Mario Federico Rolfo
Biographic Data
| ID | 108798 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mario Federico Rolfo |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mario Federico |
| FAMILY NAME | Rolfo |
| SIGNATURE | ROLFO M F |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Rome Tor Vergata |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2492-2387 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 35 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Human diet in Mantua (Northern Italy)
The Copper to Middle Bronze Ages are particularly significant times in Italian Protohistory, as they were marked by major dietary, social, and technological transformations. Stable isotope analysis has become a key tool in reconstructing past human diets. Although its application has expanded across the Italian Peninsula over the past decade, data for the Copper Age in northern Italy remain limited, and geographic coverage is still uneven. This s…
Taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of Level 7 lagomorphs(MIS 3) from Grotta Mora Cavorso (Jenne, Latium)
This work presents the taxonomic and taphonomic study of Lagomorpha remains from Layer 7 of the archaeological deposit from Grotta Mora Cavorso (Jenne, Latium) referred to the MIS 3. The taxonomic analysis allowed the attribution of these remains to Lepus corsicanus (Italic or Apennine hare) with the presence of several specimens of considerable size.Therefore, this study provided new data on the sizes of L. corsicanus and on its geographic and e…
Late Pleistocene Marmota marmota from Grotta Mora Cavorso (central Italy)
Taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of Late Pleistocene faunal remains from several karst fillings at Cava Muracci travertine quarry (Cisterna di Latina, central Italy)
Salt in Late Iron Age Italy. A multidisciplinary approach to the exploration of Italy’s coastal exploitation sites
During the Copper Age and onwards, unique archaeological sites emerged throughout Europe. These sites exhibit distinct features such as the absence of typical household pottery, the presence of kilns, and extensive layers composed solely of fragments of reddish-brown jars. Scholars generally interpret these sites as specialized locations for salt production through the technique of boiling saltwater, known as briquetage. In Italy, many of these s…
Exploring prehistoric plant use by molecular analyses of Neolithic grave goods
At the site of Grotta Mora Cavorso (Lazio, Italy), an unusual archaeological find, made of two coarse pottery vessels, was recovered from burial levels radiocarbon dated to 6,405–6,275 bp . These artefacts were analysed using several methods, for interpretation of the cultural practices of the earliest inhabitants in central Italy. This first molecular evidence about the potential processing and storage of poppy-based products in Neolithic potter…
Exploring the Lithic Variability of the Mousterian (MIS 9–3) Open-Air Sites of the Pontine Plain (Central Italy)
This paper presents a preliminary study of the Middle Palaeolithic lithic industries recovered at six selected open-air sites in the Latium region (central Italy), part of a regional cultural complex known as the “Pontinian”. The pedo-stratigraphic analysis combined with 40Ar/ 39Ar age constraints on the sites permits us to provide for the first time a geomorphological and chronological (300–40 ka) framework for several open-air sites in central …
The faunal assemblage from La Sassa cave (Latium, Italy)
Isotopic reconstruction of the subsistence strategy for a Central Italian Bronze Age community (Pastena cave, 2nd millennium BCE)
The Pastena cave is located in central Italy, and its best-preserved sector is Grotticella W2, which is dated radiometrically to the Early-Middle Bronze Age. The aim of this paper is to explore human diet, animal husbandry, and plant management, analysing the findings there discovered. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was carried out on 40 charred seeds, six faunal remains, and four human individuals, investigating the whole bio-archae…
Rethinking Collective Burial in Mediterranean Caves
Drawing on the results of new multi-method research in Grotta Regina Margherita-the largest known Middle Bronze Age mortuary cave in west-central Italy (ca. 1650-1450 b.c.)-this article helps to replace the generic idea of "collective burial" with a more precise understanding of how the bodies of the deceased were transformed into potent social, symbolic, and sensuous resources housed in caves. It contextualizes this process within a nuanced unde…
Dermestid pupal chambers on Late Pleistocene faunal bones from Cava Muracci (Cisterna di Latina, central Italy)
The Bucobello 322 ka-fossil-bearing volcaniclastic-flow deposit in the eastern Vulsini Volcanic District (central Italy)
Reconstruction of the MIS 5.5, 5.3 and 5.1 coastal terraces in Latium (central Italy)
New chronological framework (MIS 13–9) and depositional context for the lower Palaeolithic sites north-west of Rome
Effect of Neolithic transition on an Italian community
Trace-element fingerprinting of the 69–36 ka Colli Albani eruptive units
Bioarchaeological remains as indicators of costly signalling
This paper concerns the role of costly signalling in the ritual expressions of Middle Bronze Age human culture of Central Italy. A wide overview of the existing literature and the accurate examination of recent case studies enabled us to demonstrate that costly signalling is especially identifiable through the study of the ecofactual remains found in caves that are central ritual sites in Apennine protohistory. The dozens of perinatal domesticate…
