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Manuscript Draft

Manuscript Number: QUATINT-D-11-00086R1

Title: STRAIGHT-TUSKED ELEPHANTS IN THE MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE OF THE NORTHERN LATIUM:PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE FICONCELLA SITE (TARQUINIA, CENTRAL ITALY)

Article Type: Mammoths and their relatives, part 1

Keywords: Keywords: La Ficoncella, Latium, Early Middle Pleistocene, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, stone

artefacts, ignimbritic unit.

Corresponding Author: Dr. Daniele AURELI, Ph.D.

Corresponding Author's Institution: University of Siena - Italy

First Author: Antonio CONTARDI, Dr.

Order of Authors: Antonio CONTARDI, Dr.; Daniele AURELI, Ph.D; Biagio GIACCIO, Ph.D.; Valerio

MODESTI, Dr.; Maria Rita PALOMBO, Prof.; Roberto ROZZI, Dr.; Andrea SPOSATO, Dr.; Flavia TRUCCO,

Ph.D.

Abstract: Abstract

This article presents the preliminary results of research recently performed at La Ficoncella (Northern

Latium) site. Discovered during the nineties, the site of La Ficoncella has been inserted in recent years

into a research program promoted by the fruitful collaboration between the Museum of Allumiere,

Soprintendenza, the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and CNR.

The La Ficoncella site, still only at the beginning of excavation activities, has yielded various skeletal

remains of Palaeoloxodon and a few other anatomical elements of other species, such as Bos

primigenius and Equus sp., in association with four stone artefacts.The stratigraphic unit, still under study, contains fauna and lithic remains which could be dated to MIS

13, thanks to the presence of an ignimbritic layer at the top of the sequence, dating to MIS 12 (terminus

ante quem).

According to this data, the La Ficoncella site can be considered as an important source of information

about the dynamics of human population and the techno-economic relationship between humans and

elephants during the early Middle Pleistocene in central Italy.

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Saturday, 4 December 2010

Norm CattoEditor-in-Chief

Qua t e

rnary In t e

rna t

ional Dept of GeographyMemorial University Canada

Object: Cover letter

Dear Editor,

I am riding this cover letter to submit our paper. The manuscript Ma mm o t h s and t h e ir r e la t iv e s 1 .

This article presents the preliminary results of recently research performed at La Ficoncella site.

Discovered during the nineties, the site of La Ficoncella has been inserted in the last years in a

research program promoted by the fruitful collaboration between the Museum of Allumiere,

Soprintendenza, University and CNR.

The La Ficoncella site, still at the beginning of excavation activities, has returned different

anatomical remains of Pala e oloxodon and a few other anatomical elements of other species such as

Bo s pri m ig e niu s and Equus sp. in association with four stone artefacts.

The stratigraphic unit, still under study, containing the fauna and lithic remains could be dated to

MIS 13 thanks to the presence of an ignimbritic layer cupping the top of the sequence and dating to

the MIS 12 (t e r m inu s an t e qu e m ).

According to this data the Ficoncella site can be considered as a imortante source of information

about the dynamics of human population and the techno-economic relationship between humans

and elephants during the Middle Pleistocene.

The author to whom you should address your correspondence (Corr e s ponding Au t hor) is Daniele

Aureli. The contact address, telephone/fax numbers and e-mail address are :

Daniele AURELI Università degli Studi di Siena

Dip. di Scienze Ambientali "G. Sarfatti" U.R. Ecologia Preistorica Via T. Pendola 62 - 53100 Siena (Italy) tel. +39 0577 233541 - +39 3474904779

[email protected]

Yours sincerely,

Daniele Aureli

ver Letter

mailto:[email protected]



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Straight-Tusked E lephants in the Middle Pleistocene of northern Latium:

Preliminary report on the F iconce ll a site (Tarquinia , central Italy)

Dani e l e Aur e li 1 , An t onio Con t ardi 2

, Biagio Gia cc io 3 , Val e rio Mod e st i 2

, Maria Ri t a Palo m bo 4 ,

Rob e r t o Rozzi 4 , Andr e a S po s a t o 3

, F lavia Tru cc o 5

1University of Siena, Italy

2Museo Civico A. Klitsche De La Grange, Palazzo Camerale Piazza della Repubblica, 29, 00051

Allumiere, Rome (Italy)

3Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria - CNR, Via Salaria Km 29,300 - 00016

Monterotondo Stazione, Rome (Italy)

4

Ambientale e Geoingegneria. Piazzale A. Moro, 5 - 00185 Rome (Italy)

5La Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Etruria Meridionale. Piazzale di Villa Giulia, 9 -

00196 Rome (Italy)

Ab st ra c t

This article presents the preliminary results of research recently performed at La Ficoncella

(Northern Latium) site. Discovered during the 1990s, the site of La Ficoncella has been inserted in

recent years into a research program promoted by the fruitful collaboration between the Museum of

Allumiere, Soprintendenza, the University of Rome "La Sapienza", and CNR. The La Ficoncella

site, still only at the beginning of excavation activities, has yielded various skeletal remains of

Pala e oloxodon and a few other anatomical elements of other species, such as Bo s pri m ig e niu s and

Equu s s p ., in association with four stone artefacts.

The stratigraphic unit, still under study, contains fauna and lithic remains which could be dated to

anuscript

ck here to view linked References

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MIS 13, thanks to the presence of an ignimbritic layer at the top of the sequence, dating to MIS 12

(terminus ante quem). According to this data, the La Ficoncella site can be considered as an

important source of information about the dynamics of human population and the techno-economic

relationship between humans and elephants during the early Middle Pleistocene in central Italy.

K e yword s : La Fi c on ce lla; La t iu m ; Early Middl e Pl e i st o ce n e ; Pala e oloxodon an t iquu s ; st on e

ar t e f a c ts ; igni m bri t i c uni t .

