title: The Acheulian and Early Middle Paleolithic in Latium (Italy): Stability and Innovation.
abstract: We present here the results of a technological and typological analysis of the Acheulian and early Middle Paleolithic assemblages from Torre in Pietra (Latium, Italy) together with comparisons with the Acheulian small tools of Castel di Guido. The assemblages were never chronometrically dated before. We have now 40Ar/39Ar dates and ESR-U-series dates, within a geomorphological framework, which support correlations to marine isotope stages. The Acheulian (previously correlated to MIS 9) is now dated to MIS 10 while the Middle Paleolithic is dated to MIS 7. Lithic analyses are preceded by taphonomic evaluations. The Levallois method of the Middle Paleolithic assemblage is an innovation characterized by the production of thin flake blanks without cortex. In contrast, the small tool blanks of the Acheulian were either pebbles or thick flakes with some cortex. They provided a relatively easy manual prehension. The choice of Levallois thin flake blanks in the Middle Paleolithic assemblage suggest that the new technology is most likely related to the emergence of hafting. Accordingly, the oldest direct evidence of hafting technology is from the site of Campitello Quarry in Tuscany (Central Italy) where birch-bark tar, found on the proximal part of two flint flakes, is dated to the end of MIS 7. Nevertheless, a peculiar feature of the Middle Paleolithic at Torre in Pietra is the continuous presence of small tool blanks on pebbles and cores and on thick flake albeit at a much lower frequency than in the older Acheulian industries. The adoption of the new technology is thus characterized by innovation combined with a degree of stability. The persistence of these habits in spite of the introduction of an innovative technique underlies the importance of cultural transmission and conformity in the behavior of Neandertals.
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0265, United States of America.|Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Rome, Italy.|School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9831-5443
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.affiliation: ArScAn, AnTET, CNRS, Université Paris Ouest, 92023, Nanterre, France.
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soriano
authors.affiliation: Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.|Research Centre of Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grün
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, 00147, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marra
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du climat et de l'environnement, CEA Saclay, UMR 8212, UVSQ et Université de Paris-Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Sebastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nomade
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du climat et de l'environnement, CEA Saclay, UMR 8212, UVSQ et Université de Paris-Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.|Département de Préhistoire, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7194, 75013, Paris, France.|Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.|Ecole française, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Pisa, 56126, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boschian
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.|Laboratoire Archéologie et Peuplement de l'Afrique, Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pollarolo
authors.affiliation: Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.|Research Centre of Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Département de Préhistoire, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7194, 75013, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bahain
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D005580:Fossils; D007558:Italy; D059125:Neanderthals; D013672:Technology; D053001:Tool Use Behavior