People, dogs and wild game: evidence of human-animal relations from Middle Neolithic burials and personal ornaments in northern Italy

In order to review evidence of human-animal relations, the paper offers an overview of the customs and funerary traditions of the Square Mouthed Pottery culture, between c. 5000 and 4300 calBC. We focus on the importance of domestic and wild animals on the basis of an analysis of grave-goods, funerary rites and personal ornaments. We also consider recent discoveries of peculiar offerings of animals and some dog burials. The evidence testifies to a diffusion of a wild component, symbolically emphasising the importance of the hunter identity in a society where subsistence actually depends primarily on domestic animals. Therefore, a contrast is drawn between the everyday and the symbolic worlds.V razpravi predstavljamo odnose med človekom in živalmi, kot se kažejo v pogrebnih običajih in tradicijah kulture ‘čaš s kvadratnimi ustji’ med c. 5000 in 4300 calBC. S pomočjo analiz grobnih pridatkov, osebnega okrasa in pogrebnih ritualov ocenjujemo pomen domačih in divjih živali. Predstavljamo tudi novejša odkritja daritvenih živali in pokope psov. Opazna je komponenta divjega, ki na simbolni ravni poudarja pomen lovske identitete v kontekstu, v katerem prevladuje gospodarjenje z domačimi živalmi. Poudarjen je kontrast med vsakdanjim in simbolnim svetom

Analisi esplorativa della statuina neolitica di Vicofertile

La statuina neolitica femminile rinvenuta in una sepoltura a Vicofertile risulta prodotta localmente (analoga per composizione alle altre ceramiche dell'area parmense) e plasmata in tre parti successivamente assemblat

Contatti e scambi tra la cultura serra d'alto e i vasi a bocca quadrata: Il caso delle Ollette tipo San Martino

Il lavoro illustra la distribuzione delle cosiddette ollette San Martino in contesti funerari riconducibili alle culture che si sviluppano durante il V millennio a.C. rispettivamente a Sud e a Nord della penisola italiana. I vasi esaminati, globulari a bocca ristretta e realizzati in ceramica figulina, caratterizzano alcuni corredi funerari della fase più recente della cultura peninsulare di Serra d’Alto, talvolta con connotati di prestigio, e sono presenti anche in diverse sepolture femminili della cultura dei Vasi a Bocca Quadrata in area padana e alpina. L’esatta riproduzione formale del tipo peninsulare e la coerenza dell’uso in contesto funerario rivelano una inattesa condivisione di rituali e di valori simbolici tra due mondi geográficamente distanti

Dati archeologici e analisi archeometriche di vasetti tipo “San Martino” rinvenuti in Emilia

Analisi archeometriche petrografiche, mineralogiche e chimiche di ceramiche neolitiche tipo "San Martino" da Vicofertile, Collecchio, Parma via Guido Rossi, Gaione, Razza di Campeine. Le analisi indicano una produzione locale nei diversi siti con materie prime fini e cottura intorno agli 800 gradi

The beginning of the Neolithic in the Po Plain (northern Italy): Problems and perspectives

The Po Valley is one of the major physiographic units of northern Italy. It can be considered as a key area for the interpretation of long-term historical events and processes because of its location midway between the Mediterranean world and continental Europe. This paper is an updated summary of our knowledge of the Early Neolithic farming communities of the region. In particular it discusses data derived from radiocarbon dated sites. Its aim is to provide the international audience with an updated view of the topic, based on the discussion of a new series of AMS radiocarbon results, to frame the earliest producing communities of the Po Valley into the more general picture of the Neolithization of Italy. To achieve the goal, apart from radiocarbon assays, we have taken into consideration material culture remains, subsistence economy, environmental resources, and data gathered from archaeometric analyses and technology

The Astronomical Orientation of Ancient Greek Temples

Despite its appearing to be a simple question to answer, there has been no consensus as to whether or not the alignments of ancient Greek temples reflect astronomical intentions. Here I present the results of a survey of archaic and classical Greek temples in Sicily and compare them with temples in Greece. Using a binomial test I show strong evidence that there is a preference for solar orientations. I then speculate that differences in alignment patterns between Sicily and Greece reflect differing pressures in the expression of ethnic identity

Social Class

Discussion of class structure in fifth-century Athens, historical constitution of theater audiences, and the changes in the comic representation of class antagonism from Aristophanes to Menander

From influence to impact: the multifunctional land-use in Mediterranean prehistory emerging from palynology of archaeological sites (8.0-2.8 ka BP)

Archaeobotany is used to discover details on local land uses in prehistoric settlements developed during the middle and beginning of late Holocene. Six archaeological sites from four countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey) have pollen and charcoal records showing clear signs of the agrarian systems that had developed in the Mediterranean basin during different cultural phases, from pre-Neolithic to Recent Bronze Age. A selected list of pollen taxa and sums, including cultivated trees, other woody species, crops and annual or perennial synanthropic plants are analysed for land use reconstructions. In general, cultivation has a lower image in palynology than forestry, and past land uses became visible when oakwoods were affected by human activities. On-site palynology allows us to recognise the first influence of humans even before it can be recognised in off-site sequences, and off-site sequences can allow us to determine the area of influence of a site. Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites show similar land use dynamics implying oak exploitation, causing local deforestation, and cultivation of cereal fields in the area or around the site. Although a substantial difference makes the Neolithic influence quite distant from the Bronze Age impact, mixed systems of land exploitation emerged everywhere. Multiple land use activities exist (multifunctional landscapes) at the same time within the area of influence of a site. Since the Neolithic, people have adopted a diffuse pattern of land use involving a combination of diverse activities, using trees\u2013crops\u2013domesticated animals. The most recurrent combination included wood exploitation, field cultivation and animal breeding. The lesson from the past is that the multifunctional land use, combining sylvo-pastoral and crop farming mixed systems, has been widely adopted for millennia, being more sustainable than the monoculture and a promising way to develop our economy