1. Introduction

In the Mignone Valley (Tarquinia, northeast of Rome), the presence of elephant remains (an

reported at the La Ficoncella site by Seri (1994). Despite the potential interest of such a finding,

neither a survey nor systematic excavations were carried out in the area. Later, at the beginning of

this century, the fossiliferous levels cropping out at La Ficoncella were partially exposed by

moderate landslides. A largely incomplete scapula of a large elephant was, fortunately, discovered

the restoration of the scapula, a lithic flake was found in the sediment still enveloping the bone.

This finding confirms the occurrence at La Ficoncella of both elephant remains and lithic tools,

arch

aimed at defining the stratigraphical context of the level from which the elephant remains and the

lithic implements had been collected. In the late spring of 2010, an area of about 30 m 2 was

excavated, and the stratigraphical succession overlying the fossiliferous layer was exposed to verify

the stratigraphical setting of the faunal remains with respect to a volcanic level outcropping at

nearly the top of the stratigraphical succession. At the beginning of the excavation, it was found that

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the latter had largely been affected by landslides, which partially intersected the remains (the right

tusks and the scapula) of an elephant. Fortunately, a still uncovered part of the fossiliferous layer

was in place and other remains (i.e. premaxillary bones and the left tusk) had not been displaced or

reworked.

The main objectives of the on-field research were: to improve knowledge of the stratigraphic

sequence of the site, to search for in situ faunal remains, and to confirm the already supposed

presence of both non-reworked lithic tools and faunal remains in the same stratigraphical level. This

paper gives a short account of the results obtained to date.

2. Geomorphological and geological framework

The La Ficoncella site is located at ca. 70 m a.s.l. in the Tarquinia territory (Viterbo, Northern

Latium) along the Mignone Valley, a few

Tyrrhenian coast (Fig. 1A). Fossiliferous layers crop out along the outer scarp of a flat, terraced

surface between ca. 75 and 95 m a.s.l. (Fig. 1B).

The Quaternary geology and morphology of the north sector of the Latium coast is characterised by

a series of marine and/or fluvial stratigraphic units, often associated with remnants of their own

depositional upper surfaces, which define a series of terraces (Fazzini et al., 1972; Ambrosetti et al.,

1978, 1981; Conato and Dai Pra, 1980; Bosi et al., 1990; De Rita et al., 2002). This

morphostratigraphical feature is seen as being the result of the interaction between glacio-eustatic

sea level fluctuations and a general uplift of the area, beginning in the Pliocene epoch.

A further, peculiar characteristic of the Quaternary geology and stratigraphy of this region is the

occurrence of both primary and reworked pyroclastic deposits, related to the Middle-Upper

Pleistocene explosive activity of adjacent volcanic centres in the northern part of the Comagmatic

Roman Province. Some of these primary and well-dated tephra layers represent regional

stratigraphic markers and have been used as an effective tool for correlating and dating the

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associated morphostratigraphical units (e.g. De Rita et al., 2002). In particular, De Rita et al. (2002)

recognised four synthems dated between ca. 450 and 125 ka, the three most recent of which are

associated to as many orders of terraces related to MIS 5, MIS 7 and MIS 9, at elevations of ca. 20

30, 40 47, and 50 90 m a.s.l., respectively.

3. Preliminary data on the stratigraphical setting of La Ficonce lla sedimentary succession

Field investigations carried out at the re-exhumed site and in surrounding localities have enabled

construction of a preliminary stratigraphy of the uppermost part, ca. 10 m-thick, of the stratigraphic

succession, exposed on the slope of the terrace from 75 to 95 m a.s.l. (Fig. 1B). The succession can

be subdivided into three main depositional units.

The lower unit (FIC 1), ca. 5 m thick with an unexposed base, is prevalently made up of sandy to

silty sediments with abundant volcanoclastic components, including weathered ash, fine lapilli and

volcanic minerals, especially leucite crystals. This volcanoclastic unit is capped by a 2-3 m thick

ignimbritic deposit with eutaxitic texture (FIC 2) mostly composed of a grey matrix ash and

including sanidine crystals and black, elongated, cm-sized glassy, flattened scoria. The uppermost,

unit (FIC 3), ca. 2 -3 m thick, consists of grey-blackish silty deposits with sparse, sub-rounded

siliceous clasts.

The lithological features of the La Ficoncella ignimbrite (FIC 2) match those of the basal part of the

flow-forming eruptions of the Sabatini Volcanic Complex, dated at 449±1 ka by Karner et al.

(2001). This ignimbrite covers a surface of almost 1000 km2, and may be traced, even if

vent sections around Lake Bracciano (Fig. 1A).

In order to strengthen this consistent tephrostratigraphic attribution, microprobe chemical analyses

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of the glasses of both matrix and lapilli- were

conducted. The results show a trachytic composition which encompasses the compositional

The occurrence of reworked, leucite-bearing pyroclastic materials in the fluvial deposits containing

other, date the former, and thus the bone assemblage, between the beginning of the K-alkaline

vulcanism of the area (ca. 800 ka; Marra et al., 2004; Karner et al., 2001) and ca. 450 ka. However,

although the occurrence of a long temporal hiatus cannot be ruled out, due to the strict stratigraphic

the latter is

considered to be much nearer to its upper temporal limit (ca. 450 ka), rather than its lower one (ca.

800 ka) (Fig. 3).

