Change fast or change slow? Late Glacial and Early Holocene cultures in a changing environment at Grotta Continenza, Central Italy

This work contextualises the sequence of Grotta Continenza, a cave with a rich sequence of Late Glacial to Early Holocene archaeological levels spanning from the Late Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, within the framework of southern Italy cultural adaptation to environmental change.The sequence is dated by Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates and event durations are computed, including hiatuses in sedimentation and gaps in culture development; these data are used in association with sedimentology and soil micromorphology to assess sedimentary models that can explain the environmental change.Techno-typological and behavioural aspects of Late Upper Palaeolithic populations are correlated with environmental change, mostly during Younger Dryas.