Geological context of lithic industries in Delia-FiumeGrande valley, Santa Ninfa (TP): Hypothetic early human population in Sicily?

Identifier:  TDX:3372

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX3372

Authors:  Caracausi, Sandro

Abstract:
The early human peopling in Sicily is one of the most debated topics in archaeology and anthropology since the discovery of lithic industries attributed to the Lower- Middle Palaeolithic in Sicily. In particular, lithic industries found in Fiume-Grande/Delia Valley (Western Southern Sicily, Trapani District, Italy). The principal objective of this thesis is to fill the geological gap concerning the relationship between the lithic artefact found in this region and the territory; through the application of a multidisciplinary study (field activities, sedimentology, petrography and palaeontology). The research was carried out using different geological approaches: mapping geology, sedimentary analysis and petrographic analysis. Geological surveys were undertaken to identify lithologies, their stratigraphic relationships, and to characterise the geomorphology of the area. In a nutshell, research covered different research field, allowing to collect much information useful to contextualise lithic industries of Grande\Delia river valley from a geological point of view. The sedimentological, petrographic, palaeontological and survey analysis on territory show how there was the possibility of a favourable environment for human presence inside the valley and during the Late-Middle Pleistocene, with a rapid transition from marine to the continental environment and formation of fluvial Terraces.