In the Basilicata region, located in southern Italy and known for hosting among the first occurrences of the Acheulean culture in southwestern Europe, the Lower Paleolithic site of Loreto at Venosa is located less than a kilometer from the emblematic site of Notarchirico and less than 25 km from Cimitero di Atella. The Loreto site has not been studied as thoroughly as the two other sites and, although geological investigations have been carried out in the Venosa basin, no direct numerical dating has ever been published for the three archaeological levels brought to light during the excavation campaigns. We present a multi-method geochronological approach combining ESR/U-series, ESR, and 40Ar/39Ar permitting to refine the age of the most ancient archaeological level (A) of the Loreto site. These data allow us to propose an MIS 13 age for this level, in accordance with previous hypotheses based on geological and paleontological data. We also propose a technical review of the lithic tools preserved in the collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Venosa to integrate Loreto in the evolution scheme of the European Acheulean techno-complex emergence and diffusion.

The publication of H. Breuil in 1932 defining the Clactonian culture was based, in particular, on two reference sites: Observatoire Cave (Monaco) and the open-air site of Curson (Chanos-Curson, Drôme, France). This choice was due to the exceptional lithic series from these sites consisting of abundant large Clactonian flakes. After the resumption of research in Observatoire Cave, the study of the lithic assemblages at the base of the infilling renewed the characterization of the technical and cultural environment of the Monegasque assemblages. It thus seemed judicious to compare them once again with those from Curson, in order to refine and verify the technical links between the assemblages. The lithic industries from these two sites actually reveal different typological compositions due to the type and functions of occupations. These disparities were accentuated by heterogeneous acquisition methodologies and the early period of excavations. Nonetheless, the analysis and comparison of these assemblages highlight the singularity of the lithic series and, in particular, of the remarkable series of large Clactonian flakes. The economic, technical, technological and morpho-functional behaviours involved in making these products are very similar and incite us to place them in the same technical tradition. On the other hand, specific characters attest to independent adaptations and innovations. These Acheulean-Clactonian assemblages, which are not very common in southeast France and in northern Italy, seem to present similarities with Acheulean series from the Iberian Peninsula and southwest France.

The Observatoire cave is located in the western end of the Principality of Monaco. Excavated very early - in 1916 - due to an event of an unexpected discovery, its lower unit, divided from c to k, delivered numerous assemblages including in particular handaxes, and more surprising, series of limestone large flakes and spherical pebbles. In the 1980's, new surveys were conducted and achieved a new layer (l) dated from 350 to 400ka (MIS 11-10). U-Th methods also gave two other dates within the stratigraphy: >178ka (>MIS 6) for stalagmitic floor II and >230ka (>MIS 7) for stalagmitic floor III. The oldest evidence of human occupations in Monaco - never studied in its integrality - deserved further and complete analysis of its successive assemblages. This work, based upon the use of unpublished archival data and a complete inventory and relocation of the pieces, provides precious and new information on the former "Old Paleolithic" filling. Petrographical, technotypological and morphofunctional analysis allowed highlighting the successive technoeconomic features. The correlation between the updated study of the industries coming from the old excavations and the unpublished results of the modern ones confirm the presence of a singular component (i-k units and l layer), out of the regional Paleolithic panorama. The lowest toolmakers selected subovoid and fist sized peripheral limestone pebbles, rarely andesitic, obviously for different in situ activities. They also shaped more voluminous and semi-local (?) limestone pebbles from which they imported standardized large flakes (approximate to 100 x 100 mm) mostly used for their convex-cutting edge (cleaver). This specific and functional duo includes handaxes (k unit), pebble tools (l layer) and other products from few elaborated debitage made of semi-local (Ciotti) and allochtonous (Esterel, north of Var) siliceous materials. Consequently, it is considered within the Liguro-Provencal Acheulean panorama. The more recent knappers d-e-f-h1 left fewer traces (due to the function of their occupations?). They also rather favored the north peripheral (Ex-Vita) and ligurian (San Remo/Bordighera) areas while they employed more complex methods of debitage (Levallois recurrent unipolar, Levallois recurrent unipolar convergent, Levallois recurrent centripetal, unifacial/bifacial Discoid). In parallel of these productions (flakes, points and blades), shaping activities remained with the presence of two bifacial pieces (e unit) considered as support of tools, in contrast with the inferior bevel handaxe (k). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

