Il sito protostorico di Trebbio è costituito da un vasto complesso insediativo ubicato a 3 km a S... more Il sito protostorico di Trebbio è costituito da un vasto complesso insediativo ubicato a 3 km a S-SW di Sansepolcro, nella piana alluvionale sulla sinistra idrografica del Tevere, ad una quota di circa 300 metri s.l.m., alla confluenza del fiume con l'Afra ( ). L'abitato è stato rinvenuto nel 1990 nel corso di ricerche topografiche condotte dall'Università di Siena, dalla Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana e dal Gruppo Ricerche Archeologiche di Sansepolcro, cui sono seguiti nel 1997 alcuni sondaggi nelle località di Mulinaccio, Fondaccio e Commenda 1 . A partire dal 2000, e dal 2007 anche in collaborazione con l'Università di Napoli -Federico II, si sono susseguiti alcuni interventi di scavo stratigrafico nella località Spinellina 2 . In base ai dati di superficie e stratigrafici si è potuta circoscrivere preliminarmente la cronologia dell'insediamento, compresa grosso modo fra l'VIII e la prima metà del VI secolo a.C.
This research aims at delineating the dietary practices in Central Italy during the Bronze Age. T... more This research aims at delineating the dietary practices in Central Italy during the Bronze Age. The study of food choices is a mean for investigating palaeoenvironmental agricultural and economic activities and social relationships, which have been little explored until now in Italy from this specific perspective. Recent researches have showed that the Middle Bronze Age is a crucial period of dietary changes in Italy. Following these first observations, we studied three Bronze Age sites in Tuscany and Latium: Grotta dello Scoglietto, Grotta Misa and Felcetone. Analyses of stable carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes on 38 human and 22 animal collagen samples were performed. The results show three different dietary patterns. Data from Grotta dello Scoglietto (Early Bronze Age) indicate a high-protein intake, with a probable consumption of fish. Additionally, sulphur results let us infer the presence of some non-local people. Individuals from Felcetone (Initial phase of the Middle Bronze Age) show a terrestrial diet dominated by plant proteins, which suggests a low δ 15 N food intake, namely legumes, as well as C 4 plant, such as millet. Finally, values from Grotta Misa (Middle Bronze Age) highlight a mixed terrestrial diet and the consumption of millet. Given the variety of the obtained results, we are able to conclude that the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age represents a moment of change, which is reflected by the presence of different dietary patterns.
Les auteurs analysent une catégorie de pièces, connue sous le nom de "Burin des Vachons", dont la... more Les auteurs analysent une catégorie de pièces, connue sous le nom de "Burin des Vachons", dont la fréquence caractérise, en Italie, les deux sites aurignaciens de S. Cassiano (Arezzo) et Caruso (Foggia). Les aspects typométriques, technologiques et typologiques soulignent la grande standardisation morphologique de ces objets, qui sont généralement interprétés comme nucléus sur éclat dévolus à la fabrication de lamelles. Néanmoins, la recherche tracéologique, bien que tout à fait préliminaire, suggère une fonction de ces pièces comme outils aussi, et notamment comme burins comme le démontre la présence de traces d'utilisation sur les biseaux.
The paper reports the results of a geomorphologic and stratigraphic study of the NW portion of th... more The paper reports the results of a geomorphologic and stratigraphic study of the NW portion of the Upper Tiber Basin (Central
Italy), and focuses on the terraced alluvial deposits which are grouped into late Middle-Upper Pleistocene (MUP) and Holocene
(HOL) units. The drainage development in the basin was deeply influenced by an active tectonic setting characterized by orthogonal fault
systems, which forced river deviations and attracted alluvial deposition in the subsiding portions of the basin. The occupation of this intermountain
territory by ancient human communities is recorded by late Prehistoric-Protohistoric archaeological findings collected within
or on the surfaces delimiting these units. This archaeological dataset allowed an indicative dating of the major stages of the fluvial evolution
between the end of the middle Pleistocene and the late Holocene. The chronological constraint indicates that the morphostratigraphic
events recorded in the MUP and HOL units, have reasonably occurred within the two last glacial-interglacial cycles. Rapid
climate changes, affecting the surface hydrology and the sediment supply to the river systems, and the active tectonic setting, thus, may
account for the gaps in the local archaeological record, including most of the late Paleolithic, the Mesolithic and the early Neolithic. Late
Pleistocene and the early Holocene stages of relevant alluvial deposition in a subsiding basin may have
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 flaking 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.
