147 Preistoria Alpina, 44 (2009): 147-155 © Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Trento 2009 Site formation processes of a Mesolithic rockshelter at Galgenbühel / Dos de la Forca (Adige Valley, South Tyrol, Italy) 1 Mauro COLTORTI 1 , Pierluigi PIERUCCINI 1 , Marta BAZZANELLA 2 & Ursula WIERER 2* 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Laterina 8, 53100 Siena, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali “G. Sarfatti”, Sezione Ecologia Preistorica, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Tom- maso Pendola 62, 53100 Siena, Italy * Corresponding author e-mail: mimmurs@hotmail.com SUMMARY - Site Formation Processes of a Mesolithic Rockshelter at Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca (Adige Valley, South Tyrol, Italy) - Archaeological excavations at the rockshelter Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca, located in the Adige Valley at Salurn (Bozen/Bolzano, Italy), allowed us to investigate a site occupied from 9.2 to 8.5 ka BP by Mesolithic Sauveterrian groups. The site was used mainly for the exploitation of freshwater ish and other aquatic resources. The aim of the paper is to reconstruct the palaeo-environmental setting, the site formation processes and the stratigraphic architecture. The interdisciplinary approach was carried out through geomorphological, stratigraphic, sedimentological and micromorphological analyses. The site is located under a rockshelter inside a debris talus. The roughly 2.5 m thick stratigraphic sequence is made up of coarse grained debris interingered with anthropic layers. Hearths and pits are present, usually located in proximity of the overhang. The excavation of these features caused an accumulation of reworked mixed sediments. The site was most probably abandoned when the sedimentation reached the top of the shelter. RIASSUNTO - Processi di formazione del sito mesolitico Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca (Valle dell’Adige, Bolzano, Italia) - Lo scavo del sito Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca, ubicato nel fondovalle del Fiume Adige a Salorno (Provincia di Bolzano), ha permesso lo studio di un sito frequentato tra 9.200 e 8.500 anni BP da gruppi mesolitici sauveterriani, principalmente per lo sfruttamento dell’ittiofauna e di altre risorse acquatiche. Lo scopo del lavoro è la ricostruzione dell’evoluzione paleoambientale, dei processi di formazione del sito e dell’asset- to stratigraico. A tale scopo è stato seguito un approccio interdisciplinare con analisi geomorfologiche, stratigraiche, sedimentologiche e micromorfologiche. Il sito è ubicato al di sotto di un riparo roccioso in corrispondenza di un talus detritico. La sequenza, spessa circa 2,5 m, è costituita da detriti grossolani alternati a depositi antropici. Questi comprendono focolari e buche situate in corrispondenza del tetto del riparo. La realizzazione di tali strutture ha comportato l’accumulo dei materiali di risulta verso l’esterno. Molto probabilmente il sito fu abbandonato quando la sedimentazione colmò il riparo. Key words: Alps, Sauveterrian, geomorphology, stratigraphy, micromorphology, hearth features Parole chiave: Alpi, Sauveterriano, geomorfologia, stratigraia, micromorfologia, focolari 1. INTRODUCTION The Mesolithic rockshelter of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca was discovered in 1995 inside a gravel quarry at Salurn/Salorno, in Southern Tyrol (Italy), about 20 km south of Bozen/Bolzano. The site was damaged during the quarrying activities that destroyed large part of the depos- its; unauthorized excavations caused further damage of the site. Archaeological excavations were undertaken by the Bozen Archaeological Heritage Ofice from 1999 to 2002 and supervised by M. Bazzanella and U. Wierer (Bazza- nella & Wierer 2001); M. Coltorti and P. Pieruccini carried out geomorphological, stratigraphical, sedimentological and micromorphological analyses. The shelter was occupied during the Early Meso- lithic, as indicated by the radiocarbon dates and the typo- technological aspects of the Sauveterrian industry (Wierer 2007, 2008). The occupation occurred in a quite short time interval, between 9265±70 and 8560±65 yrs BP (8425- 8089 cal BC and 7705-7478 cal BC). Faunal remains high- light differentiated subsistence strategies with evidence for ishing, collecting molluscs, hunting forest ungulates and wetland mammals (Bazzanella et al. 2004, 2007; Wierer & Boscato 2006). The site belongs to a regional settlement ISSN 0393-0157 The paragraph 1. INTRODUCTION was written by M. Bazzanella and U. Wierer; 2. METHODS by M. Coltorti, P. Pieruccini, ¹ M. Bazzanella and U. Wierer; 3. GEOLOGICAL AND GEOMORPHOLOGICAL SETTING by M. Coltorti and P. Pieruccini; 4. STRATIGRAPHY by M. Coltorti, P. Pieruccini, M. Bazzanella and U. Wierer; 5. CHRONOLOGY by U. Wierer; 6. MICROMOR- PHOLOGY by P. Pieruccini; 7. PRELIMINARY REMARKS ABOUT THE HEARTHS by U. Wierer; 8. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS by M. Coltorti, P. Pieruccini, M. Bazzanella and U. Wierer. PROJECT COORDINATOR: U. Wierer Hugo Obermaier Society. 49 th Annual Meeting in Trento (10 th - 14 th of April, 2007)