Eurasian Prehistory, 5 (I): 85-94.

THE RIO SECCO CAVE, A NEW FINAL MIDDLEPALEOLITHIC SITE IN NORTH-EASTERN ITALY

Marco Peresani and Fabio Gurioli

Universityof Ferrara, Dipartimento delle Risorse Naturali e Cutturali, Corso Ercole 1d 'Este 32 1-44100 Ferrara, Italy; marco.peresanuiisunife.u .fabio.guriolitiisunife. it

Abstract . This article describes Rio Secco Cave, a newly discovered Middle Paleolithic site in the eastern Italian Pre-Alps.

Sedimentarysuccession, faunal remains, lithic assemblages and one 14C date define a chronological range from OIS 3 to theHolocenewith evidence of human presence at the end of the Middle Paleolithic. This site shows for the first time the presenceof the last Mousterians in the central northern Adriatic region between the Venetian Alps and Dalmatia.

INTRODUCTION some cases can be related to tool production tasks, Thefinal phase of the Middle Paleolithic in due to their very close proximity to lithic raw ma- northeastern Italy is documented through numer- terial sources. In other cases these short-term ousshelteredsites and open-air settlements that camps were simply used as waypoints in a logisti- showevidenceof short-term occupations or re- cal system of mobility. Segmented tool produc- pea.t~duse for complex tasks mostly aimed at ex- tion sequences like those recorded in the lithic as- ploItingmineral,non-mineral and food resources. semblages are the most useful indicators for largeamountsoflithic raw material as well as the predicting human behavior and variability in the physical-geographicaland ecological variability way these items circulated (Peresani and Porraz, atthe belt between the upper Venetian-Friulian 2004). The settlement system spans from the Ve- .11 . I I . UVI~P am and the Pre-Alps depict the context netian Pre-Alps to the neighboring western and ; w~lchNeand~rthalgroups lived, occupied ter- eastern regions, where sites are exclusively tones and migrated according to seasonal ephemeral and reveal limited and specific evi- ythmswith low residential mobility (Fiore et dence that can infer Neanderthal exploitation at 1.,2004; Pcresani,200 I; Porraz, 2005). Accord- the edge of the mountain context (i.e., Caverna ng.to their topographic position, some of the Generosa, Bona et al., in press) or to specific amcavesin the Venetian Pre-Alps (Grotta di situations in availability of mineral resources. umane:RiparoTagliente, Riparo Mezzena) can To this backdrop a recently discovered site conSIderedreference sites for sites that have stands out: Rio Secco Cave on the Pradis plateau, ensubjectedto frequent, complex and intense with its rich scientific evidence that shows human J.\uma~~ccupation where the lithic productions mobility indexes, territory occupation, and collec- erem.hmatelyintegrated with the acquisition, tion and exploitation of mineral and non-mineral ;?Cessmgand consumption of animal resources resources in the key region situated in the plain- tore et al., 2004; Peresani 2001' Thun Hohen- alpine contact region. Including the neighboring lemandPeretto, 2005). These" contexts were as- Piedmontese transect, the Pradis plateau is located 'atedwith various ephemeral camps that in between distinct morphological and ecological 86 M. Pcrcsnni & F. Gurioh The Rio Secco Cave, Italy 87

