Grog' . h i. Dinam. QU,/I. 26 (2003), ·H-~8, 7 fiR!. .

SERGIO GINESU ("), STEI'ANIA SIAS (") & JEAN MARIE CORDY (" *)

MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THE NURIGHE CAVE (LOGUDORO, NORTHERN , ) AND THE PRESENCE OF MAN: FIRST RESULTS

ABSTKACT: G INESU S. , SI,\S s. & CORDY J.M., Morphologiclll l'VO· RIASSUNTO: G INESU S., SI,\S S. & CORDY J.M ., L'evoluziolle mor/olo. lution of tbc Nf/ril!.he tsa rst caoc (Logndoro, nor/bait Sardillia) lind tbc Fi cadel/a crlVilli corsicadi Nurigbt" (l.omdoro, S(/rdl'J',IW scttcntrimmlc) £' la presence 0/ man:first results. (IT ISSN 039 1·9838, 2003 l. presen za dcll'uomo:primi nsnlnni. (IT ISSN 0391-9838, 2003 1. Fro m the course of studies ill the Logudoro Mejlo gu area, where th e I recent! studi nell'areu dcl Log udoro Meilogu , do ve csit uate il siste ­ N urighc karst system is located. it has been possib le 10 obtain mor e accu­ ma ca rsico di Nurighe , bann o permcsso di ricostruirc con prccisionc rat e information ( Ill th e geo mor phologic evolution of th is particular eave, l'cvoluzionc gl.·o morfolngic;l di questa panicolarc gron a ed analizzarc i and to analyse the samples of sediments from inside the cave. From an campioni di sedirncnro provcnicn n dall'nuerno ddb stcssa cavira. Le anal ysis of the sedim en t samples. it has bee n pos sible to iden tify ce rtain analis i banuo cons enriro di o nc ncrc tcstimonianzc ccrtc della prcscn za di evidence of the presence of homini zation in remains of fauna, such as ominix zazionc nci rcsti faunistici esamin at i. quali truccc di rnasticazio nc; traces of mastication : further analysis of the samp les revealed human delle pill recerui analisi sono crncrsi resti ossci urnani confcnu ando '-Iue­ bon e remains confirming these ea rly indication s. Since the cave is the ef­ stc pri me indi cazioni. L'evoluaion c della gro ua C stara dctcr minata da feet of an inversion of the entrance of the cavity, by locating the ori ginal una singolarc shu azicn e geomorfolog ica chc ha dcrcrmiruuo una invcrsio­ one, which had been closed by t wa flow; thanks 10 the absolut e age nc dell'in grcsso del condone carsico; l'Individuaxionc di un a cola ra lavica of the lava flow, it was possible to dare the presence of man to a period chc ha occ luso I'or iginario ingrcsso della grona. ha pc rmcsso di ou cncre before 0.1 m.y.BP. una data asscluta che colloca la prcsen za dcll'nomo nella grot ta d i Nuri ­ Th is co nfirms the hypothesis of the age of first colonisatio n in th e ghc old un'cra amcriore ai 0.1 m.y.BP. cave, whic h is certainly referable to about 0,3 m.y.BP th e time ncccs­ 11 date con ferrna l'ipo rcsi chc la pr ima colonizz axiore della g roua sia sary for the deposit 10 fossilise and be displ aced; moreover the richn ess riferibilc a circa 0.3 rn.y.Bl", tempo ncccs sario ;,1pcriodo di fossilizzaxio­ in m ater ial ;Ul O its parti cular recalcification con dit ion s may allow a IlTC­ nc 1.."'(1 al successive rimaneggiamento del giacirncnto: inohrc, dallo studio else reading of the mo rphoclirnatic pha ses that oc curre d in the entire della Ca\1t3 emerge la ricchezz a e le particola ri situa zioni di ricalcificazio­ region . ne lid mat eriale con Ia possibilim d i una lcn ura dell e fasi mo rfoclimati­ Indication s of the presence of man in Sardinia date ba ck to the Low­ chc riferihili all'imero Logudoro. er Paleolit hic {Clactonian. as the Auct.I when traces of processing were La prcs cnza dell 'uo mo nell'isola era anribuita al Palcolit lco Inferior e fou nd on flinrstoncs in Anglon a in northern Sardinia, which based on the (Clac toniano, sccondo gli Auto ril , in giacimenri dcll'Anglon a. ma [a da ta ­ processing found on the findings, were dated 10 0.3-0.5 m.y. Hl' in th e zionc era stare ricavara sulla bllSC della cuhura !lei manufani rinvcn uti I.ower PallU.'olithi c. The presen ce of man in Ihe N uri ghe cave confirms con eta relat ive di 0.3-0.5 m.y.BP. La presenza dell'uomo all'inlerno della the discoveries in Anglona b;lsed on found items, a mi for the first time cavita d i Nurighe conferma Ie sco pe Tle awelll,ne nell'An glona, ma offre, offers ;lbsolute ltlling as well as the poss ibility of finding ;lbund:lllt re­ pl'r la primll volra, una datazione radiollletrica e 1:1 possibilita oi ritTOvare mains of the first l·olonisl..'rs of the island. un impo Tl ante sito di riferimento per I'evo luziulle uma na nell'isola.

