Ricerc@Sapienza

Objectives: The analysis of prehistoric human dietary habits is key for understanding the effects of paleoenvironmental changes on the evolution of cultural and social human behaviors. In this study, we compare results from zooarchaeological, stable isotope, and dental calculus analyses as well as lower second molar macrowear pat-terns to gain a broader understanding of the diet of three individuals who lived between the end of the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene (ca., 17–8 ky cal BP)in the Eastern Alpine region of Italy.

The chapter discusses the appearance of osseous harpoons in northern Italy. At present, in Italy, the earliest harpoons come from the eastern Alpine region and in particular from the Adige Valley, the southern Dolomites and the Julian Alps. Typologically, specimens from these areas are defined as bilateral harpoons with straight barbs and basal bilateral gorge and bevelled bases.