Insights into Red Deer Ecology during the Late Epigravettian: New isotopic evidence from Riparo Tagliente (Italian Prealps)

Abstract

The transition from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Late Glacial marked a shift from the cold conditions of Greenland Stadial-2 (GS-2) to the warmer phases of Greenland Interstadial-1 (GI-1), enabling the reoccupation of Alpine regions by Late Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers. Riparo Tagliente, a rockshelter in northeastern Italy, preserves the most extensive Late Glacial stratigraphy in the southeastern Alps and provides key evidence for early human re-settlement by Late Epigravettian groups. To investigate environmental conditions and resource stability, we analyzed stable carbon and oxygen isotopes (δ¹³C_carb, δ¹⁸O_carb) in enamel carbonate from red deer (Cervus elaphus) second and third molars across stratigraphic units 13 to 5, spanning GS-2.1a to GI-1. Tooth δ¹³C values reflect a diet based on C3 plants within relatively open woodland environments, showing limited change across climatic transitions. Intra-tooth δ¹⁸O profiles record seasonal conditions, summer in M2 and winter in M3, and were used to estimate past temperatures. Reconstructed mean monthly winter temperatures reached −3.1°C in layer 10, with summer temperatures rising to ~16°C in layer 9 during GI-1. These results highlight environmental continuity in red deer ecology despite climate fluctuations, suggesting that stable, open habitats supported sustained human use of the site throughout the Late Glacial.