KEY \'(fO RDS: Karst, Paleolllllhro pology, Upper Pleisto cene, Sardini'l, T ERMI NI CUIA\'E: Carsismo, P;lk"tl;lntropo logia, Il!eistocene sUllerio­ ha ly. re, Saroegna, Italia.

(*) Isti/II /o SciCII Zl' Gl'ologico Millcmlogichc, Universillidi Sassan; I/a/y. INTRODUCTION ("'*) F.N.R.S., Ulliva site dc Liege, Be/gium. 11)c resci/reh was supported by Ihe itl1liflfl M.l.U.R. Projcc/ «Biocven/i The Logudoro area is once more proposed as a p rivi­ C011/il1 Cll/fl1i e IItilrilli dcl Messillitmo ill 1I11 /i(/: mppor/i con /'Europa e l'A/rica e Ira il Ml'di/erm1l co e /a Pilra/e/ide» (Na/ional coordillfl/or: Pro! legeu territory particularly significant in the stuuy of the D. Torre, Univlnita di Firenze; Lam/ hel1d: Pro! S. Gilll'su). recent evolution of the landscape and associated fauna ,

41 Th e area has been studied in oth er work s by present au­ FRAMING O FTH E AREA thor s (Gin esu 1991;Sias 1994, 1997,2002; Melis & Sins 1996), that were aimed at interpreting the forms and sur­ The study area is in southern Logudoro, in a territo ry face deposits witnessing the complex change in drainage particularly characterised by the p resence of a volcan ic patterns and watershed limits during the entire Pleistocene landscape of recent age, which affected the gcomorpho­ starting from the up per Pliocene. logical evolution of the entire Logudoro and Mejlogu. The Also the Nurighe cave (fig. I) was the subject of a pre­ studies carried out in this Mea (G inesu 1991; Sias 1997 ) vious work of intense collaboration with the local spclco­ have pointed out the complex scheme of processes that in­ logical group of the town of Thiesi, that pointed out the rcracred du ring the Pliocene and Pleistocene to create the particular evolution of this cavity (Ginesu & alii, 1998), landscape of the region, which is not particularly rich in But the progress of the studies, prospection on the land, karst morphology. In this context, the Nurighe cave is lo ­ and the results of samplings and analyses have identified cated in the calcareous outcrops of the municipal terri tory and pointed out for the first time on the island the pres­ of Cheremule, a small village at the border between the cnce of remains of hominids attributable to the lower two subregions of Logudoro and Mejlogu, in the centre­ Palaeolithic (Cordy & alii, 200 1). southern part of the province of , 35 km from the These results arc reproposed as a confirmation of the 1110st important town of the northern island. first pha ses of human impact on the island identifie d in the The entrance to the karst cavity is along-an erosiona l sites of Anglona along the river Altana in the tcrritory of scarp, a little cuesta, abo ut .5 m high in the small valley of Pcrfugas, where abundan t remains of stone produ cts at­ the Rio Nu righe.The scarp line of fluvial origin exten ds trib uted to lower Palaeolith ic cultures have been found into the left slope in an cast-west direction for about .500 (Martini et Pitzalis, 1987-88). H owever, owing to its cha r­ m drawing a precise outline on the erosional surface of the acteristics and morphogenesis, the conditions at the Nu­ Sas Animas plateau, where the di Roccamanna righe deposit arc very favourable to the preservation of nu­ and the Funrana di S'Ainalzu are located (fig. 2). The en­ mero us bone remains. trance to the cave has been partly modified, as the source that emerges from the cavity is captured and diverted to ­ ward s Mulino Sanna nearby, where its waters arc used as a drin king water supply by the municipality. Access to the cave is easy ami well-kept; the locality of Sas Animas is al­ so easy to reach as it is a few km from the highway 131 «Ca rlo Felice», the main mororwa y of Sardin ia, which links the island's main cities. The cavity is easily visible since as a result of the abundant water that flows out of -~-0eC. Sassari the rock, it is covered with dense shrub vegetation practi­ cally all the year round. The Sus Animas area is characterised by the presence o f detrital calcareous sediments of the marine Miocene and cincritic tuffaceous deposits of the effusive calcalkaline cy­ D Nuoro cle of the Oligo Miocene. The entire surface that makes up o the Sas Animas plain is made up of an arenaceous calcare­ ous facies of :1 thickness assessed at a few tens of metres, since terrains of clear volcanic origin outcrop in the under­ lying plain of rio Nu righe, which evolved on the tuffaceous Oristano arenaceous facies of the oligo mioccn ic cycle that out crop o extensively a little furth er westward along the western slopes of Planu Alto, Caput Abbas, and Planu Borgolo. The contact between the two facies is often sharp and clearly visible. It is often made up of a continuous, slightly inclined horizon, as in the situation highlighted in the study area. In [act, the contact continues with a weak southward inclination , where the arenaceous limestones tend to thicken. As described in :1 previous work (Gincsu & alii , 1998), the direction of the Nurighe cave and its po ­ o sition confirm its lithological contact origin. The northern part of the Sas Animas plain is made up of outcrops of basaltic rocks of the Pleistocene from the centre of emission of Monte Cuccuruddu, which is located at about 3 km from the area at an altitude of over 600 m on the eastern slope of the basaltic plateau of Nuraghc FIG. I - Localization of studied area. Coronedda.

42 1"1(;.2 - Aerial viewof the entrance of the cave and its sorroundings.