mhlgherthantbeplateau it is possible to enter the Corai, 1980; Peresani, in prep), The Grotte Verdi narrow ArzinoStream valley, a tributary of the caves were almost totally emptied by uncon- Tagliamentorunning southward from the inner trolled excavations during the 1960s and were in- Pre·Alpsto the plain, To the west, the Chiarza vestigated by research teams in 1970-1971 that ltreamvalleyconnects with the Meduna Stream recovered several Mousterian lithic artifacts from ill theTramontina Valley, crossing the Pre-Alps the lowermost deposit in Riparo I (sections 7-13): uptorueuppercourseof the Tagliamento. Due to few sidescrapers, one sidescraper on a thinned i,geographicsetting between the upper Friulian blank, various flakes partly affected by pseudo- plainandIbeCarnicPre-Alps, the Pradis Plateau retouches. From the same shelter, just a few side- standsata strategicposition, which may have fa- scrapers and flakes damaged by pseudo-retouches cilitatedhumanpenetration into the alpine region were recovered in sections 3, 4 and 5. Additional Adriatic Sea andtheupperTagliamento basin, Middle Paleolithic artifacts were found in sec- ThePradis Plateau has a gentle undulating tions 4 and 5 at Riparo II and in a reworked de- Fig .. 1. Northeastern Italy and the position of the landscapederivingmainly from the lightly sloped posit. Pradis Plateau In the Carnic Pre-Alps carbonaticfonnations (Rudist Limestones and ScagliaRossa- Cretaceous) and partly from the flysch(UpperPaleocene-M iddle Eocene) over LITHIC RESOURCES one thirdof the total surface (De Nardo, 1999, The stratigraphic series spanning from the areas: on the west the Venetian area rich ' h I 10 caves !hehmestonebedrocks were affected by karst Upper Triassic to the Miocene in the Carnic Pre- s e tel'S and open-air sites Some of I' h ' ~------L'-":L ~egradationprocessesproducing an uneven rm- , W uc are --'I Alps is complex due to the various sedimentary relevant to Mousterian culture- at rh G I' . ,e east the crotopograpbywith isolated blocks brattices and settings (platform, basins, etc.) and as a result of III ran Alps. with Divje Babe 1 cave (Turk I"gd I' I' , eo mes ined up along the main fractures or intense tectonic activity in this area since the 1~97), the Trieste Karst with several sites inosr: ' F' 2 ' ,C l~.. Sketch map of the Pradis PI3Ieau showmgu.' tectonicdiscontinuities.The bedrock is perme- Mesozoic. Rocks are mostly carbonatic - dolo- stl~.lundated (Tozzi, 1994) Or reported to the Earl Y maIn morphological features and the positionofR~ ,tedbya densesystemof more than 200 explored mites and micritic, oolitic or bioclastic lime- Wurm (Grotta degli Orsi - Boschian 2003 y Secco Cave and Verdi caves: I _verysteppedslopes) northwestem Croatia and Dalmatian ' t ), r~vities,Someof which penetrate some kilome- stones, marls and marly limestones - o~erlain by II' . caas where - stepped slopes, gentle slopes 4 _ sinkholes, 5-maro we -known srtes and a few recently di stream cuts, 6 - Paleolithic cave '" deepandvaryin altitude by a few dozen me- the Claut and Clauzetto Flysch respectively and . tscovere.j arc In ves are reported (Karavanic, 2001). lers(CuccbiandFinocchiaro 1981), The few wa- b the molassic succession (Carulli et aI., 2000), te,,,ySdi ' o IsSectmgthe plateau run through the T~ese formations have variable cher: cont~nt: the ,~ttlomofdeepand narrow gorges with several dolomites of the Monticello Formation, With.rar~ PRESENTATION OF THE SITE lie lefS andc ' steep slope tl . Th avesopemng on the walls, nodules and/or black flint lenses; the Dolomia ?I Slat are sometimes inaccessible. . Rio Secco cave was discovered in 2002 d The pi t ' ~d eFlyschoutcropson the northwestern side Forni, the most important a~d extended ba.sm . U~ . a eau IS enclosed by the followin~ lllg a survey aimed to explore archaeological evj., mountams' lh p M COnnectsto the karst plateau to the Pala it with frequent flint levels m the lower portion the R ,e ala Mount (I 231 rn) to thee.1 unr , L' tone dence and to reconstruct the earliest human his- OSsa Mo' , OuntDue t 't ' h of the sequence; the Chiampomano Ime~ , Ciaurlec M Unt ndge (1,369111) to the north,thedrogm' h' 0 IS Impenneability, a surface y- tory of the western Friulian region It II' 'th dark flint nodules and beds sporadically . . es at an the soutll 't OUnt (1, 148 m) to the west (Fig, 2), To 'a P IC systemdeveloped draining toward the altItude of580 m on the Pradis Plateau in the east- rSI sector h '. WI t d becoming more frequent at the top; ern part of the Carnic Pre-Alps (Fig I) Which ru 1 terminates above the Cosa streamcui ~rbd ' w ere It IS almost completely ab- presen an . f:' d '· 2 . , an oro- ns South d" . d ,/ I In Ibesubstrate, The landscape assumes the