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Information published by the province of
Molise, where the site is located, says, "...the
settlement constitutes a mine of information for
reconstructing the life of Homo erectus.
Three distinct living floors, characterised by
tens of thousands of finds, have been detected;
these offer fundamental information on the methods
of manufacture of stone tools, activities of
hunting and butchering, organisation of living
spaces, and subsistence strategies in the
changeable relationship between humankind and the
environment." No actual remains of Homo erectus*
were found; thus, that nomenclature is an
extrapolation based on ample evidence of their
activity such as work with flint
and limestone flakes and tools, together with many
animal remains and, at least according to some sources,
the use of fire.* Archaeologists also found a
two-meter-wide structure of small limestone blocks.
The remains and artifacts are relatively
well-preserved; this is due to the fact that the area
flooded
regularly and was then covered by flood deposits of
silt and clay over and over again. As well, persistent
volcanic activity covered much of the area with
pyroclastic materials. There is a permanent
public exhibition on the Paleolithic site in the
Museum of S.
Maria delle Monache in Isernia (photo,
above).
I
am not aware that those connected with the
Isernia-Pineta site make unequivocal claims
about the use of fire. A claim to the controlled
use of fire as early as 700,000 years ago would
meet with skepticism from many sources since
such evidence as hearths and charred animal
bones are present in the archaeological record
starting only much later, around 400,000 years
ago. There is, however, a lot of
"wiggle room" when you deal with tens and even
hundreds of thousands of years. A 2009 report
from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem claims
the existence of hearths and the controlled use
of fire at a site dated to about 750,000 years
ago; (N. Alperson-Afil, et al.
"Spatial Organization of Hominin Activities at
Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel" in Science,
2009; 326 (5960): 1677 DOI:
10.1126/science.1180695). to main index
to science portal
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An important
palæontology site is located about 100 km (60
miles) north of Naples in that part of the town of
Isernia called