Francesco Boschin
Biographic Data
| ID | 85267 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Francesco Boschin |
| GIVEN NAMES | Francesco |
| FAMILY NAME | Boschin |
| SIGNATURE | BOSCHIN F |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Siena |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5795-9050 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 42 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 417 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 42 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
Flexible Late Mousterian lithic technological organisation at Riparo l’Oscurusciuto (Italy): A typo-technological and 3D-based approach
The portion of the Riparo l’Oscurusciuto (Italy) stratigraphic sequence so far excavated provides an outstanding record of the local population history between ca. 55 − 42 kya BP: a key period for understanding the end of the Middle Palaeolithic and the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic on a regional level. Previous studies focusing on the settlement pattern, the spatial organisation, and the lithic technology within the lower part of the exposed l…
A Swan on the Water? Technical Execution and Graphic Strategy in an Epigravettian Portable Art Object from Grotta Paglicci
Palaeolithic engraved portable art provides a valuable record for investigating the technical aspects of Palaeolithic graphic production. In this study, we analyse an engraved portable art object from the Epigravettian sequence of Grotta Paglicci (southern Italy): a Bos primigenius mandible bearing a figurative representation interpreted as a waterbird, possibly a swan. The analysis combines 3D digital microscopy and geometric morphometrics to re…
Neanderthal had a “crush” on fats. Macronutrient estimation in Middle Paleolithic (Late Mousterian) hunter-gatherers of southern Italy
During the Late Mousterian period Apulia (southeastern Italy) was characterized by frequent and prolonged aridity that could have caused the scarcity of vegetable foods and, consequently, a lack of important nutritional compounds. Zooarchaeological studies from several Mousterian contexts show that Apulian Neanderthals may have responded to this crisis by increasing the exploitation of ungulates. In particular, bone grease rendering was likely on…
Early Epigravettian backed pieces from layer O of Grotta della Cala (Southern Italy). A techno-typological and use-wear integrated approach
Integrated techno-typological and use-wear analyses of Epigravettian backed pieces. • Occurrence of lithic projectiles in the form of backed and shouldered points. • Backed pieces potentially associated with piercing and cutting activities. • Manufacture of backed pieces locally documented. • Introduction of armatures made of allochthonous raw materials into the site. Although hunting was the main subsistence activity of Palaeolithic hunter-gathe…
The Uluzzian and Châtelperronian: No Technological Affinity in a Shared Chronological Framework
The Châtelperronian and Uluzzian techno-complexes are identified in western Europe in the same stratigraphic position, between the late Middle Palaeolithic and other Upper Palaeolithic assemblages. Both industries include retouched artefacts with abrupt retouch and arched backs, and radiometric dating indicates that these two technocomplexes belong to the same window of time. Here, we provide a detailed, qualitative technological comparison of tw…
The exploitation of small game: New taphonomic data from the Mesolithic rock shelter of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca(South Tyrol – Italy)
Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca is an Early Mesolithic site located at Salorno (Province of Bolzano, Italy) and dated approximately between 8,500 and 7,500 cal. BC. The subsistence economy of the settlement relied on the exploitation of nearby wetlands and of the forested valley bottom; together with ungulates such as wild boar, red deer and chamois, the fauna comprises small carnivores and semi-aquatic mammals such as otter and beaver. The latter is…
The dog of Tassignano (Capannori, Lucca): A possible Roman Age foundation ritual
In 2018, in the locality of Tassignano (Capannori, LU) the skeleton in anatomical connection of a dog was discovered during the excavation of a rural building, whose frequentation lasted from the 2nd/1st century BC to the 6th/7th century AD. A structure interpreted as a balneum was brought to light, equipped with a brick floor (opus figlinum) and a small basin. A perimeter wall of this room, dismantled by a late antique spoliation, originally cov…
An assessment of puberty status in adolescents from the European Upper Paleolithic
Childhood and adolescence are two life-history stages that are either unique to humans, or significantly expanded in the human life course relative to other primates. While recent studies have deepened our knowledge of childhood in the Upper Paleolithic, adolescence in this period remains understudied. Here, we use bioarchaeological maturational markers to estimate puberty status of 13 Upper Paleolithic adolescents from sites in Russia, Czechia, …