Soverzene Formation in carbonatlc a~les an grap hIC unit 850 km bounded to the north b th scape, a system fiwar dlssectlllg the hdly Ian· ' h Y e a in dolomitic facies, in which dark!?lack tlmt nod- h Ig water~course of the Tagliamento Rive t crests betw ormed by WSW-ENE orient~ "'''d flUVIalfeatureswith several valleys, ter- h h b ' r, 0 , een 250 e surface d' . I and beds abound, flint sometImes has a yel- t e sout y the hIgh western Friulian plain, to the S,vely deere' 111 and 500 III with progres-~dR San thill allUVialsheets, The Cosa aSll1g elev . ~ es. h color in the dolomitic facle~; the V~rzeg- east by the eastern bank of the Cavazzo Lake and COntact to th atlon until they reach aclear ~de10 S~c.cos.treamsrun in gorges almost 1,000 tl e upper Po 'd " T ~WIS .. t Mount containing fllOt beds In the to the west approximately by the meridian passing 1e SOuthwest, the I eJ~one allUVial plaill. ,0 ~liftep~ngmatmgfrom a combination of tectonic ms Encflm es, . . the Igne through. the Claut Village. Altitudes range from (367m) ridge r' Col Palis (374 Ill)-Col V"t, ~d"h~lthkarstand alluvial erosion processes ··f calcarenites lower portIOn, . th' Ises frOm tl " iCh d' , enCflDl .IC . hich dark flint beds abound dls- 310 m 111 the Tagliamento valley at the extreme e Claurlec IV 1e MedUlla fan and from sl., f IVldethe plateau from the western b OUnt a d C Fon~atlOn, I~ w Va'ont Limestone, with rare northeastern sector of the area to 2,479 m at Mt. . Ounds to the north h n astelnuovo hills, and ""'"S theC"JaurIec Mount. a few in . Otnecaves . II contmuOu~~'re~;ish hint nodules and flint beds Pramaggiore. Several N-S and W-E oriented val- Ity of Which ~~lSeq~aJs marsh proxim- \I~,"I Openillgat the base ofrockwa s leys with 400 to 800 m elevations and high crests Covered from the lstenan artifacts were re- surfac ~t~etgecollapseddolines or in the gorges cut ~~~I~I~~the lower a~d :~t~~~o;:~':;'n o:r~;:~:~ (2,000-2,300111) between them dissect the region Almost 6 km2. e. rises fr 53 In area th fnt th Gsaanditstributaries have been explored mation; the Fonza~o I 0 d fli~t beds with local and make the landscape extremely complex with . om 0 lU to 590 ' e plateau elevation e presen f U SIde through Dl. Fr . ~oes,theG Ce 0 Pleistocene fills, Of these or reddish flmt no h esaln portio'n over the a threshOld ft 0111 Its northeastern . nce of t e SI ICIfied 'I we rOUeVerdiand the Grotta del Clusan- pre domma R Atnffionitico Superiore, ormed by reliefs 1,000 o,reUsedd' I f one' the osso " radiocarbon dating PlcaJiy mOdified b d. uni!Sat ~~enalscan be collected both on river and discontinuous incoherent yellOWIsh-brown dolo- one recovere In . . d infi lis Stones and boulders have a cha- ell': gravelplains and on glacial and fluviogla- mrtrc san I . . I . POSIlS l~t 'b at various points along the Taglia- o aslO. otic orientation and are cover;d by t~~~:ll~o:~; ules and beds; the Biancone micritic limestones, concretions on the lower sur aces.. . h b where flint varies from light (white) to dark in the tlint sorner,mes in. ' Sr . ible levels made of thin breccia wtt su- are VISI ded coarse grains locally ce- form of nodules and beds; the Soccher Limestone Rossa and its red la'ge nodules: the SC8~I> 1lA1IGD'PHY rounded to roun . .. Id d N nOdul ..' "" and its bioclastic carbonatic sandstones with flint eVertheless th ar flint locally present. Rio S mented. ArcheologicalJy sterile, this unit yre e becoming more frequent in the western zone than formations are r' .e eXtensions covered byth6 ~lleninecco Cave is a large sheltered cave d . eStnCt d , g Onth 1 fi rare bones. . .. I des several levels made in the easternmost where it dramatically decreases ~te III W-E strips e: partly they are distillI~earn e e t slope of the homonymous Unit 5: this urut me u . M d. or disappears; the Scaglia Variegata, with dark hnes correspondin;~COrding to the main tec!O~l~g~O~t~a.20 m above the present-day bed. Fac- . ted brecc13. e mlll- the case of the DOlomia dO F Overthrusts as in~ ~V~~r.' thegreat shelter has a large flat roof of inco.hereot ,~a~~;i;~f~~s that are occasionally 1 On· I 'O"Omth ' small Sized car 0 b ded. dark yellow- "; Partly they co# r lt~tifi e collapse oflarge slabs driven by b lar to su -roun , larger, Sil -angu .It matrix' reddish-brown 'd Ilrnestone. The sheltered area is ish-brown c1ayey-sl Y , 90 M. Peresnm & ,.. Curlol, The Rio Seceo Cave, Italy 91 clayey-silty coatings, continuous on the upper w rked and thu /1"0 impos 'blefor"to' stone surfaces. It contains fragmented harred id e of human presence and these consist of infomlalion about Ihe rcrmmauon of thi" eVl enc h li it d wood, small bone fragments and lithic artifa ( veyfew items, presumably due to t ~ UTI! e ex- mcntary cycle. The lower boundary was nOI reached. tent of the excavation, Although unit 5 wa~ ex- This Succession documents two main cdi- ploredona more reduced area (0.5 x 0.5 m), It re- mentary events controlled by freezing-l hawing veals the highest concentration o~ lithic and processes and rock collapses thai acted to degrade FA L R M I' faunalremainsalong the overall stratIgraphy. 