Paglicci Cave

Paglicci Cave, near Rignano Garganico in Apulia, is one of Europe's most important Paleolithic sites, with a 12-metre stratigraphic sequence spanning roughly 30,000 years of nearly continuous habitation. The cave contains Italy's only known Paleolithic wall paintings, depicting horses and hand stencils from the Gravettian period. Over 45,000 individual finds include lithic tools, bone points, and two Gravettian burials dating to around 30,000 years ago. A pestle from approximately 32,000 BP preserved starch granules from wild oats, representing the earliest known plant processing by hunter-gatherers.