Environment and hunting territories for Late Neanderthals in central Italy: New palaeoecological data from Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario – Tuscany, Italy)
The Mousterian sequence of Grotta dei Santi (central Italy) is dated to MIS 3. • Palynological study of hyaena coprolites reconstruct the vegetation landscapes. • The Late Pleistocene vegetation in the Grotta dei Santi shows temperate climatic conditions. • The regional pollen comparison constrained the Neanderthal presence in the GI-12. • Neanderthals did not abandoned the cave and the surrounding area for environmental stress. The Italian penin…
The palaeoenvironmental context of MIS 3 and the use of plants by Neanderthal groups in southern Italy: Results from the Riparo l’Oscurusciuto site
Phytolith and pollen allow reconstruction of vegetation over 12,200 ka. • Vegetation is shifting from forests to open areas along the studied sequence. • Siliceous aqueous microremains indicates moisture conditions within the site. • Use of Poaceae plants and ash scattering revealed by study of sediments and hearths. • High phytolith dissolution is due to calcium carbonate rich sediments. Neanderthal populations occupied caves and rockshelters ac…
IUP Technological Signatures or Mousterian Variability? The Case of Riparo l'Oscurusciuto (Southern Italy)
In the Italian peninsula, the Late Middle Paleolithic exhibits significant technological diversity, featuring blades, points, and bladelets. Assemblages displaying these distinctive characteristics have, in some cases, been labeled as Musteriano evoluto or Evolved Mousterian, and they are interpreted as contributing to the technological and typological variability within the Middle Paleolithic. In this study, we report the results of a detailed t…
Multidisciplinary study of the Lower Palaeolithic site of Cimitero di Atella (Basilicata), Italy
More data on ancient human mitogenome variability in Italy: New mitochondrial genome sequences from three Upper Palaeolithic burials
Regional genetic continuity is highlighted in the Gravettian groups that succeeded in Paglicci. Data from one of the oldest human remains from Sicily reinforce the hypothesis that Epigravettian groups carrying U2'3'4'7'8'9 could be the first inhabitants of the island. The first pre-Neolithic mitogenome from North-Western Italy, sequenced here, shows more affinity with continental Europe than with the Italian peninsula
Unique foot posture in Neanderthals reflects their body mass and high mechanical stress
Settlement, space organization and land-use of a small Middle Bronze Age community of central Italy. The case study of Gorgo del Ciliegio (Arezzo-Tuscany)
Neandertal camps and hyena dens. Living floor 150A at Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario, Tuscany, Italy)
Ostanki velikih sesalcev holocenske starosti iz jame Stenašca/Grotta dell’Edera na Tržaškem Krasu (izkopavanja v letih 1990–2001)
Predstavljeni so rezultati zooarheološke in tafonomske analize ostankov velikih sesalcev iz jame Stenašca/Grotta dell’Edera) na Tržaškem Krasu. Najstarejše človekove sledi so datirane v mezolitik (sovterjen). Ljudje so se namreč v jami občasno zadrževali že v predborealu, intenzivneje pa so jo začeli obiskovati v borealu in v začetku atlantika. Zadnja faza prisotnosti mezolitskih skupin je časovno umeščena v kastelnovjen. Označujejo jo ostanki do…
Nove najdbe iz starejše železne dobe iz Zagorja ob Savi in Save pri Litiji
Arheološki strokovni javnosti je Zagorje ob Savi znano že več kot stoletje, odkar so konec 19. stoletja naključno odkrili grobove iz starejše železne dobe. Leta 2011 so tod potekala zaščitna arheološka izkopavanja, ki so doprinesla k poznavanju najdišča in pokazala na njegov pomen. Odkritih je bilo 9 skeletnih grobov, od katerih sta bila dva otroška, dva ženska in pet moških. Izstopata grob z bronasto pasno garnituro ter grob z dobro ohranjenim ž…
Backdating systematic shell ornament making in Europe to 45,000 years ago
Neanderthal occupation during the tephra fall-out: Technical and hunting behaviours, sedimentology and settlement patterns in SU 14 of Oscurusciuto rock shelter (Ginosa, southern Italy)
Short and close in time: Overlapped occupation from the layer 56 of the Molare Rock shelter (Southern Italy)
Climbing the time to see Neanderthal behaviour's continuity and discontinuity: SU 11 of the Oscurusciuto Rockshelter (Ginosa, Southern Italy)
Caprine mortality profiles from prehistoric cave-sites of the northern Adriatic: Livestock strategies or natural death
This paper poses a question on the interpretation of caprine "kill-off patterns" in some prehistoric sites of the Caput Adriae (northern Adriatic region, Mediterranean area). In particular, caprine kill-off data from layers 2 (Late Neolithic-Copper Age) and 2a (Middle Neolithic) of Grotta dell'Edera (Trieste Karst, north-eastern Italy) are presented here and compared with those from two neighbouring sites. Distribution of age classes of domestic …
