Tempi e modi del ripopolamento dell’Appennino Centrale nel Tardiglaciale: nuove evidenze da Grotta di Pozzo (AQ)

Abstract - Grotta di Pozzo is located at 42° N on the southern edge of the Avezzano basin, at 710m asl in the Apennine range of central Italy. The surrounding mountains rise to >2000m asl. The basin is of tectonic origin and has been occupied during the Pleistocene and Holocene by the shallow and widely fluctuating Lake Fucino, eventually artificially drained. High lacustrine levels are correlated with reduced evaporation and cold climatic phases. A very high water level was reached at the LGM, when fluviolacustrine sediments were deposited in the cave. Then the lake started to decrease, and there is evidence of human activity soon after 20 ka cal bp in the talus deposit. The Lateglacial stratigraphic sequence, with Epigravettian industries, spans over the following 5000 years, while Holocene deposits with Sauveterrian industries occur at the top. Inside the cave, layers of limestone éboulis alternate with layers rich in organic matter. The sequence is twofold: from 19 ka to approx. 15.5 ka cal BP, there is evidence of very restricted human groups briefly visiting the cave. Broken armatures were discarded, and new ones produced with flint collected at some 30km of distance, where the latter outcrops between 1000 and 2000m asl. Flint does not occur locally, and therefore had to be imported. It is assumed that it was collected in the higher mountain areas during the Summer hunting season, but there is no direct evidence of seasonality at the cave itself, as bones are badly preserved in the lower layers. The upper layers, which are dated between 15.5 and 14.5 ka cal BP, include animal bones (mostly chamois and red deer, but also ibex, wild boar, hydruntine horse and aurochs). Marmot and birds were also exploited and there are abundant trout remains. Fish vertebrae are underrepresented within the assemblage, possibly suggesting that trout was partially processed here, by removing the head portion, and taken to another location for consumption. Chamois were caught in autumn, in good accordance with other lines of evidence pointing to human presence after a Summer spent at higher hunting grounds. The hunters possibly followed the chamois when they moved seasonally upland in search of better pasture, and then back to the Fucino. Flint used in the cave was collected from the same mountain outcrops as in earlier layers, and a limited amount of exotic flint also occurs. There is evidence of larger parties settling for a while, producing and using a wide range of lithic implements, as well as dwelling structures such as pits and a large fireplace which was lighted again and again. The combination of high altitude and low latitude, and the presence of a lake, apparently created a unique set of opportunities for late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers, allowing the post-LGM recolonisation to start there earlier than elsewhere in Europe. However, a residential phase starts substantially later, after 16 ka cal BP, just as elsewhere over the Alps. The evidence of Grotta di Pozzo fits into the twofold model of recolonisation suggested by Housley et al. (1997) for north-western Europe.ITALIAN