Gabriella Mangano

Timing of the emergence of the Europe–Sicily bridge (40–17 cal ka BP) and its implications for the spread of modern humans

Abstract The submerged sill in the Strait of Messina, which is located today at a minimum depth of 81 m below sea level (bsl), represents the only land connection between Sicily and mainland Italy (and thus Europe) during the last lowstand when the sea level locally stood at about 126 m bsl. Today, the sea crossing to Sicily, although it is less than 4 km at the narrowest point, faces hazardous sea conditions, made famous by the myth of Scylla and Charybdis. Through a multidisciplinary research project, we document the timing and mode of emergence of this land connection during the last 40 kyr. The integrated analysis takes into consideration morphobathymetric and lithological data, and relative sea-level change (both isostatic and tectonic), resulting in the hypothesis that a continental land bridge lasted for at least 500 years between 21.5 and 20 cal ka BP. The emergence may have occurred over an even longer time span if one allows for seafloor erosion by marine currents that have lowered the seabed since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Modelling of palaeotidal velocities shows that sea crossings when sea level was lower than present would have faced even stronger and more hazardous sea currents than today, supporting the hypothesis that earliest human entry into Sicily most probably took place on foot during the period when the sill emerged as dry land. This hypothesis is compared with an analysis of Pleistocene vertebrate faunas in Sicily and mainland Italy, including a new radiocarbon date on bone collagen of an Equus hydruntinus specimen from Grotta di San Teodoro (23–21 cal ka BP), the dispersal abilities of the various animal species involved, particularly their swimming abilities, and the Palaeolithic archaeological record, all of which support the hypothesis of a relatively late land-based colonization of Sicily by Homo sapiens.

The molluscan fauna from the upper Pleistocene vertebrate-bearing deposits of S. Teodoro Cave (North-eastern Sicily).

This paper deals with terrestrial, freshwater and marine molluscs collected in the upper Pleistocene deposits of clay, sands and gravels of S. Teodoro Cave (North-eastern Sicily). Beginning from 1998 two trenches have been excavated (1998 and 2002-2004). A highly diversified assemblage of endemic and not endemic vertebrates (elephant, horse, wild ox, deer, wild boar, hyaena, fox, mouse, ground vole, shrew, hedgehog, bats, birds, reptiles), invertebrates (molluscs) and vegetal remains have been collected from the two trenches. The molluscan fauna is represented by poor to rich-species assemblages of land and freshwater gastropods and bivalves with Mediterranean-European character. Some species have been found for the first time as fossils in Sicily. The land snails prevail in the 1998 trench showing a persistent arid environment during the time of the sediment deposition. The freshwater species, characteristic of slow-running water, point to the presence of a small water body (stream or spring) inside the cave, probably more consistent in the 2002-2004 trench where this fauna prevails. The dispersal of the molluscan fauna of S. Teodoro Cave from the mainland during the low stand sea-level phases of the upper Pleistocene probably belongs to the same dispersal events following the Oxygen Isotope Stage 5e which introduced into the island not endemic faunal elements which are associated with endemic faunal elements in S. Teodoro Cave. Littoral marine reworked molluscs found in the cave deposits probably come from the sedimentary cover of a middle Pleistocene terrace which overlies the roof of the cave. SHORT NOTE

New stratigraphic and taphonomic data from the late Pleistocene deposits of the San Teodoro Cave (North-Eastern Sicily, Italy)

In previous excavations at the San Teodoro Cave (North-Eastern Sicily) the Authors distinguished an upper Late Glacial sedimentary unit (Unit A) and a lower sedimentary unit (Unit B) containing Upper Pleistocene endemic mammal remains. New data collected during 2002 and 2003 excavations come from a trench located on the eastern side of the cave at a distance of 30-34 m from the entrance. In the new trench the composition and taphonomic characters of the faunal assemblage of the Unit B deposits are similar to those recognized in 1998 in a trench located on the eastern side of the cave at a distance of 9-13 m from the entrance. The Unit B contains a highly diversified assemblage of vertebrates, invertebrates and vegetal remains. Damages on bones and abundant coprolites testify to intense hyena activity. Complete and undamaged remains of elephant and deer are actually a novelty from a taphonomic point of view. A new sterile sedimentary unit (Unit C) has been brought to light. The characters of the new sedimentary Unit C suggest a correlation with the older lacustrine deposits located at the base of the vertical cliffs where the San Teodoro cave is located.