As to the genesis and age of the uppermost La Ficoncella unit and related surface, some hypotheses

were formulated by framing the site in the broad context of the regional geological and

geomorphological evolution, related to glacio-eustatic fluctuations and tectonic uplift. On the

adjacent right side of the Mignome River, there are remnants of a terraced surface that have an

elevation between 80 and 100 m a.s.l., comparable to the La Ficoncella one (Fig. 1B). This

morphosedimentary units, to which the Finconcella terrace is correlated, corresponds to the synthem

4 of De Rita et al. (2002) containing, in its uppermost stratigraphic part, a Plinian fall deposits

MIS 11. Although according to De Rita et al. (2002), synthem 4 has no corresponding costal

deposits (cf. Fig. 5 of De Rita et al., 2002), the Ficoncella terrace and related deposits of the unit

FIC3, as well as the correlated morpho-sedimentary unit on the right side of the Mignone River,

may be interpreted as remnants of the coastal plain related to the MIS 11 high stand (Fig. 3). From

the above, the whole sedimentary sequence of La Ficoncella should cover the MIS 13-MIS 11

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stratigraphic interval dated between ca. 500 and 400 ka (Fig. 3).

4. Fauna

Mammal remains found at La Ficoncella since the 1990s (Seri, 1994) mainly belong to a large

elephant. A few scanty and largely fragmentary remains of a very large bovid (? Bo s pri m ig e niu s )

as well as a caballine horse (Equu s sp.) were also uncovered during the 2010 excavation assay.

The elephant remains, recently found in the fluvial-lacustrine level at the bottom of the section

exposed at La Ficoncella, consist of premaxillary bones, a nearly complete left tusk, and the

proximal portion of the right tusk, still in the alveolus (Fig. 4), while a large part of a seriously

damaged skull and possibly the mandible, are still buried in sediments. The skull apex is not

preserved. The proximal part of the premaxillary bones is incomplete, while the right tusk is quite

well preserved. The large distal portion of the left tusk found by Seri (1994), more than 1 m long

and missing the tip, is on display at t

as some other large fragments, likely belonging to the La Ficoncella specimen, consistent with the

size, shape and preservation status shown by the various fragments.

The morphology of the fan-shaped tusk alveoli, the triangular, flattened area between them and the

shape of the tusks, divergent proximally, slightly curved downwards and towards the sagittal plane

and then moderately upwards, distally, leave no doubt as to the identity of the specimen as a

straight-tusked elephant. This identification is confirmed by the pattern of the Schreger lines. It is

well known that, in Proboscidea, every transversal cross-section of tusk shows a pattern of two sets

of lines (i.e. the Schreger line pattern), curving clockwise and counterclockwise. As a result, the

surface of the cross-section of the tusk seems to be divided into rhomboidal shaped areas. The

intersections of Schreger lines form angles (Schreger angles) whose width could be a valid tool for

the taxonomic identification of Elephantinae genus, e.g. in Loxodon t a and El e pha s , as well as in

Pala e oloxodon . In the La Ficoncella tush the outside angles of the area close to the cementum are

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wider than in Ma mm u t hu s (Palombo and Villa 2001, 2007, and references therein) . In transverse

section, the tusks from La Ficoncella exhibit a pattern of crossing lines similar to the typical pattern

characterizing straight-tusked elephants: the width of the angles, formed by the crossing of the two

groups of lines, progressively increases from the centre to the peripheral area of the section, on

average ranging from about 60° (near the pulpal cavity) to 120° (near the cementum).

The moderate curvature shown by the La Ficoncella tusks match the curvature usually shown by

tusks of Italian straight-tusked elephants of about the same size (see e.g. Trevisan 1949, Anzidei et

al. in press, Palombo unpublished data). Tusks of palaeoloxodonts vary greatly in dimension and

curvature, as expected in view of both the marked sexual dimorphism and the change in robustness

and shape during ontogenetic growth, characterizing the second incisor in elephants. Although in

each palaeloxodont population, tusks of females are smaller, more slender and less curved than

those of males of the same age and tusks of males show a more and more accentuated curvature as

the animal grows. Tusks of Italian adult males seem to be definitely stouter and less curved than

tusks of straight-tusked elephants from Germany, such as those from Neumark Nord 1 (Germany)

(Palombo et al. 2010), proposing again the still debated question as to whether all European

straight-tusked elephants could be confidently ascribed to the same species, i.e. Pala e oloxodon

an t iquu s . Recently, Saegusa and Gilbert (2008) recognized two distinct morphotypes among

Eurasian straight-

weak

development of the parieto-frontal crest and na m adi c u s strongly developed

parieto-frontal crest as shown by Italian continental (e.g. La Polledrara di Cecanibbio, Anzidei et al.

in press) and insular (e.g. Pala e oloxodon m naidri e n s i s from Puntali Cave, Sicily, Ferretti 2008)

specimens. If the different morphology of the parieto-frontal crest shown by European straight-

tusked elephants might actually be due to intra-specific variability (see Ferretti 2008, Palombo and

Ferretti 2010, Palombo and Ferretti in preparation, for a discussion), and as nuchal muscles

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(levators of the head) insert on the anterior part of the parieto-frontal crest, the size and curvature of

the tusks might be a further possible factor influencing, along with sex and ontogenetic growth, the

development and anterior bending of the parieto-frontal crest.

Whatever the actual significance of this characteristic, the size and curvature of the tusks from La

Ficoncella, suggest they belong to an adult male of the na m adi c u s

and preservation of the scapula found at La Ficoncella, suggest it likely belongs to the same

individual. The original anatomical positions of the tusks in the alveoli, indicate that the carcass, or

the at least partially already disarticulated skeleton, did not suffer any important transport by

streams, and was possibly buried shortly after death.

5. Lithic implements

The sample of lithic implements found at La Ficoncella, in the fossiliferous layer holding the

straight-tusked elephant remains, consists only of four flakes, showing technical signatures clearly

indicating they are human artefacts.

