The earliest securely dated hominin fossil in Italy and evidence of Acheulian occupation during glacial MIS 16 at Notarchirico (Venosa, Basilicata, Italy)

Abstract

The Early Middle Pleistocene site of Notarchirico (Basilicata, Italy) is a 7‐m‐thick fluvially emplaced sedimentary sequence rich in volcanic materials coming from the Monte Vulture stratovolcano. This site consists of 11 archaeological layers, some of which have yielded handaxes. One femur attributed to Homo heidelbergensis was also recovered from an upper level. We present in this study new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and electron spin resonance ages that delimit the time of occupation of Notarchirico to between 670 ± 4 ka (14 ka) and 614 ± 4 ka (12 ka), therefore spanning mainly the glacial Marine Isotope Stage 16. Handaxes found in archaeosurface F are now securely dated to between 670 ± 4 ka (14 ka) and 661 ± 4 ka (14 ka) and prove that hominid populations living in southern Italy used Acheulian technology as early as the beginning of this stage. Futhermore, we placed the age of the human femur between 661 ± 4 ka (14 ka) and 614± 4 ka (12 ka). This fossil is therefore the oldest Middle Pleistocene human fossil discovered in Italy so far. Thanks to this new chronological framework, Notarchirico is now a key site in our understanding of the Early Acheulian culture in Western Europe.

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