Mode 1 or mode 2? “Small tools” in the technical variability of the European Lower Palaeolithic: The site of Ficoncella (Tarquinia, Lazio, central Italy) Daniele Aureli a, b, * , Roxane Rocca b , Cristina Lemorini c , Valerio Modesti d , Sem Scaramucci a , Salvatore Milli e , Biagio Giaccio f , Federica Marano e , Maria Rita Palombo e , Antonio Contardi d a Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Universit a di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy b UMR 7041- ArScAn  equipe AnTET, 21 all ee de l'Universit e F-92023, Nanterre, Paris, France c Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichit a, Sapienza Universit a di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy d Museo Civico A. Klitsche De la Grange, Palazzo Camerale, Piazza della Repubblica, 29, 00051, Allumiere, Roma, Italy e Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Universit a di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy f Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, CNR, Via Salaria km 29,300, 00016, Monterotondo Stazione, Roma, Italy article info Article history: Available online xxx Keywords: Lower Palaeolithic Lithic technology Functional approach Italy Small tools abstract The site of Ficoncella, in northern Latium (Italy), represents a great opportunity to investigate the modalities of a short occupation in a fluvial context during Lower Palaeolithic. From the results of radiometric dating, geological study and bio-chronological analyses, it emerged that the human occupation at the site, an ancient riverbank, occurred 0.5 Ma (MIS 13). This period can be considered as a key moment in the Lower Palaeolithic, with the first Acheulean, or mode 2 sites in Europe. The lithic assemblage of Ficoncella, without handaxes, is characterized by an overall small tool size, representing a very original reduction sequence and tool management. In order to investigate the human behaviour characterizing the site, we analyse the lithic industries, using a classical technological analysis, com- bined with a techno-functional approach and a use-wear analysis. The study of the lithic assemblage of Ficoncella may contribute to renew our image of the lithic industries without handaxes, too often ignored. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The site of Ficoncella, located in central Italy, was discovered in 2010. During the three fieldwork campaigns a Palaeoloxodon carcass and other faunal remains associated with a small lithic assemblage were brought to light. The archaeological level was attributed to MIS 13 (about 0.5 Ma) on the basis of chronostrati- graphical studies (Aureli et al., 2015). The site of Ficoncella is related to a key moment in the Lower Palaeolithic (0.6e0.5 Ma), matching with the mode 2 spread in Europe. Recently new evi- dence of earlier occurrences of handaxes or large cutting-tools were documented (Barranc de la Boella: Vallverdú et al., 2014; Mosquera et al., in press; La Noira: Moncel et al., 2013, in press), and a new assessment of the Early Acheulean was made (Gallotti and Peretto, 2015). The evidence is generally interpreted as a second wave of migration out of Africa, even though other hy- pothesis, such as the reinvention of handaxes, have also been advanced (Bo€ eda, 2005; Nicoud, 2013). To take part in this debate, it is necessary to focus accurately on our principal source: lithic industry. Too often, the great human diffusion models are built only using other evidence (physical anthropology, paleoenviron- ment, etc.). The lack of real interpretation and comparison of the lithic industries, perhaps attributable to the methodological diffi- culties for this period, needs to be filled. The Ficoncella lithic industry can be considered as an ideal case study to better understand Lower Palaeolithic technical variability. Firstly, because the site formation, very close to a snapshot (Aureli et al., 2015), allows reconstruction of the technical activities during * Corresponding author. Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Am- biente, U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Universit a di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100, Siena, Italy. E-mail address: danieleaureli1@gmail.com (D. Aureli). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.055 1040-6182/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. Quaternary International xxx (2015) 1e16 Please cite this article in press as: Aureli, D., et al., Mode 1 or mode 2? “Small tools” in the technical variability of the European Lower Palaeolithic: The site of Ficoncella (Tarquinia, Lazio, central Italy), Quaternary International (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.quaint.2015.07.055