The materials of many Paleolithic sites in Eurasia contain large stone objects. As a rule, they r... more The materials of many Paleolithic sites in Eurasia contain large stone objects. As a rule, they retain their natural shape without any signs of artificial modification. However, the presence of characteristic use-wear features (polishing, linear traces, micro- and macrodeformations) unambiguously indicates that these stones served as tools. Multidisciplinary research, including an experimental and traceological approach, as well as analysis of organic micro-residues, make it possible to distinguish among the unmodified stone tools those that were used for processing plant raw materials. One of such tools is a large stone found in the lower layer of the Upper Paleolithic site Suren I** (Crimea). The results obtained in the course of the study suggest that the inhabitants of the site used plant materials in their household activities, as well as allow us to describe in detail the ways of adaptation of ancient people to the natural environment of the Crimean peninsula.
Prime considerazioni sulla variabilità del sistema tecnico Levallois dello strato III di Riparo Mezzena (Monti Lessini, Italia settentrionale), 2008
The paper deals with the preliminary results of the techno-economic study of the layer III lithic... more The paper deals with the preliminary results of the techno-economic study of the layer III lithic assemblage, dug in 1957 by F. Zorzi of the Museo civico di Storia Naturale di Verona. The presented research is focused on the raw material management, within the local provisioning strategy model, on the strategies for introduction of lithic materials, on the predetermination of technical objectives and on their economical destination. Crypto-crystalline flint is introduced into the site, after experienced on the sources a first pre-shaping process, and then exploited by applying the Levallois predetermination method. 3 methods had been observed (unidirectional recurrent, centripetal and preferential Levallois) all independent in their initial phase but with afterwards turn-over during the reduction process development. The next operative phase, the retouching one, is well documented the high rate of the retouched blanks, most of which obtained by retouching the Levallois blanks. Along with this technological organization we can observe a circulation phenomenon of the finished products committed both to the site as well as towards external uses. The micro-crystalline flint exploitation shows the same technological organization above described, from which differs for a higher rate of fractioning of the different production phases and for a larger circulation of the finished products. The results of the techno-economic analysis reveal a mixed production-utilization economic strategies. The strong presence of flint assemblages, the 5 hearths and the occurrence of faunal remains force to a certain caution in proposing the settlement dynamic of the Neanderthal groups frequenting the Mezzena rockshelter. The archaeological record would be the result of more than one consecutive episodes of human presences, relatively short in time length and related to human groups which behave following a mobility system where the residential movements should be moderately frequent.
Prehistoric Technology 40 years later: functional studies and the Russian legacy, 2008
Analysis undertaken on the lithic artefacts found at the Iron Age site of Monte Loffa in the Less... more Analysis undertaken on the lithic artefacts found at the Iron Age site of Monte Loffa in the Lessini Mountains allowed us to identify secondary transformation activities such as pounding or grinding for different types of raw materials. In order to understand the functional meaning of the artefacts, we adopted an integrated approach which combines different methods used in archaeology, experimental archaeology, archaeometry and ethnoarchaeology. A relational data-base was also created. As regards archaeometry, on one hand, petrographic analyses allowed us to identify the site catchment areas in terms of raw materials exploited, thus providing additional information about the frequency selection classes and the intentional selection of litho-types. On the other hand, chemical analysis informed us about the presence of any residual substance on the artefacts’ surface, thus helping towards the understanding of the raw materials they were used for. As for wear traces analyses, they provide information about the functionally active surfaces and -again- about the raw materials that were transformed. The integration of all of the above-mentioned data with the information provided by archaeological excavations and by ethnoarchaeological and experimental analyses allow the construction of an interpretive model for the functional understanding of these pestles/grinding tools, which otherwise tend to be misunderstood by traditional methods of analysis. Key words: petrography, raw material extraction and treatment, hide, wool and metal processing
The excavation carried out at Riparo Mezzena during 1957 by F. Zorzi and A. Pasa (Museo di Storia... more The excavation carried out at Riparo Mezzena during 1957 by F. Zorzi and A. Pasa (Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona) revealed a stratigraphic sequence of about 1,5-1,7 m – corresponding at least to 3 different anthropogenic layers – had been identifi ed (bottom-up: III, II, I) very rich in both artefacts, fauna and human remains. In 1977 Bartolomei (1980) verifi ed the stratigraphy by sampling the witness left in 1957 aiming at comparing the paleoenvironmental indications and the chrono-cultural assignements proposed by Pasa and Zorzi. According to alpine chronology of the time, the authors attributed layer II to the Würm II while layer III was thought to correspond to a slightly older period. Recent revision referred the whole deposit to MIS 3 according to isotopic chronology. The present work deals with the fi rst results of the “Human fossils from the Verona area” revision project devoted to Riparo Mezzena Mousterian layers. Herein will be presented the new data related to anatomical analyses - of the parietal (R and L), frontal and occipital bones fragments as well as the jaw, compared to the contemporaneous European Neandertals and the techno-economical study of the lithic assemblage from layer III. The lithic assemblage is referred to the cultural context of La Ferrassie Charentian Mousterian, which characterized even the upper layer II assemblage. The latter, though, is characterized by a strong reduction in the Levallois production. A devoted discussion to the technology of the layer III will be given. The data relating to palaeogenetic analyses is presented too: the Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been retrieved for the fi rst time from a Neandertal specimen of Italian origin (NRM). The results show that the genetic diversity of the Neandertals has been largely underestimated. They suggest that Neandertal population was extensively subdivided geographically, and that its genetic diversity changed markedly over time. The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) which regulates pigmentation in humans and other vertebrates had been amplifi ed and sequenced a fragment of the MC1R gene (mc1r). The impaired activity of this variant could have caused neandertals to have red hair and/or pale skin. The data from Mezzena suggest that inactive MC1R variants evolved independently in both modern humans and Neandertals. Key Words: Lessini Mountains, calvaria fragments, jaw, mtDNA, nu DNA, red hair, Charentian mousterian, operative chain, settlement dynamic, MIS 3.