111 lens remainB Unit pieces were recovered from the walls and the roof of the sheltered cave. Ow- Fr R 1. d r faunal 1: Some re- rec vcrcd, Due I the mall izeof this",- workedsediments: fragmented Bronze Age pot- ing to the restricted size of the explored area we 111~ tery flint artifacts, small cores cannot evaluate whether the large collapses at the blage me very prcluninary observencrs andfour two and drip line or the stream deep cut facing the site re- advanced ab UI the agcn: lhol acted toprodoonvoflakesin a good preservation state unaffected fer to this sedimentary cycle or to other cycles. and ab u: Ihe human and n n-human occu~ bypatinaor other alteration. Both of the cores dif- Unit 5 records a depositional phase at the cavc- at the III lith f thc cay , At the mom~ntno~, ferentiatefrom flakes by the presence of thin car- 2 Can be pr vi led I suppon paleocnvlrom bonaticfilms on their surfaces: the first one was mouth due to colluvial processes from the outer- [ recoils rue 1In. . bl d most Zone and/or of non-carbonatic fine sedi- '0 S foundon a rounded block of Soverzene flint col- ments originating from the degradation of the Unit I c ntain 4 piece with vana e, lectedintheMeduna stream plain, thesecon one Flysch and reworked in the inner karst system, grccs ofpreservali n: Ironglywenl11eredre'" onagreenishvery fine cretacious flint nodule of Reworked deposits may OCCur frequently as it has are associated with very fre h presenl.dayde~: unknownprovenance. Flakes are made In lime- been revealed elsewhere in other inactive cavities, its. 'del1lltied piece c nsist of one badgermanu stone or in Jurassic flint. The latter is a pseudo- In most cases these are occluded or nearly f lJed ble (Metes metes), ne phalanx and onemet' levalloispoint struck from a cobble bearing 3 up. The deposition of these fine-textured siJicatic probably bel nging to wild boar (Sus scrofa),n ITacesof stream/fluvial transport. The thin edge sediments maybe relate to the outermost also two CaprinGe teeth, In un;1 2, among theJJ~ opposedto the back displays modification pre- . if ecovered 10. um.it 2' I - bladelet, stream activity, although neither sedimentary Covered faunal remains, there are a mamlOtclil;sumablydue to utilization, Because these items Fig. 4. Arti acts, r '2 _ seudo-Levallois P01l1t; 3 _ flake-core) and unit 5: ~ G Almerigogna and S. structures were observed or siliciclastic rock out- cle (MarmOla marmola) and one indetenru~ a"mdistinguishablein their taphonomic features, Levallois core. Drawll1gs y . crops throughout the Rio Secco basin Upstream fragment showing a serie of short cut-marks' theycan be grouped according to their techno- Muratori from the cave. ll unit 5 bone assemblage COunts 92 remams mer logicalfeatures into two assemblages: I) Late A fragmented diaphysis (species undetennin_ mg. One metapod,um. and Ihree cav ebear(U" ,eolithiC-BronzeN '. Age (the cores); an d M ou-ste able) recovered in unit 5 displays cut-marks that spetaeus) deciduous canines and one m': rian(thepseudo-Levalloispoint). were made with a lithic tool (Fig. 3) was radiocar_ ., latfonn covering the overall (Marmola marmola) melacarpus. A small I:' Unit2: This unit contains one fragmented trinuned stnklllg p. t I reCUlTent scars on the bon dated to 37,790 ± 360 B.P. (LTL429A). As . d centnpe a . meMed herbivore rib has preserved sUbClrru~b1adeletwithcortical back and one bladelet flake- discussed by Housley et ai. (1997) and Zilhao and penme~er an ith repeatedly struck .hlnges areas (pits) produced by the pressureOfla~:: core.Theflint is gray and vitreous, lightly pati- extractIOn surface WAg the five entire and D'Errico (2003), direct dating of human-modified . d' rd man animal bones gives the most aCcurate Proof of hu- nlvore teeth (Ursus?). An[hroplc aClivlly • ~ted,presumablycollected from cretaceous for- leading to Its lsca ' d flakes we describe one mal bones in this unil is evident by a dozen~:~ mationS(Biancone?)in the Venetian Pre-Alps be- indeterminate fragmente ffected by pseudo- man occurrence in caves used by animals and hu- . t 'petal scars a " mans, while unmodified animal bones _ often bones and by the diaphysis wilh cUI-marks II Ie, ~indtheAlpagoBasin. The core was obtained on flake With cen n 11 do-Levallols POlllt C d one sma pseu 2) used in 14C analysis - can be totally unrelated to Was sacnficed for I4 daling. Bone preservatiO': aIhinplungedflake struck from fl int filled with retouches an . 