Insights into Red Deer Ecology during the Late Epigravettian: New isotopic evidence from Riparo Tagliente (Italian Prealps)

The transition from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Late Glacial marked a shift from the cold conditions of Greenland Stadial-2 (GS-2) to the warmer phases of Greenland Interstadial-1 (GI-1), enabling the reoccupation of Alpine regions by Late Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers. Riparo Tagliente, a rockshelter in northeastern Italy, preserves the most extensive Late Glacial stratigraphy in the southeastern Alps and provides key evidence for early human re-settlement by Late Epigravettian groups. To investigate environmental conditions and resource stability, we analyzed stable carbon and oxygen isotopes (δ13Ccarb, δ18Ocarb) in enamel carbonate from red deer (Cervus elaphus) second and third molars across stratigraphic units 13 to 5, spanning GS-2.1a to GI-1. Tooth δ13C values reflect a diet based on C3 plants within relatively open woodland environments, showing limited change across climatic transitions. Intra-tooth δ18O profiles record seasonal conditions, summer in M2 and winter in M3, and were used to estimate past temperatures. Reconstructed mean monthly winter temperatures reached −3.1°C in layer 10, with summer temperatures rising to ~16°C in layer 9 during GI-1. These results highlight environmental continuity in red deer ecology despite climate fluctuations, suggesting that stable, open habitats supported sustained human use of the site throughout the Late Glacial.