Agriculture and exploitation of wild plants at Chalcolithic (4th to 3rd millennium cal BC) sites in Sardinia (Italy)

This paper present the results of archaeobotanical analysis carried out at two open-air sites dated to the first phase of the Copper Age, “Chalcolithic” (4th to 3rd millennium cal BC) in Sardinia. The sediment was systematically floated, a total of 3142 l was sampled and 4014 charred plant remains were identified. Chalcolithic agriculture in Sardinia was primarily based on the cultivation of Hordeum vulgare, H. vulgare var. nudum and Triticum aestivum/durum. Possible cultivated legumes of Vicia/Lathyrus, Vicia/Pisum and cf. Pisum sativum were identified. Linum sp. was also present, which may have been cultivated and exploited in Sardinia by the Chalcolithic community. The diet of the Chalcolithic community was complemented by the consumption of edible fruits such as Ficus carica, Sambucus sp. and Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris. Typical Mediterranean shrubs such as Pistacia lentiscus, Juniperus sp., Cistus sp., Malva sp. and Thymelaea hirsuta were also found.Peer reviewe

Exploring the course of metals between the Sardinian Bronze Age and Iberia. New data from Monte Sa Idda hoard provenance studies

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el 5th International Conference Archaeometallurgy in Europe, celebrado en Miskolc (Hungría), del 19 al 21 de junio de 2019The hoard of Monte Sa Idda (Decimoputzu, Cagliari), is one of the classic metal hoards of Nuragic archaeology in Sardinia (Taramelli 1921). The hoard was uncovered with all its goods grouped into a large pottery container, and located within a Nuragic building. It was composed of over three hundred artefacts, most of them fragmentary, which are characteristic of the Late Bronze Age period in Sardinia. In addition, some of the represented objects within this hoard are usually related with Iberian typologies as, for example, the Sa Idda swords. Furthermore, other Iberian artefacts have been also connected within Sa Idda¿s types like the wax-lost handles. The present study focuses on a group of 11 copper-based artefacts recovered from this hoard and are composed of six copper ingots, one socketed axe, one ferrule, one dagger and two swords. The applied methodology consisted of elemental analysis performed by a pXRF and lead isotope analysis (LIA) performed by MC-ICP-MS in the Frankfurt Laboratory (Klein et al. 2009). The main goal of this research is to approach the provenance of these metal artefacts and, if possible, relate them to the original ore source. Results show that six objects and ingots present isotopic coincidences with three different Iberian copper ore areas and the remaining five artefacts can be related with local Sardinian minerals. These results, in combination with other lead isotopic results from Late Bronze Age metal artefacts in Iberia and also in the Balearic Islands, permit us to reconstruct the trade dynamics that would have connected the Iberian Peninsula and Sardinia during this period. Thus, this information seems to be relevant for a better understanding of the hoarding practices, and also to follow Late Bronze Age metal trade courses in the Central and Western Mediterranean

Exploring the course of metals between the Sardinian Bronze Age and Iberia. New data from Monte Sa Idda hoard provenance studies

The hoard of Monte Sa Idda (Decimoputzu, Cagliari), is one of the classic metal hoards of Nuragic archaeology in Sardinia (Taramelli 1921). The hoard was uncovered with all its goods grouped into a large pottery container, and located within a Nuragic building. It was composed of over three hundred artefacts, most of them fragmentary, which are characteristic of the Late Bronze Age period in Sardinia. In addition, some of the represented objects within this hoard are usually related with Iberian typologies as, for example, the Sa Idda swords. Furthermore, other Iberian artefacts have been also connected within Sa Idda¿s types like the wax-lost handles. The present study focuses on a group of 11 copper-based artefacts recovered from this hoard and are composed of six copper ingots, one socketed axe, one ferrule, one dagger and two swords. The applied methodology consisted of elemental analysis performed by a pXRF and lead isotope analysis (LIA) performed by MC-ICP-MS in the Frankfurt Laboratory (Klein et al. 2009). The main goal of this research is to approach the provenance of these metal artefacts and, if possible, relate them to the original ore source. Results show that six objects and ingots present isotopic coincidences with three different Iberian copper ore areas and the remaining five artefacts can be related with local Sardinian minerals. These results, in combination with other lead isotopic results from Late Bronze Age metal artefacts in Iberia and also in the Balearic Islands, permit us to reconstruct the trade dynamics that would have connected the Iberian Peninsula and Sardinia during this period. Thus, this information seems to be relevant for a better understanding of the hoarding practices, and also to follow Late Bronze Age metal trade courses in the Central and Western Mediterranean

The Funtana CobertaBallao Hoard: new copper provenances in Nuragic metallurgy

Copper exchange in the western Mediterranean reflects highly complex patterns between 1500-500 cal BC due to several interactions happening in an area which acted as a crossroad between the Atlantic and the Eastern Mediterranean worlds. The LIA data obtained from Funtana Coberta-Ballao hoard (Sardinia), dated to the 13th century BC, reveals an unknown signature in the European and Near Eastern Bronze Age metallurgy. The main feature is the low content in 208Pb isotope (the end of the Thorium series from 232Th). This strange signature is clearly different from all LIA geological data available from the Mediterranean and European mainland deposits, but it is not the first time that it was detected in Sardinian objects. Oxalid database, Begemann et al. 2001 and Lo Schiavo et al. 2005 published only a few objects with very low 208Pb, but in the Funtana Coberta-Ballao hoard are the majority (25 of 47 samples). The FCB hoard could only have been formed by using imported copper from different regions, i.e. different mines in the Sinai Peninsula and the Arabian Shield for most of them, Cyprus for some, and one or several radiogenic sites yet to be located.Peer reviewe