'd technology (Fig. 4: any human settlement. gOod -Ihesurfaces are fresh with sharpedgcs". cementedfissur FI k' curred along the d ith d,scol . h V r- produce W d flint similar to tee COntrast With c 12' b' blunt or rom '. es. a ll1g oc . made from co~rse texture The successive sedimentary phase records a ded edges pres~'mabi,e~I~:re~a~ngwater transp~ ~)aJ~aX,ls following the distal ~hickening (Fig: ~: conspicuous cave-fill aggradation coincidental zegnis Encrillltes. fj a homogeneous as- or moreb likely tram IY. / Y th's faunal~' 'I Aslistedbelow, the followmg traces are V'SI- with the deposition of unit 4, which led to an al- P mg. n sum, I ue'rem' fitch the The unit 5 gronp de me1slo,'S technology and sem lage is the reSult ofbo[h lar e cam;vores~' I,' . ams 0 amellar scars, a stopno , .. g Leva b most complete obstruction at the cave-mouth, In S rng the. cave as a den and fron~ human carc"" '; r"ledor hinged detachments endrng the se- emb/age contaman h logy as suggested y relation with the sedimentological features and ar- . d tee no . h . process mg. Butchering activities are also ~ ; nee.Further operations aimed to shape and presumably dlSCOI d Levallois point, whlc IS chaeological content observed at the top of unit 4, Corded III unit 2. Remains collected from unitI f gulatethevolume can be observed on the lower the core and the pseu ~~ct of this method. As a this event can likely be temporally placed at an in- define a non-h d ~ ace, b th .omogelleous assemblage pro uC . . a typical pnmary pro eatures (dihedral butt w,th terval extending from the late Middle Weichse_ Ie the technolog,cal f< . sequence) exclude lian to the Late-glacial. The variable sedimenta_ Y e reWorkmg of both old and modem items. ~veIi"t 5. From this unit One LevaliOls core and ru , th operatIve L convex surfaces, .. e is a by-product of the e- tion rate throughout the Succession is also discer- LITHIC ARTIFACTS l' ' artIfacts were recovered. The core IS 111 ny doubt that th,s ,tern . able fragments and nable in the opposing degrees of anthropization ongo a I detennm . fl k Very few fiCtile re . 't ~ Q;;"all flint and Ihe lower surface has abra: vallois procedure. n d cts indicate on-sl~e a e recorded in both units. The uppermost 50 cm of were recovered in a mains and lithic art1<'I,e esand v ndg features typically denved from flu other flaking waste pro U certainty is posslbl~ for the stratigraphy at this stage had been recently re- from the GRS I ?,ood state of preserv8trO~ ble SOUndll1g E 'th 'aw-hnSPOrt(Fig.. 4: 3). Similar provlslOna.. . d ction. However, less d in unit 2 eIther its reworked Content . Xcept for Ul1lt 1 ~I matenalsare likely to be fonnd in the fluvial pro u '~ t recovere . / D , Only two units provided "lIuVi I . h h framing the artllaC s lturally. Technolog1ca , e~- ~t O-g3Cialalluvial gravels spread t roug _ chronologically or cu m in the Upper Paleo"th,c theTagliamentoriver basin. The core has a tures I'keI to place the 92 The Rio Secco Cave, Italy 93 and presumably the Epigravcnian, bur they clash anorher \\ ell-knowlI He In lhe Lessmi MD. iechno-economique de I'industrie moustenenne du with the co-association of fragmcnrcd p ucry, HOUSLEY R A., GAMBLE C S., STREET M., PET- Ihe TagheOle heller." hI h haslften~H"· Riparo Tagliente (Verone, Italie). Actes du Collo- TITT P., 1997. Radiocarbon evidence of the Late- Moreover, no carbona tic film has been dcp sired que International Donnees recents sur les modalites cvidcn e of t hn I glClllvan blli~ati". glacial human recolonisation of northern Europe. on these potsherds, contrary ro the lirhics. An as- de peuplement et sur Ie cadre chronostratigra- end of Ihe , U,lenll/l or 81 1<3>1durin~IT Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 63, 25-54 sociation resulting from reworked n n-c cval phique,geologique et paleogeographique des in- (Ar>. laeolithic settlement system in North-Eastern Italy. tens ofthollsands ofy A numer-ic age al the IP- -UP boundary,W grottesa Oursavec indices de frequentation humaine In Conard N. J. (ed.), Settlement Dynamics of the I I' ears. t the moment no pa- au Paleolithiquemoyen final. L'exemple de la Middle Palaeolithic and Middle Stone Age. Tiibin- t~oe~o~g~~data arc available to infer whelher which ho Unlil n w been bcner mvesrigaleJ CavemaGenerosa dans les Prealpes lombardes, gen Publications in Prehistory, Introductory Vol- ema, 1 dIe Paleolithic at Rio Secco is thc neighboring regi ns, hen il; particu!'r b ltalie.L 'Anthropologie. ume,485-5D6. edded In sedi t ti CIll- ti n at thc r S road f Ihe plain -mountun BOSCHIANG.2003.Proceedings International Round PERESANI M. 2003. An initial overview of the middle e

