The human entry in Sicily: new archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence from San Teodoro cave (Acquedolci, Messina)

Abstract The timing of the earliest peopling of Sicily and, to a wider level, of human mobility in the Mediterranean basin after the Last Glacial Maximum is enriched by the recent discovery of an archaeological record dated back to 16,5 ka cal BP from San Teodoro cave (Acquedolci, Messina). We present the results of a new archaeological campaign inside the grotto, where we were able to identify a layer related to the initial stage of human occupation. The excavation yielded lithic and faunal remains and the first systematic collection of wood charcoal for the archaeobotanical analysis. The new data offer a snapshot on the site and on the daily activities of the hunter-gatherers in their palaeoenvironmental context. The peri-coastal area surrounding San Teodoro appears to have played a role as a glacial refuge, allowing for the development and survival of temperate tree species. New evidence also gives an overview on the initial stages of the peopling of Sicily. The chronology of the layer is not only the oldest from the cave, but also from the region. The new radiocarbon dates, coupled with the chronological framework reconstructed so far, allows a parsimonious recognition of a westward movement of human populations (from the eastern Messina province to the Egadi, on the west). The time of the first spread of human groups on Sicily has to be considered as a consequence of the rapid demographic increase that has been registered in Southern Italy, since the early stages of the Late Epigravettian, and can be related to the amelioration of local environmental conditions in both areas.