The limestone flake found in the sediment wrapping the straight-tusked elephant scapula (length =

70 mm, width = 60 mm, thickness = 30 mm), is characterized by the presence of very strong

concretions. From a technical point of view, the flake presents a do s la t é ra l e with the cutting-edge

on the opposite side (Fig. 5, A). Three other well preserved flints, with very fresh edges were found

during the last excavation. In particular, two flakes (Fig. 5, B-C) allow for some technical

comments: one of these is a flake with do s la t é ra l e e t na t ur e l and orthogonal negative scars, the

other one is a flake characterized by negative, converging scars. Each of these three artefacts is less

than 20 mm long and therefore smaller than the limestone flake.

The scantiness of artefacts found thus far makes it difficult to ascribe them to any specific techno-

cultural framework. At the present state of research, it is not easy to clearly evaluate the

archaeological potentialities of the context, but the presence of humans on this territory during the

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Middle Pleistocene can be proven by these artefacts.

5. Remarks

In the Mignone River Valley, few palaeontological sites have been reported thus far. The most

ancient of which is the site of Monte Riccio (Early Pleistocene; Mazzini et al., 2000; Rozzi, 2009;

Palombo unpublished data), bearing a rich and diversified mammalian fauna. The occurrence of

marine molluscs within the levels in which the bones were retrieved, together with sedimentological

evidence, indicates a different position of the coastline in this area when compared with the present-

day. Moreover, this site shares with La Ficoncella a similar elevation above sea level, implying the

persistence of relatively strong tectonic activity in the area at more recent times. Although the scant

number of palaeontological sites makes the attempt to assess the evolution of the environment in

this area undoubtedly difficult, some analogies can be noticed between the La Ficoncella site and

other localities of the late Middle Pleistocene of the Roman basin (Torre in Pietra 1, Malagrotta, La

Polledrara di Cecanibbio, Castel di Guido, Collina Barbattini, Sedia del Diavolo 2, Monte delle

Gioie, Torre in Pietra 2 e Vitinia 4; see Milli et al. (2008) and references therein for a discussion),

where Pala e oloxodon an t iquu s is especially abundant in fluvial transgressive deposits. These

originated during phases of river flooding, leaving bones to be buried along the channel margins, as

well as in lacustrine and marshy sediments filling the former riverbed. Although the remains of

Pala e oloxodon an t iquu s are still under excavation, and only preliminary remarks can be made, the

taphonomical setting suggests that the elephant carcass could have been buried in sediment under

low energy depositional conditions.

Comparing and correlating the palaeontological and archaeological record, it appears that, since the

early Middle Pleistocene, when the human signature becomes firmly evidenced across the Italian

peninsula, and almost until the beginning of the last Glacial (MIS 4), the co-occurrence of lithic and

bone industries and straight-tusked elephant remains was most common, especially in central and

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southern Italy. Among the oldest are the well known middle Galerian sites of Isernia La Pineta

(Molise) (dated to 605 ±10 ka by Ar/Ar; Coltorti et al., 2005) and Notarchirico (Basilicata), where

the beginning of the local archaeological sequence (level F, which shows a lithic assemblage with

hand-axes), was dated at about 640 ka (Rhodes and Grün, 1999). In the latter site, a skull and a

mandible of Pala e oloxodon an t iquu s , surrounded by a number of lithic tools, was found in the level

A1. Available data, limited by post depositional disturbances, reveals the association between the

remains of a single individual with lithic implements, lying in the proximity of or in direct contact

with the bones, suggesting the utilization of the cranium by hominids (Piperno 1999; Piperno and

Tagliacozzo 2001).

In the Latium area, ample evidence of human presence (some teeth and Acheulean assemblages

with both lithic and bone handaxes) and a rich sample of straight-tusked elephant remains are

documented at the late Galerian site of Fontana Ranuccio in an archaeological level 458 ± 5.7 ka

old, after K/Ar analysis (Biddittu et al. 1979).

No human signatures have, conversely, been found associated with the Galerian fauna recently

discovered in the Ceriti Mts. area at the Cerveteri-Monte Li Pozzi site and in the Ponte Galeria area.

At the Cerveteri-Monte Li Pozzi site, where a tusk and an incomplete skeleton were, respectively,

found in the lower level and in the upper level, tentatively correlated with MIS 15-MIS 13 (Mancini

et al. 2006). In the Ponte Galeria area, several remains belonging to an individual adult

Pala e oloxodon an t iquu s have been recently retrieved from an HST fluvial deposit of about 500 ka,

cropping out at the Casal Selce quarry, together with a few remains of Da m a sp. (? Da m a

c la c t oniana ), Hippopo t a m u s sp. and Testudinata. At this site, taphonomic and sedimentological

features suggest limited transport under the action of an intermittent and weak current and

deposition as a channel lag mode (Milli et al. 2005).

In the Latium area, sites holding both Pala e oloxodon an t iquu s remains and lithic and sometimes

bone industries, became more frequent during the late Middle Pleistocene (early Aurelian Land

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Mammal Age, sensu Palombo et al. 2004; Palombo 2009). A number of local faunal assemblages

- whose taxonomical composition differs from site to site with species richness and

diversity, depending on environmental factors and depositional context (Palombo et al. 2003, Milli

and Palombo 2005, Milli et al. 2008) - have been referred to the Torre in Pietra faunal unit (FU)

(MIS 10 to MIS 6) (see Palombo et al. 2004). Generally, Pala e oloxodon an t iquu s and Bo s

pri m ig e niu s are among the most common taxa, together with C e rvu s e laphu s and Da m a , while

Capr e olu s c apr e olu s , M e galo ce ro s gigan t e u s , Hippopo t a m u s ex gr. H . a m phibiu s and S u s s c ro f a

may at times be present. Rhinoceroses, such as S t e phanorhinu s h e m i t o ec hu s (more frequent), S .

hund s h e i m e n s i s and perhaps S . k ir c hb e rg e n s i s also occur as well as a large and heavy Equu s f e ru s ,

at times abundant, and Equu s hydrun t inu s just reported from the Sedia del Diavolo2 LFA. Medium-

sized carnivores (Vulp e s vulp e s , Cani s lupu s ) are present with a few remains, while small

