The Uluzzian 50 years later

During the second half of isotopic stage 3, at the dawn of the Upper Paleolithic, different cultural entities (final Mousterian, Uluzzian and Protoaurignacian) are present in Central-Southern Italy. Whilst the attribution of the final Mousterian and of the Protoaurignacian to the Neanderthals and Modern Humans respectively has been commonly accepted by the scientific community, after the recent attribution to Homo sapiens of the two deciduous molars found in 1964 by Palma di Cesnola at Grotta del Cavallo (Salento – Apulia), there has been heated debate about the makers of the Uluzzian. The discussion mainly revolves around the integrity of the Uluzzian deposit of Grotta del Cavallo and the association of the teeth with the Uluzzian materials. On the grounds of the available evidence the authors argue for the assignment of the Uluzzian to Homo sapiens and for its possible allochthonous origin from the African Continent.