CESI, AN EARLY MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE SITE IN THE COLFIORITO BASIN (UMBRO-MARCHEAN APENNINE), CENTRAL ITALY

Near the village of Cesi, at the head of the Chienti River, in the Col fiorito Basin (Umbro-Marchean Apennines, central Italy), fluvio-lacust rine deposits have yielded mammal fossil remains. The results of a mul tidisciplinary investigation indicate that the vertebrate-bearing sedi ments date about 700 ka and accordingly provide a fossil assemblage fo r the Middle-Late Galerian. Palynological investigations carried out f rom sediments underlying the fossiliferous level suggest predominantly cold and dry conditions, whereas the fauna suggests a slight climatic amelioration towards cool and moist conditions in the uppermost part of the sequence. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.