Fabio Cavulli

Bio: Fabio Cavulli is an academic researcher from University of Trento. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mesolithic & Pottery. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 28 publications receiving 216 citations.

Wooden tools and fire technology in the early Neanderthal site of Poggetti Vecchi (Italy).

Abstract: Excavations for the construction of thermal pools at Poggetti Vecchi (Grosseto, Tuscany, central Italy) exposed a series of wooden tools in an open-air stratified site referable to late Middle Pleistocene. The wooden artifacts were uncovered, together with stone tools and fossil bones, largely belonging to the straight-tusked elephant Paleoloxodon antiquus The site is radiometrically dated to around 171,000 y B.P., and hence correlated with the early marine isotope stage 6 [Benvenuti M, et al. (2017) Quat Res 88:327-344]. The sticks, all fragmentary, are made from boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) and were over 1 m long, rounded at one end and pointed at the other. They have been partially charred, possibly to lessen the labor of scraping boxwood, using a technique so far not documented at the time. The wooden artifacts have the size and features of multipurpose tools known as "digging sticks," which are quite commonly used by foragers. This discovery from Poggetti Vecchi provides evidence of the processing and use of wood by early Neanderthals, showing their ability to use fire in tool making from very tough wood.

Evidence of high genetic variation among linguistically diverse populations on a micro-geographic scale: a case study of the Italian Alps

Abstract: Although essential for the fine-scale reconstruction of genetic structure, only a few micro-geographic studies have been carried out in European populations. This study analyzes mitochondrial variation (651 bp of the hypervariable region plus 17 single-nucleotide polymorphisms) in 393 samples from nine populations from Trentino (Eastern Italian Alps), a small area characterized by a complex geography and high linguistic diversity. A high level of genetic variation, comparable to geographically dispersed European groups, was observed. We found a difference in the intensity of peopling processes between two longitudinal areas, as populations from the west-central part of the region show stronger signatures of expansion, whereas those from the eastern area are closer to the expectations of a stationary demographic state. This may be explained by geomorphological factors and is also supported by archeological data. Finally, our results reveal a striking difference in the way in which the two linguistically isolated populations are genetically related to the neighboring groups. The Ladin speakers were found to be genetically close to the Italian-speaking populations and differentiated from the other Dolomitic Ladins, whereas the German-speaking Cimbri behave as an outlier, showing signatures of founder effects and low growth rate.

Thoughts on nomadism in Middle Holocene Oman

Abstract: In the study of the Arabian Middle Holocene, some of the least widely understood topics are those of nomadism, subsistence strategy and mobility. Until now, various scholars operating in the area have proposed different models, particularly on the basis of faunal analysis and territory evaluations. The focus of this paper will be to reconsider this debate in light of studies carried out in the Ja'lān region in the Sultanate of Oman, where until 1985 the Joint Hadd Project has been conducting archaeological research. Excavated deposits and survey results provide the archaeological basis and are compared with studies on climate, territory, nature and culture. Four different hypotheses for the fourth-millennium Ja'lān communities are proposed and, comparing the different scales of movement with both the territory and resources, the more suitable is concluded to be a micro-regional nomadism model. According to this model, which is well supported by the ethnographical evidence, human groups were moving seasonally from the coast to the mountains, scouring the widyān route. A dearth of archaeological data from the internal area, due to a more widespread and less intense occupation, relatively poor preservation and a lack of proper archaeological survey, emphasise the limits and provide the stimulus for further research.

Taphonomic and Ecologic Information Form Bone Weathering

Abstract: Bones of recent mammals in the Amboseli Basin, southern Kenya, exhibit distinctive weathering characteristics that can be related to the time since death and to the local conditions of temperature, humidity and soil chemistry. A categorization of weathering characteristics into six stages, recognizable on descriptive criteria, provides a basis for investigation of weathering rates and processes. The time necessary to achieve each successive weathering stage has been calibrated using known-age carcasses. Most bones decompose beyond recognition in 10 to 15 yr. Bones of animals under 100 kg and juveniles appear to weather more rapidly than bones of large animals or adults. Small-scale rather than widespread environmental factors seem to have greatest influence on weathering characteristics and rates. Bone weathering is potentially valuable as evidence for the period of time represented in recent or fossil bone assemblages, in- cluding those on archeological sites, and may also be an important tool in censusing populations of animals in modern ecosystems.

