Follow the river: the Pontecosi Upper Palaeolithic site in NW Tuscany (Italy)

Pontecosi is a Late Pleistocene open-air site on a riverbank of the Serchio river (NW Tuscany, Italy). It was exposed in 1996 by construction works and a rescue excavation ensued in 1998-2000, leading to the discovery of lithic artefact concentrations in loamy-silty sediments. No organic material was preserved, except for rare and dispersed charcoals. A charcoal concentration, without associated artefacts, was found in a pit. The 14C dating gave a Late Mesolithic age (6740 ± 70 BP). Instead, the artefacts' techno-typology suggests a much earlier chronology, i.e. late Aurignacian. The major feature supporting this attribution is the presence of small, carinated artefacts, similar to nosed endscrapers (Dini et al. 2010). Most of the knapped stone assemblage suggests the use of raw materials available from primary and secondary sources in the site’s surroundings. Moreover, a minor percentage comes from non-local sources In the framework of a new research project (MobiliTy), the Pontecosi assemblage is being re-analysed to provide new insights into technology and raw material economy at the site. The general scarcity of Aurignacian/early Gravettian sites in Central Italy makes Pontecosi of great importance to understand the peopling of this area during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. Preliminary considerations on the techno-typology and the raw material use will be presented. The carinated artefacts are part of a strategy to produce microbladelets from narrow surfaces. The presence of microgravettes and only one Dufour bladelet show that the assemblage is probably of Gravettian tradition or at the boundary with the Aurignacian. The macroscopical raw material determination shows that at least two lithic raw materials are likely exotic or rare, due to their small occurrence and frequent curation. Planned new surveys, raw material determination with a petrological approach, spatial analysis and new 14C dating will shed light on the Upper Palaeolithic occupation of Pontecosi and the surrounding region. Acknowledgements: I am thankful to Prof. Carlo Tozzi for sharing documentation and information about the Pontecosi site excavation. I am thankful to the SABAP (Soprintendenza Archaeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio) of Lucca and Massa Carrara for granting the study permit. Research is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No. 101061427 – MobiliTy. References: Dini, M., Baills, H., & Tozzi, C. (2010). Pontecosi : un site aurignacien en Toscane (Italie). L’Anthropologie, 114(1), 26–47.