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| Riparo del Poggio | |
|---|---|
| Name | Riparo del Poggio |
| Map type | Italy |
| Location | Versilia, Tuscany |
| Region | Tuscany |
| Type | rock shelter |
| Epochs | Upper Paleolithic |
| Cultures | Aurignacian, Gravettian, Epigravettian |
| Excavations | 20th century |
| Archaeologists | Giuseppe Ragazzini |
Riparo del Poggio is a small Late Pleistocene rock shelter in the Versilia area of northern Tuscany that has yielded stratified Upper Paleolithic deposits and a diverse assemblage of lithic, osseous, and faunal remains. The site has played a role in debates about the chronology of the Aurignacian, Gravettian, and later Epigravettian occupations in peninsular Italy and their relation to human dispersals across Europe and interactions with changing climate episodes. Excavations and analyses have contributed data relevant to discussions involving Paleolithic chronology, techno-typology, and palaeoecology.
Riparo del Poggio is a rock shelter whose stratified sequence contains artefacts and ecofacts attributed to Upper Paleolithic techno-complexes including the Aurignacian, Gravettian, and Epigravettian. Researchers from institutions such as the University of Florence, Italian Institute of Prehistory and Protohistory, and international collaborators have used radiometric dating, lithic analysis, and zooarchaeology to situate the site within broader frameworks connecting the Middle Paleolithic–Upper Paleolithic transition, postglacial recolonization, and cultural trajectories shared with sites like Fumane Cave, Grotta Paglicci, and Cave of Altamira. The sequence informs models developed in comparative studies alongside the Magdalenian, Solutrean, and Swiderian records across Western Europe and Eastern Europe.
The shelter is located on the Tuscan flank of the Apuan Alps near the Serchio River catchment, within the physiographic context of the Apennines. Geological context includes Mesozoic limestone and travertine outcrops comparable to karst settings at Grotta del Cavallo and Grotta di Fumane. The stratigraphy is influenced by Pleistocene fluvial terraces and slope colluvium linked to glacio-eustatic fluctuations documented in Mediterranean palaeogeographic syntheses. Tectonic and sedimentary histories recorded in regional studies by the Italian Geological Survey and comparative work on Quaternary sequences inform interpretation of site formation processes and post-depositional alteration comparable to research at Venosa and Riparo Bombrini.
Systematic excavations began in the 20th century under field directors associated with the University of Pisa and subsequent campaigns incorporated stratigraphic control, sieving, and spatial recording consistent with standards advocated by the International Union for Quaternary Research and protocols used at contemporaneous sites such as Grotta Romanelli. The stratigraphic succession shows discrete lithological units with hearth features, charcoal lenses, and artifact concentrations comparable to matrices analyzed at La Ferrassie and Grotte de Gargas. Fieldwork integrated micromorphology, taphonomic assessment, and sedimentology parallel to procedures developed at Ksar Akil and Olszanica to distinguish occupation phases and post-depositional processes.
The lithic assemblage includes bladelets, endscrapers, retouched blades, and backed points reflecting production strategies allied to the Aurignacian and Gravettian techno-typological repertoires documented across France, Spain, and the Balkans. Bone and antler tools, personal ornaments, and ornamental mollusc imports indicate connections to exchange networks seen in the records of Grotte Chauvet, Les Eyzies, Kostenki, and Sibudu Cave. Faunal remains show butchery marks and element representation patterns comparable to assemblages from Grotta Paglicci and Barma Grande, while shell artifacts and pigment residues link the site to symbolic systems explored at Dolní Věstonice and Sunghir.
Chronometric control derives from radiocarbon assays on charcoal and bone collagen, with dates calibrated against the IntCal curve and interpreted in relation to late Marine Isotope Stage 3 and MIS 2 fluctuations. Results place occupations within the temporal span commonly attributed to late Aurignacian through Epigravettian phases, facilitating comparisons with chronologies from Fumane Cave, Grotta di Castelcivita, and Riparo Mochi. Bayesian modelling and stratigraphic correlation have been used to refine temporal resolution following approaches applied at Vezere Valley sites and in regional syntheses by the European Radiocarbon Calibration Group.
Zooarchaeological and isotopic studies indicate exploitation of temperate and cold-adapted taxa, including red deer, horse, ibex, and small mammals, reflecting habitat mosaics like those reconstructed for Po Plain periglacial margins and Mediterranean refugia documented in palaeoecological syntheses. Pollen and charcoal assemblages, combined with stable isotope data, support reconstructions of vegetation shifts associated with stadial–interstadial dynamics observed in Greenland Ice Core records and sequences from Lake Ohrid and Lago Grande di Monticchio. Hunting strategies, carcass transport, and seasonal occupation patterns echo subsistence models developed for Kraków-Częstochowa and Côa Valley Paleolithic sites.
The site contributes to debates about the tempo and routes of Upper Paleolithic dispersals into southern Europe, the persistence of regional traditions, and the development of symbolic behaviour documented across Europe and the Near East. Comparative analyses link technological variability at the shelter to broader research themes addressed at Isturitz, Mladeč, Kostenki, and Bacho Kiro, informing hypotheses about population structure, cultural transmission, and resilience during late Pleistocene environmental change. Its data enrich models used by scholars at institutions like the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, University College London, and the Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico "Luigi Pigorini" to integrate archaeological, palaeogenetic, and palaeoenvironmental perspectives.
Category:Archaeological sites in Tuscany Category:Upper Paleolithic sites of Europe