(Mustelidae) and large carnivores (Ur s u s s p e la e u s , Pan t h e ra s p e la e a , Pan t h e ra pardu s and Cro c u t a

c ro c u t a ) are sporadically reported. The early Aurelian sites from which the richest and most

outstanding samples of straight-tusked elephants have been recorded, are mainly located in the

Roman Basin and in the Sacco-Liri valley (e.g. La Polledrara di Cecanibbio, Castel di Guido,

Isoletta) (Sala and Barbi 1996; Anzidei et al. in press and references therein; Palombo unpublished

data), while nearly complete skeletons were discovered in the 1940s and 1950s in diatomaceous

layers, outcropping in the neighbourhood of Grotte Santo Stefano (Viterbo, Central Italy) (Trevisan

1949, Palombo and Villa 2003) and Riano Flaminio (Maccagno 1962, Palombo and Villa 2003), but

no lithic or bone artefacts were found at these sites.

An in s i t u butchering of an elephant carcass by hominids is thus far reported only from La

Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Anzidei et al. 2010, in press). Available data suggest that, in the Latium

area, the extent and condition of the associated findings of Pala e oloxodon an t iquu s remains, with

Lower Paleolithic industries, are strongly affected by the depositional context and thaphonomical

factors.

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Although investigations at La Ficoncella are at an absolutely preliminary stage, available data on

this fauna, the first Galerian faunal assemblage discovered in the Civitavecchia-Tolfa area, confirm

the commonness of straight-tusked elephants in the Latium LFAs since the late Galerian (MIS 13 to

MIS 5a) (Palombo 2009 and references therein).

From an archaeological point of view, La Ficoncella could be potentially considered as one of the

Central Italian Middle Pleistocene sites claimed to be in the range of 450-500 ka and then, perhaps,

to be inlaid into really debated, general issues such as the first peopling of Italy or the spread of the

Acheulean culture. Ongoing research could confidently clarify the actual role of humans (if any) in

the biostratinomical processes undergone by the elephant carcass, and answer other questions that

are still open.

Ack nowl e dg e m e n ts

Geoingegneria

The research group owes a particular debt of gratitude to the Comune di Allumiere

for providing us with the opportunity to know and to work in this fascinating territory, the Monti

della Tolfa and the Mignone Valley. We would also like to thank all of the people who helped us

throughout the field activities.

R e f e r e n ce s

Ambrosetti, P., Carboni, M.G., Conti, M.A., Costantini, A., Esu, D., Gandin, A., Girotti, O.,

Lazzarotto, A., Mazzanti, R., Nicosia, U., Parisi, G., Sandrelli, F., 1978. Evoluzione

paleogeografica e tettonica nei bacini Tosco-Umbro-Laziali nel Pliocene e nel Pleistocene

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inferiore. Memorie della Società Geologica Italiana 19, 573 580.

Anzidei, A.P., Bulgarelli, G.M., Cerilli, C., Gallotti, R., Lemorini, C., Milli, S., Palombo, M.R.,

Santucci, E., (in press). The Middle Pleistocene Paleolithic site with large mammal fauna of La

Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome, Italy): recent data and prospects. Quaternary International.

Biddittu, I., Cassoli, P.F., Radicati di Bronzolo, F., Segre, A.G., Segre Naldini, E., Villa, I., 1979.

Anagni, a K-Ar dated Lower and Middle Pleistocene Site, Central Italy: Preliminary report.

Quaternaria 21, 53-71.

del Lazio settentrionale. AIQUA, CNRCentro di studio per la Geologia Tecnica Roma, pp. 1

25.

http://www.isprambiente.it/MEDIA/carg/354_TARQUINIA/Foglio.html.

Coltorti, M., Feraud, G., Marzoli, A., Peretto, S., Tonthat, C., Voinchet, T.P., Bahain, J.-J., Minelli,

A., Thun Hohenstein, U., 2005. New 40Ar/39Ar, stratigraphic and palaeoclimatic data on the

Isernia La Pineta Lower Palaeolithic site, Molise, Italy. Quaternary International 131, 11 22.

Conato, V., Dai Pra, G., 1980. Livelli marini pleistocenici e neotettonica fra Civitavecchia e

Tarquinia (Italia Centrale). Geologica Romana 19, 181 194.

De Rita, D., Fabbri, M., Mazzini, I., Paccara, P., Sposato, A., Trigari, A., 2002. Volcanoclastic

sedimentation in coastal environmental: the interplay between volcanism and quaternary sea

level change (Central Italy). Quaternary Intnternational 95-96,141-154.

Fazzini, P., Gelmini, R., Mantovani, M.P., Pellegrini, M., 1972. Geologia dei Monti della Tolfa

(Lazio settentrionale; province di Viterbo e Roma). Memorie Societ"a Geologica Italiana 11, 65

144.

Ferretti, M.P., 2008. The dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis from Puntali Cave, Carini

(Sicily; late Middle Pleistocene): Anatomy, systematics and phylogenetic relationships.

Quaternary International 182, 90 108.

Galli, P., Giaccio, B., Messina, P. 2010. The 2009 central Italy earthquake seen through 0.5 Myr-

-3789.

Karner, D.B., Marra, F., Renne, P.R., 2001. The history of the Monti Sabatini and Alban Hills

volcanoes: groundwork for assessing volcanic-tectonic hazards for Rome. Journal of

Volcanology and Geothermal Research 107, 185 219.

Lisiecki, L.E., Raymo, M.E., 2005. A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic

d18O records. Paleoceanography 20, PA1003. doi:10.1029/2004PA001071. 131.

