The activities of the Research Unit of Prehistory and Anthropology (RUPA) focus on the study and the reconstruction of prehistoric environments and societies, along a time span from the Paleolithic to the Metal Ages. The objects of investigation are paleoecology, subsistence strategies, the ability to exploit natural resources, technical knowledge, artefacts, features (e.g., hearths), and evidence of symbolic thinking of prehistoric peoples (ornaments, burials, art, etc.).
Hence there many disciplines contributing to the study of prehistory, e.g., paleoanthropology, palethnology, geomorphology, sedimentology, pedology, volcanology, paleontology, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, paleochronology, paleogenetics, and paleonutrition. Some of them are covered within the DSFTA, others are addressed in collaboration with external research institutes.
The first phase of research involves surveys and excavations in caves, shelters and open-air prehistoric sites that preserve evidence of human occupations and allow investigation of climatic/environmental contexts and of interactions between humans and their coeval environments. Fieldwork has also educational value for both undergraduates and postgraduates.
Laboratory research involves the study of findings and elaboration of data from fieldwork activities. Artefacts (stone, bone, pottery, etc.) are analysed from a perspective which is technological (raw material supply and characteristics, production techniques, etc.), typological (final form of the objects and their attribution to a cultural phase) and functional (use-wear traces analyzed by SEM and optical and digital microscopy).
The study of faunal remains from hunting, breeding and slaughtering activities carried out by prehistoric people, provides pivotal information on paleoenvironmental patterns and paleoeconomical strategies.
The RUPA is equipped with laboratories for post-excavation activities. There are reference osteological collections for both zooarchaeology and paleoanthropology, a lithoteque and a reference collection for the study of lithic artefacts, and a Hirox KH-7700 3D digital microscope for both the analysis of artefacts and osteological remains.
Our research focuses on the reconstruction of the cultural evolution of Neanderthal groups based on stratigraphic excavations carried out since the ‘60’s in deposits of the Tyrrhenian (Cilento and Tuscany) and Adriatic (Puglia) areas, among the most important in the Mediterranean. Special attention is paid to the dynamics connected to the replacement of the last Neanderthal populations by modern humans (Homo sapiens) at the time of their arrival and spread in Europe.
This study mainly focuses on Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers who lived in the Italian Peninsula during the last climatic cold oscillations. The RUPA team has been investigating for decades important stratigraphic series located in central-southern Italy and is collaborating with other institutions for evidence from northern regions. The main topics of this research line are:
I. “Italy as a refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum”;
II. “Ecological and cultural adaptation of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers to the last harsh climatic oscillations”;
III. “Mobility and migratory patterns of Upper Palaeolithic populations”;
IV. “First steps of mammal domestication ”.
This research is aimed at the reconstruction of ancient landscapes and socioeconomic patterns developing in the Upper Tiber Valley from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Iron age.
This line of research concerns the exploitation of resources and reconstruction of trade networks related to the production of lithic armatures in central-southern Tuscany, with particular focus on the archaeological geo-site of La Pietra in the Farma Valley.
This line of research is devoted to the investigation of several paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental proxies (e.g., faunal and botanical remains, sedimentology, paleoclimatic models) and is carried out in collaboration with other national and international institutions. The aim is to reconstruct paleoenvironments and paleoecologycal dynamics in contexts occupied by humans during Prehistory.
The line of research devoted to functional studies includes the traceological study of lithic and bone artefacts (use wear analysis) and the chemical and morphological analysis of residues (residue analysis) to determine how ancient tools were used, while also assessing their state of preservation. Use wear analysis makes use of both the low-power approach (LPA) and the high-power approach (HPA), which are carried out using various optical microscopes (stereomicroscope, metallographic microscope, 3D digital microscope) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Residue analysis is performed through both morphological and chemical studies taking advantage of several microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, including 3D digital microscopy, FTIR microscopy, LEXRF microscopy, microbeam PIXE and SEM-EDS. The chemical analysis of ancient residues is carried out in collaboration with several national and international research centres and institutions. The study of the taphonomic alterations of animal hard materials (e.g., shell, bone and antler) exploited for dietary purposes or for the production of artefacts and ornaments is another central aspect of this line of research, involving both the microscopic approach previously described and high-resolution imaging techniques such as micro-computed tomography.
Study of human remains of prehistoric, protohistoric, and historical age, carried out in collaboration with other national and international institutions. The research includes anatomical description, taphonomic and paleopathological studies, 3D geometric morphology, tomography and microtomography. Physiognomic reconstructions are also performed.
For many years the RUPA has been collaborating with other institutions in the setting up of museum itineraries and exhibitions inspired by didactic and scientific aims (e.g: documentary/educational itinerary at the Quaternary Study Centre in Sansepolcro, Virtual Museum in Marina di Camerota, Prehistoric Section of the National Archaeological Museum in Perugia, Museum on Grotta Paglicci in Rignano Garganico, Civic Archaeological Museum in La Spezia, Civic Archaeological Museum in Camaiore, "The Colors of Darkness" exhibition set at the Vittoriano in Rome, "Darwin 1809 - 2009" exhibition in Bari, etc. ...).