The plateau of Nuraghe Coronedda is made up por­ T H E CAVE phyritic trachybasahs generally holocrystalline attributed to an effusive episode of the end of the Pliocene (2.112 .2 As mentioned earlier, the Nurighe karst cavity devel­ m.y.Bl")(Bcccaluva & alii, 1981). ops along the contact between the Miocene calcareo us are­ The lava flow from Mont e Cuccuruddu, H small moun­ naceous sediments widely spread over the entire territory, tain range on the western slope of the small plateau made and the underlying lower Miocene levels represented by up of the scoriae of the effusive centre, was attributed by green-grey tuffaceous-cinerit ic deposits and continental the same authors to a volcanic activity of the same gcopct­ marly conglomeratic levels. These outcrops arc evide nce of rographic characteristics effused 0.2 m.y.Bl' (Bcccnluva & the early transgressive ph ases of the sea along the rift alii, 1981) by KIAr dating, the new da ta from an Arl Ar structure that crossed the island from north to south, from analysys gave two different dat a and have permitt ed to de­ the G ulf of Asinara to the G ulf of Cagliari. In the area be­ scribe two lava flows in the same paleovalley from the tween the towns of Th iesi and Cheremule, these sedimen ts same central vent. The first data is about 0.1 and confirm make up a sub-ho rizontal surface, located at an altitude of the first datation, the second give a data less then 0.1 and 400 -450 m, which corresponds to a few erosion surfaces in confirm the others results from paleonto logical and geo­ the territory referred to the midd le Pleistocene. This dat ­ morphological observations (Sias & alii, 2002). ing is also confirmed by the presence of basalt flows attrib­ The shape and size of the flow suggest a clear pre­ uted by KIAg analysis to effusive episodes between 600 existing mo rphology characterised by incisions in the slope thousand and 400 thousand years befo re the present (Bee­ tha t became deeper and more deeply set under the exist­ caluva & alii, 1981; Sias, 1997;Ginesu, 1991). ing cucstas, as described in previous studies (Sias, 1997), The entire cave develops with a prevalent north-south similarly to a few pa rallel incisions still active today. Th e trend on the entire erosional surface, which is incised by lava flow levelled out this morphology filling the entire in­ the rio Nurighe to the south and by basalt flow from cision where it had flowed in its entire width and depth Monte Cuceuruddu. The total length of the explored cave and expanding over the entire surface of the underlying is of abo ut 700 metres, b ut at least another 50 m referring morphological plain located at an altitude of about 420 . to the northern part of the cave, where the original en­ metres; the activity of the renewed system of surface wash­ trance used to be, are still to be explored (G inesu & alii, ing du ring this time caused a parti al inversion of the 1998). This part of the cave is blocked by a deb ris wall of mountain range along the northern contact of the lava very large blocks caused by the basalt flow entering in th e flow, where colluvial deposits arc present along the mod ­ initial part of the cave. erate incision of the rio that gave rise to the small asym­ Exploration of the cave, which was very difficult, was metrical valley of Su Tippin, which is still narrow and made possible thanks to the effor t of the speleological steep today. group of town of Thicsi. The cave itself is not very large,

43 though its horizont al development is quite extended, often The cavity of the Nurighe cave develops along the con­ becomi ng a narro w muddy passage (fig, 3). The karstifica­ tact joint between the two formations and shows a weak tion process shown by these types of rocks is modest but southward inclination concordant with this passage (G ine­ concordant with the general karst mor phology of the Mio­ su & alii, 1998) without negative gradients inside the cave, cene of Sardinia and in its nort hern par t in particular; in but its depth from the surface is of a few metres.This can fact speleothem depositions and hypogean morphologies be ded uced from the entrance to the cave and from the inside the cave are rare and with small thickness. contact with the basalt flow that obstructed the old en­ The surface of the plateau shows clear signs of cpigcan trance.Moreover, the western cucsta of the plateau COI1 ­ karsti fication, but the process is limited by the composi­ firms the existence of a calcareous arenaceous level of th e tion of the rock rich in sand and clay, and forms of disso­ same thickness and dip . lution, highlighting the structural aspects of the Miocene The spelenlogists that explored the cavity also carried formation, such as stratification joints and fracture direc­ out a few elementary percussion tests between the cave tions arc especially observed. Moreover, the particular and the surface to determin e the distance; and the result rock structure favoured the developm ent of a number of W

1"1(;. .3 • The IIn;,1 parr of the nar­ row conduit shows a \'ery rich de­ posit of fossils; in the foreground, a complete skull of MeW/Cl'ros cauoti.

44 FIG. -I - 11l(~ progressive sections of the Nurighe owe. The «Nit po int is near the con racr with the basaltic 13 \ '3 flow.

k ::::::; Volcanic ash deposits

Th e results of the geoelec tric survey arc still satisfacto ­ hypogca l scenarios often characterised by a large quantity ry and agree with the measurement s and data obtai ned of clayey sandy de posits...1 clear sign of the high residu e with the land survey. In fact. between december 1999 and content of these rocks. janu ary 2000, eight tomograph ic sections were laid orthog­ Nevertheless, toward s the terminal part of the cavity, onal to the axis of the estimated trend of the cave and par­ where the c..we beco mes larger; even the frequency of de­ allel to each other at a constant distance of 8 metres. Due posits and speleothems is richer. Here, the stalactite and to the irregu lar perimeter of the area and because access to subordinately, stalagmite deposits are more frequent and the ncighbou ring areas is impossible, the length of the sec­ also include material from the bottom of the cave, includ­ tions varied from a minimum of 22 metres to a maximum ing fossil remains rb..1t were transported a few hundred me­ of 32 metres. Each section W