Classificazione tecno-morfologica e funzionale delle punte di freccia oleoceniche a ritocco foliato, 2008
The techno-functional analyses of Holocene leaf shaped arrowheads - recovered in the sites of the... more The techno-functional analyses of Holocene leaf shaped arrowheads - recovered in the sites of the eastern bank of Garda Lake (referring in particular to that ones of Peschiera) - give us a hint for a wider reflexion which brought us to a morphological revision of the forms referred to this "type", even in the light of functional consideration. Up to now the discussion on lithic assemblages cultural meaning has been carried out mostly by recognizing the constraints which influenced and / or determined the typological characters took up by the prehistoric groups for the lithic production. This approach is showing several limits mainly when it is referred to tools where it is clear and univocal the relations between form and function, as the case of arrowheads, which performance is definitely oriented. These armatures, actually portions of a more complex ballistic system, have to hit a long distance target. Our methodological proposal aims at facing the complexity of the productive and transformation processes, considering both the technological and the following functional features and procedures, as the authors already proposed for other contexts. This approach allows as well to avoid possible misinterpretation of the chronological sequence based on "types": to accomplish this attempt herein we propose a different succession for the Holocene leaf shaped arrowheads, based on techno-functional consideration.
Caratteri tecno-tipologici e aspetti funzionali delle industrie scheggiate dell'Eneolitico precampaniforme in Italia centrale : riflessioni e problemi, 2011
The study has been carried out with an integrated methodological approach. The research has been ... more The study has been carried out with an integrated methodological approach. The research has been applied either to settlements, funerary sites/contexts and flak¬ing workshops. The original study of leaf-shaped arrowhead from two Tuscan caves (Spinosa, GR, and Tana della Volpe, MS) has been the basis for developing a more general reflexion on the functional meaning of these lithic assemblages. As it concerns flaking workshops, recent discoveries shed a new light on a large number of sites defined in the past as “campignani”; many of these sites can be nowadays identified as workshops devoted to the production of leaf-shaped arrowheads. In a comparative perspective to deal with data based on an adequate interpretative framework it would be necessary, according to the Authors, a critical revision based on technological and functional analyses of the old concept of “Campignano”, including the assemblages from the Gargano area
A selection of five ground stones from Pontic Steppe sites dating back to the Early Upper Palaeol... more A selection of five ground stones from Pontic Steppe sites dating back to the Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) was used as test-cases to be analysed by combining wear-traces and use-related biogenic residues (U-RBR). The artifacts studied can be termed “legacy” objects, excavated even many decades ago and kept in museum storage facilities. This type of storage might be considered putatively prone to contamination. The multidimensional contextual approach we designed integrates the structural analysis of biogenic residues by means of visual light optical and electronic beams microscopy (OM/VLM and SEM) coupled with FTIR microspectroscopy and imaging (using both conventional and synchrotron infrared sources). SEM and FTIR are meant to provide high resolution morphological and chemical profiles and their coupled analysis revealed the presence of starch grains from the used areas of the stone tools. The goal of this paper is to present a reasoned streamlined procedure to collect appropriate samples suitable to detect the presence of ancient starches from ground stones tools recovered in museum collections.
2016 22nd International Conference on Virtual System & Multimedia (VSMM), 2016
Here I present an integrated methodological approach to the identification and characterization o... more Here I present an integrated methodological approach to the identification and characterization of the function of grinding stones used to process plants in order to get staple food at the dawn of modern humans' colonization of Eurasia. The first achievement is to investigate the ancient dietary habits of humans at a crucial stage of human evolution by reconstructing the old gestures made in the past. The issue of processing plants like USOs (under surface storage organs), fruits and seeds, to get highly energetic staple food might be of interest in seeking for alimentary strategies carried out by Anatomically Modern Humans during their outs of Africa. Analysing the stone tools comes to be one of the direct investigations on behavioural modernity of the new species, with evident positive feedbacks on their nutritional capacity and hence on the demographic performance. A second goal is “bringing to life” almost forgotten museum collections (excavations dates back to the early XX century) by using innovative, non invasive analytical techniques like the potential contribution of 3D investigation, at various levels of detail and resolution, to identify wear-traces (due to utilization) and associated organic residues. The paper is reporting functional analysis demonstrating compound technologies related to the systematic use of grinding stones in order to process plant resources since the Aurignacian (Early Upper Palaeolithic). The reconstruction of old gestures and the related behaviour by means of heritage science approach can contribute to place museum collections under different light. An outcome of the research is to support lines of evidence to track the origins of some of present day diseases of civilization related to food. Investigating the roots of dietary breadth in archaeological remains can help in tracking food changes occurred back in time and let collections playing an actual social role.
