Middle Pleistocene fauna and lithic implements from Pagliare di Sassa (L’Aquila, Central Italy)

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1. INTRODUCTION

In 1977 fragmented fossil remains of a largeelephant were discovered in a sand quarry atPagliare di Sassa (L’Aquila, Central Italy).Preliminary excavation tests carried out in1998-1999 by the Soprintenza Archeologicadell’Abruzzo, with the collaboration of theUniversità degli Studi de L’Aquila and of theMuseo di Paleontologia (Università degli Studidi Roma “La Sapienza”), led to the discoveryof slightly fossiliferous horizons which are,nevertheless, of considerable taxonomic andtaphonomic interest (Agostini et al. 1999).

More recently, systematic excavation hasunearthed a large number of vertebrate fossil

remains, enabling a better chronological plac-ing for this small fauna.

2. THE GEOLOGICAL SETTING

The fossil-bearing sequence takes the shapeof an alluvial fan deposit composed of greybasal clays partially pedogenised at the topwhere they were cut into by a channel. The lat-ter is filled with a sequence of sandy lenseswith fine gravel intercalations that at times fitinto each other and pass laterally to form regu-lar plane-parallel beds. The fossil remains werediscovered in two “horizons”. The first is locat-ed at the clay/sand transition. The bones herehave undergone limited transport by a low

Middle Pleistocene fauna and lithic implements fromPagliare di Sassa (L’Aquila, Central Italy)

M.R. Palombo1, L. Abbazzi2, S. Agostini3, P. Mazza4, M. Mussi5

1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”;CNR Centro di Studio per il Quaternario e l’Evoluzione ambientale, Roma, Italy

[email protected] 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, [email protected] Geologico e Paleontologico – Soprintendenza Archeologica dell’Abruzzo,Chieti, Italy - [email protected] di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Geologia e Paleontologia e Dipartimento di Scienzedella Terra, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy

[email protected] di Scienze dell’Antichità, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”,Roma, Italy - [email protected]

SUMMARY: Faunal remains consisting of disarticulated skeletal elements showing little or no evidence oftransport were found in a sandy alluvial fan outcrop at Pagliare di Sassa (L’Aquila, Central Italy). The fauna(Aves, an undetermined carnivore - possibly Crocuta - whose presence is attested to by a coprolite, ? Elephas(Palaeoloxodon) antiquus, Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis, Hippopotamus ex gr. H. antiquus, Megalocerossavini, Megaceroides verticornis, Dama sp (?Dama clactoniana), Lepus sp. and an Arvicolid rodent) imply a middle Galerian date. Two lithic implements, and a bone fragment, broken when fresh, with a complex fracture pattern and impact scars, provide evidence for a limited human presence on this site.

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energy agent. There is evidence of localisedreworking and re-deposition: the unsealed dis-tal epiphysis of a juvenile rhino metapodium,for instance, was presumably detached andcaught up in a whirlpool before being rede-posited in a sand bed overlaying that containingthe diaphysis. The second horizon contained asmaller number of bones; the latter were recov-ered from the lenses and beds marking the tran-sition to the upper parts of the lenses. From apurely morphostratigraphic viewpoint, the allu-vial fan which is now cut by two streams dis-tinct from the watercourse which had original-ly created it, is suspended over the alluvialplain of the river Laio, a right tributary of theriver Aterno. It can be placed in the middle tolower part of the Middle Pleistocene.Paleomagnetic surveys have consistently regis-tered normal magnetic polarity in the basalclays (Speranza, unpublished data).

3. FAUNA

The faunal remains from the first horizon con-sist of disarticulated skeletal elements showinglimited or no evidence of transport. The best rep-resented taxon from this horizon is a juvenilerhino, followed by an abundance of remains of a

large elephant, as well as a hippo and twocervids, though the latter two taxa are scantilydocumented. Specimens from the second hori-zon are even less abundant and show a more var-ied degree of preservation, ranging from abrad-ed splinters to unaltered complete elements.There are at least two Aves, an undeterminedcarnivore, possibly Crocuta, whose presence is attested to by a coprolite, ? Elephas(Palaeoloxodon) antiquus, Stephanorhinushundsheimensis, Hippopotamus ex gr. H.antiquus, Megaloceros savini, Megaceroidesverticornis, Dama sp (?Dama clactoniana),Lepus sp. and an Arvicolid rodent. The best rep-resented are the large cervids and the rhinoceros.

The elephants are documented by only veryfragmentary remains (occipital condyles, a fewtusk fragments, ribs and vertebral apophyses, afew parts of a scapula, a humerus and an ulna)probably belonging to a single, large individ-ual. None of the specimens are diagnostic froma taxonomical viewpoint. Only the tusk frag-ments offer some clue in the absence of heli-coidally arranged striae, which are instead typ-ical of the mammuthine lineage. The pattern ofthe Schreger lines cannot be detected with anycertainty because of the diagenetic process.Nevertheless, the outer angles are more similar

Fig.1 - Localisation of the site.

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to the modal values of E. antiquus than those ofthe Mammuthus representatives.

The rhino remains are not only more abun-dant, but also fairly indicative taxonomically,though belonging to a juvenile specimen. Theoverall morphological characters and the mor-phometry of the dentition, as well as of the sty-lopodial and autopodial bones are suggestive ofStephanorhinus hundsheimensis (Fortelius etal. 1993).

The hippo remains include both a fairly largeadult, comparable to the Late Villafranchian

H. antiquus representatives from the UpperValdarno basin, and a very juvenile individual,documented by a slightly worn, isolated D4 anda tibia. Despite its large size, the adult hipposample includes an almost complete and quiteslender calcaneum. Given the ample morpho-logical and dimensional range of these animals,the lack of truly diagnostic elements denies anysounder specific determination.

