Istituto italiano di preistoria e protostoria ; Soprintendenza per i beni archeologici del Veneto : Università degli studi di Padova, 2015
SUMMARY - Castelnuovo di Teolo (Padova), exc avations 2011. The archaeobotanical and archaeozoolo... more SUMMARY - Castelnuovo di Teolo (Padova), exc avations 2011. The archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data - In 2011 a short excavation campaign carried out at the base of the eastern slope of Mount Pendice at Castelnuovo di Teolo allowed to recover a small but significant sample of archaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains. The study of material culture allowed to date the archaeological deposits to the Late Neolithic. The paleobotanical sample consists of 302 burned seeds of cereals (naked and clothes), legumes and fruits of wild plants. The animal remains so far analyzed are 3800; 319 of them are determined at the taxonomic level. The most common domestic animals are the cattle and ovicaprines, followed by pigs. An important part of food resources being represented by wild animals like wild boars, red deer, roe deer and aurochs. Moreover some fragments of fish and turtles could also be found at the site. