Breve nota sulle faune del Paleolitico medio e superiore della Grotta delle Veneri di Parabita (LE)

The Grotta delle Veneri near Parabita has yielded a fair quantity of faunal remains, chronologically dated to the period from the Middle Palaeolithic (Mousterian) to the Upper Palaeolithic (Epigravettian and Romanellian). Those of the Middle Palaeolithic, less numerous, include aurochs, horse, deer, fox, wild boar and porcupine, which seems to indicate an environment characterised by both grassland and not particularly dense woodland. More frequent are the remains dated to the Upper Palaeolithic, which are associated with the Epigravettian and the Romanellian. The fauna of these periods is characterised above all by aurochs (about 33% for both the Epigravettian and Romanellian) followed by equids (respectively 23% in the older phase and 15% in the more recent phase) and, in smaller quantities, wild boar and fox. Particularly interesting is the presence of both the cave hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea Goldfuss) and the porcupine (Hystrix cristata L.). The presence of the former in the Grotta delle Veneri near Parabita would seem to be one of the most recent reported cases of this mammal in Italy. In contrast, given its preference for caves, the presence of the porcupine in the Romanellian levels is probably the result of a more recent intrusion.