NEANDERTHAL SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES IN THE NORTH-EAST OF ITALY: Inferring seasonality of occupations at De nadale, San Bernardino and Fumane Caves, combining dental wear analyses and cementochronology

Identifier:  TDX:4026

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX4026

Authors:  Livraghi, Alessandra

Abstract:
Neanderthal subsistence strategy has always been a challenging topic in the field of Paleolithic studies. In the last years, the North-east of Italy became more and more relevant in the debate, as the number of investigated deposits grew, and the quality of methodologies improved. De Nadale Caves is a key site to enlarge our knowledge about mobility patterns and subsistence strategies: thanks to the number and to the good preservation of the osteological material, an intensive zooarchaeological analysis was possible. To broaden the zooarchaeological studies, dental wear analysis and cementochronology were applied to samples from two sites nearby – San Bernardino Cave, on the Berici Hills and Fumane Cave, on the Lessini Mounts – in addition to material yielded by De Nadale Cave. We combined the two methodologies with the aim to overcome any possible lack of information, due to the use of a single method. This study is addressed to produce data supporting the interpretation of the origin of the two archaeofaunal assemblages as a result of seasonal hunting events that took place mainly in winter. In this specific geographic and environmental context, our data gain a better understanding of Neanderthal subsistence strategies and occupational patterns.