Reassessing human occupation patterns in the inner central Apennines in prehistory
Traces of forgotten historical events in mountain communities in C entral I taly
OBJECTIVES: Analysis of human genetic variation in mountain communities can shed light on the peopling of mountainous regions, perhaps revealing whether the remote geographic location spared them from outside invasion and preserved their gene pool from admixture. In this study, we created a model to assess genetic traces of historical events by reconstructing the paternal and maternal genetic history of seven small mountain villages in inland val…
Methodological strategies to assess the degree of bone preservation for ancient DNA studies
Evaluation of the bone preservation state may be an efficient step to predict the presence of DNA in ancient samples prior to aDNA analysis
Mitochondrial DNA variation in an isolated area of Central Italy
The high degree of differentiation between the two villages is intriguing, since it suggests a low level of gene flow between them, despite their close geographic proximity and shared linguistic features. The degree of their genetic isolation, also in comparison to other Italian, European and Mediterranean populations, is consistent with isolation among geographically separated populations
Effect of Neolithic transition on an Italian community
Dermestid pupal chambers on Late Pleistocene faunal bones from Cava Muracci (Cisterna di Latina, central Italy)
The faunal assemblage from La Sassa cave (Latium, Italy)
New chronological framework (MIS 13–9) and depositional context for the lower Palaeolithic sites north-west of Rome
Reassessing human occupation patterns in the inner central Apennines in prehistory
Salt in Late Iron Age Italy. A multidisciplinary approach to the exploration of Italy’s coastal exploitation sites
During the Copper Age and onwards, unique archaeological sites emerged throughout Europe. These sites exhibit distinct features such as the absence of typical household pottery, the presence of kilns, and extensive layers composed solely of fragments of reddish-brown jars. Scholars generally interpret these sites as specialized locations for salt production through the technique of boiling saltwater, known as briquetage. In Italy, many of these s…
Exploring prehistoric plant use by molecular analyses of Neolithic grave goods
At the site of Grotta Mora Cavorso (Lazio, Italy), an unusual archaeological find, made of two coarse pottery vessels, was recovered from burial levels radiocarbon dated to 6,405–6,275 bp . These artefacts were analysed using several methods, for interpretation of the cultural practices of the earliest inhabitants in central Italy. This first molecular evidence about the potential processing and storage of poppy-based products in Neolithic potter…
Exploring the Lithic Variability of the Mousterian (MIS 9–3) Open-Air Sites of the Pontine Plain (Central Italy)
This paper presents a preliminary study of the Middle Palaeolithic lithic industries recovered at six selected open-air sites in the Latium region (central Italy), part of a regional cultural complex known as the “Pontinian”. The pedo-stratigraphic analysis combined with 40Ar/ 39Ar age constraints on the sites permits us to provide for the first time a geomorphological and chronological (300–40 ka) framework for several open-air sites in central …
Isotopic reconstruction of the subsistence strategy for a Central Italian Bronze Age community (Pastena cave, 2nd millennium BCE)
The Pastena cave is located in central Italy, and its best-preserved sector is Grotticella W2, which is dated radiometrically to the Early-Middle Bronze Age. The aim of this paper is to explore human diet, animal husbandry, and plant management, analysing the findings there discovered. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was carried out on 40 charred seeds, six faunal remains, and four human individuals, investigating the whole bio-archae…
Rethinking Collective Burial in Mediterranean Caves
Drawing on the results of new multi-method research in Grotta Regina Margherita-the largest known Middle Bronze Age mortuary cave in west-central Italy (ca. 1650-1450 b.c.)-this article helps to replace the generic idea of "collective burial" with a more precise understanding of how the bodies of the deceased were transformed into potent social, symbolic, and sensuous resources housed in caves. It contextualizes this process within a nuanced unde…
Mitochondrial DNA variation in an isolated area of Central Italy
The high degree of differentiation between the two villages is intriguing, since it suggests a low level of gene flow between them, despite their close geographic proximity and shared linguistic features. The degree of their genetic isolation, also in comparison to other Italian, European and Mediterranean populations, is consistent with isolation among geographically separated populations
Methodological strategies to assess the degree of bone preservation for ancient DNA studies
Evaluation of the bone preservation state may be an efficient step to predict the presence of DNA in ancient samples prior to aDNA analysis
Traces of forgotten historical events in mountain communities in C entral I taly
OBJECTIVES: Analysis of human genetic variation in mountain communities can shed light on the peopling of mountainous regions, perhaps revealing whether the remote geographic location spared them from outside invasion and preserved their gene pool from admixture. In this study, we created a model to assess genetic traces of historical events by reconstructing the paternal and maternal genetic history of seven small mountain villages in inland val…
