The cave hyena den of Grotta Guattari (San Felice Circeo, central Italy): first faunal and environmental data from the MIS 4 deposit

Grotta Guattari (San Felice Circeo, central Italy) is a key site of Italian and European prehistory. The cave was a Late Pleistocene hyena den that became famous in 1939 following the discovery of one of the best-preserved Neanderthal skulls in the World. New archaeological investigations were carried out between 2019 and 2023 in a peripheral chamber previously unexcavated, known as the Antro del Laghetto. Thousands of bone remains, tens of coprolites and a small lithic collection were recovered from a deposit dating to 66-65 ka. This paper presents the archaeological investigations conducted and the recently uncovered large mammal assemblage. Taxonomic and taphonomic analyses allowed us to identify at least 25 different taxa, some of which had never before been recorded at this site, and which were hunted or scavenged and transported by cave hyenas. However, for the first time at Grotta Guattari, cut marks were identified on two bones, prompting further investigation into the possible human role at the site. On this topic, the discovery of several fragmented Neanderthal bones displaying evidence of gnawing is particularly noteworthy. The palaeoecology of the identified taxa provides an opportunity to propose an environmental reconstruction of the area at the end of MIS 4. This study highlights that this coastal region was characterised by different habitats, within which several faunal and floral species survived minor climate oscillations, probably due to the climate mitigation provided by the Tyrrhenian Sea.