Rita T Melis
Biographic Data
| ID | 178588 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rita T Melis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rita T |
| FAMILY NAME | Melis |
| SIGNATURE | MELIS R T |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cagliari |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1095-8696 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 166 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Heritage Management and Early Human Evolution
The eastern African archaeological record is central to understanding early human evolution, yet its Pleistocene sites often present major challenges for public interpretation due to their open-air character and limited monumentality. In this context, in situ musealisation has emerged as a key strategy for combining conservation, research, and public access. This paper examines the historical development of such practices in eastern African archa…
Everyday Life and Activities of a Later Stone Age Community at Beefa Cave (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
Beefa Cave is a site that is part of the Melka Kunture archaeological complex located in the Ethiopian Highlands in the upper Awash River Valley. Excavations have revealed a sequence of ashy levels dating to the mid-Holocene. Lithic artifacts, faunal remains, undiagnostic pottery, and micro- and macrobotanical remains were recovered. The lithic assemblage of Beefa Cave is analyzed here using a techno-typological approach, combined with use-wear a…
The Mesolithic seen through a keyhole at S’Omu e S’Orku (Somk) and the case of environmental hazards on the western coast of Sardinia, 9500–7800 cal BP
S’Omu e S’Orku (SOMK) is a collapsed rock shelter on the western coast of Sardinia, with a 9500–7800 cal BP geoarchaeological stratigraphic sequence encompassing the 9.3 and the 8.2 ka climatic events of the early Holocene. Sardinia is quite remote from the Italian coast and from mainland Europe, without firm evidence of human peopling before the onset of the Holocene. The animal species of the time were very few, all of them endemic, with Prolag…
Mid-Holocene climate and high-elevation environments during the Later Stone Age occupations of Beefa Cave (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
International audience
The early Acheulean site of Gombore I level B (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
Mining, farming, and diplomacy. Understanding the human landscape of Bronze Age Sardinia (Italy) through geospatial analysis
Human agency on landscape modification and land use is often seen in terms of socio-economic opportunities vs. natural constraints. In the study of prehistoric cultures this is both a strong source of information about sustenance strategies and community behaviours, and a subject potentially easy to analyse within a limited set of physical and social parameters. The recent advancements in the use of spatial analysis tools in landscape archaeology…
Melka Kunture (alto Awash, Etiopía) entre 2.000.000 y 5.000 años
Melka Kunture es un clúster de yacimientos prehistóricos situados en el altiplano etíope, a 2.000-2.200 m sobre el nivel del mar, en la cuenca alta del río Awash. El clima es más bien fresco (temperatura media anual de 17° C) y lluvioso. Los resultados palinológicos demuestran que la vegetación durante el Pleistoceno era de tipo afromontano y, por lo tanto, diferente a la de sabana que se desarrolla en cotas más bajas. Tras casi 60 años de excava…
The paleolandscape evolution of the southwestern coast of Sardinia (Italy) and its impact on Mesolithic settlements
We present a geomorphological map of the southwestern coast of Sardinia encompassing inland and offshore areas of the S’Omu e S’Orku Mesolithic site. The submerged area was documented by high-resolution multibeam bathymetry combined with Side-Scan Sonar data. The emerged coastal area was surveyed using Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle Remote Sensing and field surveys. The inland landforms were shaped by coastal, fluvial, and gravity-induced processes. Mos…
Une vue d’ensemble sur Melka Kunture, grand complexe de sites pléistocènes dans la vallée supérieure de l’Awash (Éthiopie)
Landscape and geology as controls on Bronze Age human dispersal
The interaction of human dispersal patterns with landscape features can in many cases provide useful information on the sustenance strategies of past communities. Mapping the present landscape is a necessary step in recognizing the nature, impact, and diffusion of the processes which drive the behaviour of past populations and modify palaeolandscapes. We constructed a map of the land units in the southwestern corner of Sardinia and compared them …
Age and formation processes of an Acheulean site with extensive accumulation of large cutting tools
After the emergence of the Acheulean at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
Geomorphological processes, forms and features in the surroundings of the Melka Kunture Palaeolithic site, Ethiopia
The landscape of the surroundings of the Melka Kunture prehistoric site, Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia, were studied intensively in the last decades. Nonetheless, the area was mainly characterized under a stratigraphic/geological and archaeological point of view. However, a detailed geomorphological map is still lacking. Hence, in this study, we identify, map and visualize geomorphological forms and processes. The morphology of the forms, as well a…
Gombore II (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
Reassessing Hominin Skills at an Early Middle Pleistocene Hippo Butchery Site
The late Pleistocene to Holocene palaeogeographic evolution of the Porto Conte area
A key site for inferring the timing of dispersal of giant deer in Sardinia, the Su Fossu de Cannas cave, Sadali, Italy
Su Fossu de Cannas (SFC) cave is one of several known cavities in the Sadali plateau in Sardinia, Italy. The evolution of the cave is the result of complex erosional and deposital processes that occurred during the Neogene and Quaternary. A fossiliferous cemented conglomerate, containing various deer remains, now forms the ceiling of a cavity (tunnel). The faunal remains belong to a large cervid, which show some morphological affinity with large …
The cultural landscape near the ancient city of Tharros (central West Sardinia)
Garba III (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
Middle Pleistocene paleoenvironnement and paleoecology in the western Sardinia (Italy)
The new chronology of the Ceprano calvarium (Italy)
The new chronology of the Ceprano calvarium (Italy)
After the emergence of the Acheulean at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
Gombore II (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
The cultural landscape near the ancient city of Tharros (central West Sardinia)