Data from many middle Paleolithic sites demonstrate that Neanderthals were able to hunt a wide ra... more Data from many middle Paleolithic sites demonstrate that Neanderthals were able to hunt a wide range of preys and that they could use regular hunting strategies to capture also medium and large - sized animals, perhaps by killing them at a distance. In addition to the evidence of faunistic remains and of the high meat-intake diet observed by biochemical analysis, this assertion is based on the discovery of wooden javelins and thrusting spears in German and English middle Pleistocene sites. More recently scholars’ interest has been on functional interpretation of lithic points of the middle Paleolithic and the middle Stone Age and on their performance if used as spear points. These studies are especially based on morphometric (“ballistic”), residue (presence of adhesives for hafting) and use - wear (mainly impact scars) analyses. This paper focuses on 107 points and general triangular tools from US 8 of the Oscurusciuto rock shelter as part of a wider project on spear point technology related to some lithic assemblages of the middle Paleolithic of Southern italy (Castelcivita Cave and Oscurusciuto Shelter), which has been financed by Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria. The shelter opens on the northern side of a ravine in mesozoic limestone underlying Quaternary calcarenites and has accumulated more than 5 m of deposits, consisting of silty sands with stone artefacts and bone remains. The ongoing excavations began in 1998 and are being carried out by the Department of Environmental Sciences “G. Sarfatti” of the University of Siena, in co-operation with the Archaeological office of Puglia, the city of Ginosa and the local division of legambiente. Artifacts were at first analysed from a technological perspective; six groups (technological categories) have been identified based on different core reduction systems: A) convergent Levallois products; B) unipolar recurrent Levallois products; c) high transformation degree products; D) pseudolevallois blanks obtained from Levallois débitage; E) volume débitage products; F) on - edge débitage products. Some flakes (n. 14) belonging to the first group have features in common: they are unretouched, smaller, shorter and broader, with maximum length at the base. Groups B, c and E contain only deeply retouched tools. Basal thinning is always absent. Further observations underline the presence of two techno functional main groups. The first one can be identified with the A category and it is the only one which produces triangular tools directly during the reduction stage. In the second group the triangular shape is, on the other hand, due to the retouching process and elongated convex and/or concave cutting edges are pursued. The macro wear and micro wear analysis have shown that use - wear traces are on the whole seldom present and broken tips are vary rare and not very characteristic; nevertheless tip fractures are described and taken into account. Other criteria have been considered so we may test whether the US 8 triangular tools (or same of them) could be effective as spear points. These criteria included mass, cross-sectional area (TcSA) and perimeter, tip penetrating angle and length / width ratio
Isemia La Pineta est l'un des plus importants gisements du Pleistocene moyen en Europe. Cet a... more Isemia La Pineta est l'un des plus importants gisements du Pleistocene moyen en Europe. Cet article concerne les resultats du programme experimental compares aux donnees rassemblees pendant l'etude des materiaux archeologiques se rapportant a l'analyse de la matiere premiere, a la technologie lithique, a l'analyse fonctionnelle. En effet le scenario qui est propose par cet article est tres interessant et il suggere une nouvelle et tout a fait differente interpretation des industries lithiques d'Isernia La Pineta qui est analysee non seulement du point de vue morphologique, mais qui est aussi placee dans un contexte ecologique plus complexe, probablement plus proche de la facon de vivre des etres qui coloniserent les premiers l'Europe au cours des debuts du Pleistocene moyen. La reconstitution de la chaine operatoire, du choix de la matiere premiere et de son reperage a la production et a l'emploi des objets lithiques semble etre en mesure de proposer une ...
We present evidence of starch grains from various wild plants on the surfaces of grinding tools a... more We present evidence of starch grains from various wild plants on the surfaces of grinding tools at the sites of Bilancino II (Italy), Kostenki 16-Uglyanka (Russia), and Pavlov VI (Czech Republic). The three sites suggest that vegetal food processing was a common practice in Europe from at least 30,000 years ago.
The background to the Project is set by a number of studies, currently being carried out in the B... more The background to the Project is set by a number of studies, currently being carried out in the Bilancino Gravettian site near Florence by some of the proponents of the project; these have led to the discovery of evidence of vegetable remains on lithic implements/artifacts (Noailles Burins and grindstone). The Project aims to apply new non-destructive techniques for the recovery and the identification of vegetable remains in Palaeolithic sites, in particular, the project focus on tools made from unknapped stone likely to be used in the treatment of plant-substances, such as pestles, grinders, grindstone, hearth-stones, etc. with the aim to acquire new evidence on the importance of the use of plants in the Palaeolithic and gain a better understanding of the economy and the diet of these most ancient humans. The procedure to analyze sediments eventually preserved on utilized pebbles is absolutely not invasive. Amog the numerous pebbles selected from the most important Italian Paleolit...
Acceso de usuarios registrados. Acceso de usuarios registrados Usuario Contraseña. El miércoles, ... more Acceso de usuarios registrados. Acceso de usuarios registrados Usuario Contraseña. El miércoles, 3 de Marzo, Dialnet presentará intermitencias en su disponibilidad por actualización del servicio. La parada comenzará a las ...
Información del artículo Trapezi simmetrici concavi: ricostruzione tecnologica e ipotesi di utili... more Información del artículo Trapezi simmetrici concavi: ricostruzione tecnologica e ipotesi di utilizzo dei complessi del Neolitico antico.
