DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6362150
title: The Open Aurignacian Project. Volume 1: Fumane Cave in northeastern Italy

description: <strong>Overview:</strong> This repository contains a large dataset of 3D meshes of lithic artifacts (n = 732) from the early and late Protoaurignacian units (A2, A1, D3d base, D3d, D3b alpha, and D3b) at Fumane Cave in northeastern Italy (Bartolomei<em> et al.</em>, 1992). At Fumane, the Protoaurignacian stratigraphic sequence spans from about 41 to 37 ky cal BP (Higham<em> et al.</em>, 2009) and several studies have focused on the lithic technology (Bertola<em> et al.</em>, 2013; Broglio<em> et al.</em>, 2005; Falcucci<em> et al.</em>, 2017; Falcucci, 2018; Falcucci & Peresani, 2018; Falcucci<em> et al.</em>, 2018; Falcucci<em> et al.</em>, 2020). The importance of the site for understanding the earliest phases of the Upper Paleolithic in Mediterranean Europe is well acknowledged (Conard & Bolus, 2015). Recently, all complete blades and bladelets from the best preserved area of the cave were 3D-scanned using a protocol that relies on both Micro-CT and Artec Spider scanners (Göldner<em> et al.</em>, 2021; Göldner<em> et al.</em>, in preparation). Our main goal was to conduct a geometric morphometric assessment of the laminar products and test hypotheses related to stone tool production and, more broadly, past human behavior (Falcucci<em> et al.</em>, in preparation; Falcucci & Peresani, in preparation). We hope that this open-access repository will encourage archaeologists to conduct more collaborative and comparative studies across academic institutions, enhancing Open Science practices in archaeological sciences. <strong>Future release: </strong>A forthcoming version of this repository will contain the 3D models (in .ply format) of all cores recovered at the site. <strong>Description of the repository:</strong> We uploaded two folders containing the same specimens in two different formats (i.e., .ply and .wrl). The Excel file named "Fumane_Blades_Bladelets_Dataset" contains all relevant information to use this repository effectively. We have included the artifacts' ID, the scanner used to obtain the model (Micro-CT or Artec Spider), and the unit of provenience. A few discreet (raw material, blank type, technological phase, cortex coverage, and presence of retouch) and metric (linear dimensions) attributes complete the list. <strong>References:</strong> Bartolomei G., Broglio A., Cassoli P.<em> et al.</em> 1992. La Grotte de Fumane. Un site aurignacien au pied des Alpes. <em>Preistoria Alpina</em>, 28: 131-179. Bertola S., Broglio A., Cristiani E.<em> et al.</em> 2013. La diffusione del primo Aurignaziano a sud dell'arco alpino. <em>Preistoria Alpina</em>, 47: 17-30. Broglio A., Bertola S., De Stefani M.<em> et al.</em> 2005. La production lamellaire et les armatures lamellaires de l’Aurignacien ancien de la grotte de Fumane (Monts Lessini, Vénétie). In F. Le Brun-Ricalens (ed.): <em>Productions lamellaires attribuées à l’Aurignacien</em>, pp. 415-436. MNHA, Luxembourg. Conard N.J. & Bolus M. 2015. Chronicling modern human’s arrival in Europe. <em>Science</em>. Falcucci A., Conard N.J. & Peresani M. 2017. A critical assessment of the Protoaurignacian lithic technology at Fumane Cave and its implications for the definition of the earliest Aurignacian. <em>PLoS One</em>, 12: e0189241. Falcucci A. & Peresani M. 2018. Protoaurignacian Core Reduction Procedures: Blade and Bladelet Technologies at Fumane Cave. <em>Lithic Technology </em>43: 125-140. Falcucci A. 2018. Towards a renewed definition of the Protoaurignacian. <em>Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Urgeschichte</em>, 27: 87-130. Falcucci A., Peresani M., Roussel M.<em> et al.</em> 2018. What’s the point? Retouched bladelet variability in the Protoaurignacian. Results from Fumane, Isturitz, and Les Cottés. <em>Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences</em>, 10: 539-554. Falcucci A., Conard N.J. & Peresani M. 2020. Breaking through the Aquitaine frame: A re-evaluation on the significance of regional variants during the Aurignacian as seen from a key record in southern Europe. <em>Journal of Anthropological Sciences</em>, 98: 99-140. Falcucci A. & Peresani M. In preparation. Back to the Point: Integrated 3D model analysis for the study of the selection and modification of Protoaurignacian bladelets. <em>PLoS One</em>. Falcucci A., Karakostis F.A., Göldner D. & Peresani M. In preparation. Bringing shape into focus: Assessing differences between blades and bladelets and their technological significance in 3D form. <em>Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports</em>. Göldner D., Karakostis F.A. & Falcucci A. 2021. StyroStone: A protocol for scanning and extracting three-dimensional meshes of stone artefacts using Micro-CT scanners. <em>protocols.io</em>, https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.bzbfp2jn. Göldner D., Karakostis F.A. & Falcucci A. In preparation. Practical and technical aspects for the 3D scanning of lithic artefacts using micro-computed tomography techniques and laser light scanners for subsequent geometric morphometric analysis. Introducing the StyroStone protocol. <em>PLoS One</em>. Higham T., Brock F., Peresani M.<em> et al.</em> 2009. Problems with radiocarbon dating the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy. <em>Quaternary Science Reviews</em>, 28: 1257-1267.
description: The digitization of the lithic artifacts from Fumane Cave was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under grant agreement no. 431809858 – FA 1707/1-1 (project title: Investigating Early Upper Paleolithic Technological Variability and Cultural Dynamics South of the Alps; recipient: A. Falcucci). Research and fieldwork at Fumane are coordinated by the Ferrara University (MP) in the framework of a project supported by the Ministry of Culture–SAPAB Archaeological Superintendence, public institutions (Lessinia Mountain Community-Regional Natural Park, B.I.M. Adige, Fumane Municipality), Foundations, and private associations and companies. We thank the Department of Palaeoanthropology and the Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, both from the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, for access to scanning instrumentation.