Reassessing human occupation patterns in the inner central Apennines in prehistory
Trace-element fingerprinting of the 69–36 ka Colli Albani eruptive units
Bioarchaeological remains as indicators of costly signalling
This paper concerns the role of costly signalling in the ritual expressions of Middle Bronze Age human culture of Central Italy. A wide overview of the existing literature and the accurate examination of recent case studies enabled us to demonstrate that costly signalling is especially identifiable through the study of the ecofactual remains found in caves that are central ritual sites in Apennine protohistory. The dozens of perinatal domesticate…
Reconstruction of the MIS 5.5, 5.3 and 5.1 coastal terraces in Latium (central Italy)
New chronological framework (MIS 13–9) and depositional context for the lower Palaeolithic sites north-west of Rome
Effect of Neolithic transition on an Italian community
The Bucobello 322 ka-fossil-bearing volcaniclastic-flow deposit in the eastern Vulsini Volcanic District (central Italy)
Rethinking Collective Burial in Mediterranean Caves
Drawing on the results of new multi-method research in Grotta Regina Margherita-the largest known Middle Bronze Age mortuary cave in west-central Italy (ca. 1650-1450 b.c.)-this article helps to replace the generic idea of "collective burial" with a more precise understanding of how the bodies of the deceased were transformed into potent social, symbolic, and sensuous resources housed in caves. It contextualizes this process within a nuanced unde…
Dermestid pupal chambers on Late Pleistocene faunal bones from Cava Muracci (Cisterna di Latina, central Italy)
Exploring the Lithic Variability of the Mousterian (MIS 9–3) Open-Air Sites of the Pontine Plain (Central Italy)
This paper presents a preliminary study of the Middle Palaeolithic lithic industries recovered at six selected open-air sites in the Latium region (central Italy), part of a regional cultural complex known as the “Pontinian”. The pedo-stratigraphic analysis combined with 40Ar/ 39Ar age constraints on the sites permits us to provide for the first time a geomorphological and chronological (300–40 ka) framework for several open-air sites in central …
The faunal assemblage from La Sassa cave (Latium, Italy)
Isotopic reconstruction of the subsistence strategy for a Central Italian Bronze Age community (Pastena cave, 2nd millennium BCE)
The Pastena cave is located in central Italy, and its best-preserved sector is Grotticella W2, which is dated radiometrically to the Early-Middle Bronze Age. The aim of this paper is to explore human diet, animal husbandry, and plant management, analysing the findings there discovered. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis was carried out on 40 charred seeds, six faunal remains, and four human individuals, investigating the whole bio-archae…
Salt in Late Iron Age Italy. A multidisciplinary approach to the exploration of Italy’s coastal exploitation sites
During the Copper Age and onwards, unique archaeological sites emerged throughout Europe. These sites exhibit distinct features such as the absence of typical household pottery, the presence of kilns, and extensive layers composed solely of fragments of reddish-brown jars. Scholars generally interpret these sites as specialized locations for salt production through the technique of boiling saltwater, known as briquetage. In Italy, many of these s…
Exploring prehistoric plant use by molecular analyses of Neolithic grave goods
At the site of Grotta Mora Cavorso (Lazio, Italy), an unusual archaeological find, made of two coarse pottery vessels, was recovered from burial levels radiocarbon dated to 6,405–6,275 bp . These artefacts were analysed using several methods, for interpretation of the cultural practices of the earliest inhabitants in central Italy. This first molecular evidence about the potential processing and storage of poppy-based products in Neolithic potter…
Taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of Level 7 lagomorphs(MIS 3) from Grotta Mora Cavorso (Jenne, Latium)
This work presents the taxonomic and taphonomic study of Lagomorpha remains from Layer 7 of the archaeological deposit from Grotta Mora Cavorso (Jenne, Latium) referred to the MIS 3. The taxonomic analysis allowed the attribution of these remains to Lepus corsicanus (Italic or Apennine hare) with the presence of several specimens of considerable size.Therefore, this study provided new data on the sizes of L. corsicanus and on its geographic and e…
Late Pleistocene Marmota marmota from Grotta Mora Cavorso (central Italy)
Taxonomic and taphonomic analysis of Late Pleistocene faunal remains from several karst fillings at Cava Muracci travertine quarry (Cisterna di Latina, central Italy)
Human diet in Mantua (Northern Italy)
The Copper to Middle Bronze Ages are particularly significant times in Italian Protohistory, as they were marked by major dietary, social, and technological transformations. Stable isotope analysis has become a key tool in reconstructing past human diets. Although its application has expanded across the Italian Peninsula over the past decade, data for the Copper Age in northern Italy remain limited, and geographic coverage is still uneven. This s…
Geography (17 works) · Archaeology (16 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (14 works) · Geology (11 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (10 works) · Paleontology (10 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (9 works) · Cave (8 works) · Biology (7 works) · Pleistocene (6 works)