Grotta de Nadale (Zovencedo, VI)

Grotta De Nadale is a small cavity in the Berici Hills archaeologically excavated since 2014. Its stratigraphic sequence includes a single anthropic layer dated to 70 ky BP and embedded between Pleistocene sterile sediments. This layer yielded thousands of fragmented bones, lithics, charcoals and a Neanderthal deciduous tooth. At the very beginning of MIS 4, Human frequentation was framed in a landscape dominated by open woodland formations and dry meadows. Red deer, giant deer and large bovids dominate the faunal spectrum. The lithic assemblage is technologically and typologically featured differently from the other sites of the region. Chert was sourced outside the Berici Hills. The method adopted in core reduction, the type of blanks and the invasively retouched tools make De Nadale a unique Quina Mousterian site in the north of Italy.