Geoarchaeological characterisation of a Younger Dryas site in the Alpine uplands: Cornafessa rock shelter (Italy)

Abstract

The effects of the Younger Dryas (YD) fluctuation on Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers' settlement and subsistence systems in the southern Alps are poorly known. This is primarily due to the scarcity of archaeological sites dating from the YD, in contrast with the extensive evidence available from the lateglacial interstadial and the early Holocene. Here, we present the initial stratigraphic, chronologic and geoarchaeological data collected from Cornafessa rock shelter, a new site located in the Lessini massif of the Italian Alps, at an elevation of 1240 m. The site was occupied during both the YD and the early Holocene. The YD archaeological deposit is clearly recognisable within the fairly uniform lateglacial and Holocene clastic succession. Geoarchaeological data indicate that the YD deposit corresponds to an occupation surface, which was formed during short visits to the site by late Epigravettian hunter-gatherer groups, who settled in the sheltered area and performed distinct activities.