title: Palaeoloxodon and human interaction: depositional setting, chronology and archaeology at the Middle Pleistocene Ficoncella site (Tarquinia, Italy).
abstract: The Ficoncella site in northern Latium (Italy) represents a unique opportunity to investigate the modalities of a short occupation in an alluvial setting during the Lower Palaeolithic. The small excavation area yielded a lithic assemblage, a carcass of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, and some other faunal remains. The main objectives of the study are to better characterize the depositional context where the Palaeoloxodon and the lithic assemblage occur, and to evaluate with greater precision the occupation dynamics. A 25 m-long well was drilled just above the top of the terrace of the Ficoncella site and faunal and lithic remains were analyzed with current and innovative techniques. The archaeological site contains floodplain deposits as it is located next to a small incised valley that feeds into a larger valley of the Mignone River. A tephra layer capping the site is 40Ar/39Ar dated to 441± 8 ka. Collectively, the geochronologic, tephrochronologic and geologic data, suggest the site was occupied during MIS 13. The new results should prompt further research at Ficoncella in order to improve our understanding of the dynamics of human settlement in Europe during the Early to Middle Pleistocene.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Università di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy; UMR 7041- ArScAn équipe AnTET, 21 allée de l'Université F-92023, Nanterre, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aureli
authors.affiliation: Museo Civico A. Klitsche De la Grange, Palazzo Camerale, Piazza della Repubblica, 29, 00051, Allumiere, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Contardi
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, CNR, Via Salaria km 29,300, 00016, Monterotondo Stazione, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Biagio
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giaccio
authors.affiliation: Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jicha
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lemorini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie per l'Agricoltura, le Foreste, la Natura e l'Energia, Università di Viterbo, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Madonna
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Magri
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marano
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Milli
authors.affiliation: Museo Civico A. Klitsche De la Grange, Palazzo Camerale, Piazza della Repubblica, 29, 00051, Allumiere, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Modesti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, SAPIENZA Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Rita
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Palombo
authors.affiliation: UMR 7041- ArScAn équipe AnTET, 21 allée de l'Université F-92023, Nanterre, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Roxane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rocca
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D001842:Bone and Bones; D004606:Elephants; D005580:Fossils; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D053001:Tool Use Behavior