Macromammal and bird assemblages across the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy: An extended zooarchaeological review
Archeozoology and taphonomy of bird remains from Grotta di Castelcivita (Salerno, Italy) and clues for human-bird interactions
Morphometrical Analysis on Cut Marks Using a 3D Digital Microscope
Microscopic analysis represents a powerful tool for understanding taphonomy. Our work, as in other studies, aims to identify the origin of different kinds of marks on bones. In this paper, we test the application of a HIROX Digital Microscope KH-7700. This microscope captures 3D images of the bone surface, thus bringing into focus the whole section of striations. This enables the direct observation of their shape from several points of view and t…
Lithic techno-complexes in Italy from 50 to 39 thousand years BP: An overview of lithic technological changes across the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic boundary
Wild cats and cut marks: Exploitation of Felis silvestris in the Mesolithic of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca (South Tyrol, Italy)
Bone tools, ornaments and other unusual objects during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy
Using 3D Microscopy to Analyze Experimental Cut Marks on Animal Bones Produced with Different Stone Tools
This study uses a combination of digital microscopic analysis and experimental archaeology to assess stone tool cut marks on animal bones. We used two un-retouched flint flakes and two burins to inflict cut marks on fresh, boiled, and dry ungulate bones. The experiment produced three series of three engravings on each bone with each of the experimental tools. The first series involved one single stroke; the second, two strokes in the same directi…
Climbing the time to see Neanderthal behaviour's continuity and discontinuity: SU 11 of the Oscurusciuto Rockshelter (Ginosa, Southern Italy)
Archeological bone injuries by lithic backed projectiles: New evidence on bear hunting from the Late Epigravettian site of Cornafessa rock shelter (Italy)
Backdating systematic shell ornament making in Europe to 45,000 years ago
Short and close in time: Overlapped occupation from the layer 56 of the Molare Rock shelter (Southern Italy)
A spotted hyaena den in the Middle Palaeolithic of Grotta Paglicci (Gargano promontory, Apulia, Southern Italy)
Bone and antler working at Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia, southern Italy)
Neanderthal occupation during the tephra fall-out: Technical and hunting behaviours, sedimentology and settlement patterns in SU 14 of Oscurusciuto rock shelter (Ginosa, southern Italy)
Multidisciplinary study of the Lower Palaeolithic site of Cimitero di Atella (Basilicata), Italy
The dawn of dentistry in the late upper Paleolithic: An early case of pathological intervention at Riparo Fredian
Objectives Early evidence for the treatment of dental pathology is found primarily among food‐producing societies associated with high levels of oral pathology. However, some Late Pleistocene hunter‐gatherers show extensive oral pathology, suggesting that experimentation with therapeutic dental interventions may have greater antiquity. Here, we report the second earliest probable evidence for dentistry in a Late Upper Paleolithic hunter‐gatherer …
Identification of Late Epigravettian hunting injuries: Descriptive and 3D analysis of experimental projectile impact marks on bone
A Look from the Inside: MicroCT Analysis of Burned Bones
MicroCT imaging is increasingly used in paleoanthropological and zooarchaeological research to analyse the internal microstructure of bone, replacing comparatively invasive and destructive methods. Consequently the analytical potential of this relatively new 3D imaging technology can be enhanced by developing discipline specific protocols for archaeological analysis. Here we examine how the microstructure of mammal bone changes after burning and …
Macromammal and bird assemblages across the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy: An extended zooarchaeological review
Exploitation of carnivores, lagomorphs and rodents at Grotta Paglicci during the Epigravettian: The dawn of a new subsistence strategy
Unique foot posture in Neanderthals reflects their body mass and high mechanical stress
Toothpick use among Epigravettian Humans from Grotta Paglicci (Italy)
This paper deals with two teeth (an upper right M1 and an upper right dM2) from the Epigravettian found in the site of Paglicci (Southern Italy) showing interproximal grooves that are situated below the crown, on the root walls just apical to the cementum-enamel junction. These grooves have been examined on a digital microscope which displays 3D images of the analysed surfaces. The images obtained made it possible to interpret these interproximal…
Archeozoology and taphonomy of bird remains from Grotta di Castelcivita (Salerno, Italy) and clues for human-bird interactions
An assessment of puberty status in adolescents from the European Upper Paleolithic
