Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic context during the Upper Palaeolithic (late Upper Pleistocene) in the Italian Peninsula. The small mammal record from Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico, Foggia, Southern Italy)

Changes in large mammal population and biotic regionalism of the Italian Peninsula during Upper Pleistocene have been well documented over the last twenty years. On the other hand, only few studies have focused on the changes in small mammal fossil assemblages. Grotta Paglicci is a key archaeological site for Italian prehistory. It is well dated and it shows an uninterrupted chronological sequence of Upper Palaeolithic lithic industries, ranging from the Aurignacian to the Late Epigravettian. Small mammal remains from the Upper Palaeolithic layers of this cave have been identified and the assemblage has been analysed through the application of Simpson diversity index, Habitat Weighting and Bioclimatic model methods. The results show remarkable differences through the record: major climatic changes (GS2 is particularly well defined) are visible and a clear turning point is observable at the Bølling-Allerød interstadial transition. This is in line with environmental and climatic oscillations already detected in the Italian Peninsula. These data also suggest that a strong regionalism characterized the south-eastern Italian Peninsula during the Late Pleistocene.