Neanderthal mobility pattern and technological organization in the Salento (Apulia, Italy)

The Salento, in the southeast of Italy, is rich in Mousterian sites and Neanderthal fossils, within the chronological time frame of the Upper Pleistocene. This region is well known for the absence of good quality raw materials. This paper presents results from the technological study of five Mousterian sites (Grotta Romanelli, Grotta Uluzzo C, Grotta Mario Bernardini, Grotta Torre dell’Alto, Grotta dei Giganti), showing technological organization, curation and expediency behaviours, probably related to a logistical mobility. This variability is becoming part of our understanding of Neanderthal behaviour, marked by a fragmentation of stone working in space, time and social dimensions and a planned and complex organisation, until recently considered as distinctive to modern Homo sapiens.