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.
In Central-Southern Italy, several cave sites yielded deposits dating back to MIS3, containing a ... more In Central-Southern Italy, several cave sites yielded deposits dating back to MIS3, containing a Mousterian/Uluzzian/Proto-Aurignacian sequence. Changes within these sequences are synthetically examined on the basis of the main stratified sites. Subsistence strategies, raw material procurement, territory exploitation, production and behavioural activities and migratory movements are discussed. The Uluzzians can be considered, in many respects, economically and behaviourally closer to the Proto-Aurignacians than to the Mousterians. This pattern fully agrees with the recent attribution to AMH of two deciduous teeth from the Uluzzian layers of Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce, Southern Italy). Such a new insight directly involves the problem of the origin of the Uluzzian techno-complex. By integrating archaeological, genetic and demographic data, the hypothesis of dispersal from an East African source into Europe, through the so-called Southern route, is proposed. As for Southern Italy, the available data indicate that relationships between the indigenous Neandertals and the newcomers were most probably sporadic, given the possibly low demographic density of these populations and the limited time span of co-existence.
Il sito protostorico di Trebbio è costituito da un vasto complesso insediativo ubicato a 3 km a S... more Il sito protostorico di Trebbio è costituito da un vasto complesso insediativo ubicato a 3 km a S-SW di Sansepolcro, nella piana alluvionale sulla sinistra idrografica del Tevere, ad una quota di circa 300 metri s.l.m., alla confluenza del fiume con l'Afra ( ). L'abitato è stato rinvenuto nel 1990 nel corso di ricerche topografiche condotte dall'Università di Siena, dalla Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana e dal Gruppo Ricerche Archeologiche di Sansepolcro, cui sono seguiti nel 1997 alcuni sondaggi nelle località di Mulinaccio, Fondaccio e Commenda 1 . A partire dal 2000, e dal 2007 anche in collaborazione con l'Università di Napoli -Federico II, si sono susseguiti alcuni interventi di scavo stratigrafico nella località Spinellina 2 . In base ai dati di superficie e stratigrafici si è potuta circoscrivere preliminarmente la cronologia dell'insediamento, compresa grosso modo fra l'VIII e la prima metà del VI secolo a.C.
The study of macromammal remains from two holocenic sites,
Gorgo del Ciliegio and Trebbio, locate... more The study of macromammal remains from two holocenic sites, Gorgo del Ciliegio and Trebbio, located in the Upper Tiber Valley is presented. These sites, even though situated in the same geographical area, are featured by very different economic and settlement patterns. The Middle Bronze Age settlement of Gorgodel Ciliegio is located on the left bank of the Afra stream, a tributary of the Tiber river, on an alluvial terrace 400 m above sea level. The Afra valley is a narrow valley wedged in between the Apennines. Investigations carried out at t his site produced a number of meaningful data which testify the occurrence of a small inhabited area, composed of a single wide dwelling and other additional structures, which could be interpreted as a sort of Ularge farm". Macromammals remains be long mainly to domestic species, principally ovi-caprines, and, to a less extent, to wild species. The Iron Age site of Trebbio, situated in the Tiber floodplain, is a vast settlement occupying about 20 hectares, whose extent is a clear evidence of the intensive human occupation. At Trebbio wild species are very scarcely represented and pig is the predominant taxon. Integrated results of zooarchaeological, geomorphological, palaeobotanical and cult ural analyses have provided new insights about socio-economic cha nges and settlement strategies occurred in a region where human occupation was strongly influenced by fast modifications of the landscape.
