Grotta della monaca (Calabria, Italia Meridionale). Una miniera neolitica per l'estrazione dell'ocra

Grotta della Monaca è una cavità carsica situata in Calabria (Italia meridionale). Ricerche archeologiche condotte sin dall’anno 2000, tuttora in corso, hanno permesso di riconoscere al suo interno le tracce di un’intensa attività estrattiva neolitica diretta allo sfruttamento di idrossidi di ferro (goethite e lepidocrocite), di cui la cavità è ricca. Le datazioni radiocarboniche inquadrano le coltivazioni minerarie tra V e IV millennio a.C. L’eccellente stato di conservazione delle testimonianze permette una sorprendente ricostruzione delle antiche strategie di acquisizione delle risorse minerarie ferrose

Ground stone percussion tools from Maltese Islands

A few lithic percussion tools, probably related to construction and craftsmanship, are stored in the National Museum of Archaeology of Valletta (Malta). Dated to the Temple Period (about 4000-2500 BCE), many are typologically similar to artefacts from the continental area, but others look distinctive and probably developed in loco in response to specific needs. This paper examines five stone hammers with different hafting methods (three of them show grooves or holes and two both grooves and holes). A huge double hand grip percussion tool belongs to a different and unusual typology: the double grip allowed two opposite-standing men, steadily holding it, to strike with strength on other surfaces, probably when heavy blows were needed. Grooved stone hammers are widespread in various European regions and are mostly associated with mining activities. In the Maltese archipelago the limestone lacks ore deposits, and thus their presence may be reflect other uses, although still associated to the work of stone on stone: earthworks, quarrying, finishing of stone surfaces, hydraulic works, excavation of burial and rituals structures, and others. The double grip lithic percussor (ID 9120) has no precise parallel and may be unique.This paper aims to fill a gap in the current literature about prehistoric lithic tools, as in many studies the focus is often placed on the results of specific activities rather than on the typological features of the artefacts that made these activities possible

Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives

Since the end of the 19th century the Calabria region in southern Italy has been known for an abundance of grooved stone axes and hammers used during late prehistory. These artefacts are characterized by a wide and often pronounced groove in the middle of the implement, thought to have aided securing the head to a wooden haft. Their widespread presence is known both in prehistoric archaeological literature and in the archaeological collections of various regional and extra-regional museums. At first, scholars did not relate these tools to the rich Calabrian ore deposits and to possible ancient mining activities; they were regarded simply as a variant of ground lithic industry of Neolithic tradition. However, between 1997 and 2012, about 50 tools were discovered in the prehistoric mine of Grotta della Monaca in northern Calabria where there are outcrops of copper and iron ore. This allowed us to recognize their specific mining value and to consider them as a sort of “guide fossil” for the identification of ancient mining districts. This paper presents the results of a study involving over 150 tools from the entire region, effectively demonstrating an almost perfect co-occurrence of grooved axes and hammers with areas rich in mineral resources, especially metalliferous ores

The Umbrian cave of Grotta Bella. The diachronic evolution of a meeting place

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Macrolithic tools for mining and primary processing of metal ores from the site of Grotta della Monaca (Calabria, Italy)

Grotta della Monaca is a karst cave located in Calabria, the southernmost region of the Italian peninsula. About half a kilometre deep, the cavern has drawn the attention of people since the Palaeolithic period due to the abundance of metal ores within (mainly iron hydroxides but also copper carbonates). These easily reachable minerals were exploited during prehistory, especially between the late Neolithic and the early Copper Age.Research conducted from 2000 to 2012 has allowed us to understand various aspects of ancient mining activities performed within the site and to reconstruct a basic operational chain concerning the procurement and the primary processing of such resources, from the choice of tools to the various extractive techniques, from the disposal of mining debris to the early operations of ore processing.In this paper we focus on two categories of macrolithic tools: those used to extract minerals, and those used for their primary processing. The first group is composed of 51 artefacts divided into axes, hammers, and pickaxes with a central groove, found in the deeper areas of the cave, which represent the mining areas. Their morphological and dimensional variability indicates a significant functional diversification; furthermore, the choice of different very hard metamorphic rocks implies a high awareness in the selection of the raw materials used for making these implements. The second group includes 22 tools with different functions - mainly made of sandstone - classified as querns, grinders and crushers. They were found in an underground area adjacent to the entrance, which is characterized by large and comfortable spaces, with the widespread presence of natural light. A recent traceological study has clarified the function of such artefacts; they were used to grind mined blocks of iron hydroxides to obtain a powder. The multidisciplinary approach adopted in studying mining tools from Grotta della Monaca, including petrographic, typological and use-wear analysis, has allowed us to gain important knowledge about the general characteristics of these tools

Petroarcheometric Analysis on Obsidian Artefacts Found Within Some Neolithic – Eneolithic Period Caves of Southern Italy

AbstractIn the last twenty years, obsidian artefacts have been found in important and often extensive karst cavities in Southern Italy: three located in Calabria (Grotta della Monaca, and Grotta del Tesauro, in Sant'Agata di Esaro, Cosenza; Grotta Pietra Sant'Angelo in San Lorenzo Bellizzi, Cosenza), one in Puglia (Grotta di Santa Barbara in Polignano a Mare, Bari) and another in Campania (Grotta di Polla, Salerno). All these sites, that have returned a total of 151 obsidian tools, were connected to human frequentation of the underground environments that occurred during the Holocene, which can be precisely located in the vast period between the Neolithic and the Eneolithic (6th–4th millennium BC). They are mainly blades and bladelets, but also burins together with scrapers and cores, generally of small dimensions. SEM-EDS and WD-XRF absolutely non-destructive analyses carried out on these items have shown that all samples have a source area in the obsidian outcrops of the island of Lipari (Messina, Italy). These data confirm that the Aeolian island of Lipari furnished the privileged obsidian extraction outcrops for most of the Neolithic and Eneolithic archaeological sites of Southern Italy

First Bronze Age Human Mitogenomes from Calabria (Grotta Della Monaca, Southern Italy)

The Italian peninsula was host to a strong history of migration processes that shaped its genomic variability since prehistoric times. During the Metal Age, Sicily and Southern Italy were the protagonists of intense trade networks and settlements along the Mediterranean. Nonetheless, ancient DNA studies in Southern Italy are, at present, still limited to prehistoric and Roman Apulia. Here, we present the first mitogenomes from a Middle Bronze Age cave burial in Calabria to address this knowledge gap. We adopted a hybridization capture approach, which enabled the recovery of one complete and one partial mitochondrial genome. Phylogenetic analysis assigned these two individuals to the H1e and H5 subhaplogroups, respectively. This preliminary phylogenetic analysis supports affinities with coeval Sicilian populations, along with Linearbandkeramik and Bell Beaker cultures maternal lineages from Central Europe and Iberia. Our work represents a starting point which contributes to the comprehension of migrations and population dynamics in Southern Italy, and highlights this knowledge gap yet to be filled by genomic studies