Making One's Way in the World: The Footprints and Trackways of Prehistoric People

Abstract: The book draws on evidence from landscape archaeology, palaeoenvironmental studies, ethnohistory and animal tracking to address the neglected topic of how we identify and interpret past patterns of movement in the landscape. It derives inspiration from recent writing about landscape, place and routes and anthropological concepts relating to movement. The premise is that archaeologists tend to focus on ‘sites’ while neglecting the patterns of habitual movement that made them part of a living landscape. It considers evidence for routes by which past communities moved through landscape, establishing connections between the foci represented by sites and creating axes of communication. These may be perpetuated over long timescales, creating landscape structures which influence the activities of subsequent generations. The ways in which routes are established by people are considered, including the effect of frequented routes by wild animals. Palaeoenvironmental and ethno-historical evidence from the American north west coast is drawn on to demonstrate how effects on vegetation by burning, grazing, faeces deposition, and transplantation can create readable routes along which there are favoured resources. European evidence provides hints of relevant patterns on a wide range of spatial scales. On the local scale are the Mesolithic footprint trails in the Severn Estuary which help to establish the locations of lost settlements and the habitual patterns of Mesolithic daily life. Wooden trackways in wetlands likewise provide evidence of favoured patterns of movement and past settlement location. Alignments of barrows, enclosure entrances, trackways through fields and sometimes the locations of major ritual complexes can provide evidence of district or greater scale patterns of movement. The supposed ancient origins of Ridgeways are critiqued, it is suggested that transhumant routes at right angles to topography may often be earlier and more significant. Scientific approaches to dating hollow ways are outlined. Ways in which more long distant routes can be identified are considered, both overland and at sea. It aims to position the neglected study of past routeways at the centre of archaeological discourse.

IMPROVED AMS 14C DATING OF SHELL CARBONATES USING HIGH-PRECISION X-RAY DIFFRACTION AND A NOVEL DENSITY SEPARATION PROTOCOL (CarDS)

Abstract: One critical variable in the successful application of radiocarbon dating is the effective removal of carbonaceous contaminants. In the case of marine carbonates, contamination appears usually in the form of secondary low-magnesium calcite, the stable polymorph of calcium carbonate and byproduct of the post-mortem recrystallization or replacement of the autochthonous phase, originally in the form of high-magnesium calcite or aragonite. Depending on the nature of the depositional environment, the secondary phase may be contemporary in age with the original shell carbonate and may have even been derived from it by dissolution-recrystallization processes, or can be an exogenous contaminant of younger or older age. The limited ability of current pretreatment protocols to detect and remove the secondary mineralogical phases prior to dating carbonates has been one of the reasons marine shell and coral 14C determinations are often difficult to validate in terms of their reliability. We have developed a new pretreatment protocol designed to achieve greater reliability and accuracy in the dating of this material. The method entails 2 steps. The first one involves the improved detection and quantification of secondary calcite in aragonite using X-ray diffraction, at a precision of ~0.1% and ~0.8%, respectively. Next, where this is required, a novel density separation step using non-toxic heavy liquids (CarDS) is applied to the diagenetic sample. This enables the clear separation of calcite and aragonite, with only the latter kept for dating. We have applied the new steps, screening and separation, on standard and archaeological examples and our initial results suggest that it is successful and reproducible. In this paper, we describe the method and initial results.

Mediterranean Culture and Climatic Change: Past Patterns and Future Trends

Abstract: This chapter illustrates the main trends of interlaced forces acting on the development of the Mediterranean landscape during the Holocene. The mosaic of habitats distributed in the Mediterranean basin has been continuously transformed by climatic changes occurring at a global scale during the early, mid and late Holocene. In the meantime, the environment has been exploited and the landscape shaped by different civilizations. Climate changes and human activities are observed through the lens of pollen found in terrestrial and marine sediment cores and in archaeological layers. Joint actions of increasing dryness, climate oscillations, and human impact are hard to disentangle, and this becomes particularly true after the mid-Holocene onset of Bronze Age cultures. Regional differences and similarities are reported for eastern, central and western Mediterranean, and for northern Africa and Sahara. The mixing of cultures accelerated the exchanges of ideas, technologies, raw materials and people along the coasts of this ‘great lake’, making the different civilizations linked between them as one network of regions belonging to the ‘Mediterranean culture’.