A new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that crucial behavioral changes in early Homo sapiens in Europe occurred well before the major volcanic eruption in the Phlegraean Fields about 40,000 years ago. This eruption was traditionally thought to have driven cultural innovations, thus challenging established theories about the impact of natural events on hunter-gatherers’ lifeways in the Upper Paleolithic.
An international team of researchers from the Universities of Siena (Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment – RU of Preihistory and Anthropology), Tübingen and Bologna analyzed the cultural remains left by groups of early Homo sapiens at Grotta di Castelcivita in southern Italy before the major eruption known as Campanian Ignimbrite. This explosive event originated in the still-active Phlegraean Fields about 40,000 years ago and is considered the most powerful ever recorded in the Mediterranean. Crucially, Grotta di Castelcivita, investigated by the University od Siena from the 1980’s, is one of the rare archaeological sites where the volcanic ash sealed the high-resolution archaeological sequence. By employing a set of cutting-edge methodologies to meticulously reconstruct the methods used in crafting stone—the most enduring artifacts unearthed in prehistoric excavations—the researchers demonstrated that cultural development at Castelcivita predate the deposition of the volcanic layers. This challenges long-held speculations that natural disasters were crucial drivers of major behavioral changes throughout human prehistory. The study, published in Scientific Reports, hypothesizes instead that cultural innovations among early Homo sapiens originated from mechanisms of cultural transmission and the establishment of large-scale networks that extended beyond the Alps. Overall, this research represents a significant step towards understanding how Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer societies developed sophisticated strategies to thrive in changing environments.