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PLoS ONEPaleontologyPeer-reviewed journal article

Buca della Iena and Grotta del Capriolo: new chronological, lithic, and faunal analyses of two late Mousterian sites in Central Italy

Jacopo GennaiiD, Thomas HighamiD, Marco RomboniiD, Angelica FiorilloiD, Maddalena GiannìiD, Laura van der SluisiD, Damiano MarchiiD, Elisabetta StarniniiD

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Abstract

New radiocarbon, lithic, faunal, and documentary analyses of two sites, Buca della Iena and Grotta del Capriolo, excavated in the 1970s, enhance our understanding of late Neanderthal settlement in the northwestern Italian peninsula and provide insights into their demise. Reassessment of stratigraphical and fieldwork documentation identified areas of stratigraphic reliability, supporting robust interpretations. Radiocarbon dating reveals broadly contemporaneous occupations at both sites between 50-40 ka cal BP, with Buca della Iena showing occupation from approximately 47 to 42.5 ka cal BP. Lithic analyses demonstrate the consistent application of the same chaine operatoire across both sites. Faunal analyses indicate that carnivores, particularly Crocuta spelaea, were the dominant accumulating agents in Buca della Iena, while limited preservation at Grotta del Capriolo prevents detailed taxonomic determination. However, hominin presence at both sites is evidenced by cut-marked bones. This study provides new perspectives on the Middle-to- Upper Palaeolithic transition in the northwestern Italian peninsula.

In-depth summary

Claude Opus 5.5 · xhigh effort · 8 Nov 2026 · from the full text of version 1 (7 Dec 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Radiocarbon dates place late Mousterian use of two northwestern Tuscan caves within 50-40 ka cal BP, with Buca della Iena occupied from about 47 to 42.5 ka cal BP.

Northwestern Tuscany has no stratified Uluzzian layers and may have been a late pocket of Mousterian (Neanderthal) survival, but most of its sites were excavated in the first half of the 20th century and are poorly understood. This work revisits two neighbouring caves dug between 1966 and 1973, combining a reassessment of the excavation archive with new radiocarbon dates on newly sampled bone, a full lithic reanalysis and new faunal taxonomy and taphonomy.

Key results

  1. ShownThe authors report occupation at Buca della Iena from about 47 to 42.5 ka cal BP. Their Bayesian age model puts the end boundary of the Mousterian there at 42500 to 39520 cal BP (95.4% probability), which they say fits final Mousterian ages across Europe.

    Six dated samples (chosen from nine by highest %N) plus an earlier >47600 BP determination (OxA-X-3211-32) were modelled in OxCal 4.4 with IntCal20 and a General outlier model. R00256.2 (99%) and R00255.1 (48%) were downweighted as outliers. The end boundary skews older because nothing constrains its younger end. Dates from spits 5 to 14 indicate gradual build-up of the deposit. · Abstract; Radiocarbon dating; Radiocarbon dating; Stratigraphical integrity

  2. ShownBoth sites share one lithic chaîne opératoire: flake production dominated by Levallois, some Discoid reduction, mostly unidirectional flaking, and no meaningful shift in type frequencies through either sequence. Grotta del Capriolo also has volumetric cores and blades.

    Buca della Iena: 157 artefacts, 84 from reliable sectors; retouched pieces about a quarter of blanks; cores only in levels 10, 6 and 5; blades only in levels 10, 9 and 8. Grotta del Capriolo: 539 artefacts, 99 reliable; retouch rare, peaking at 11% in level 5; cores only in level 2. Most levels at both sites mix simple flakes, Levallois recurrent flakes and core-edge/overshot products. · Buca della Iena; Taxonomy; Grotta del Capriolo; Taxonomy

  3. ShownAt Buca della Iena, cave hyenas (Crocuta spelaea) were the main bone accumulators. Cut and butchery marks show that humans contributed only sporadically.

    3658 remains from sectors C, D and F. About 19% (N=683) were identifiable, covering at least 18 taxa. Ursus spelaeus is the most common taxon except in spit F15, where C. spelaea predominates. In each level over 66% of observed traces are attributed to hyenas. Human modifications range from 0% to 3.2%, including cut marks on a hyena radius (level 5) and on two red deer metatarsals (level 15). · Buca della Iena; Taxonomy; Taphonomy

  4. SuggestedGrotta del Capriolo has little stratigraphic resolution: its dates show no clear sequence and most bones cannot be identified. Cut marks still show hominins were present, and the authors judge that the site's stratigraphic integrity may be largely compromised.