Il sito protostorico di Trebbio è costituito da un vasto complesso insediativo ubicato a 3 km a S... more Il sito protostorico di Trebbio è costituito da un vasto complesso insediativo ubicato a 3 km a S-SW di Sansepolcro, nella piana alluvionale sulla sinistra idrografica del Tevere, ad una quota di circa 300 metri s.l.m., alla confluenza del fiume con l'Afra ( ). L'abitato è stato rinvenuto nel 1990 nel corso di ricerche topografiche condotte dall'Università di Siena, dalla Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana e dal Gruppo Ricerche Archeologiche di Sansepolcro, cui sono seguiti nel 1997 alcuni sondaggi nelle località di Mulinaccio, Fondaccio e Commenda 1 . A partire dal 2000, e dal 2007 anche in collaborazione con l'Università di Napoli -Federico II, si sono susseguiti alcuni interventi di scavo stratigrafico nella località Spinellina 2 . In base ai dati di superficie e stratigrafici si è potuta circoscrivere preliminarmente la cronologia dell'insediamento, compresa grosso modo fra l'VIII e la prima metà del VI secolo a.C.
This research aims at delineating the dietary practices in Central Italy during the Bronze Age. T... more This research aims at delineating the dietary practices in Central Italy during the Bronze Age. The study of food choices is a mean for investigating palaeoenvironmental agricultural and economic activities and social relationships, which have been little explored until now in Italy from this specific perspective. Recent researches have showed that the Middle Bronze Age is a crucial period of dietary changes in Italy. Following these first observations, we studied three Bronze Age sites in Tuscany and Latium: Grotta dello Scoglietto, Grotta Misa and Felcetone. Analyses of stable carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotopes on 38 human and 22 animal collagen samples were performed. The results show three different dietary patterns. Data from Grotta dello Scoglietto (Early Bronze Age) indicate a high-protein intake, with a probable consumption of fish. Additionally, sulphur results let us infer the presence of some non-local people. Individuals from Felcetone (Initial phase of the Middle Bronze Age) show a terrestrial diet dominated by plant proteins, which suggests a low δ 15 N food intake, namely legumes, as well as C 4 plant, such as millet. Finally, values from Grotta Misa (Middle Bronze Age) highlight a mixed terrestrial diet and the consumption of millet. Given the variety of the obtained results, we are able to conclude that the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age represents a moment of change, which is reflected by the presence of different dietary patterns.
Les auteurs analysent une catégorie de pièces, connue sous le nom de "Burin des Vachons", dont la... more Les auteurs analysent une catégorie de pièces, connue sous le nom de "Burin des Vachons", dont la fréquence caractérise, en Italie, les deux sites aurignaciens de S. Cassiano (Arezzo) et Caruso (Foggia). Les aspects typométriques, technologiques et typologiques soulignent la grande standardisation morphologique de ces objets, qui sont généralement interprétés comme nucléus sur éclat dévolus à la fabrication de lamelles. Néanmoins, la recherche tracéologique, bien que tout à fait préliminaire, suggère une fonction de ces pièces comme outils aussi, et notamment comme burins comme le démontre la présence de traces d'utilisation sur les biseaux.
The paper reports the results of a geomorphologic and stratigraphic study of the NW portion of th... more The paper reports the results of a geomorphologic and stratigraphic study of the NW portion of the Upper Tiber Basin (Central
Italy), and focuses on the terraced alluvial deposits which are grouped into late Middle-Upper Pleistocene (MUP) and Holocene
(HOL) units. The drainage development in the basin was deeply influenced by an active tectonic setting characterized by orthogonal fault
systems, which forced river deviations and attracted alluvial deposition in the subsiding portions of the basin. The occupation of this intermountain
territory by ancient human communities is recorded by late Prehistoric-Protohistoric archaeological findings collected within
or on the surfaces delimiting these units. This archaeological dataset allowed an indicative dating of the major stages of the fluvial evolution
between the end of the middle Pleistocene and the late Holocene. The chronological constraint indicates that the morphostratigraphic
events recorded in the MUP and HOL units, have reasonably occurred within the two last glacial-interglacial cycles. Rapid
climate changes, affecting the surface hydrology and the sediment supply to the river systems, and the active tectonic setting, thus, may
account for the gaps in the local archaeological record, including most of the late Paleolithic, the Mesolithic and the early Neolithic. Late
Pleistocene and the early Holocene stages of relevant alluvial deposition in a subsiding basin may have
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 flaking 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.
