Tephro-stratigraphy and the age of ancient Southern Italian Acheulean settlements: The sites of Loreto and Notarchirico (Venosa, Basilicata, Italy)

The stratigraphic and chronological positions of the Palaeolithic sites of Loreto and Notarchirico have been revised by adopting a litho-tephro-stratigraphic approach applied to the deposits of the Venosa basin, relating them to the evolution of volcanic eruptions of Mount Vulture. The Notarchirico tephra, dated to around 640 ka, is a geological marker of paramount importance in the study of ancient Southern Italia settlements and identifies the assemblage from level F at Notarchirico as one of the oldest Acheulean in Europe.