The beginning of the Neolithic era in Central Italy

This paper presents the general profile of the first farming communities of Central Italy in the Early Neolithic Era. Data shows the spread of early Neolithic cultures in the Italian peninsula at the beginning of the VI millennium B.C. The first Neolithic groups appeared in the southern regions of the peninsula and moved northwards following two trajectories along the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. The process of Neolithisation was initiated by peoples who probably came from different areas and traditions creating, over time, two distinct areas within the Italian peninsula, each with its own specific cultural features. Finally the article looks at how intensive exchanges both of complex knowledge and raw materials occurred between these two distinct cultural worlds

Harvesting tools and the spread of the Neolithic into the Central-Western Mediterranean area

This paper discusses the current state of research on harvesting technologies of the first farming communities of the central and western Mediterranean area between ca. 6000–5900 cal BC and 4800–4700 cal BC. New data obtained from the analysis of almost 40 sites from the Italian Peninsula is compared with data previously collected from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. Results indicate the existence of at least two different harvesting traditions, one characterized by curved sickles used for harvesting at a low or middle height; the other characterized by reaping knives with parallel hafted blades, probably mainly used for ear harvesting. Processes of innovation and change have been highlighted, suggesting that harvesting techniques changed and evolved through time. Besides, the mechanism and pace of diffusion of curved sickles have been explored, too

Harvest time: Crop-reaping technologies and the Neolithisation of the Central Mediterranean

Neolithic societies were defined by the development of agricultural economies not only because part of their diet was obtained from cultivated plants, but also because crophusbandry practices strongly affected people’s lifestyles in a variety of ways. It is therefore unsurprising that the development and diffusion of agriculture can be studied from diverse perspectives and with different approaches, by analysing, for example, the macro- and micro-botanical remains of fruits and grains for morphometric and taxonomic variation (Colledge & Conolly 2007) and genetic history (Mascher et al. 2016). Conversely, agriculture can be indirectly assessed through its impact on the environment and subsequent landscape modifications (Zanchetta et al. 2013; Mercuri 2014). Yet another approach explores crop-husbandry practices as reflected in changing technology. New agricultural tasks required the adaptation of existing technologies and the adoption of new tools and practices, including querns, millstones and other grain-grinding equipment, as well as artefacts and structures for grain storage, cooking and processing. The most evident innovation in flaked stone technology associated with the Neolithisation phenomenon concerns the so-called ‘glossy blades’. Early experimental and use-wear studies of these blades fed debate about the mechanisms responsible for polish formation (Anderson 1982; Unger-Hamilton 1984). More recently, however, renewed attention towards these tools and their technological, functional and geographic variability (Ibáñez et al. 2008; Maeda et al. 2016) has considered their significance in relation to economic organisation, cultural boundaries and processes of technological innovation

L’ossidiana nel sito del neolitico recente di Fossacesia (CH), in Atti XXXIX Riunione Scientifica Preistoria e Protostoria

Nel contributo vengono analizzati i materiali in ossidiana provenienti dalle strutture 1-10 del dito neolitico di Fossacesia

Use wear analysis: the application on Ripatetta lithic industry. Preliminary results

This work is based on the microwear analysis of a drawn sample of the lithic industry found at Ripatetta. In this neolithic settlement, attributed to an advanced moment of the Impressed Ware, has brought to light a 80-90 sq. metres cobbled pavement. The results of functional analysis - conducted in order to identify the function of this area - have shown that stone tools were mostly used for soft or semi-soft material workings

Maddalena di Muccia. Le industrie litiche del Neolitico antico

In questo studio sono presentati i dati ottenuti dall’analisi di parte dell’industria litica del sito di Maddalena di Muccia, proveniente dagli scavi Lollini (Lollini 1965) e riferibile al Neolitico antico. È stato scelto il materiale rinvenuto nelle file dei quadrati “XII” e “XIII”, uniche con i tagli 1-4. L’industria considerata ammonta a 1773 pezzi in selce di cui: 1218 non ritoccati, 107 scarti, 6 ravvivamenti, 6 ritagli, 2 microbulini e 434 strumenti. Non sono stati considerati i nuclei poiché materia di uno studio a sé stante; i manufatti in ossidiana non risultano presenti in questi quadrati. Quasi il 18% dei manufatti presenta resti di cortice, fatto che attesta una lavorazione interna all’abitato, dimostrata anche dalla presenza di creste e ravvivamenti se pure numericamente scarsi in questo lotto. La presenza di elementi con vecchia patina parzialmente asportata da un ritocco indica l’uso di raccogliere manufatti più antichi e riutilizzarli. Oltre l’8% del totale presenta tracce di riscaldamento, valore che sale al 26% all’interno degli scarti

L’industria litica di Fossacesia (st. 2-9)

Studio tipologico dell'industria litica proveniente da Fossacesia (CH

Investigating Neolithic activities. The contribution of functional analysis to the reconstruction of settlements’ economy in Central-Southern Italy

Between the late 7th and early 6th millennium BC, the Neolithic era arrives in Southern Italy by sea with Eastern Mediterranean people. The external origin of the Neolithic seems to be supported by the presence of well-organized villages with an already fully productive economy and ceramic production since their first occupation. Being part of a wider project on the Neolithization of Italy, this work presents the results obtained from the study of lithic assemblages from a selected number of Neolithic sites: Ripa Tetta (Puglia), Maddalena di Muccia (Marche), S. Stefano (Abruzzo). Our analyses show how the techno-functional approach to lithic tools can play a significant role in the understanding of the economic and/or cultural choices made by Neolithic groups

Use wear analysis: the application on Ripatetta lithic industry. Preliminary results

Traceologiacal analysis of the lithic assemblages of Ripatetta neolithic sit

L’analisi funzionale come integrazione allo studio tecno-tipologico del materiali litico. Il caso di Ripatetta (Lucera, Foggia): Risultati Preliminari

This work is based on the microwear analysis of the lithic industry found at Ripatetta. In this neolithic settlement, attributed to an advanced moment of the Impressed Ware, this analysis - actually in progress – has been conducted on a drawn sample, consisting of retouched and unretouched pieces, in order to identify the function of an 70 sq metres area, where a cobbled pavement was found