45 cified, and 00 not show signs of significant fluvial erosion. Moreover rhey are blackened at the surface by a layer of manganese salts. Among the large mammals, fragments of a ccrvid of the size of' a 'present. fallow deer, referable to the insular spe­ cies Megaloeems cazioti have been recognised , of which a tibia and a few horn fragments indicating .1 medium sized anima l are well pre served. Next to this ccrvicl arc two bones (and a cox al bon e) testifying the presence of the insular cunid , Cynotberium sardus. Amon g the microfauna, a large number of Pl'Olagus sar­ dus bones and teeth were found, '.1I1 d among the rodents, . remains of Tirrcnicola beuseli and Rbagamys ortbodon with a prevalence of the former. Th e teeth size clearly indicates that they are evolved forms of two insular lines. Besides fauna and mammals, remains of birds and a Batricidc, both of which undeterm ined , were also found. Undoubtedly this faun a belongs to the terminal biozone of the paleontological history of Sardinia (Megalaceros cazioti, Tirrenicola benseli, and [{bagam)'s ortbadon biozone). As a recall this biozone probably started in the midd le-recent Pleistocene and ended with the transition between the Pleistocene and the 11010cene. Dat ing of the obstruction of the cave by <1 basalt flow (2 samples, 57.3 ± 33.2 and 55.5 ± 23.9 thou sand years ago by AIt/ AIt dating method in 200 1; Sias & ali), 2002) is con ­ cordant and con firms the idea of a lon g terminal biozon e that is not only limited to the Upper Pleistocene. Jointed with this middle-recent plcistoccnic fauna, a hum an remain was unconsciously taken in the sample of the cave sediment and was foun d du ring the sorting of the Co lluviu m and so il At" At" Upper Pleistocenic scarp same sample. It's the first phalanx of the finger I (tbumbr) (lIo lOl;en e) At" (laSl glacia l) of an adult (fig. 7). • Pleistocenic Ian flows At"'" Midd le Pleistocenic scarp (0,25 · O.lO m.y.b.p.) .... (prc O.lO m.y.b.p.) This important discovery confirms definitively the hypoth esis of a very ancient settlement of Sardinia by p re­ Mioc enic deposits ~ Sca rp of inversion relief D historic man as advanced from the discovery of the arcaic ./ Underground survay ~ Structural surface --..,/ ofNurighe cave allure industry in the Anglona region (Marti ni & Pitzalis, , Nurighc cave entrauge 87-88), a place no' far from Nurighe (3Dkms). In this way, La\'3 flow directio n • it's reconsidered the classical theory abo ut thc late coloni­ '" zation of the mediterranean island s at the end of Mesolith ­ ic as a result of the navigation development. FrG. 5 - The geomorph ological skcch of the Nurighc-Sas Animas region. Alrhought a phalanx is not enough to establish a spe­ cific determ ination , for comparison with hum an evolution in the continental Europe we can concretely consider that the Nurighe fossil correspond to an evolved Homo erectus THE DEPO SIT AN D T HE I-IUMAN PRESENCE at the change to the individualization of an arcaic Homo sapiens. . This preliminary study on the fauna is based on the The presence of 1/0 11/0 in Sardinia before D. I m.y.BP find ing of bnn es collected by spclcologists from a deposit is another evidence of the important role that the island of filling sediments inside the cave and from two small had in the hum an diffusion bctwcccn Africa and Europe samples of material collected in superficial strata. These (To bias, 2DD!). two samples were washed, screened, and separated care­ fully in order to collect micromammals. Moreover besides pleistocenic faun a, the sed iment also contains remains of CONCLUSIO N hivalves and echinoderms from the dissolution of the mio­ ccnic limestones. Thi s wo rk accompanies a communication by the same From a taxonomical point of view, it should be pointed authors containing prevalent paleontological references in out that the bon es are well preserved though a little decal- thc convic tion of having to supply the circumstances that