8/3/2019 QUATINT-D-11-00086R1-1


14

Mancini, M., Bedetti, C., Bellucci, L., Di Canzio, E., Giovinazzo, C., Palombo, M.R., Petronio, C.,

Petrucci, M., Sardella, R., Trucco, F. (2006) - Middle Pleistocene vertebrate-bearing fluvial

deposits of the Ceriti Mts area, and related inferences on uplift of the Latium coast (central

Italy). Geologica Romana 39, 27-38.

Mazzini, I., Paccara, P., Petronio, C., Sardella, R., 2000. Geological evolution and biochronological

evidences of the Monte Riccio Section (Tarquinia, Central Italy). Rivista Italiana di

Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 106, 247-256.

Milli, S., Palombo, M.R., 2005. The high-resolution sequence stratigraphy and the mammal fossil

record: a test in the Middle Upper Pleistocene deposits 251 of the Roman Basin (Latium, Italy).

Quaternary International 126/128, 251-270.

Milli, S., Moscatelli, M., Palombo, M.R., Parlagreco, L., Paciucci, M., 2008. Incised-valleys, their

filling and mammal fossil record: an example in the middle-upper Pleistocene deposits of the

Roman Basin (Latium, Italy). Geoacta SP1, 67-88.

Palombo, M.R., 2009. Biochronology of terrestrial mammals and Quaternary subdivisions: a case

study of large mammals from the Italian peninsula. Il Quaternario 22(2), 291-306.

Palombo, M.R., Albayrak, E., Marano, F., 2010). The straight-tusked Elephants from Neumark

Nord, a glance to a lost world. In: Meller, H. (Ed.): Elefantenreich- Eine Fossilwelt in Europa.

Katalog zur Sonderausstellung im Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle, pp. 219-247.

Palombo, M.R., Azanza, B., Alberdi, M.T., 2003. Italian mammal biochronology from Latest

Miocene to Middle Pleistocene: a multivariate approach. Geologica Romana 36 (2000-2002),

335-368.

Palombo, M.R., Ferretti, M.P., 2010. What about the taxonomical status of European Straight-

tusked elephants? Quaternaire Hors-série 3, 27-28.

Palombo, M.R., Milli, S., Rosa, C., 2004. Remarks on the late Middle Pleistocene biochronology of

the mammalian faunal complexes of the Campagna Romana. Geologica Romana 37 (2003), 135-

14.

Palombo, M.R., Villa, P., 2001. Schreger Lines as Support in the Elephantinae identification. In

. Consiglio

Nazionale delle Ricerche, Roma, 2001, pp. 656-660.

Palombo, M.R., Villa, P., 2003. Sexual dimorphic characters of Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus

Falconer e Cautley, 1847 from Grotte Santo Stefano (Viterbo, Central Italy). Deinsea (1999), pp.

293-315.

Piperno, M., 1999. Notarchirico. Un sito del Pleistocene medio iniziale nel bacino di Venosa,Osanna, Venosa.

8/3/2019 QUATINT-D-11-00086R1-1


15

Piperno, M, Tagliacozzo, A., 2001. The elephant butchery area at the Middle Pleistocene site of

Notarchirico (Venosa, Basilicata, Italy). In Cavarretta G, Gioia P, Mussi M, Palombo MR (eds),

The World of Elephants. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, 2001, pp. 230 236.

Rhodes, E.J., Grun, R., 1999. Preliminary ESR dates for tooth enamel from Notarchirico. In:

Piperno, M. (Ed.), Notarchirico. Un sito del Pleistocene medio iniziale nel bacino di Venosa,

Osanna, Venosa, pp. 245 255.

Sala, B., Barbi, G., 1996. Descrizione della fauna. In: AM Radmilli and G. Boschian, Editors, Gli

scavi a Castel di Guido. Il piu' antico giacimento di cacciatori del Paleolitico inferiore nell'Agro

Romano, Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze, pp. 55 90.

Saegusa, H., Gilbert, H., 2008. Elephantidae. In: W.H. Gilbert (Ed.), Ho m o e r ec t u s in Africa,

Pleistocene Evidence from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. The Middle Awash Series, 1 (9).

University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 195 228.

Seri, E., 1994. La Preistoria nel Comprensorio di Civitavecchia. Associazione archeologica Civita-

Vetula.

Trevisan, L., 1949. Lo scheletro di Elephas antiquus italicus di Fonte Campanile (Viterbo).

Paleontographia Italica 44 (1948), 2 78.

Cap t ion s

Table 1. Average major element compositions of micro-pumice fragments and/or glass shards from

Ficoncella ignimbrite and from the basal Plinian fallout and flow proximal deposits of the Tufo of

Rosso a Scorie Nere (TRSN) pyroclastic sequence. Reference: a) Galli et al. (2010); b) M. Gaeta

(personal communication, 2010). These analyses were carried out at the Istituto di Geologia

Ambientale e Geoingegneria (CNR, Rome, Italy) using a Cameca SX50 electron microprobe that

was equipped with a five wavelength dispersive spectrometer. The operating conditions were as

follows: accelerating voltage, 15 kV; beam current, 15 nA; beam diameter, 10 15 mm; counting

time, 20 s per element. The following standards were used: wollastonite (Si and Ca), corundum

(Al), diopside (Mg), andradite (Fe), rutile (Ti), orthoclase (K), jadeite (Na), phlogopite (F), KCl

(Cl), baritina (S), and metals (Mn). The Ti content was corrected for the overlap of the Ti and Ka

peaks.

Figure 1. Reference maps of the La Ficoncella site. A) General view of the site and of the nearest

volcanic complexes of the Roman Comagmatic Province; the shadow area roughly represents the

areal distribution of the Tufo Rosso a Scorie Nere Sabatino ignimbrite from Bracciano caldera-lake.B) Digital elevation model of the Ficoncella site area (white rectangle in A) showing the flat

8/3/2019 QUATINT-D-11-00086R1-1


16

terraced morphologies characterising the northern sector of the Latium coasts.

