Papers by Carmine Collina
Scientific Reports
Bones and teeth are biological archives, but their structure and composition are subjected to alt... more Bones and teeth are biological archives, but their structure and composition are subjected to alteration overtime due to biological and chemical degradation postmortem, influenced by burial environment and conditions. Nevertheless, organic fraction preservation is mandatory for several archeometric analyses and applications. The mutual protection between biomineral and organic fractions in bones and teeth may lead to a limited diagenetic alteration, promoting a better conservation of the organic fraction. However, the correlation between elemental variations and the presence of organic materials (e.g., collagen) in the same specimen is still unclear. To fill this gap, chemiluminescent (CL) immunochemical imaging analysis has been applied for the first time for collagen localization. Then, Laser Ablation–Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) and CL imaging were combined to investigate the correlation between elemental (i.e., REE, U, Sr, Ba) and collagen distributio...
Comune di Mondragone, 2018
Quaternary International, 2018
Using morphological, stratigraphic, paleoecological and geoarcheological data, as well as radioca... more Using morphological, stratigraphic, paleoecological and geoarcheological data, as well as radiocarbon datings, we reconstructed the evolution of the coastal plain of Mondragone, in the northern sector of the Campania Plain, during the last 40 kyr. The Late Pleistocene-Holocene morphodynamics of this coastland were mainly dictated by mutual interaction between tectonics, sea-level fluctuations, Quaternary volcanic eruptions, and subsidence. These processes also influenced the dynamics of prehistoric and proto-historic human populations. Actually, the discovery over the last 25 years of several archaeological sites referable to Upper Paleolithic-Early Iron Age as well as the recent finding of artifacts, fauna and, for the third time in Campania, of Neanderthal human remains in the Roccia San Sebastiano cave, demonstrates that the coastal plain of Mondragone had always hosted human settlements. This constant frequentation is confirmed by, both emerged and submerged, ruins of Roman age and Middle Ages, and the high level of urbanization of the modern town. The interpretation of four borehole stratigraphic sequences down to 22 m bgl, of microfossils analysis and sediment facies highlighted the succession of transition, from marine to freshwater, and continental paleoenvironments in this coastal plain. These wetlands developed in climatic conditions that varied from glacial (Würm) to postglacial phases. Some deposits are interpreted as marshy sediments accumulated in shallow, elongated ponds behind sandy beach or dunes, which existed almost up to the present. The reconstruction of landscape morphodynamic evolution shows that after the "super eruption" of the Campanian Ignimbrite (~39 kyr BP) the physiography abruptly changed. A wide gulf characterized by grey tuff cliffs and facing northwest formed, along the littoral between the Garigliano and the Volturno river mouths during the volcanic stasis of the Phlegrean Fields, which lasted about ten thousand years after the violent ignimbrite eruption. In this period, the presence of Neanderthal and of a settlement in the Roccia San Sebastiano cave, at the foot of Mt. Massico, is proven by the findings of an excavation. Later (~20 kyr BP -Holocene), subsidence and sea-level rise activated strong erosion processes due to the postglacial marine ingression, with a consequent rapid shoreline recession and the genesis of transition environments. Finally, according to the results of previous multidisciplinary research carried out on other Campania coastal plains, adjacent or not to the studied area, distinct generations of post-Campanian Ignimbrite -Holocene coastal lakes (lagoons, ponds) and waterlogged environments (marshes, quagmires) were recognized, slightly below and at the current sea-level.
Quaternary Science Reviews
Quaternary International, Apr 1, 2020
Roccia San Sebastiano is a tectonic-karstic cave located at the foot of the southern slope of Mt.... more Roccia San Sebastiano is a tectonic-karstic cave located at the foot of the southern slope of Mt. Massico, in the territory of Mondragone (Caserta) in Campania (southern Italy). Systematic excavation has been carried out since 2001, leading to the partial exploration of an important Pleistocene deposit, extraordinarily rich in lithic and faunal remains. The aim of this paper is to (1) present the stratigraphic sequence of Roccia San Sebastiano, and (2) technologically describe the lithic materials of squares F14 t18, t19, t20; E16 t16, t17, t18 recently recognised as Uluzzian. The stratigraphic sequence is more than 3 metres thick and dates from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic. It contains different techno-complexes: Gravettian, Aurignacian, Uluzzian and Mousterian. In the Uluzzian lithic assemblage mostly local pebbles of chert were used in order to produce small-sized objects. The concept of debitage mainly deals with unidirectional debitage with absent or fairly accurate management of the convexities and angles; the striking platforms are usually natural or made by one stroke. It is attested the use of both direct freehand percussion and bipolar technique on anvil in the same reduction sequence. Amongst the retouched tools the presence of two lunates is of note. This study of the Roccia San Sebastiano Uluzzian lithic complexes is significant for understanding the dynamics of the transition from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in the Tyrrhenian margin of southern Italy.
Southern Italy is a key region for understanding the agricultural transition in the Mediterranean... more Southern Italy is a key region for understanding the agricultural transition in the Mediterranean due to its central position. We present a genomic transect for 19 prehistoric Sicilians that covers the Early Mesolithic to Early Neolithic period. We find that the Early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (HGs) are a highly drifted sister lineage to Early Holocene western European HGs, whereas a quarter of the Late Mesolithic HGs ancestry is related to HGs from eastern Europe and the Near East. This indicates substantial gene flow from (south-)eastern Europe between the Early and Late Mesolithic. The Early Neolithic farmers are genetically most similar to those from the Balkan and Greece, and carry only a maximum of ∼7% ancestry from Sicilian Mesolithic HGs. Ancestry changes match changes in dietary profile and material culture, except for two individuals who may provide tentative initial evidence that HGs adopted elements of farming in Sicily.One-sentence summaryGenome-wide and isotopic data...