Childhood and adolescence are two life-history stages that are either unique to humans, or significantly expanded in the human life course relative to other primates. While recent studies have deepened our knowledge of childhood in the Upper Paleolithic, adolescence in this period remains understudied. Here, we use bioarchaeological maturational markers to estimate puberty status of 13 Upper Paleolithic adolescents from sites in Russia, Czechia, …
Environment and hunting territories for Late Neanderthals in central Italy: New palaeoecological data from Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario – Tuscany, Italy)
The Mousterian sequence of Grotta dei Santi (central Italy) is dated to MIS 3. • Palynological study of hyaena coprolites reconstruct the vegetation landscapes. • The Late Pleistocene vegetation in the Grotta dei Santi shows temperate climatic conditions. • The regional pollen comparison constrained the Neanderthal presence in the GI-12. • Neanderthals did not abandoned the cave and the surrounding area for environmental stress. The Italian penin…
The palaeoenvironmental context of MIS 3 and the use of plants by Neanderthal groups in southern Italy: Results from the Riparo l’Oscurusciuto site
Phytolith and pollen allow reconstruction of vegetation over 12,200 ka. • Vegetation is shifting from forests to open areas along the studied sequence. • Siliceous aqueous microremains indicates moisture conditions within the site. • Use of Poaceae plants and ash scattering revealed by study of sediments and hearths. • High phytolith dissolution is due to calcium carbonate rich sediments. Neanderthal populations occupied caves and rockshelters ac…
Caprine mortality profiles from prehistoric cave-sites of the northern Adriatic: Livestock strategies or natural death
This paper poses a question on the interpretation of caprine "kill-off patterns" in some prehistoric sites of the Caput Adriae (northern Adriatic region, Mediterranean area). In particular, caprine kill-off data from layers 2 (Late Neolithic-Copper Age) and 2a (Middle Neolithic) of Grotta dell'Edera (Trieste Karst, north-eastern Italy) are presented here and compared with those from two neighbouring sites. Distribution of age classes of domestic …
Morphometrical Analysis on Cut Marks Using a 3D Digital Microscope
Microscopic analysis represents a powerful tool for understanding taphonomy. Our work, as in other studies, aims to identify the origin of different kinds of marks on bones. In this paper, we test the application of a HIROX Digital Microscope KH-7700. This microscope captures 3D images of the bone surface, thus bringing into focus the whole section of striations. This enables the direct observation of their shape from several points of view and t…
Wild cats and cut marks: Exploitation of Felis silvestris in the Mesolithic of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca (South Tyrol, Italy)
Bone and antler working at Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia, southern Italy)
M icro CT Imaging of Red fox Talus: A Non‐Invasive Approach to Evaluate Age at Death
X‐ray micro CT imaging offers the possibility to study age‐related changes of bone microstructure. In the present paper we analyse the talus of 15 modern red foxes of different ages, from 2 months old to adulthood, to investigate the possibility of identifying their different ages at death. Surface and volumetric variables describing bone properties are measured or evaluated from the micro CT images following three approaches: (i) the bone volume…
Using 3D Microscopy to Analyze Experimental Cut Marks on Animal Bones Produced with Different Stone Tools
This study uses a combination of digital microscopic analysis and experimental archaeology to assess stone tool cut marks on animal bones. We used two un-retouched flint flakes and two burins to inflict cut marks on fresh, boiled, and dry ungulate bones. The experiment produced three series of three engravings on each bone with each of the experimental tools. The first series involved one single stroke; the second, two strokes in the same directi…
A Look from the Inside: MicroCT Analysis of Burned Bones
MicroCT imaging is increasingly used in paleoanthropological and zooarchaeological research to analyse the internal microstructure of bone, replacing comparatively invasive and destructive methods. Consequently the analytical potential of this relatively new 3D imaging technology can be enhanced by developing discipline specific protocols for archaeological analysis. Here we examine how the microstructure of mammal bone changes after burning and …
How to make and use a bone “spatula”. An experimental program based on the Mesolithic osseous assemblage of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca (Salurn/Salorno, BZ, Italy)
Identification of Late Epigravettian hunting injuries: Descriptive and 3D analysis of experimental projectile impact marks on bone
A spotted hyaena den in the Middle Palaeolithic of Grotta Paglicci (Gargano promontory, Apulia, Southern Italy)
Toothpick use among Epigravettian Humans from Grotta Paglicci (Italy)