46 F IG . 6 T he geoelectric data • show the presence of the cave • nea r rhc surface. Section C C. -e s above. h middle. c low). -e ... -n • • • - -" - 12 5 • -a s , -s , ...... i -n l ,J -" j - 12 5 ) • ,- -e s -s .i. . . . , ~ .:.- i I -n - - - -- i j · 12 5 e . , , re 20 U 26 r-" "I .. , ~ , ~". " " "

led to the finding of remains attributable to the «homo» of the old paleostrearn inside the cave thus stressing the species for the first time in Sardinia. Besides the signifi­ progressive lowering of the cave towards south. caucc of the paleont ological discovery itself, the Nurighc Drainage of the waters from the exterior is still sup­ cave, with its part icular evolution and morpho-evolutiona­ plied by a contact layer between the basalt flow and the ry dynamics character ising this area and the enti re Logu­ pre-existing palaeomorphology, a part of these waters is doro, offcrs an excellent op portunity to date events that channelled along the cave crossing it lengthwise and involved the entire terri tory of the northern Sard inia. emerging at the mouth of the present entrance where it is The deposit containing hominids confirms the existence now used for drinking by the population of the ncar vil­ of an entrance in the opposite side compared to the present lage of Che remule. Thi s flow caused the fossiliferous mate­ ent rance, thus defining a geomo rphological inversion in the rial to be washed away, and :1150 allowed continuous trans­ evolution of the cave; the blockage of the old entrance by por t of the material from the nort h to the south. distribut­ the Cuccuruddu basalt flow favoured the flow of the waters ing it over about 150 metres inside the karst cavity starting

o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Flc;.7 • Th e hu man Falan x of the finger I.

