Uomini e fauna a Foresta: il contesto paleoambientale

Abstract

The mammalian footprints identified so far in the Foresta Ichnosite (two short tracks – Proboscipeda panfamilia and Hippipeda, and few isolated footprints - ?Ursichnus europaeus and Artiodactipedida) are analyzed in the context of evolutionary dynamics of large mammal faunas and palaeoenvironmental changes during the Middle Pleistocene (MIS13-MIS6). The presence at Foresta of footprints impressed in a short time during the MIS 10 final stages by mammals preferring different environments highlights the potential of further in-depth researche and investigations, at the site and in the surrounding areas, to better understand the resource exploitation and settlement choices of human groups in a peculiar volcanic environment during a glacial period.