Ricerc@Sapienza

The development of the Arctic ice cap at the beginning of the Pleistocene had significant impacts on global climate. In Europe this climate oscillations determined important changes in environmental conditions which resulted in modification of vegetation and faunal composition especially in the Italian peninsula, where Apennine uplift and sea level change, further exacerbated these cyclic processes. During the Early Pleistocene mammal taxa adapted to warmer and humid tropical-like environments were slowly replaced through different dispersion episodes, by animals that found in the now colder and more arid habitats the optimal conditions to thrive. As of current archeological records the first hominin populations arrived in Europe during one of these events. The earliest records of the presence of hominins in the European continent can be found in the Italian Peninsula at the Early Pleistocene archeo-paleontological site of Pirro Nord (Apricena, Southern Italy). The site has been dated between 1.7 and 1.3 Ma and the lithic artifacts which testify the presence of human populations in the area are associated to a significant vertebrate assemblage (Pirro Nord Faunal Unit). The remarkable number of mammal fossil taxa allow for an in-depth study of the region paleoenvironmental and paleoecological conditions. As mammals display a wide range of diets, which reflect both their evolutionary history and ecology, their tooth morphology, structure and wear degree represent good proxies to infer dietary adaptations and environmental conditions. By investigating dental morphologies and wear patterns of Pirro Nord fossil mammals, new data can be acquired on the habitat occupied by the very first hominins upon their arrival in the European continent during the Early Pleistocene.