19-36. J,fi.'OJ.!nJphlqut· tit, litdu mt'\ du PaMolilh, TURK I. (Ed.). /997. Mousterian "Bane Flute" (uu/ III/l;ric-ur ("I litO) :f' ~n Europt. ACICS du CollCNJu~ olherjilldsfl'olll Divje Babe I cave Stte in /0)'('11111. h:mtwonol. Bnt ...h ArchaeologIcal Reports,IlltJ Opera Insutun Archacologici Slovcmac (2). 136-1.261 26 . Znanstvenoraziskovalni Center AZU. J I 156. 21 lIA , J, O'FRRI r 2003. An AungJlC! THUN HOHENSTEIN U., PERE1TO .2005. Fauna! " ardell or Eden In uthcm Gennany"?An~t· exploitation in the Middle Palaeolithic: vidcnccs 11t11'\C mterprerau n of lhe GClssenkJOsterle,ar~.1 from Riparo Taghentc (Verona, Ilaly). In: L annees Critique or ule A'ulwrpuntpt, model. Paleo I.', recents sur les modolites de peuplemelll et sur te 69 6, cadre chrofloslraligraphique. geologique et paleo. 94

19-36. /o:l'Os:rtijJlJlqu (/., iltd,,: lri('\ du Paleolilnif.-EurasianPrehistory, 5 (I): 95-127. TURK I. (Ed.). /997. Mousterian "8011(/ FItJ/(i" fOul IIIkr/l"ur ('IIJIO) t'~"Europe,ACles du CollCNJu~ olherjindsjrom Divje Babe I cave Site in lovema. «mallOIl.', Bnl"h ArchaoolOil,cal Reports,I'.!. Opera Insuruu Archacologici lovcninc (2). 136-1.261 26 Znanstvenoraziskovalni Center AZU. J 19 156. 21 lIAO, J., D'ERRI F 2003. An AuogJllr! THUN HOHENSTEIN U., PERETTO .2005. Faunal " arden or Eden In uthcm Gcnnan(? An~~· exploitation in the Middle Palaeolithic: vidcuccs 11011\C mrcrprerauon of (he GCI~'iC1lkJOslerle,aru.1 from Riparo Taghentc (Verona, Ilaly). In: annees cruiquc of lll<: Kul/llrp//mpe model. Paleo I.' recents sur les modolites de peuplell1(!111et sur le 69 6. MESOLITHICSETTLEMENT AND ACTIVITIES cadre chronostratigraphique, geologique et paleo. INROCKSHELTERSOF THE KAMENICE RIVER CANYON, CZECH REPUBLIC

