Figure 1.
The earliest Mid-Upper Palaeolithic sites in Italy.
Rio Secco is marked in red, the sea level is at −80 m (Base map from NASA http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/world.htm) [20].
Figure 2.
Southern view on the Pradis plateau from the Mount Rossa edge (1,309 m).
The position of Rio Secco Cave in the gorge is marked. Background, the alluvial plain crossed from the Tagliamento River at the center.
Figure 3.
Sketch map and section of the site.
Position of the excavated area and the stratigraphic exposures: A – section showing portions of layer 6 embedded in macro-unit BR1; B - section showing the Mousterian layers from 5 top to 8; C – the main sagittal section exposed in 2010 with the reworked sediment sealing the Mousterian sequence from 5 top to 8 (after [25]).
Figure 4.
Lithic implements from Mousterian layers 8, 7, 5 and 5 top.
Mousterian layers 8 (1), 5 (6), 7 (2, 3) and 5 top (4, 5). Scraper (1), scraper shortened by distal truncation and thinned on the dorsal face (2), core-edge removal flake from discoid core (3), bladelet core (4), double scraper shortened by proximal truncation (5), Levallois centripetal core (6). Gravettian implements: burin with refitted burin spall (7), end-scraper on large retouched flake (8), possibly unfinished backed point (9), double truncated backed bladelet (10). Drawn by S. Muratori.
Figure 5.
US6_SI hearth brought to light at the entrance of the cave.
Table 1.
Radiocarbon dates of Rio Secco Cave.
Table 2.
Previous radiometric dates of Rio Secco Cave obtained in 2002.
Figure 6.
Calibrated ages and boundaries.
Calibrated ages and boundaries calculated using OxCal 4.2 [33] and IntCal13 [34]. Rio Secco ages are in black and the previous radiometric results from Poznan (Lab. code Poz-) are in red. The results are linked with the (NGRIP) δ18O climate record.
Table 3.
Calibrate boundaries of Rio Secco Cave.