Apart from a few sporadic previous episodes, Italian experimental archaeology only really began i... more Apart from a few sporadic previous episodes, Italian experimental archaeology only really began in the second half of the 1970s with experimentation in the field of stone-working, above all on the line of the Bordes studies. As opposed to twenty years ago, from which period one can cite the scientific and educational activities of Giorgio Chelidonio as among the most important, today the increasing presence of programmes of experimentation conducted by university and research institutes and protection government bodies should be underlined. The two most significant examples are the University of Ferrara as regards stone-working at the early Palaeolithic site of Isernia – La Pineta and various experiences in the field of the stone and pottery industry carried out by the “La Sapienza” University and by the Museo delle Origini in Rome, in some cases specifically integrated within the university teaching programme. Among the experimental activities related to other forms of pre and protohistoric crafts a good example is that conducted by A. M. Bietti Sestrieri on the pottery of the Osteria dell’Osa necropolis in Lazio (BETTI SESTRIERI, PULITANI 1992). In the field of archaeological metallurgy we can cite the experimentation carried by the Italian-German team headed by Jan Cierny and Franco Marzatico, within the context of investigations of protohistoric archaeological metallurgy in Trentino (CIERNY et Alii 1988). In the field of the archaeology of wood the work of Renato Perini from the Archaeological Heritage Office of Trento should be recalled, on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the working of wood at the Fiavé lake dwelling (Trento 1988). Another important sector is the experimental reconstruction of structures, both dwellings and other constructions, in perishable materials. One of the first examples in Italy is the experimental reconstruction of a hut from the early Neolithic Time (CALEGARI et Alii 1990) and the archaeological investigation of its remains following collapse (CALEGARI LOKOSEK 1990). Among the experiences in the last decade, an example of reconstruction linked to a specific archaeological context is the reconstruction of an early Iron Age hut at Fidene (Bietti Sestieri excavations: MERLO 1992). To move on to the diffusion of scientific information linked to experimentation, an important field, currently particularly in vogue, is the archaeological park. Among the projects undertaken above all in the 1990s, within which archaeological experimentation for educational purposes represented one of the main services offered to users, we cite two examples which are to a certain extent representative: the experience at Darfo-Boario Terme in Valcamonica (the “Archaeodromo” and “Archaeopark” ) which can be classified within the context of thematic-parks and which come closer to similar experiences in central and northern Europe inspired by so-called “living history”, and the parks in the Val di Cornia (S. Silvestro and Populonia), which are archaeological parks in the true sense of the word, as they are directly linked to the exploitation of important archaeological areas. In an attempt to comment on this brief summary of the history of Italian experimental archaeology, we can propose some ideas of a general nature. As regards the definition and position of experimental archaeology we recall and agree with what has already been expressed in an Italian work in 1990 (BONDIOLI et Alii 1990): an experimental approach is recognised in research which isolates limited groups of variables and subjects them to high levels of control as regards the phases of production, formation and transformation of the archaeological deposit, with the aim of drawing an interpretation and productive models useful for the study of archaeological deposits themselves. Some of the most urgent tasks of Italian experimental archaeology are: the establishment of a well-defined and controllable database, the search for appropriate institutional spaces and the diffusion of research. Another important question regards the application of experimental archaeology to the diffusion of information. This must be firmly anchored to the knowledge acquired, limited “integrative” intervention to an indispensable minimum consider its main goal as the enhancement of the archaeological heritage. Finally, it is to be hoped that the government bodies responsible for the protection of the archaeological heritage will come into action and express precise evaluations as regards experimental archaeological activities. This is necessary in order to avoid, for example, thematic-parks which are broadly based on archaeology becoming more important in terms of tourism exploitation than the archaeological heritage itself, possibly with the result of diverting the investment necessary to make the most of the archaeological remains in terms of museums and the environment in an appropriate manner.
Dietary adaptation is the acquisition of an efficient system to digest food available in an ecosy... more Dietary adaptation is the acquisition of an efficient system to digest food available in an ecosystem. To find the genetic basis for human dietary adaptation, we searched 16 genomes from Neandertal, Denisovan and Early Sapiens for food digestion genes that tend to have more or fewer copies than the modern human reference genome. Here, we identify 11 genes, including three gene clusters, with discernible copy number variation trends at the population level. The genomic variation shows how metabolic pathways for lipid, brown fat, protein or carbohydrate metabolism adapt to metabolize food from animal or plant sources. Interpreting the copy number profiles in relation to fossil evidence shows that Homo sapiens had an evolutionary advantage compared to Neandertal and Denisovan in adapting to cold and temperate ecosystems.
Recent advances in the role played by dietary carbohydrates in human food webs during the Palaeol... more Recent advances in the role played by dietary carbohydrates in human food webs during the Palaeolithic highlight that starchy foods were part of the diet well before crop domestication. Although certain plants can be eaten raw, intentional processing such as mechanical reduction using stone tools and thermal treatment readily increases the assimilation of nutrients for metabolic functions and for storing. We present a multi-techniques approach designed to combine micro to nanoscale analyses applied to percussive stones to identify their function using micro-wear traces and use-related biogenic residues. The starch grains extracted from functionally active areas of the ground stone tools were scanned using optical microscopy (OM) down to the nanoscale (SEM) and by applying different spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques like FTIR, ToF-SIMS, and IRMS. The combined analyses carried out at different resolutions – morpho-structural and molecular levels – contribute to an unprecedented methodological refinement regarding the intentional processing of starch- rich plants as early as 40,000 years ago at the boreal latitudes. Our preliminary data on pestles and grinding stones from Early Upper Palaeolithic sites of the Pontic steppe (Moldova and Russia) show the suitability of the analytical techniques involved and also the difficulties encountered in detailing authentication procedures of ancient starch candidates.
The Past of Humankind as seen by the Petersburg Archaeologists at the Dawn of the Millenium (to the Centennial of the Russian Academic Archaeology), 2019
Коллективная монография является результатом трудов ведущих ученых Института истории материальной... more Коллективная монография является результатом трудов ведущих ученых Института истории материальной культуры РАН, отражающих основные результаты археологических исследований за прошедшее десятилетие. Она состоит из четырех глав. Серия статей первой из глав посвящена проблемам первоначального заселения территории нашей страны, что связано с новейшими археологическими открытиями на Кавказе, Таманском полуост рове, в Крыму, а также в Арктике. Вторая глава охватывает широкий хронологический диапазонот позднего каменного века до культур древних кочевников (сюнну). Важные проблемы изучения античной культуры Северного Причерноморья раскрыты в третьей главе на материалах раскопок на Таманском полуострове. Одна из статей посвящена участию ученых ИИМК РАН в изучении Пальмиры (Сирийская республика). Статьи, включенные в последнюю главу, характеризуют итоги археологического изучения Северо-Западной Руси, прежде всего двух важнейших городских центров этого региона-Старой Ладоги и Рюрикова городища. Издание рассчитано на археологов и историков.
