Castelnovian Sicily — Grotta dell'Uzzo

The Castelnovian in Sicily is a Late Mesolithic cultural horizon visible in coastal caves and rock shelters, with Grotta dell'Uzzo (northwest Sicily) among the most important stratified sequences. Radiocarbon determinations associated with Castelnovian material at Grotta dell'Uzzo fall within the window 6773–6245 BCE, anchoring the industry to the first half of the 7th millennium BCE on the island. Archaeological data indicates a technological emphasis on geometric microliths and composite tools adapted for a maritime-rich environment; the Castelnovian toolkit appears as a flexible response to Mediterranean coasts and riverine valleys. Stratigraphy at Uzzo preserves transitions that hint at shifting subsistence and contact networks as the Neolithic horizon approaches.

The cinematic image is of small bands moving along rocky shores and estuaries, carving stone and bone into precise hunting implements. Limited evidence suggests these groups practiced seasonal rounds, exploiting shellfish, fish, and terrestrial game. Material connections with other Italian and central Mediterranean Mesolithic assemblages suggest regional interaction rather than complete isolation. However, given the modest number of well-sampled individuals and complex taphonomy at coastal sites, models of emergence and spread remain open to revision. Archaeology provides the stage; ancient DNA offers lines of dialogue to test hypotheses of continuity, mobility, and contact.

Seven individuals dated to 6773–6245 BCE from Grotta dell'Uzzo provide a rare genetic window into Castelnovian Sicily, but the small sample size means interpretations must be cautious. Mitochondrial DNA in all seven individuals is from haplogroup U — a lineage widely reported among European Mesolithic hunter‑gatherers — suggesting maternal continuity with broader hunter‑gatherer populations of the continent. Two male individuals carry Y‑chromosome haplogroup I, a haplogroup commonly observed in Mesolithic European males. These uniparental markers together form a genetic signature consistent with hunter‑gatherer ancestry present across much of prehistoric Europe.

Beyond uniparental markers, limited autosomal data (given the modest sample count) tentatively aligns these individuals with established Mesolithic genomic profiles rather than with early Neolithic farming groups. This pattern is compatible with a scenario in which Late Mesolithic Sicilian populations retained substantial local hunter‑gatherer ancestry at the moment samples were dated. However, the island setting makes it plausible that later interactions with incoming Neolithic farmers produced admixture and demographic shifts — processes attested elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Because fewer than ten genomes are available from this horizon at Uzzo, conclusions about population structure, sex-biased mobility, and regional continuity are preliminary and should be tested with additional samples and direct comparisons to contemporaneous sites.