Direct AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Cave Hyenas From San Teodoro Cave (Sicily, Italy)

ABSTRACT

San Teodoro Cave in Sicily preserves one of the most important Late Pleistocene stratigraphic sequences in the central Mediterranean, recording faunal accumulation, carnivore activity, and Late Upper Palaeolithic human occupation. Despite abundant cave hyena remains, the timing of persistence and extinction of the species on the island has remained unresolved due to the absence of direct radiocarbon dates. Here, we present three AMS radiocarbon dates obtained directly from cave hyena ( Crocuta crocuta spelaea ) remains from San Teodoro, integrated with U/Th chronology, radiocarbon dates on associated fauna, human bone collagen, charcoal, and geochemical evidence. The results indicate that cave hyenas persisted in Sicily from at least circa 26.5 to 18.8 ka cal BP, spanning the Last Glacial Maximum and persisting substantially later than most continental Eurasian populations. Whereas the oldest dated specimen confirms the presence of cave hyenas during the LGM, the youngest individuals demonstrate survival into the Late Glacial transition. This updated chronology reveals a significant temporal gap between the youngest directly dated hyenas (ca. 18.8 ka cal BP) and the earliest Late Epigravettian occupations of the cave (ca. 16.7–14.1 ka cal BP), with no direct evidence of interaction or stratigraphic overlap between humans and hyenas identified so far. These findings support the interpretation of Sicily as a late refugial area for cave hyenas and further refine the chronological framework for assessing the persistence and extinction of the species in an insular Mediterranean setting. More broadly, they highlight the value of integrated chronological approaches for investigating extinction dynamics, insular refugia, and the ecological transformations that accompanied the final stages of the Late Pleistocene.