The materials of many Paleolithic sites in Eurasia contain large stone objects. As a rule, they r... more The materials of many Paleolithic sites in Eurasia contain large stone objects. As a rule, they retain their natural shape without any signs of artificial modification. However, the presence of characteristic use-wear features (polishing, linear traces, micro- and macrodeformations) unambiguously indicates that these stones served as tools. Multidisciplinary research, including an experimental and traceological approach, as well as analysis of organic micro-residues, make it possible to distinguish among the unmodified stone tools those that were used for processing plant raw materials. One of such tools is a large stone found in the lower layer of the Upper Paleolithic site Suren I** (Crimea). The results obtained in the course of the study suggest that the inhabitants of the site used plant materials in their household activities, as well as allow us to describe in detail the ways of adaptation of ancient people to the natural environment of the Crimean peninsula.
Prime considerazioni sulla variabilità del sistema tecnico Levallois dello strato III di Riparo Mezzena (Monti Lessini, Italia settentrionale), 2008
The paper deals with the preliminary results of the techno-economic study of the layer III lithic... more The paper deals with the preliminary results of the techno-economic study of the layer III lithic assemblage, dug in 1957 by F. Zorzi of the Museo civico di Storia Naturale di Verona. The presented research is focused on the raw material management, within the local provisioning strategy model, on the strategies for introduction of lithic materials, on the predetermination of technical objectives and on their economical destination. Crypto-crystalline flint is introduced into the site, after experienced on the sources a first pre-shaping process, and then exploited by applying the Levallois predetermination method. 3 methods had been observed (unidirectional recurrent, centripetal and preferential Levallois) all independent in their initial phase but with afterwards turn-over during the reduction process development. The next operative phase, the retouching one, is well documented the high rate of the retouched blanks, most of which obtained by retouching the Levallois blanks. Along with this technological organization we can observe a circulation phenomenon of the finished products committed both to the site as well as towards external uses. The micro-crystalline flint exploitation shows the same technological organization above described, from which differs for a higher rate of fractioning of the different production phases and for a larger circulation of the finished products. The results of the techno-economic analysis reveal a mixed production-utilization economic strategies. The strong presence of flint assemblages, the 5 hearths and the occurrence of faunal remains force to a certain caution in proposing the settlement dynamic of the Neanderthal groups frequenting the Mezzena rockshelter. The archaeological record would be the result of more than one consecutive episodes of human presences, relatively short in time length and related to human groups which behave following a mobility system where the residential movements should be moderately frequent.
Prehistoric Technology 40 years later: functional studies and the Russian legacy, 2008
Analysis undertaken on the lithic artefacts found at the Iron Age site of Monte Loffa in the Less... more Analysis undertaken on the lithic artefacts found at the Iron Age site of Monte Loffa in the Lessini Mountains allowed us to identify secondary transformation activities such as pounding or grinding for different types of raw materials. In order to understand the functional meaning of the artefacts, we adopted an integrated approach which combines different methods used in archaeology, experimental archaeology, archaeometry and ethnoarchaeology. A relational data-base was also created. As regards archaeometry, on one hand, petrographic analyses allowed us to identify the site catchment areas in terms of raw materials exploited, thus providing additional information about the frequency selection classes and the intentional selection of litho-types. On the other hand, chemical analysis informed us about the presence of any residual substance on the artefacts’ surface, thus helping towards the understanding of the raw materials they were used for. As for wear traces analyses, they provide information about the functionally active surfaces and -again- about the raw materials that were transformed. The integration of all of the above-mentioned data with the information provided by archaeological excavations and by ethnoarchaeological and experimental analyses allow the construction of an interpretive model for the functional understanding of these pestles/grinding tools, which otherwise tend to be misunderstood by traditional methods of analysis. Key words: petrography, raw material extraction and treatment, hide, wool and metal processing
The excavation carried out at Riparo Mezzena during 1957 by F. Zorzi and A. Pasa (Museo di Storia... more The excavation carried out at Riparo Mezzena during 1957 by F. Zorzi and A. Pasa (Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona) revealed a stratigraphic sequence of about 1,5-1,7 m – corresponding at least to 3 different anthropogenic layers – had been identifi ed (bottom-up: III, II, I) very rich in both artefacts, fauna and human remains. In 1977 Bartolomei (1980) verifi ed the stratigraphy by sampling the witness left in 1957 aiming at comparing the paleoenvironmental indications and the chrono-cultural assignements proposed by Pasa and Zorzi. According to alpine chronology of the time, the authors attributed layer II to the Würm II while layer III was thought to correspond to a slightly older period. Recent revision referred the whole deposit to MIS 3 according to isotopic chronology. The present work deals with the fi rst results of the “Human fossils from the Verona area” revision project devoted to Riparo Mezzena Mousterian layers. Herein will be presented the new data related to anatomical analyses - of the parietal (R and L), frontal and occipital bones fragments as well as the jaw, compared to the contemporaneous European Neandertals and the techno-economical study of the lithic assemblage from layer III. The lithic assemblage is referred to the cultural context of La Ferrassie Charentian Mousterian, which characterized even the upper layer II assemblage. The latter, though, is characterized by a strong reduction in the Levallois production. A devoted discussion to the technology of the layer III will be given. The data relating to palaeogenetic analyses is presented too: the Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been retrieved for the fi rst time from a Neandertal specimen of Italian origin (NRM). The results show that the genetic diversity of the Neandertals has been largely underestimated. They suggest that Neandertal population was extensively subdivided geographically, and that its genetic diversity changed markedly over time. The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) which regulates pigmentation in humans and other vertebrates had been amplifi ed and sequenced a fragment of the MC1R gene (mc1r). The impaired activity of this variant could have caused neandertals to have red hair and/or pale skin. The data from Mezzena suggest that inactive MC1R variants evolved independently in both modern humans and Neandertals. Key Words: Lessini Mountains, calvaria fragments, jaw, mtDNA, nu DNA, red hair, Charentian mousterian, operative chain, settlement dynamic, MIS 3.