Figure 2. Total alkali silica diagram (TAS; Le Bas et al., 1986) of scoria and matrix glass shards

and flow pyroclasts (see Table 1 for data, abbreviations and references).

Figure 3. Scheme of the morphological and stratigraphical relationship (A) and chronological

framework of the La Ficoncella site (B). The Benthic 18O stack form Lisiecki and Raymo (2005).

Figure 4. Area of excavation (Ficoncella 2010).

Figure 5. Lithic implements from Ficoncella site. A limestone flake; B-C flint flakes.

8/3/2019 QUATINT-D-11-00086R1-1


gure

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TRSN Plinian falla TRSN pyroclastic

flowb

La Ficoncella(FIC3)

N. of analyses 18 s.d. 19 s.d. 14 s.d.

SiO2 60.03 0.54 61.15 0.16 61.73 0.18

TiO2 0.53 0.04 0.52 0.03 0.52 0.02

Al2O3 19.12 0.24 18.79 0.11 18.82 0.07

FeO 2.93 0.12 2.71 0.09 2.76 0.12

MnO 0.15 0.03 0.17 0.04 0.14 0.04

MgO 0.41 0.02 0.38 0.02 0.39 0.02

CaO 2.81 0.12 2.62 0.14 2.40 0.16

Na2O 3.76 0.12 3.69 0.09 3.84 0.12

K2O 10.22 0.17 9.92 0.17 9.34 0.17

P2O5 0.05 0.03 0.05 0.03 0.06 0.05

F 0.36 0.11 0.26 0.15 0.11 0.06

Cl 0.08 0.01 0.08 0.01 0.08 0.01

SO3 n.d. 0.00 0.17 0.04 0.17 0.02

Original total 94.10 0.26 96.66 0.46 97.58 0.44

Alkali sum 13.98 13.61 0.16 13.18 0.20

ble

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1

References

Ambrosetti, P., Carboni, M.G., Conti, M.A., Costantini, A., Esu, D., Gandin, A., Girotti, O.,

Lazzarotto, A., Mazzanti, R., Nicosia, U., Parisi, G., Sandrelli, F., 1978. Evoluzione

paleogeografica e tettonica nei bacini Tosco-Umbro-Laziali nel Pliocene e nel Pleistocene

inferiore. Memorie della Società Geologica Italiana 19, 573 580.Anzidei, A.P., Bulgarelli, G.M., Cerilli, C., Gallotti, R., Lemorini, C., Milli, S., Palombo, M.R.,

Santucci, E., (in press). The Middle Pleistocene Paleolithic site with large mammal fauna of La

Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Rome, Italy): recent data and prospects. Quaternary International.

Biddittu, I., Cassoli, P.F., Radicati di Bronzolo, F., Segre, A.G., Segre Naldini, E., Villa, I., 1979.

Anagni, a K-Ar dated Lower and Middle Pleistocene Site, Central Italy: Preliminary report.

Quaternaria 21, 53-71.

del Lazio settentrionale. AIQUA, CNRCentro di studio per la Geologia Tecnica Roma, pp. 1

25.

http://www.isprambiente.it/MEDIA/carg/354_TARQUINIA/Foglio.html.Coltorti, M., Feraud, G., Marzoli, A., Peretto, S., Tonthat, C., Voinchet, T.P., Bahain, J.-J., Minelli,

A., Thun Hohenstein, U., 2005. New 40Ar/39Ar, stratigraphic and palaeoclimatic data on the

Isernia La Pineta Lower Palaeolithic site, Molise, Italy. Quaternary International 131, 11 22.

Conato, V., Dai Pra, G., 1980. Livelli marini pleistocenici e neotettonica fra Civitavecchia e

Tarquinia (Italia Centrale). Geologica Romana 19, 181 194.

De Rita, D., Fabbri, M., Mazzini, I., Paccara, P., Sposato, A., Trigari, A., 2002. Volcanoclastic

sedimentation in coastal environmental: the interplay between volcanism and quaternary sea

level change (Central Italy). Quaternary Intnternational 95-96,141-154.

Fazzini, P., Gelmini, R., Mantovani, M.P., Pellegrini, M., 1972. Geologia dei Monti della Tolfa

(Lazio settentrionale; province di Viterbo e Roma). Memorie Societ"a Geologica Italiana 11, 65

144.

Ferretti, M.P., 2008. The dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis from Puntali Cave, Carini

(Sicily; late Middle Pleistocene): Anatomy, systematics and phylogenetic relationships.

Quaternary International 182, 90 108.

Galli, P., Giaccio, B., Messina, P. 2010. The 2009 central Italy earthquake seen through 0.5 Myr-

-3789.

Karner, D.B., Marra, F., Renne, P.R., 2001. The history of the Monti Sabatini and Alban Hills

volcanoes: groundwork for assessing volcanic-tectonic hazards for Rome. Journal of

Volcanology and Geothermal Research 107, 185 219.

Lisiecki, L.E., Raymo, M.E., 2005. A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic

d18O records. Paleoceanography 20, PA1003. doi:10.1029/2004PA001071. 131.

Mancini, M., Bedetti, C., Bellucci, L., Di Canzio, E., Giovinazzo, C., Palombo, M.R., Petronio, C.,

Petrucci, M., Sardella, R., Trucco, F. (2006) - Middle Pleistocene vertebrate-bearing fluvial

deposits of the Ceriti Mts area, and related inferences on uplift of the Latium coast (central

Italy). Geologica Romana 39, 27-38.

Mazzini, I., Paccara, P., Petronio, C., Sardella, R., 2000. Geological evolution and biochronological

evidences of the Monte Riccio Section (Tarquinia, Central Italy). Rivista Italiana di

Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 106, 247-256.

