Ciota Ciara Cave and the Monte Fenera Palaeolithic (Italy): New Data, New Views

Situated at the southern border of western Alps, Monte Fenera is a low, mostly carbonate-built hill, hosting several palaeontological and archaeological sites – among which karstic caves bearing evidence of Palaeolithic occupations. The Monte Fenera sites have a long history within Alpine archaeology: they have been extensively explored since the 19th century, but information on their stratigraphy, chronology, formation and function remains incomplete or even lacking. Being among the few Palaeolithic cave-sites prior to LGM in the area, their systematic study is crucial for understanding human peopling and environmental evolution of the region in the Pleistocene. We here focus on the Ciota Ciara site, a complex, active cave modelled in Triassic dolostone. Systematic fieldwork at this cave resumed in 2009, along with new analyses and dating that has allowed us to revise the site’s archaeology and formation. Our contribution deals with the geoarchaeological analysis of the Palaeolithic succession that was unearthed at cave entrance. After accurate field description and sampling, we have performed routine sedimentological analyses, basic geochemical characterisation and micromorphological observation. Preliminary results suggest that the succession at the Ciota Ciara entrance is older than formerly assumed and may date to Middle Pleistocene – early Upper Pleistocene. Sediment accumulation in this sector of the cave results from consecutive events of concentrated flow and runoff from the inner karstic system, alternating with episodes of éboulis accumulation from wall/roof disintegration and short phases of surface stabilization. Post-depositional processes include frost action, hydromorphism and diagenesis, and weathering dynamics have selectively affected archaeological components, which thus show distinct degrees of preservation. We discuss the first results of the geoarchaeological revision of the Ciota Ciara site and set them in the context of Pleistocene cave archaeology and of the debate on the evolution of Neandertals in Mediterranean Europe.