Classificazione tecno-morfologica e funzionale delle punte di freccia oleoceniche a ritocco foliato, 2008
The techno-functional analyses of Holocene leaf shaped arrowheads - recovered in the sites of the... more The techno-functional analyses of Holocene leaf shaped arrowheads - recovered in the sites of the eastern bank of Garda Lake (referring in particular to that ones of Peschiera) - give us a hint for a wider reflexion which brought us to a morphological revision of the forms referred to this "type", even in the light of functional consideration. Up to now the discussion on lithic assemblages cultural meaning has been carried out mostly by recognizing the constraints which influenced and / or determined the typological characters took up by the prehistoric groups for the lithic production. This approach is showing several limits mainly when it is referred to tools where it is clear and univocal the relations between form and function, as the case of arrowheads, which performance is definitely oriented. These armatures, actually portions of a more complex ballistic system, have to hit a long distance target. Our methodological proposal aims at facing the complexity of the productive and transformation processes, considering both the technological and the following functional features and procedures, as the authors already proposed for other contexts. This approach allows as well to avoid possible misinterpretation of the chronological sequence based on "types": to accomplish this attempt herein we propose a different succession for the Holocene leaf shaped arrowheads, based on techno-functional consideration.
Caratteri tecno-tipologici e aspetti funzionali delle industrie scheggiate dell'Eneolitico precampaniforme in Italia centrale : riflessioni e problemi, 2011
The study has been carried out with an integrated methodological approach. The research has been ... more The study has been carried out with an integrated methodological approach. The research has been applied either to settlements, funerary sites/contexts and flak¬ing workshops. The original study of leaf-shaped arrowhead from two Tuscan caves (Spinosa, GR, and Tana della Volpe, MS) has been the basis for developing a more general reflexion on the functional meaning of these lithic assemblages. As it concerns flaking workshops, recent discoveries shed a new light on a large number of sites defined in the past as “campignani”; many of these sites can be nowadays identified as workshops devoted to the production of leaf-shaped arrowheads. In a comparative perspective to deal with data based on an adequate interpretative framework it would be necessary, according to the Authors, a critical revision based on technological and functional analyses of the old concept of “Campignano”, including the assemblages from the Gargano area
A selection of five ground stones from Pontic Steppe sites dating back to the Early Upper Palaeol... more A selection of five ground stones from Pontic Steppe sites dating back to the Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) was used as test-cases to be analysed by combining wear-traces and use-related biogenic residues (U-RBR). The artifacts studied can be termed “legacy” objects, excavated even many decades ago and kept in museum storage facilities. This type of storage might be considered putatively prone to contamination. The multidimensional contextual approach we designed integrates the structural analysis of biogenic residues by means of visual light optical and electronic beams microscopy (OM/VLM and SEM) coupled with FTIR microspectroscopy and imaging (using both conventional and synchrotron infrared sources). SEM and FTIR are meant to provide high resolution morphological and chemical profiles and their coupled analysis revealed the presence of starch grains from the used areas of the stone tools. The goal of this paper is to present a reasoned streamlined procedure to collect appropriate samples suitable to detect the presence of ancient starches from ground stones tools recovered in museum collections.
2016 22nd International Conference on Virtual System & Multimedia (VSMM), 2016
Here I present an integrated methodological approach to the identification and characterization o... more Here I present an integrated methodological approach to the identification and characterization of the function of grinding stones used to process plants in order to get staple food at the dawn of modern humans' colonization of Eurasia. The first achievement is to investigate the ancient dietary habits of humans at a crucial stage of human evolution by reconstructing the old gestures made in the past. The issue of processing plants like USOs (under surface storage organs), fruits and seeds, to get highly energetic staple food might be of interest in seeking for alimentary strategies carried out by Anatomically Modern Humans during their outs of Africa. Analysing the stone tools comes to be one of the direct investigations on behavioural modernity of the new species, with evident positive feedbacks on their nutritional capacity and hence on the demographic performance. A second goal is “bringing to life” almost forgotten museum collections (excavations dates back to the early XX century) by using innovative, non invasive analytical techniques like the potential contribution of 3D investigation, at various levels of detail and resolution, to identify wear-traces (due to utilization) and associated organic residues. The paper is reporting functional analysis demonstrating compound technologies related to the systematic use of grinding stones in order to process plant resources since the Aurignacian (Early Upper Palaeolithic). The reconstruction of old gestures and the related behaviour by means of heritage science approach can contribute to place museum collections under different light. An outcome of the research is to support lines of evidence to track the origins of some of present day diseases of civilization related to food. Investigating the roots of dietary breadth in archaeological remains can help in tracking food changes occurred back in time and let collections playing an actual social role.
