Italy's Neanderthal caves reveal fluctuations in Mediterranean sea level
The sea level fluctuations in the Tyrrhenian period and the presence of Neanderthal Man in the caves of Circeo and Gaeta: the results of the study provide important indications for the evaluation of the sea level rise caused by global warming.
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Images of Grotta Guattari, during the collection of samples for the chronostratigraphic study by the researchers of the INGV and the Department of History of Tor Vergata [Credit: INGV] |
"The research", explains Fabrizio Marra, INGV researcher and co-author of the study, "deals with two apparently very different aspects: the oscillations in sea level during the Tyrrhenian period and the frequenting by Neanderthal Man at the caves that open on the coast between the Circeo promontory and Gaeta. In these caves", continues Marra, "numerous remains have been found concerning the human frequentation during the Palaeolithic period. Among these, an almost complete Neanderthal skull found at Grotta Guattari is the most important, together with a large number of flint tools. Moreover, the peculiar presence of tools made by Neanderthals using the seashells of the bivalve 'Callista chione', locally known as fasolaro, which is still widespread on the beaches of the Latium coast, has emerged".
Precisely thanks to the presence of a series of elements such as shells, bore holes of "lithodomic" organisms living in the cliffs and waterline grooves carved into the rock by the tide, these caves provide important indications of sea level oscillations linked to the last two glaciations.
The study has ascertained that during these two temporary ascents, which took place 100,000 and 80,000 years ago, the sea level reached heights close to the current one, in sharp contrast to what has been estimated so far through the theoretical calculation of the volumes of ice that formed and melted during this period".
Because of this, during these interglacial phases, the caves opened up on small beaches that were favoured by the Neanderthals. These caves provided them with the possibility of finding the shell fish on which they fed, then using the discarded shells to fashion small tools.
"The results achieved with this study are also important for the present day. This is because in assessing the expected sea level rise due to the melting of ice caused by global warming, this unexpected behaviour of the Mediterranean in past eras will necessarily have to be taken into account," concludes the researcher.
Source: INGV [trsl. TANN, July 30, 2020]
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