Journal Articles Quaternary International Year : 2016

The Middle Pleistocene site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Central Italy) on the Lower/Middle Palaeolithic transition

Carlo Peretto
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Abstract

The archaeological site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Central Italy), under excavation since 2008, is located in the Upper Volturno Valley, near the top of a fluvial terrace attributed to the Middle Pleistocene. Several anthropic levels have been recognized within a stratigraphic sequence of more than two meters in thickness, characterized by alternating gravelly and sandy fluvial layers rich in pyroclastic materials, attributable to the end of MIS 11-beginning of MIS 10, according to the obtained radiometric dates (Ar-40/Ar-39 and ESR/U-series). In this paper we discuss the chrono-stratigraphic record, the paleontological and zooarchaeological data and we provide a detailed techno-economic analysis of the lithic industry, characterized by the coexistence of handaxes and Levallois debitage. The site of Guado San Nicola represents the oldest evidence of the emergence of prepared-core technologies in the Italian Peninsula, adding new data to the debate on the Lower/Middle Palaeolithic transition in Western Europe.

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Carlo Peretto, Marta Arzarello, Jean-Jacques Bahain, Nicolas Boulbes, Jean-Michel Dolo, et al.. The Middle Pleistocene site of Guado San Nicola (Monteroduni, Central Italy) on the Lower/Middle Palaeolithic transition. Quaternary International, 2016, 411 (B), pp.301 - 315. ⟨10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.056⟩. ⟨hal-01869185⟩
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