Milli, S., Palombo, M.R., 2005. The high-resolution sequence stratigraphy and the mammal fossil

record: a test in the Middle Upper Pleistocene deposits 251 of the Roman Basin (Latium, Italy).

Quaternary International 126/128, 251-270.Milli, S., Moscatelli, M., Palombo, M.R., Parlagreco, L., Paciucci, M., 2008. Incised-valleys, their

filling and mammal fossil record: an example in the middle-upper Pleistocene deposits of the

ferences

8/3/2019 QUATINT-D-11-00086R1-1


2

Roman Basin (Latium, Italy). Geoacta SP1, 67-88.

Palombo, M.R., 2009. Biochronology of terrestrial mammals and Quaternary subdivisions: a case

study of large mammals from the Italian peninsula. Il Quaternario 22(2), 291-306.

Palombo, M.R., Albayrak, E., Marano, F., 2010). The straight-tusked Elephants from Neumark

Nord, a glance to a lost world. In: Meller, H. (Ed.): Elefantenreich- Eine Fossilwelt in Europa.

Katalog zur Sonderausstellung im Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte Halle, pp. 219-247.Palombo, M.R., Azanza, B., Alberdi, M.T., 2003. Italian mammal biochronology from Latest

Miocene to Middle Pleistocene: a multivariate approach. Geologica Romana 36 (2000-2002),

335-368.

Palombo, M.R., Ferretti, M.P., 2010. What about the taxonomical status of European Straight-

tusked elephants? Quaternaire Hors-série 3, 27-28.

Palombo, M.R., Milli, S., Rosa, C., 2004. Remarks on the late Middle Pleistocene biochronology of

the mammalian faunal complexes of the Campagna Romana. Geologica Romana 37 (2003), 135-

14.

Palombo, M.R., Villa, P., 2001. Schreger Lines as Support in the Elephantinae identification. In

Cavaretta G., Gioia P., Mussi M., Palombo M.R. (e

Roma, 2001, pp. 656-660.Palombo, M.R., Villa, P., 2003. Sexual dimorphic characters of Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus

Falconer e Cautley, 1847 from Grotte Santo Stefano (Viterbo, Central Italy). Deinsea (1999), pp.

293-315.

Piperno, M., 1999. Notarchirico. Un sito del Pleistocene medio iniziale nel bacino di Venosa,

Osanna, Venosa.

Piperno, M, Tagliacozzo, A., 2001. The elephant butchery area at the Middle Pleistocene site of

Notarchirico (Venosa, Basilicata, Italy). In The World of Elephants, Cavarretta G, Gioia P,

Mussi M, Palombo MR (eds). Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, 2001, pp. 230 236.

Rhodes, E.J., Grun, R., 1999. Preliminary ESR dates for tooth enamel from Notarchirico. In:

Piperno, M. (Ed.), Notarchirico. Un sito del Pleistocene medio iniziale nel bacino di Venosa,

Osanna, Venosa, pp. 245 255.

Sala, B., Barbi, G., 1996. Descrizione della fauna. In: AM Radmilli and G. Boschian, Editors, Gli

scavi a Castel di Guido. Il piu' antico giacimento di cacciatori del Paleolitico inferiore nell'Agro

Romano, Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze (1996), pp. 55 90.

Saegusa, H., Gilbert, H., 2008. Elephantidae. In: W.H. Gilbert/B. (Eds.), Homo erectus in Africa,

Pleistocene Evidence from the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. The Middle Awash Series, 1 (9).

University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 195 228.

Seri, E., 1994. La Preistoria nel Comprensorio di Civitavecchia. Associazione archeologica Civita-

Vetula.

Trevisan, L., 1949. Lo scheletro di Elephas antiquus italicus di Fonte Campanile (Viterbo).

Paleontographia Italica 44 (1948), 2 78.

Captions

Table 1. Average major element compositions of micro-pumice fragments and/or glass shards from

Ficoncella ignimbrite and from the basal Plinian fallout and flow proximal deposits of the Tufo of

Rosso a Scorie Nere (TRSN) pyroclastic sequence. Reference: a) Galli et al. (2010); b) M. Gaeta

(personal communication, 2010). These analyses were carried out at the Istituto di GeologiaAmbientale e Geoingegneria (CNR, Rome, Italy) using a Cameca SX50 electron microprobe that

was equipped with a five wavelength dispersive spectrometer. The operating conditions were as

8/3/2019 QUATINT-D-11-00086R1-1


follows: accelerating voltage, 15 kV; beam current, 15 nA; beam diameter, 10 15 mm; counting

time, 20 s per element. The following standards were used: wollastonite (Si and Ca), corundum

(Al), diopside (Mg), andradite (Fe), rutile (Ti), orthoclase (K), jadeite (Na), phlogopite (F), KCl

(Cl), baritina (S), and metals (Mn). The Ti content was corrected for the overlap of the Ti and Ka

peaks.

Figure 1. Reference maps of the La Ficoncella site. A) General view of the site and of the nearest

volcanic complexes of the Roman Comagmatic Province; the shadow area roughly represents the

areal distribution of the Tufo Rosso a Scorie Nere Sabatino ignimbrite from Bracciano caldera-lake.

B) Digital elevation model of the Ficoncella site area (white rectangle in A) showing the flat

terraced morphologies characterising the northern sector of the Latium coasts.

Figure 2. Total alkali silica diagram (TAS; Le Bas et al., 1986) of scoria and matrix glass shards

and flow pyroclasts (see Table 1 for data, abbreviations and references).

Figure 3. Scheme of the morphological and stratigraphical relationship (A) and chronologicalframework of the La Ficoncella site (B). The Benthic 18O stack form Lisiecki and Raymo (2005).

Figure 4. Area of excavation (Ficoncella 2010).

Figure 5. Lithic implements from Ficoncella site. A limestone flake; B-C flint flakes.

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