The Mesolithic lithic assemblage of VF1, sector III, of Mondeval de Sora (BL, Italy). Economy, technology and typology

VF1 site (2150 m a.s.l.) is located at the centre of the wide Mondeval basin, protected by a boulder. The extraordinary conservation of the deposit has allowed to recover not only a rich lithic assemblage, but also organic remains, and to identify dwelling structures. From sector I, on the south-western side of the boulder, comes a thick layer rich in organic and lithic material laying on a pavement structure which has been dated to the Sauveterrian period and a Castelnovian burial. Sector III, located on the North face of the boulder, is characterized by a well preserved stratigraphic sequence, attesting Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Middle Age frequentation. Radiocarbon dates are available for SU 10 (8.445 ± 50 BP; 7.587 – 7.370 cal. BC) and SU 32 (9.160 ± 90 BP; 8.613 – 8.243 cal. BC), supporting the archaeological attribution of these layers to the Sauveterrian. The work consists in the identification of the lithic raw material outcrops exploited, the reconstruction of the reduction sequences and the typological analysis of the retouched elements and focuses on the Mesolithic layers (SU 10-20-30, SU 21 and SU 32). Besides an analysis on the whole Mesolithic assemblage, a comparison among the layers was done, aimed at the identification of chronological trends in the Sauveterrian frequentation.