Reassessing Hominin Skills at an Early Middle Pleistocene Hippo Butchery Site
Garba III (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
Age and formation processes of an Acheulean site with extensive accumulation of large cutting tools
The early Acheulean site of Gombore I level B (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
The late Pleistocene to Holocene palaeogeographic evolution of the Porto Conte area
The new chronology of the Ceprano calvarium (Italy)
Middle Pleistocene paleoenvironnement and paleoecology in the western Sardinia (Italy)
The cultural landscape near the ancient city of Tharros (central West Sardinia)
Garba III (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
A key site for inferring the timing of dispersal of giant deer in Sardinia, the Su Fossu de Cannas cave, Sadali, Italy
Su Fossu de Cannas (SFC) cave is one of several known cavities in the Sadali plateau in Sardinia, Italy. The evolution of the cave is the result of complex erosional and deposital processes that occurred during the Neogene and Quaternary. A fossiliferous cemented conglomerate, containing various deer remains, now forms the ceiling of a cavity (tunnel). The faunal remains belong to a large cervid, which show some morphological affinity with large …
The late Pleistocene to Holocene palaeogeographic evolution of the Porto Conte area
Geomorphological processes, forms and features in the surroundings of the Melka Kunture Palaeolithic site, Ethiopia
The landscape of the surroundings of the Melka Kunture prehistoric site, Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia, were studied intensively in the last decades. Nonetheless, the area was mainly characterized under a stratigraphic/geological and archaeological point of view. However, a detailed geomorphological map is still lacking. Hence, in this study, we identify, map and visualize geomorphological forms and processes. The morphology of the forms, as well a…
Gombore II (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
Reassessing Hominin Skills at an Early Middle Pleistocene Hippo Butchery Site
After the emergence of the Acheulean at Melka Kunture (Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
Une vue d’ensemble sur Melka Kunture, grand complexe de sites pléistocènes dans la vallée supérieure de l’Awash (Éthiopie)
Landscape and geology as controls on Bronze Age human dispersal
The interaction of human dispersal patterns with landscape features can in many cases provide useful information on the sustenance strategies of past communities. Mapping the present landscape is a necessary step in recognizing the nature, impact, and diffusion of the processes which drive the behaviour of past populations and modify palaeolandscapes. We constructed a map of the land units in the southwestern corner of Sardinia and compared them …
Age and formation processes of an Acheulean site with extensive accumulation of large cutting tools
Melka Kunture (alto Awash, Etiopía) entre 2.000.000 y 5.000 años
Melka Kunture es un clúster de yacimientos prehistóricos situados en el altiplano etíope, a 2.000-2.200 m sobre el nivel del mar, en la cuenca alta del río Awash. El clima es más bien fresco (temperatura media anual de 17° C) y lluvioso. Los resultados palinológicos demuestran que la vegetación durante el Pleistoceno era de tipo afromontano y, por lo tanto, diferente a la de sabana que se desarrolla en cotas más bajas. Tras casi 60 años de excava…
The paleolandscape evolution of the southwestern coast of Sardinia (Italy) and its impact on Mesolithic settlements
We present a geomorphological map of the southwestern coast of Sardinia encompassing inland and offshore areas of the S’Omu e S’Orku Mesolithic site. The submerged area was documented by high-resolution multibeam bathymetry combined with Side-Scan Sonar data. The emerged coastal area was surveyed using Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle Remote Sensing and field surveys. The inland landforms were shaped by coastal, fluvial, and gravity-induced processes. Mos…
Mining, farming, and diplomacy. Understanding the human landscape of Bronze Age Sardinia (Italy) through geospatial analysis
Human agency on landscape modification and land use is often seen in terms of socio-economic opportunities vs. natural constraints. In the study of prehistoric cultures this is both a strong source of information about sustenance strategies and community behaviours, and a subject potentially easy to analyse within a limited set of physical and social parameters. The recent advancements in the use of spatial analysis tools in landscape archaeology…
The early Acheulean site of Gombore I level B (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia)
Heritage Management and Early Human Evolution
The eastern African archaeological record is central to understanding early human evolution, yet its Pleistocene sites often present major challenges for public interpretation due to their open-air character and limited monumentality. In this context, in situ musealisation has emerged as a key strategy for combining conservation, research, and public access. This paper examines the historical development of such practices in eastern African archa…
Everyday Life and Activities of a Later Stone Age Community at Beefa Cave (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
Beefa Cave is a site that is part of the Melka Kunture archaeological complex located in the Ethiopian Highlands in the upper Awash River Valley. Excavations have revealed a sequence of ashy levels dating to the mid-Holocene. Lithic artifacts, faunal remains, undiagnostic pottery, and micro- and macrobotanical remains were recovered. The lithic assemblage of Beefa Cave is analyzed here using a techno-typological approach, combined with use-wear a…
The Mesolithic seen through a keyhole at S’Omu e S’Orku (Somk) and the case of environmental hazards on the western coast of Sardinia, 9500–7800 cal BP
S’Omu e S’Orku (SOMK) is a collapsed rock shelter on the western coast of Sardinia, with a 9500–7800 cal BP geoarchaeological stratigraphic sequence encompassing the 9.3 and the 8.2 ka climatic events of the early Holocene. Sardinia is quite remote from the Italian coast and from mainland Europe, without firm evidence of human peopling before the onset of the Holocene. The animal species of the time were very few, all of them endemic, with Prolag…
Mid-Holocene climate and high-elevation environments during the Later Stone Age occupations of Beefa Cave (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia)
International audience
Geography (17 works) · Archaeology (15 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (14 works) · Geology (13 works) · Paleontology (12 works) · Pleistocene (11 works) · Acheulean (7 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (7 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (6 works) · Assemblage (archaeology (5 works)