Raw material economy in Salento (Apulia, Italy): new perspectives on Neanderthal mobility patterns

摘要

This paper presents a case study that questions the behavioral model of a “non-modern” provisioning ofraw materials by Neanderthals. The Salento is a peninsula in south eastern Italy rich in Mousterian sitesand Neanderthal remains. This region is particularly suitable for raw material economy studies, for itspeninsular status and the scarceness of good raw materials. Surveys made in 2006 showed the pattern ofutilization of different local raw materials (limestone, siliceous limestone) and the absence of goodquality raw materials, that are present in archaeological record. A very long distance provisioning issupposed to be at the origin of their presence in Mousterian Salento sites.