At least three cervid species are documented,i.e. Megaceroides verticornis, Megalocerossavini and Dama sp.

Fig.2 - Stratigraphic diagram.

Fig.3 - Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis, left emimandible.

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M. verticornis is represented by two antlerfragments and an incomplete mandible. Themorphological traits of the antler fragments, inparticular the evidence of branching in the ter-minal part of the beam, permit this megacer-ine’s attribution to the subspecies M. verticor-nis dendroceros Ambrosetti, 1967.

M. savini is also documented by two proxi-mal fragments of shed antlers. This species iseasily identified because of the peculiar mor-phology of the basal portion of the antler inwhich the markedly flattened first tine is insert-ed very close to the burr.

Amongst the postcranial skeletal remains,two metatarsal bones are worthy of moredetailed description and some discussion. Infact, the two specimens are longer and moreslender than those usually characteristic of M.verticornis. These remains cannot even beascribed to M. savini, as the literature onlyreports the description of antlers and incom-plete skulls, as well as of very fragmentaryremains of the postcranial skeleton.

The presence of a large cervid with very slen-der limbs has recently been reported in severallate Early Pleistocene to early Mid-Pleistocenesites in Europe. Kahlke (1997) ascribed manyof the remains from Untermasfeld (late EarlyPleistocene, Jaramillo subchron) to the newspecies Eucladoceros giulii. Specimens fromAtapuerca (level TD6, early MiddlePleistocene), Venta Micena (latest Early

Pleistocene) and Akhalkalaki (Kahlke 1997;Made van der 1999) have also been referred tothe same taxon.

After preliminary analysis, the metatarsalsfrom Sassa show length and morphologicalindexes (i.e. robustness index) totally compara-ble to those of E. giulii. Nonetheless, referenceto the genus Eucladoceros of the remains fromthe European localities mentioned aboveshould be supported by a more detailed com-parative analysis. It cannot be ruled out thatthese remains, as well as the metatarsals fromSassa, actually belong to one of the “giantdeer” species (Megaceroides o Megaloceros)which were already present at the late EarlyPleistocene-early Middle Pleistocene.

The cervid remains from Sassa also includepalmated antler fragments and a fragment of P2

which document the presence of a mediumsized deer. The palmated antler fragments ruleout the possibility that the cervid belongs toone of the Early Pleistocene Dama-like speciesknown as Pseudodama, and are rather sugges-tive of Dama.

4. LITHIC IMPLEMENTS

Limited but sound evidence of a human pres-ence was also discovered. Two slightly dam-aged flint flakes were retrieved from two dif-ferent horizons. They had probably been car-ried over a short distance by natural agents as

Fig.4 - A) Megaloceros savini left shed antler; B) Megaceroides verticornis right shed antler.

the edges are fractured but still fairly fresh andonly slightly abraded. The two implements arenot diagnostic, except for the characteristicallyringed bulbar surface of the larger one, whichhas the characteristics of a two-platformedflaking technique (see Cancellieri et al. 2001).A bone fragment, broken when fresh, also dis-plays a complex pattern of fracture and impactscars suggestive of human intervention.

5. FINAL REMARKS

The deer assemblage from Sassa is altogetherindicative of a fairly broad time spell whichspans the lower and middle part of the MiddlePleistocene (Galerian Mammal Age sensuGliozzi et al. 1997). However, as yetthe Pagliaredi Sassa fauna lacks the elements that wouldallow for its precise biochronological position-ing within the early Middle Galerian faunalunits of Italy. However, the co-occurrence ofMegaloceros savini and Megaceroides verticor-nis in Italy has only been reported in the PonteGaleria local fauna (Ponte Galeria FU, sensuPetronio & Sardella 1999) at c. 750 ka bp (Milli1998), whereas Dama clactoniana, of the morerecent Isernia FU (c.600 ka bp, Coltorti et al.2000) is not recorded at Sassa.

From a paleocological perspective it is worthnoting that the presence of hippo in an inlandand relatively highland area is indicative of afairly warm climatic phase. The presence ofwoodland or open woodland browsers such asmegacerini together with mixed feeders such asthe rhino, or even grazers like the hippo - allopen landscape dwellers - suggests a mixedenvironment with open grasslands and sparsearboreal cover characterised by the presence ofstreams and bodies of water.

The human presence at Pagliare di Sassa isconsistent with the so-called “revised shortchronology” for the earliest peopling of Europe(Roebroeks & Van Kolfschoten 1996).According to Roebroeks and Van Kolfschoten’sinterpretation of the archaeological record, thesouthern fringes of the continent, includingItaly, would have first been intermittently colo-nized as early as 1Ma, even if continuous set-tlement was to initiate only around 600ka.

6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are particularly indebted to Prof.Massoli-Novelli, whose active commitmentenabled them to carry out the excavation. Theyalso wish to thank Dr. Speranza for the paleo-magnetic analyses, Dr. Giardini for the palyno-logical investigation, and the students andassistants from the Dipartimento di Scienzedella Terra of the Università degli Studi diRoma “La Sapienza” and from the Universitàdegli Studi de L’Aquila for their help during theexcavations.

7. REFERENCES

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Abbazzi, L. & Masini, F. 1997. Megaceroidessolilhacus and other deer from the middlePleistocene site of Isernia La Pineta(Molise, Italy). Boll. Soc. Geol. It. 35(1996): 213-227.

Agostini, S., Manni, R., Massoli, R., Palombo,M.R. 1999. Il giacimento a vertebrati dellePagliare di Sassa (l’Aquila). Geoitalia 2:23-25.

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