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Birds and bovids: new parietal engravings at the Romanelli Cave, Apulia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2021

Dario Sigari Open the ORCID record for Dario Sigari [Opens in a new window] ,
Ilaria Mazzini Open the ORCID record for Ilaria Mazzini [Opens in a new window] ,
Jacopo Conti Open the ORCID record for Jacopo Conti [Opens in a new window] ,
Luca Forti Open the ORCID record for Luca Forti [Opens in a new window] ,
Giuseppe Lembo Open the ORCID record for Giuseppe Lembo [Opens in a new window] ,
Beniamino Mecozzi Open the ORCID record for Beniamino Mecozzi [Opens in a new window] ,
Brunella Muttillo Open the ORCID record for Brunella Muttillo [Opens in a new window]  and
Raffaele Sardella Open the ORCID record for Raffaele Sardella [Opens in a new window]
Dario Sigari*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Italy Geosciences Center, Coimbra University, Portugal
Ilaria Mazzini
Affiliation:
IGAG-CNR, Monterotondo (RM), Italy
Jacopo Conti
Affiliation:
Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy Polo Museale Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
Luca Forti
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra ‘Ardito Desio’, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy IGG-CNR, Pisa, Italy
Giuseppe Lembo
Affiliation:
Associazione Culturale ArcheoIdea, Campobasso, Italy
Beniamino Mecozzi
Affiliation:
Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy Laboratorio PaleoFactory, Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
Brunella Muttillo
Affiliation:
Associazione Culturale ArcheoIdea, Campobasso, Italy
Raffaele Sardella
Affiliation:
Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ [email protected]
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Abstract

The Romanelli Cave in south-east Italy is an important reference point for the so-called ‘Mediterranean province’ of European Upper Palaeolithic art. Yet, the site has only recently been subject to a systematic investigation of its parietal and portable art. Starting in 2016, a project has recorded the cave's interior, discovering new parietal art. Here, the authors report on a selection of panels, featuring animal figures, geometric motifs and other marks, identifying the use of different types of tools and techniques, along with several activity phases. These panels are discussed with reference to radiocarbon dating of nearby deposits, posing questions about chronology, technology and wider connections between Upper Palaeolithic cave sites across western Eurasia.

Keywords

ItalyPalaeolithiccaveparietal artengravingfinger flutingradiocarbon datingstylistic analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 95 , Issue 384 , December 2021 , pp. 1387 - 1404
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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