Data from many middle Paleolithic sites demonstrate that Neanderthals were able to hunt a wide ra... more Data from many middle Paleolithic sites demonstrate that Neanderthals were able to hunt a wide range of preys and that they could use regular hunting strategies to capture also medium and large - sized animals, perhaps by killing them at a distance. In addition to the evidence of faunistic remains and of the high meat-intake diet observed by biochemical analysis, this assertion is based on the discovery of wooden javelins and thrusting spears in German and English middle Pleistocene sites. More recently scholars’ interest has been on functional interpretation of lithic points of the middle Paleolithic and the middle Stone Age and on their performance if used as spear points. These studies are especially based on morphometric (“ballistic”), residue (presence of adhesives for hafting) and use - wear (mainly impact scars) analyses. This paper focuses on 107 points and general triangular tools from US 8 of the Oscurusciuto rock shelter as part of a wider project on spear point technology related to some lithic assemblages of the middle Paleolithic of Southern italy (Castelcivita Cave and Oscurusciuto Shelter), which has been financed by Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria. The shelter opens on the northern side of a ravine in mesozoic limestone underlying Quaternary calcarenites and has accumulated more than 5 m of deposits, consisting of silty sands with stone artefacts and bone remains. The ongoing excavations began in 1998 and are being carried out by the Department of Environmental Sciences “G. Sarfatti” of the University of Siena, in co-operation with the Archaeological office of Puglia, the city of Ginosa and the local division of legambiente. Artifacts were at first analysed from a technological perspective; six groups (technological categories) have been identified based on different core reduction systems: A) convergent Levallois products; B) unipolar recurrent Levallois products; c) high transformation degree products; D) pseudolevallois blanks obtained from Levallois débitage; E) volume débitage products; F) on - edge débitage products. Some flakes (n. 14) belonging to the first group have features in common: they are unretouched, smaller, shorter and broader, with maximum length at the base. Groups B, c and E contain only deeply retouched tools. Basal thinning is always absent. Further observations underline the presence of two techno functional main groups. The first one can be identified with the A category and it is the only one which produces triangular tools directly during the reduction stage. In the second group the triangular shape is, on the other hand, due to the retouching process and elongated convex and/or concave cutting edges are pursued. The macro wear and micro wear analysis have shown that use - wear traces are on the whole seldom present and broken tips are vary rare and not very characteristic; nevertheless tip fractures are described and taken into account. Other criteria have been considered so we may test whether the US 8 triangular tools (or same of them) could be effective as spear points. These criteria included mass, cross-sectional area (TcSA) and perimeter, tip penetrating angle and length / width ratio
Isemia La Pineta est l'un des plus importants gisements du Pleistocene moyen en Europe. Cet a... more Isemia La Pineta est l'un des plus importants gisements du Pleistocene moyen en Europe. Cet article concerne les resultats du programme experimental compares aux donnees rassemblees pendant l'etude des materiaux archeologiques se rapportant a l'analyse de la matiere premiere, a la technologie lithique, a l'analyse fonctionnelle. En effet le scenario qui est propose par cet article est tres interessant et il suggere une nouvelle et tout a fait differente interpretation des industries lithiques d'Isernia La Pineta qui est analysee non seulement du point de vue morphologique, mais qui est aussi placee dans un contexte ecologique plus complexe, probablement plus proche de la facon de vivre des etres qui coloniserent les premiers l'Europe au cours des debuts du Pleistocene moyen. La reconstitution de la chaine operatoire, du choix de la matiere premiere et de son reperage a la production et a l'emploi des objets lithiques semble etre en mesure de proposer une ...
We present evidence of starch grains from various wild plants on the surfaces of grinding tools a... more We present evidence of starch grains from various wild plants on the surfaces of grinding tools at the sites of Bilancino II (Italy), Kostenki 16-Uglyanka (Russia), and Pavlov VI (Czech Republic). The three sites suggest that vegetal food processing was a common practice in Europe from at least 30,000 years ago.
The background to the Project is set by a number of studies, currently being carried out in the B... more The background to the Project is set by a number of studies, currently being carried out in the Bilancino Gravettian site near Florence by some of the proponents of the project; these have led to the discovery of evidence of vegetable remains on lithic implements/artifacts (Noailles Burins and grindstone). The Project aims to apply new non-destructive techniques for the recovery and the identification of vegetable remains in Palaeolithic sites, in particular, the project focus on tools made from unknapped stone likely to be used in the treatment of plant-substances, such as pestles, grinders, grindstone, hearth-stones, etc. with the aim to acquire new evidence on the importance of the use of plants in the Palaeolithic and gain a better understanding of the economy and the diet of these most ancient humans. The procedure to analyze sediments eventually preserved on utilized pebbles is absolutely not invasive. Amog the numerous pebbles selected from the most important Italian Paleolit...
Acceso de usuarios registrados. Acceso de usuarios registrados Usuario Contraseña. El miércoles, ... more Acceso de usuarios registrados. Acceso de usuarios registrados Usuario Contraseña. El miércoles, 3 de Marzo, Dialnet presentará intermitencias en su disponibilidad por actualización del servicio. La parada comenzará a las ...
Información del artículo Trapezi simmetrici concavi: ricostruzione tecnologica e ipotesi di utili... more Información del artículo Trapezi simmetrici concavi: ricostruzione tecnologica e ipotesi di utilizzo dei complessi del Neolitico antico.