    Only 4 of 12 sampled bones had enough nitrogen to date, and R00266.1 extends beyond the radiocarbon limit. Of 273 remains from sectors A2 and A3, about 4% (N=11) were identifiable, covering at least six taxa. Modified bones made up 5% of A2 (cut marks in A2-4) and 2.6% of A3 (a cut mark in A3-4). · Radiocarbon dating; Taxonomy; Taphonomy; Stratigraphical integrity

  5. SuggestedRe-extracting four low-yield samples from a larger mass of bone raised collagen yields and gave older 14C ages in three cases, which fit the sequence better. This suggests that low collagen yields in poorly preserved bone can underestimate ages.

    All samples had acceptable C:N ratios (the Higham Laboratory accepts 2.9-3.5), but four had yields below the ideal (>1%, or >0.5% with ultrafiltration). Three re-extractions (subsample .2) gave higher yields and older ages. R00271.2 gave the same yield as before and was not dated, so R00271.1 stands as a minimum age. · Radiocarbon dating

Methods, data and reproducibility

Archived field records were re-read to find reliable sectors. All lithics were analysed by chaîne opératoire with metric attributes, and mammal bones were studied for taxonomy and taphonomy under a stereomicroscope. Ultrafiltered collagen was dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), with a Bayesian OxCal 4.4 age model for Buca della Iena.

  • Buca della Iena lithic assemblage (Museo Archeologico e dell'Uomo 'A.C. Blanc', Viareggio) · n = 157 artefacts (84 from stratigraphically reliable areas)
  • Grotta del Capriolo lithic assemblage (same museum) · n = 539 artefacts (99 from stratigraphically reliable areas)
  • Buca della Iena faunal remains, sectors C, D and F · Mammals (at least 18 taxa, incl. Ursus spelaeus, Crocuta spelaea) · n = 3658 remains
  • Grotta del Capriolo faunal remains, sectors A2 and A3 · Mammals (at least six taxa, incl. Equus ferus, Capreolus capreolus) · n = 273 remains
  • Buca della Iena bone and tooth samples for radiocarbon and stable isotopes · n = 9 selected; 6 dated
  • Grotta del Capriolo bone samples for radiocarbon and stable isotopes · n = 12 selected; 4 dated
  • Earlier AMS determination OxA-X-3211-32 (>47600 BP) from basal contexts of Buca della Iena, added to the age model · n = 1
  • Surviving fieldwork documentation (notes, photos, profile drawings) from the 1966-1973 excavations
Methods & tools
OxCal 4.4, IntCal20, General outlier model (OxCal), ABA collagen extraction with ultrafiltration, AGE3 graphitisation system, VERA AMS facility (University of Vienna), Keck AMS facility (University of California, Irvine), Thermo Scientific EA-Isolink / Flash 2000 / Delta V Advantage EA-IRMS, Leica S9I stereomicroscope, chaîne opératoire analysis
Reagents & environment
OxCal 4.4 with the IntCal20 calibration curve; the OxCal CQL model code is given in Supporting Information S1 File.
Reproducibility gaps
No code or data URLs are given. The OxCal code, the lithic technological datasets and the taphonomic tables are in Supporting Information files S1 to S9. The physical assemblages are held at the Museo Archeologico e dell'Uomo 'A.C. Blanc', Viareggio.
Limitations (6)
  • Both sites were excavated between 1966 and 1973 with methods below modern standards and were dug out completely. Stratigraphic integrity can only be judged from fragmentary field notes, the sites' present state and renewed study of the finds, and no deposit remains for new sampling. · stated by the authors
  • Only sectors C, D and F at Buca della Iena and A2 and A3 at Grotta del Capriolo are treated as reliable. At Grotta del Capriolo the dates show no clear sequence, and integrity may be largely compromised by unrecognised post-depositional processes or mixing. · stated by the authors
  • Several samples had lower-than-ideal collagen yields, R00271.1 is only a minimum age, R00256.2 and R00255.1 were flagged as outliers, and the end boundary at Buca della Iena is poorly constrained at its younger end. · stated by the authors
  • The raw material analysis is preliminary and based on macroscopic traits, and radiolarite outcrops near the sites have not yet been found. · stated by the authors
  • The claim that the two sites were occupied at about the same time rests on few dates: six at Buca della Iena and four at Grotta del Capriolo, with no age model built for Grotta del Capriolo. · noted in this summary
  • The cut-marked bones in spit F15 at Buca della Iena, found without lithics, are explained as runoff from upper layers. That interpretation is not tested directly. · noted in this summary

Read this if you study late Neanderthal chronology and the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy, or want a worked example of reassessing legacy cave excavations with new dating and taphonomy.

Citations
4
FWCI
14.20
Field percentile
top 2%

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