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.
In Central-Southern Italy, several cave sites yielded deposits dating back to MIS3, containing a ... more In Central-Southern Italy, several cave sites yielded deposits dating back to MIS3, containing a Mousterian/Uluzzian/Proto-Aurignacian sequence. Changes within these sequences are synthetically examined on the basis of the main stratified sites. Subsistence strategies, raw material procurement, territory exploitation, production and behavioural activities and migratory movements are discussed. The Uluzzians can be considered, in many respects, economically and behaviourally closer to the Proto-Aurignacians than to the Mousterians. This pattern fully agrees with the recent attribution to AMH of two deciduous teeth from the Uluzzian layers of Grotta del Cavallo (Lecce, Southern Italy). Such a new insight directly involves the problem of the origin of the Uluzzian techno-complex. By integrating archaeological, genetic and demographic data, the hypothesis of dispersal from an East African source into Europe, through the so-called Southern route, is proposed. As for Southern Italy, the available data indicate that relationships between the indigenous Neandertals and the newcomers were most probably sporadic, given the possibly low demographic density of these populations and the limited time span of co-existence.
Il sito protostorico di Trebbio è costituito da un vasto complesso insediativo ubicato a 3 km a S... more Il sito protostorico di Trebbio è costituito da un vasto complesso insediativo ubicato a 3 km a S-SW di Sansepolcro, nella piana alluvionale sulla sinistra idrografica del Tevere, ad una quota di circa 300 metri s.l.m., alla confluenza del fiume con l'Afra ( ). L'abitato è stato rinvenuto nel 1990 nel corso di ricerche topografiche condotte dall'Università di Siena, dalla Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana e dal Gruppo Ricerche Archeologiche di Sansepolcro, cui sono seguiti nel 1997 alcuni sondaggi nelle località di Mulinaccio, Fondaccio e Commenda 1 . A partire dal 2000, e dal 2007 anche in collaborazione con l'Università di Napoli -Federico II, si sono susseguiti alcuni interventi di scavo stratigrafico nella località Spinellina 2 . In base ai dati di superficie e stratigrafici si è potuta circoscrivere preliminarmente la cronologia dell'insediamento, compresa grosso modo fra l'VIII e la prima metà del VI secolo a.C.
The study of macromammal remains from two holocenic sites,
Gorgo del Ciliegio and Trebbio, locate... more The study of macromammal remains from two holocenic sites, Gorgo del Ciliegio and Trebbio, located in the Upper Tiber Valley is presented. These sites, even though situated in the same geographical area, are featured by very different economic and settlement patterns. The Middle Bronze Age settlement of Gorgodel Ciliegio is located on the left bank of the Afra stream, a tributary of the Tiber river, on an alluvial terrace 400 m above sea level. The Afra valley is a narrow valley wedged in between the Apennines. Investigations carried out at t his site produced a number of meaningful data which testify the occurrence of a small inhabited area, composed of a single wide dwelling and other additional structures, which could be interpreted as a sort of Ularge farm". Macromammals remains be long mainly to domestic species, principally ovi-caprines, and, to a less extent, to wild species. The Iron Age site of Trebbio, situated in the Tiber floodplain, is a vast settlement occupying about 20 hectares, whose extent is a clear evidence of the intensive human occupation. At Trebbio wild species are very scarcely represented and pig is the predominant taxon. Integrated results of zooarchaeological, geomorphological, palaeobotanical and cult ural analyses have provided new insights about socio-economic cha nges and settlement strategies occurred in a region where human occupation was strongly influenced by fast modifications of the landscape.