47 fro m the en d part. It Follows from this that the primary de­ teau of Sas Anima s as a result of the fast renewal of erosive posi t, which is probably still under the material that activity. caused the «collapse» closing the original entrance, had Undoubtedly this period can be identified in the last been partially eroded and remobiliscd inside the cavity be­ climatic passage of the \Xliinn, which caused a faster ero­ fore the final collapse of the entrance du e to volcanic ac­ sion accen tuated by the imposing marine regression, which tivity. These fossils may be attributable to the same p res­ mult iplied the energy of the mountain range in the inn er cnec of the hom o that used the inn er pa rt of the original territo r}' where the watershed limit b etwe en the rio Maunu entrance of the CHVC like a litter for remnants of food. In a of Porto Torres and the rio Coghinas rivers that pass near place in the cave is possible to sec a deer skull (A1egticcl'OJ the studied site. cazioti) still in primary position . This would confir m that the dep osit in situ was old eno ugh to have been displaced by the dynamic con dition s of the original cave; it is presumable therefore that, also from a geomorphological poin t of view, the primary de ­ REFERENCES posit may be about 100 thousand years older than the ba­ salt now. ·Bn :CA I.UVA L., D ERIU j\ 1. & .\IACCIOITA G . 0 98 0 · G UM S!.l'opelroF,ra/ictl The recent process of karstification .(}-Iolocenid in the del uukomsmo Pho-Plcistocemco dellil Sardegna nord occidentale. Sea­ cave is modest and limited to continuou s washing away of 1/1 1:.50.000, L.A.c. , Fircn zc. altered materia l and to resid ual clays produced; the spelco­ CO RDY ].t\I., GI ~ ESU S. & SUSS. (2001) - Nouvelles prcut es de I'existence the ms, which also incorporated fossiliferous material, is at­ d'sme immigralion bnmame arcbtliqut' ell StlTt/fliglil': lagrotte prebisto­ rique de Nnrigbe (Tbiesi, Saua,,) (Pleistocene mO)' (' II) . XIV Congres trib utable to the Riss-Wu rm passage, when con ditions of 11lI . Sc. Preh. Prot.• 2-8 Scnembrc. Licgi, -I, pag. 101. karstification resumed definit ely. However, future sam­ G INESU S. ( 1991) - The Colum Iflva flow and ill implications ill tbe land­ plings of these materials will provide a precise datin g of scapc evolution dunng tbv cold slages in the Pleistocene. Gcomorpbo­ this event. logical map. 1:2.5.000. XIJI INQ UA Congress. ilcjing China. Thanks to recent effusive acti vity, which favoured the GINI:SU S., SIAS S., CORDY ].1'1.1 , T UR;\IES M ., T REBINI L., M ELE A ., SERRA reconstruction of the morphologies and of the sequence of A. , VIR(; ILlO P , & ZAKA t\. ( 1998) - Grotto di NrlYl"g,b e (Sasson) . morp hogenetic processes of the whole centre-northe rn Esplomndo i/ pasmto.Spclcolog iu. 38, 52- 60. sector, it is possible to formulate ~1 precise recon struction i\ \,\ KTINI F. & PITZ,\I.I S (1987-88 ) - Sa mil dt' sa »mlta. Nouxiario Sar de ­ of th e palaeoenvironment and of the morphological situa­ gna . ItS.P. Fireuzc. 