This paper deals with two teeth (an upper right M1 and an upper right dM2) from the Epigravettian found in the site of Paglicci (Southern Italy) showing interproximal grooves that are situated below the crown, on the root walls just apical to the cementum-enamel junction. These grooves have been examined on a digital microscope which displays 3D images of the analysed surfaces. The images obtained made it possible to interpret these interproximal…
The dawn of dentistry in the late upper Paleolithic: An early case of pathological intervention at Riparo Fredian
Objectives Early evidence for the treatment of dental pathology is found primarily among food‐producing societies associated with high levels of oral pathology. However, some Late Pleistocene hunter‐gatherers show extensive oral pathology, suggesting that experimentation with therapeutic dental interventions may have greater antiquity. Here, we report the second earliest probable evidence for dentistry in a Late Upper Paleolithic hunter‐gatherer …
The palaeoecological meaning of macromammal remains from archaeological sites exemplified by the case study of Grotta Paglicci (Upper Palaeolithic, southern Italy)
Bone accumulation in Palaeolithic archaeological sites is often the result of activities carried out by hunter-gatherer groups. Cultural choices may have influenced prey representation in archaeological assemblages, distorting their palaeoecological meaning. We present a comparison between large mammal and small mammal assemblages from the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of Grotta Paglicci (Apulia, southern Italy) that extends from the Marginally Bac…
New archaeozoological and taphonomic analysis on macro- and megafauna remains from the lower palaeolithic site of ficoncella (tarquinia, central italy)
The site of Ficoncella is located to the north of Rome (Central Italy). It is an alluvial context where animal bones and lithic remains were buried over a short space of time in a floodplain environment during the Lower Palaeolithic. The main faunal evidence is represented by parts of a straight-tusked elephant carcass, but remains belonging to other ungulate species were also identified e.g. cervid and equid bones, as well as diaphysis fragments…
Macromammal and bird assemblages across the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy: An extended zooarchaeological review
Archeozoology and taphonomy of bird remains from Grotta di Castelcivita (Salerno, Italy) and clues for human-bird interactions
Exploitation of carnivores, lagomorphs and rodents at Grotta Paglicci during the Epigravettian: The dawn of a new subsistence strategy
Lithic techno-complexes in Italy from 50 to 39 thousand years BP: An overview of lithic technological changes across the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic boundary
Bone tools, ornaments and other unusual objects during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy
Archeological bone injuries by lithic backed projectiles: New evidence on bear hunting from the Late Epigravettian site of Cornafessa rock shelter (Italy)
Settlement, space organization and land-use of a small Middle Bronze Age community of central Italy. The case study of Gorgo del Ciliegio (Arezzo-Tuscany)
Neandertal camps and hyena dens. Living floor 150A at Grotta dei Santi (Monte Argentario, Tuscany, Italy)
Ostanki velikih sesalcev holocenske starosti iz jame Stenašca/Grotta dell’Edera na Tržaškem Krasu (izkopavanja v letih 1990–2001)
Predstavljeni so rezultati zooarheološke in tafonomske analize ostankov velikih sesalcev iz jame Stenašca/Grotta dell’Edera) na Tržaškem Krasu. Najstarejše človekove sledi so datirane v mezolitik (sovterjen). Ljudje so se namreč v jami občasno zadrževali že v predborealu, intenzivneje pa so jo začeli obiskovati v borealu in v začetku atlantika. Zadnja faza prisotnosti mezolitskih skupin je časovno umeščena v kastelnovjen. Označujejo jo ostanki do…
Nove najdbe iz starejše železne dobe iz Zagorja ob Savi in Save pri Litiji
Arheološki strokovni javnosti je Zagorje ob Savi znano že več kot stoletje, odkar so konec 19. stoletja naključno odkrili grobove iz starejše železne dobe. Leta 2011 so tod potekala zaščitna arheološka izkopavanja, ki so doprinesla k poznavanju najdišča in pokazala na njegov pomen. Odkritih je bilo 9 skeletnih grobov, od katerih sta bila dva otroška, dva ženska in pet moških. Izstopata grob z bronasto pasno garnituro ter grob z dobro ohranjenim ž…
Backdating systematic shell ornament making in Europe to 45,000 years ago
Neanderthal occupation during the tephra fall-out: Technical and hunting behaviours, sedimentology and settlement patterns in SU 14 of Oscurusciuto rock shelter (Ginosa, southern Italy)
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (35 works) · Geography (31 works) · Archaeology (30 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (25 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (20 works) · Biology (19 works) · Geology (19 works) · Taphonomy (17 works) · Paleontology (14 works) · Cave (11 works)