Apart from a few sporadic previous episodes, Italian experimental archaeology only really began i... more Apart from a few sporadic previous episodes, Italian experimental archaeology only really began in the second half of the 1970s with experimentation in the field of stone-working, above all on the line of the Bordes studies. As opposed to twenty years ago, from which period one can cite the scientific and educational activities of Giorgio Chelidonio as among the most important, today the increasing presence of programmes of experimentation conducted by university and research institutes and protection government bodies should be underlined. The two most significant examples are the University of Ferrara as regards stone-working at the early Palaeolithic site of Isernia – La Pineta and various experiences in the field of the stone and pottery industry carried out by the “La Sapienza” University and by the Museo delle Origini in Rome, in some cases specifically integrated within the university teaching programme. Among the experimental activities related to other forms of pre and protohistoric crafts a good example is that conducted by A. M. Bietti Sestrieri on the pottery of the Osteria dell’Osa necropolis in Lazio (BETTI SESTRIERI, PULITANI 1992). In the field of archaeological metallurgy we can cite the experimentation carried by the Italian-German team headed by Jan Cierny and Franco Marzatico, within the context of investigations of protohistoric archaeological metallurgy in Trentino (CIERNY et Alii 1988). In the field of the archaeology of wood the work of Renato Perini from the Archaeological Heritage Office of Trento should be recalled, on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to the working of wood at the Fiavé lake dwelling (Trento 1988). Another important sector is the experimental reconstruction of structures, both dwellings and other constructions, in perishable materials. One of the first examples in Italy is the experimental reconstruction of a hut from the early Neolithic Time (CALEGARI et Alii 1990) and the archaeological investigation of its remains following collapse (CALEGARI LOKOSEK 1990). Among the experiences in the last decade, an example of reconstruction linked to a specific archaeological context is the reconstruction of an early Iron Age hut at Fidene (Bietti Sestieri excavations: MERLO 1992). To move on to the diffusion of scientific information linked to experimentation, an important field, currently particularly in vogue, is the archaeological park. Among the projects undertaken above all in the 1990s, within which archaeological experimentation for educational purposes represented one of the main services offered to users, we cite two examples which are to a certain extent representative: the experience at Darfo-Boario Terme in Valcamonica (the “Archaeodromo” and “Archaeopark” ) which can be classified within the context of thematic-parks and which come closer to similar experiences in central and northern Europe inspired by so-called “living history”, and the parks in the Val di Cornia (S. Silvestro and Populonia), which are archaeological parks in the true sense of the word, as they are directly linked to the exploitation of important archaeological areas. In an attempt to comment on this brief summary of the history of Italian experimental archaeology, we can propose some ideas of a general nature. As regards the definition and position of experimental archaeology we recall and agree with what has already been expressed in an Italian work in 1990 (BONDIOLI et Alii 1990): an experimental approach is recognised in research which isolates limited groups of variables and subjects them to high levels of control as regards the phases of production, formation and transformation of the archaeological deposit, with the aim of drawing an interpretation and productive models useful for the study of archaeological deposits themselves. Some of the most urgent tasks of Italian experimental archaeology are: the establishment of a well-defined and controllable database, the search for appropriate institutional spaces and the diffusion of research. Another important question regards the application of experimental archaeology to the diffusion of information. This must be firmly anchored to the knowledge acquired, limited “integrative” intervention to an indispensable minimum consider its main goal as the enhancement of the archaeological heritage. Finally, it is to be hoped that the government bodies responsible for the protection of the archaeological heritage will come into action and express precise evaluations as regards experimental archaeological activities. This is necessary in order to avoid, for example, thematic-parks which are broadly based on archaeology becoming more important in terms of tourism exploitation than the archaeological heritage itself, possibly with the result of diverting the investment necessary to make the most of the archaeological remains in terms of museums and the environment in an appropriate manner.
Dietary adaptation is the acquisition of an efficient system to digest food available in an ecosy... more Dietary adaptation is the acquisition of an efficient system to digest food available in an ecosystem. To find the genetic basis for human dietary adaptation, we searched 16 genomes from Neandertal, Denisovan and Early Sapiens for food digestion genes that tend to have more or fewer copies than the modern human reference genome. Here, we identify 11 genes, including three gene clusters, with discernible copy number variation trends at the population level. The genomic variation shows how metabolic pathways for lipid, brown fat, protein or carbohydrate metabolism adapt to metabolize food from animal or plant sources. Interpreting the copy number profiles in relation to fossil evidence shows that Homo sapiens had an evolutionary advantage compared to Neandertal and Denisovan in adapting to cold and temperate ecosystems.
Recent advances in the role played by dietary carbohydrates in human food webs during the Palaeol... more Recent advances in the role played by dietary carbohydrates in human food webs during the Palaeolithic highlight that starchy foods were part of the diet well before crop domestication. Although certain plants can be eaten raw, intentional processing such as mechanical reduction using stone tools and thermal treatment readily increases the assimilation of nutrients for metabolic functions and for storing. We present a multi-techniques approach designed to combine micro to nanoscale analyses applied to percussive stones to identify their function using micro-wear traces and use-related biogenic residues. The starch grains extracted from functionally active areas of the ground stone tools were scanned using optical microscopy (OM) down to the nanoscale (SEM) and by applying different spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques like FTIR, ToF-SIMS, and IRMS. The combined analyses carried out at different resolutions – morpho-structural and molecular levels – contribute to an unprecedented methodological refinement regarding the intentional processing of starch- rich plants as early as 40,000 years ago at the boreal latitudes. Our preliminary data on pestles and grinding stones from Early Upper Palaeolithic sites of the Pontic steppe (Moldova and Russia) show the suitability of the analytical techniques involved and also the difficulties encountered in detailing authentication procedures of ancient starch candidates.
The Past of Humankind as seen by the Petersburg Archaeologists at the Dawn of the Millenium (to the Centennial of the Russian Academic Archaeology), 2019
Коллективная монография является результатом трудов ведущих ученых Института истории материальной... more Коллективная монография является результатом трудов ведущих ученых Института истории материальной культуры РАН, отражающих основные результаты археологических исследований за прошедшее десятилетие. Она состоит из четырех глав. Серия статей первой из глав посвящена проблемам первоначального заселения территории нашей страны, что связано с новейшими археологическими открытиями на Кавказе, Таманском полуост рове, в Крыму, а также в Арктике. Вторая глава охватывает широкий хронологический диапазонот позднего каменного века до культур древних кочевников (сюнну). Важные проблемы изучения античной культуры Северного Причерноморья раскрыты в третьей главе на материалах раскопок на Таманском полуострове. Одна из статей посвящена участию ученых ИИМК РАН в изучении Пальмиры (Сирийская республика). Статьи, включенные в последнюю главу, характеризуют итоги археологического изучения Северо-Западной Руси, прежде всего двух важнейших городских центров этого региона-Старой Ладоги и Рюрикова городища. Издание рассчитано на археологов и историков.
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