisin, 2006; Jacobi et al., 2007; Jöris and Street, 2008; Roebroeks, 2008; Adams, 2009; Riel-Salvatore, 2010; Kot and Richter, 2012; Douka et al., 2014; Ruebens et al., 2015; Flas, 2011; Kowalski, 1967, 1979). What is more, the authors are still discussing whether the factors behind Neanderthals extinction and the spreading of Anatomical Modern Humans were mainly natural causes (Finlayson, 2004; Finlayson and Carrión, 2007), cultural behaviours or competition (Banks et al., 2008; Slimak, 2019), or both (Roberts and Bricher, 2018).

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