Scientific Reports, 2015
Cetacean mass strandings occur regularly worldwide, yet the compounded effects of natural and ant... more Cetacean mass strandings occur regularly worldwide, yet the compounded effects of natural and anthropogenic factors often complicate our understanding of these phenomena. Evidence of past stranding episodes may, thus, be essential to establish the potential influence of climate change. Investigations on bones from the site of Grotta dell'Uzzo in North West Sicily (Italy) show that the rapid climate change around 8,200 years ago coincided with increased strandings in the Mediterranean Sea. Stable isotope analyses on collagen from a large sample of remains recovered at this cave indicate that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers relied little on marine resources. A human and a red fox dating to the 8.2-kyr-BP climatic event, however, acquired at least one third of their protein from cetaceans. Numerous carcasses should have been available annually, for at least a decade, to obtain these proportions of meat. Our findings imply that climate-driven environmental changes, caused by global warming, may represent a serious threat to cetaceans in the near future. The consequences of anthropogenic climate change for cetaceans are difficult to predict. It has been postulated that long-term changes in physical oceanography, induced by ongoing climate change, will affect primary producers and, through knock-on effects, consumers at every level of the food chain and, especially, apex predators such as many marine mammals 1. Studies on different temporal scales show that cycles in cetacean strandings are correlated to anomalies in temperature 2 , wind 3 and continental-scale climate systems 4 , such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). We present data on the repercussions of abrupt early Holocene climate change for cetaceans living in the Mediterranean Sea and on how humans opportunistically adapted to them, through a study on the site of Grotta dell'Uzzo (Fig. 1) in North West Sicily (Italy).
In 1993, a fossil human skeleton was discovered in the karst caves of Lamalunga, near Altamura in... more In 1993, a fossil human skeleton was discovered in the karst caves of Lamalunga, near Altamura in Southern Italy. Despite this specimen representing one of the most extraordinary hominin specimens ever found in Europe, for the last two decades our knowledge of it has been based purely on on-site observations and documentations. Recently, the retrieval from the cave of a fragment of bone (part of the right scapula) allowed the first dating, the quantitative analysis of a diagnostic morphological feature, and a preliminary paleogenetic characterization of this human skeleton from Altamura. Overall, the results concurred in indicating that it belongs to the hypodigm of Homo neanderthalensis, with some phenetic peculiarities that appear consistent with a chronology ranging from 172±15 ka to 130.1±1.9 ka, which is relatively early for a Neanderthal. Thus, the skeleton from Altamura represents the most ancient Neanderthal from which endogenous DNA has ever been extracted.
The Gombore II site dates to circa the Brunhes Matuyama Reversal and is one of the Acheulean loca... more The Gombore II site dates to circa the Brunhes Matuyama Reversal and is one of the Acheulean localities of the Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia) archaeological complex, known since the 1970s. In 2001, this locality was selected as the site for an Open Air Museum and thus excavated. The excavation area has yielded an abundant Acheulean lithic assemblage manufactured on volcanic raw materials in close association with numerous paleontological remains. A technological analysis was carried out on a fraction of the bifacial tools (bifaces and cleavers) which could be temporarily removed from the displayed surface in the museum. This set of artefacts reveals new data about the bifacial shaping strategies adopted at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene in Ethiopia. The use of obsidian and the systematic manufacturing of Author's personal copy twisted bifaces are original features of the assemblage. These data are discussed in the framework of penecontemporaneous East African sites.
The Emergence of Pressure Blade Making, 2012
A review of selected Mesolithic blade and trapeze complex series in the north-western Mediterrane... more A review of selected Mesolithic blade and trapeze complex series in the north-western Mediterranean reinforces the hypothesis of a common use of pressure techniques for bladelet production during the seventh millennium cal B.C. This paper deals with the specificity and variability of these techniques and the consistency of the blade production methods. Mesolithic pressure technique seems to have been quickly diffused within the western Mediterranean basin, earlier than the spread of Early Neolithic communities in the same area. It then proceeded from a regional development, distinct from the Mesopotamian and Anatolian cores.
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Papers by Carmine Collina
Au VIIe millénaire avant notre ère, la quasi totalité de l’Europe connaît un bouleversement majeur dans la composition des systèmes techniques des groupes mésolithiques. Ce changement a également lieu de façon très rapide. Ce travail cherche a définir les origines potentielles de ce phénomène ainsi que de définir le gradient chronologique de sa diffusion. On cherche également à en comprendre la nature même : s’agit-il de la diffusion d’un nouveau concept technique ou cela signe-t-il le déplacement physique de groupes humains culturellement différents ?
Abstract
During the 7th millennium before Christ, the composition of Mesolithic assemblages is marked by a major change which can be observed throughout the entire European continent. This change took place in a very rapid manner. The aim of the present research is to determine possible origins of this phenomenon and to define the chronological stages of its spread. Equally, we are also trying to understand its proper nature: introduction of a new technical concept or migration of culturally distinct human groups?
Mots-clés : Italie du sud, Mésolithique, Néolithisation, industrie lithique, chaîne opératoire, silex, économie du débitage, économie des matières premières, diagnostic de techniques, traditions techniques, débitage laminaire
Mots-clés : Italie du sud, Mésolithique, Néolithisation, industrie lithique, chaîne opératoire, silex, économie du débitage, économie des matières premières, diagnostic de techniques, traditions techniques, débitage laminaire