The Paglicci cave was discovered in the 1950s and has had the typical roller-coaster ride of public and scholarly attention, going from enthusiasm to neglect and every stop along the way. There is apparently always danger of the cave collapsing. Need money for that. The museum is not yet open. Need money for that. August 13 of 2016 has already been set aside as the First National Paglicci Grotto Day. Really need money for that!
The pestle-like grinding tool in Paglicci was discovered in 1989. Recent studies have found traces of oats on the tool. According to Marta Lippi, a botany professor at the University of Florence and lead author of the recent report, the tool dates back some 32,000 years and is the earliest evidence of food processing in Europe; that is, evidence of the refinement of grain to make such things as porridge. So, they are not just hunting and gathering. They are making real cave-man breakfasts!
*Original article
entitled "Multistep food plant
processing at Grotta Paglicci
(Southern Italy) around 32,600 cal
B.P." in the on-line version of PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Sept 29, 2015, vol. 112 no. 39. Reported here. Article abstract:
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The area of Rignano Garganico has taken to calling itself the "Prehistoric capital of Italy" —maybe with good reason. The Paglicci cave is the best-known and best documented site, but there are others such as the paleolithic Grotta Spagnoli, the neolithic village of Villanova (not the same as the Villanova type site near Bologna), the megalithic dolmen of Madre di Cristo, and notably, the string of caves in the Valley of Ividoro I, noted for their wall graffiti and designs in coal and red ocher. The best single local museum to see much of this material is the National Archaeological Museum of Manfredonia, the largest city on the Gargano.