l 2 JiffSvoboda , Maria Hajnalova , Ivan Horacek3, Martin Novak", Antonin Pfichystaf', Andrea Sajnerova6 and Alla Yaroshevich?

1,4/l1stituteof Archaeology, Academy of Sciences 0/ the Czech Republic, Center jar Paleolithic .' ,andPaleoe1hnologicalResearch, Brno and Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic," [email protected] InstituteC!fArchaeology,Slovak Academy of Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia , J Departmento/Zoology, Faculty ofScience, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic . Departmelllf!fGeological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno. Czech Republic 6 TheHrdliCka·s Museum of Man, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic 7Department of Archaeology, University of HOI!a, israel

Abstract Thispaperintroducesa group of newly discovered Mesolithic rockshelter sites, clustered at the confluen~e of two :~c~Yonsinthesandston- region of North Bohemia, Czech Republic. Whereas the rockshelter of Okrouhlik, repre- aOO hIeofrheEarlyMesolithic stage is located higher above the valley floor and has only shallow sediment coverage Ille the culturallayers, the rockshelt~r of Do/sky Miyn, representing the Late Mesolithic stage, is loc~ted almost on the ThankII ty floorlevel,WIt. h a massive... income of sediments from above. A networ k 0 f sma Her rockshelter sites was.. recorded. I \'1's .toitsshallow position the Okrouhlik rockshelter was excavated almost completely, demonstratmg. 1l1 t erna ""hIn-Sllepatt emmg:. a central hearth, system of surrounding kettle-shape d·plts,an d tWO,large stone-filled,. IImargmaA 1 1 ly 0-fl "ij eartbs Th' " . I Dolni VestOl1lce na yses 0 ~, enVltomnent' IS! dSHestructure may be cornpared to other hunter-gatherer d SItes suc 1 as . a ata, fauna, and use~wear 011 lithic artifacts are include,

II)RODUCTiON BeforeIe . RESEARCH HISTORY AND ACTUAL t~oad I aVlOgthe Bohemian Massiv through Valeyc t· GOALS ~BOhe· a Into the sandstone plateaus of Several limited areas of sandstone plateaus IJiel mtan-Saxonian"Switzerland" Elbe one argest ' , with canyons and rockshelters are scattered from ~I t':b central European rivers receives a I,.· "' utary fi ' Luxembouf g overa~e~~e~~ea~~ecCehnt;::p~~~a~~ 'Glllenic rom the east, named Kamenice. to the nortl lern P h h tic Sleepepasses through a sequence of narrow . os archaeological researc as most of these reglO , . unattractive ~~yprosa~dstonecanyons, same of which re- vl h n that the sandstone areas, bemg ~leJneb cd relatively (i.e., on a Bohemian s ow . ere mainly occupied by foragers for agriculture, W .' . d In this manner, 1'°Doda(ettdenceof Mesolithic occupation . h Mesohthlc perto . ~areaof .),2003). Of special importance was durtng t e f II to the knowledge these sites contribute essen la .Yd of central Euro- ~~BilaConfluenceof Kamenice and Jetficho- of a relatively little known peno , nverswh h .. j t. 1~5 ,ere t e excavatIOns 111 200 ". . uneanhed pean prehistoryh t the sandstone formations of ·'h~ici a system of early and late The fact t a . II the pseudokar- SI IS (Figs. 1-3). northern Bohemia, and especla y