Multiproxy study of 7500-year-old wooden sickles from the Lakeshore Village of La Marmotta, Italy

[EN] The lakeshore site of La Marmotta is one of the most important Early Neolithic sites of Mediterranean Europe. The site is famous for the exceptional preservation of organic materials, including numerous wooden artefacts related to navigation, agriculture, textile production, and basketry. This article presents interdisciplinary research on three of the most complete and well‑preserved sickles recovered from the site, yet unpublished. All the components of the tools are analysed: the stone inserts, the wooden haft and the adhesive substances used to fix the stones inside the haft. Our innovative methodology combines use‑wear and microtexture analysis of stone tools through confocal microscopy, taxonomical and technological analysis of wood, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the adhesive substances, and pollen, non‑pollen palynomorphs, and phytolith analysis of the remains incorporated within the adhesive. This multiproxy approach provides a significant insight into the life of these tools, from their production to their use and abandonment, providing evidence of the species of harvested plants and the conditions of the field during the harvesting

Ceramic traditions and technological choices revealed by early Iron Age vessels: the case of Vetulonia (southern Tuscany)

ABSTRACTEarly Iron Age pottery from central Italian regions has so far largely been studied with a particular emphasis on typological and stylistical features. However, an analytical approach to ancient ceramic technology can reveal a wealth of data on the know-how of early Iron Age central Italian craftspeople and their production choices. With this aim we conducted archaeometric analyses of forty vessels from one of the main protohistoric cemeteries of Vetulonia, coupled with geological surveys of the territory around the settlement and the collection of raw materials. The occurrence of a ceramic fabric marked by fragments of metasedimentary rocks, as opposed to a fabric tempered with flint fragments, indicates the existence of separate traditions, characterised by distinct processes and the addition of specific tempers, probably reflecting different technological practices. The significance of our findings is briefly discussed within the historical and social scenario of early Iron Age Vetulonia, at the dawn of urbanisation

An interdisciplinary approach to the study of kiln firing: a case study from the Campus Galli open-air museum (southern Germany)

Pottery kilns are a common feature in the archaeological record of different periods. However, these pyrotechnological installations are still seldom the target of interdisciplinary investigations. To fill this gap in our knowledge, an updraft kiln firing experiment was run at the Campus Galli open-air museum (southern Germany) by a team consisting of experimental archaeologists, material scientists, geoarchaeologists, and palaeobotanists. The entire process from the preparation of the raw materials to the firing and opening of the kiln was carefully recorded with a particular focus on the study of the raw materials used for pottery making, as well as on fuel usage. The temperatures were monitored by thermocouples placed at different positions in the combustion and firing chambers. In addition, thermocouples were installed within the kiln wall to measure the temperature distribution inside the structure itself. Unfired raw materials as well as controlled and experimentally thermally altered ceramic samples were then characterised with an integrated analysis including ceramic petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). Our work provides data about mineralogical and microstructural developments in both pottery kiln structures and the ceramics produced in this type of installations. This is helpful to discuss the limits and potential of various scientific analyses commonly used in ancient ceramic pyrotechnological studies. Overall, our work contributes to a better understanding of updraft kiln technology and offers guidelines on how to address the study of this type of pyrotechnological installations using interdisciplinary research strategies.publishedVersio

New evidence on the earliest human presence in the urban area of Genoa (Liguria, Italy): a multi-proxy study of a mid-Holocene deposit at the mouth of the Bisagno river

The article presents the results of a multi-proxy study investigating an alluvial deposit located in the coastal plain of Genoa (Liguria, Northwest Italy). A very deep core was sampled from 15 to 25 m below ground level to analyse sedimentological properties, pollen assemblages, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils and micro-charcoal. The deposit, spanning from the second half of the 5th Millennium to the end of the 7th Millennium cal. BC, was characterized by an alternation of silty and peaty layers, and proved to be rich in plant remains. Pollen data allowed the confirmation of a gradual increase in Fagus sylvatica to the detriment of Abies alba during the mid-Holocene of the region, and showed the presence of brackish lagoons, as well as the progressively stronger incidence of anthropogenic taxa, indicating the use of the plain for agricultural purposes. The study of non-pollen palynomorphs led to the taxonomic identification of some previously unidentified types, and pointed to the occurrence of marshy environments, which were probably grazed on by domestic herbivores. Macrofossil analysis provided the first record of Triticum new glume wheat type in Liguria. Moreover, the finding of a grain of Triticum dicoccum dated to the second half of the 6th Millennium cal. BC allowed us to pre-date by seven centuries the agriculture in the region. To date, this represents the oldest evidence of human activity in the urban area of Genoa