41,1 -2, 387. tio n th at favoured the first human colonizations of the is­ xtrus R,'l', & SIASS. ( 1996) - II dl'posilo pleistoccnico di S. Micbt'le (Ploa­ RIJl', Sardegna Sl'/ll'lllrimilde) cd i 1/lOi rapporti ro" I'eoohuionc »rorfo­ land not too Iar removed fro m acquired knowledge. In IORim del Logndoro. Gcogr. Fis. Dinam. Quatcr., 19, 63-7 1. fact, in the morphology that existed before the basalt flow, SIAS S., GI ~ ES U S., SECCIII F. & D UNCAN R (2002 ) • Plio-Pleistocene cvo­ the ancient small valley of Sas Animas presented a slope lntion 0/ Logndoro area. Evidl'llce/ rom new Ar-Ar radimlJelric data. rich in ravines, rock y shelters, and small cavities along the Acta lAG Im . Symp . «C limate changes. active n..-ctonic and related front of the cucsta that is buried tinder lava today. This g,-o mor phic effects in high mountain belt s and plateaux», Addis morphological condition is still present along the cucsta Ababa. 11-16 December 2002. scarps of the who le Logudoro an d Mejlogu , whic h could SIAS S. ( 199-1)- La piano di Paille n('1 qnodro eoohuno (1t·l/l' pial1lITC' dcl i:o­ gudoro (Sardeglla n·/lc'lIlrionald . Geogr. Pis. Din'1l11. Q uar., 17, 73-78. be ex plored in search for other possible signs of human Slr\S S. (1997) - ModljiCfl1.ioni dc·1 rcticolo idrogm/ico l'd c'vollizimu' del presen ce following the cucsras referab le to the middle P(/csflf!J!. io indouc dall'alliviitl Vlllctl1liCll plio-plt'isloa ll icfI (Logndoro­ Pleistocen e. Alejlogu, Sordegno). Tcsi DOff. IX (93-96 ), Aucoua -Sassari. 1-14-1 Thanks to the morphogen etic recon struction of the ar­ (Ump ublished). ea of Sas Animas-Nurighe, it has been po ssible to att rib ute S I" S S. (2002) - 11)(' Rio M ill/11ft di Mores basin. Cl'o1JlOl'phologicallJlap. a precise age to the small valley of the present rio Nu righe 1:2.5.0UU. G allizzi, Sassari. whe re the entrance to the cave is located . In fact, th is val­ TOBIAS P.V. (200 0 · 11),' sardinian RII Il'U'(/)' ! or humanily brnccen A/ rica ley was formed after the effusion of the Cuccuruddu basalt (llid Europe (1/ pllJsaggio sordo per l'umflllitJ tra I'Africa " l'Enropa}, Boll, Or. Mcd., Universita di Cagliari. and only after a period of evo lution of the cave itself, which «re-emerged» only after the formation of the pla- (M s. received 15 } tI1l11l1r)' 200 3,- accepted J5 ,\Ill )' 2003)

48