Marine and freshwater shell exploitation in the Early Upper Palaeolithic. Re-examination of the assemblages from Fumane Cave (NE Italy)

The making and use of personal ornaments has been at the centre of a vibrant debate on the origin of modern cognitive behaviour associated with Anatomically Modern Humans within and outside Africa. The Aurignacian deposits of Fumane Cave (NE Italy) offer unique archaeological records in which it is possible to observe evidence of the main cultural symbolic features of European Anatomically Modern Humans. The aim of this contribution is to enhance our knowledge about the ethno-cultural diversity of this period by re-examining shell assemblages associated with personal ornaments. Taxonomical, palaeoecological and taphonomical analyses were performed on a rich assemblage of marine shells retrieved from the Protoaurignacian and Early Aurignacian contexts of Fumane Cave. Over 800 shells (both perforated and unperforated) were recovered, representing 68 different taxa, including 56 gastropods, 11 bivalves and 1 scaphopod. Direct AMS dating of some perforated shells (Homalopoma sanguineum, Nassarius circumcinctus, and Glycymeris nummaria) show strong consistency with other 14C dates obtained from the same sedimentary units, demonstrating that shells were collected on beaches dated to the Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3). A range of use-wear traces and ochre residues observed at stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope levels on well-preserved perforation edges indicates that the shells were systematically manufactured and used as personal ornaments. Although no clear differences have been observed between the two assemblages, comparisons within the techno-complex confirm that the Aurignacian of Fumane Cave was under the influence of the Southern European ethno-linguistic group.