ROAD database
(CC BY-SA 4.0 ROCEEH)" longitude="16.3" latitude="41.5" zoom="5" width="450", height="350"> Uluzzo_Bay_sites

The Uluzzian Culture is a transitional

archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...

between the

Middle Paleolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle P ...

and the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

, found in Italy and Greece. A team led by archaeological scientist Katerina Douka has dated the Uluzzian as lasting from shortly before 45,000 to around 39,500 years before present (BP), at a similar date or slightly earlier than the

Campanian Ignimbrite eruption The Campanian Ignimbrite eruption (CI, also CI eruption) was a major volcanic eruption in the Mediterranean during the late Quaternary, classified 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI). The event has been attributed to the Archiflegreo ...

. Geographical extent: In Italy:

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

(the

Grotta del Cavallo The Grotta del Cavallo or Cavallo Cave (Italian:"Cave of the Horse") is a limestone cave in the region of Apulia, Southern Italy, near Nardò south of Taranto. The cave is about above present sea level. It has a rounded entrance, wide and ...

and the Uluzzo cave),

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, and Fumane (the northernmost point). Outside of Italy, only in Argolis, Greece (the cave of Klissoura).

Discovery

Excavations by 1963 Arturo Palma di Cesnola of the

("Cave of the Horse") in southern Italy uncovered the first remains later called "Uluzzian". The cave is on the

Salento Salento (; Salentino dialect, Salentino: ''Salentu''; Griko language, Salento Griko: ) is a Cultural area, cultural, List of historical states of Italy, historical, and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apuli ...

peninsula in

, overlooking the

Gulf of Taranto The Gulf of Taranto (; Tarantino: ; ) is a gulf of the Ionian Sea, in Southern Italy. The Gulf of Taranto is almost square, long and wide, making it the largest gulf in Italy, and it is delimited by the capes Santa Maria di Leuca (to the eas ...

. The only human remains were two deciduous teeth (Cavallo B and Cavallo C) from the Uluzzian deposit of Grotta del Cavallo identified as human by (Benazzi et al., 2011). These teeth, dated to 43,000–45,000 BP, are the oldest currently-known remains of modern humans in Europe.

Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition

The Uluzzian is one of several techno-complexes considered to be "transitional assemblages": Uluzzian,

Châtelperronian The Châtelperronian is a proposed industry of the Upper Palaeolithic, the existence of which is debated. It represents both the only Upper Palaeolithic industry made by Neanderthals and the earliest Upper Palaeolithic industry in central an ...

Szeletian The Szeleta Culture is a transitional archaeological culture between the Middle Paleolithic and the Upper Palaeolithic, found in Austria, Moravia, northern Hungary, and southern Poland. It is dated to 44,000 to 40,000 years ago, a period when both ...

, and

Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ) is a culture or technocomplex ( industry) dating to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, about 45,000 years ago. It is characterised by leaf points made on long blades, which were traditionally thought ...

Culture

The Uluzzians made and used beads from shells of marine molluscs such as

scaphopods Scaphopoda (plural scaphopods , from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́φης ''skáphē'' "boat" and πούς ''poús'' "foot"), whose members are also known as tusk shells or tooth shells, are a class of shelled marine invertebrates belonging to the ph ...

, snails (

Columbella rustica ''Columbella rustica'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage o ...

Cyclope neritea ''Tritia neritea'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.Marshall, B. (2016). Tritia neritea (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ht ...

), and other species.

References

{{Authority control Industries (archaeology) Upper Paleolithic cultures of Europe Peopling of Europe Archaeological cultures in Italy Upper Paleolithic Homo sapiens fossils

Discovery

Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition

Culture

See also

References