Altopiano del Cansiglio (Prealpi Venete, BL, PN, TV)

The Cansiglio plateau preserves exceptional traces of the climatic and environmental evolution during the Lateglacial as well as of the Palaeo-Mesolithic groups that settled it intensively since the Middle Paleolithic. Archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research carried out since 1993 by the University of Ferrara allowed identifying the Epigravettian sites of Palughetto, Bus de la Lum and - more recently - Landro cave and Cornesega rockshelter along with the Mesolithic sites of the Lissandri slope and many other localities. Excluding Landro and Cornesega, lithics (cores, debitage products, tools and armatures) and charcoal are the only types of preserved materials. Noteworthy is the discovery within the Palughetto bog of a cache of tested chert blocks. Palaeobotanical research carried out at the Palughetto site greatly contributed to reconstructing the palaeoenvironmental evolution in this pre-Alpine region after the Last Glacial Maximum, and to investigating the man-environment relationship during this period marked by significant climatic and ecological changes.