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Papers by Adriana Moroni
Italy), and focuses on the terraced alluvial deposits which are grouped into late Middle-Upper Pleistocene (MUP) and Holocene
(HOL) units. The drainage development in the basin was deeply influenced by an active tectonic setting characterized by orthogonal fault
systems, which forced river deviations and attracted alluvial deposition in the subsiding portions of the basin. The occupation of this intermountain
territory by ancient human communities is recorded by late Prehistoric-Protohistoric archaeological findings collected within
or on the surfaces delimiting these units. This archaeological dataset allowed an indicative dating of the major stages of the fluvial evolution
between the end of the middle Pleistocene and the late Holocene. The chronological constraint indicates that the morphostratigraphic
events recorded in the MUP and HOL units, have reasonably occurred within the two last glacial-interglacial cycles. Rapid
climate changes, affecting the surface hydrology and the sediment supply to the river systems, and the active tectonic setting, thus, may
account for the gaps in the local archaeological record, including most of the late Paleolithic, the Mesolithic and the early Neolithic. Late
Pleistocene and the early Holocene stages of relevant alluvial deposition in a subsiding basin may have
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.
Drafts by Adriana Moroni
Gorgo del Ciliegio and Trebbio, located in the Upper Tiber Valley is presented. These sites, even though situated in the same geographical area, are featured by very different economic and settlement patterns. The Middle Bronze Age settlement of Gorgodel Ciliegio is located on the left bank of the Afra stream, a tributary of the Tiber river, on an alluvial terrace 400 m above sea level. The Afra valley is a narrow valley wedged in between the Apennines.
Investigations carried out at t his site produced a number of
meaningful data which testify the occurrence of a small inhabited area, composed of a single wide dwelling and other additional structures, which could be interpreted as a sort of Ularge farm". Macromammals remains be long mainly to domestic species, principally ovi-caprines, and, to a less extent, to wild species. The Iron Age site of Trebbio, situated in the Tiber floodplain, is a vast settlement occupying about 20 hectares, whose extent is a clear evidence of the intensive human occupation. At Trebbio wild species are very scarcely represented and pig is the predominant taxon. Integrated results of zooarchaeological, geomorphological, palaeobotanical and cult ural analyses have provided new insights about socio-economic cha nges and settlement strategies occurred in a region where human occupation was strongly influenced by fast modifications of the landscape.
Italy), and focuses on the terraced alluvial deposits which are grouped into late Middle-Upper Pleistocene (MUP) and Holocene
(HOL) units. The drainage development in the basin was deeply influenced by an active tectonic setting characterized by orthogonal fault
systems, which forced river deviations and attracted alluvial deposition in the subsiding portions of the basin. The occupation of this intermountain
territory by ancient human communities is recorded by late Prehistoric-Protohistoric archaeological findings collected within
or on the surfaces delimiting these units. This archaeological dataset allowed an indicative dating of the major stages of the fluvial evolution
between the end of the middle Pleistocene and the late Holocene. The chronological constraint indicates that the morphostratigraphic
events recorded in the MUP and HOL units, have reasonably occurred within the two last glacial-interglacial cycles. Rapid
climate changes, affecting the surface hydrology and the sediment supply to the river systems, and the active tectonic setting, thus, may
account for the gaps in the local archaeological record, including most of the late Paleolithic, the Mesolithic and the early Neolithic. Late
Pleistocene and the early Holocene stages of relevant alluvial deposition in a subsiding basin may have
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.
Gorgo del Ciliegio and Trebbio, located in the Upper Tiber Valley is presented. These sites, even though situated in the same geographical area, are featured by very different economic and settlement patterns. The Middle Bronze Age settlement of Gorgodel Ciliegio is located on the left bank of the Afra stream, a tributary of the Tiber river, on an alluvial terrace 400 m above sea level. The Afra valley is a narrow valley wedged in between the Apennines.
Investigations carried out at t his site produced a number of
meaningful data which testify the occurrence of a small inhabited area, composed of a single wide dwelling and other additional structures, which could be interpreted as a sort of Ularge farm". Macromammals remains be long mainly to domestic species, principally ovi-caprines, and, to a less extent, to wild species. The Iron Age site of Trebbio, situated in the Tiber floodplain, is a vast settlement occupying about 20 hectares, whose extent is a clear evidence of the intensive human occupation. At Trebbio wild species are very scarcely represented and pig is the predominant taxon. Integrated results of zooarchaeological, geomorphological, palaeobotanical and cult ural analyses have provided new insights about socio-economic cha nges and settlement strategies occurred in a region where human occupation was strongly influenced by fast modifications of the landscape.