The cave of Aldene (Cesseras, Herault, France) is usually known for the preservation of its upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic evidence. However, older occupations are located at the entrance and the collapsed zone of this vast karst network. Unfortunately, companies looking for phosphate had earlier truncated this original filling and only nine Paleolithic stratigraphic outliers (T1 to T9) remained. Repeatedly excavated by the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology of Monaco, from 1971 until 1998, they mainly registered Acheulean (cf. Tayacian) and Pre-mousterian activities. As interdisciplinary studies and radiometric dating (Th-230/U-234 and ESR) were undertaken, it was possible to set up chronostratigraphic and paleoenvironnemental contexts, which mostly extend from the end of MIS 13 up to MIS 5.5. The results obtained in the different units also allowed the correlation of remote layers.Our recent study has focused on technocomplexes with the aim to update the technical behaviors of the Paleolithic knappers that lived along Cesse River, at the entrance of Aldene cave. Petroarcheology joined to technological and morphofunctional analyses have figured out technical evolution and features, even within the successive lithic Acheulean cultures. The technology and the function of the occupations incited Aldene groups to reorient their economic strategies. They abandoned the available fluviatile resources for more siliceous and remote materials (>6 km). Furthermore, percussion and pebble tools associated sometimes with rare bifacial pieces and large flake tools appear to predominate exclusively in the oldest layers (MIS 13-10). In these assemblages, debitage flakes are obtained by Elementary (unipolar or bipolar), SSDA, semi-tournant non-laminar and Discoid (MIS 11) methods. Retouched products consist of scrapers, notched tools and points (Quinson, Tayac, bilateral).Based on a relative and comparative technological distribution, the first technical transformation emerges in MIS 9. The industries contain more handaxes, rare cleavers and include the premises of the Levallois concept. Thereafter, those technical way and needs will be confirmed (MIS 7-8) with a clear presence of handaxes, increased Levallois products, decrease of percussion and pebble tools, and absence of large flake tools. In layer B, the identification of Levallois blades production and the presence of a Mousterian point reveal the occurrence of Mousterian knappers (MIS 6). The vast archeostratigraphic sequence of Aldene gives us the opportunity to describe the main technical innovations, such as the appearance of Levallois concept throughout the evidence of old structure settlements (fireplaces, slabbed stone pavement). (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Prince cave is located along the Liguro-provencal corridor, in Italy (Liguria). Between mountains and sea, in the heart of a refuge zone, this site is part of the Paleolithic complex of sites called Balzi Rossi or Grimaldi. The excavations led from 1966 to 2002 managed to unearth Acheulean industries in two distinct brecciated deposits. Former interdisciplinary studies and analysis attributed Br2 to MIS 7 (220,000 +/- 120/50 ka) and Br1 to MIS 6. With the aim to update the characterizations and the place of these assemblages within the regional Acheulean panorama, this work conducts for the first time an exhaustive study on the respective industries. It provides detailed data on their numerical distributions, territorial patterns, technical features, and technoeconomic strategies. The results leads undoubtedly to common behaviors but modulated by significant differences. Both groups were looking for available littoral pebbles as to shape heavy and large cutting tools, in particular in Br1 (n = 159) where they are better and wider represented (choppers, chopping-tools, handaxes, picks, unifacial, rostro-carinate, epannele). Br2 (n = 290), richer in artefacts, delivers much fewer products among which larger choppers, chopping-tools and bifacial piece. In both cases, direct percussion with hard hammers is prevalent, but bipolar percussion and soft hammer (Br1) had also been employed in finalization phases. Furthermore, the corpuses always include large flakes coming from specific operating sequences of debitage. Local Ciotti flints and other semi-local hard siliceous materials (Perinaldo flints, microquartzite), collected on the ligurian littoral at 10-20 km to the east, were used for medium flakes productions and the confection of retouched tools. Western (15-20 km) and allochthonous (>30 km) procurements appear exclusive to Br2. However, Prince knappers shared the same techniques (direct percussion with hard hammers), methods (unifacial/bifacial Discoid, recurrent unipolar, bipolar, and centripetal Levallois, SSDA) and technoeconomic strategies (ramifications, recycling of isotropic materials, blanks, tools, in situ knapping and confections). Volumetric unipolar and orthogonal methods are only inventoried in Br2. Debitage schemes pursued the productions of unretouched elongated flakes and manufacturing of scrapers and denticulates. Br2 corpus revealed a better control and efficiency in this particular regard. Its operating sequences are longer, more complex and achieved. It offers also a more various toolkit (transversal scrapers, Clactonian and retouched notches, beaks, points, Tayac point, awls, end-scrapers). With a lower "pre-Mousterian" industry and a upper "final Acheulean", Prince industries complete and inform the Acheulean neighboring complex. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.