After the last interglacial [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e] Europe was affected by several harsh climatic oscillations. In this context southern Italy acted, like the rest of peninsular Mediterranean Europe, as a ‘glacial refugium’, allowing the survival of various species, and was involved in the spread of ‘cold taxa’ (e.g. woolly mammoth and woolly rhino) only during the coldest phases (MIS 4 and MIS 2). Both late Mousterian and early Upper Palaeolithic sites testify to a human occupation continuity in southern Italy and especially in Apulia in this time span. Here we present a focus on three key Apulian Palaeolithic sequences (Grotta di Santa Croce, Riparo L'Oscurusciuto and Grotta del Cavallo – layers F-E) jointly spanning from the late MIS 4 to the demise of Neanderthals around 43 ka. Novel chronological, sedimentological and zooarchaeological data are discussed for the first time in the light of the palaeoenvironmental information provided by recent analyses carried out on a speleothem from Pozzo Cucù cave (Bari) and the results of the magnetic susceptibility analysis from Riparo L'Oscurusciuto. This integrated reading allows a better understanding of the role played by the Apulian region as both a refugium for late Neaderthals and a suitable habitat for the early settling of modern humans.

中文翻译：

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意大利南部到旧石器时代中期末期的人类职业连续性：来自普利亚的古环境视角

在最后一次间冰期 [海洋同位素阶段 (MIS) 5e] 之后，欧洲受到了几次恶劣的气候波动的影响。在这种情况下，意大利南部就像地中海欧洲其他地区一样，充当“冰川避难所”，允许各种物种生存，并且仅在最冷的阶段（MIS 4 和 MIS 2）。穆斯特时代晚期和旧石器时代早期遗址都证明了意大利南部，特别是在这段时间跨度的普利亚，人类职业的连续性。在这里，我们重点介绍了三个关键的阿普利亚旧石器时代序列（Grotta di Santa Croce、Riparo L'Oscurusciuto 和 Grotta del Cavallo – 层 FE），它们共同跨越了从 MIS 4 晚期到尼安德特人在 43 ka 左右的消亡。小说年代，根据最近对 Pozzo Cucù 洞穴（巴里）的洞穴进行的分析提供的古环境信息以及 Riparo L'Oscurusciuto 的磁化率分析结果，首次讨论了沉积学和动物考古学数据。这种综合阅读可以更好地理解阿普利亚地区作为晚期尼德特人的避难所和现代人类早期定居的合适栖息地所扮演的角色。