Archeozoologia dei mammiferi del Paleolitico medio (Unità V, MIS 5) di Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino (Vicenza)

The vast karst plateau of the Berici Hills, located in the Venetian alluvial plain in the province of Vicenza, thanks to its rich archive of archaeological sites linked to the prehistory of Northeastern Italy, plays a role of primary importance in the study of anthropic population since the Middle Palaeolithic and of the environments human groups lived in. This work aims to contribute to shed light on these topics through the presentation of an archaeozoological assemblage found at the Grotta Maggiore di San Bernardino (Mossano), where evidence of the earliest human presence in the Berici Hills area has been preserved. In pursuit of this objective, we present the results of the study of the faunal assemblage of Unit V, attributed to a cold oscillation within the Marine Isotopic Stage 5. Zooarchaeological and taphonomic analyses, suggest that during this period the cave was mostly occupied by large carnivores, primarly ursids, and more sporadically frequented by Neanderthal groups. The latter left traces of exploitation on remains of bear and beaver and non-determinable medium-large mammals.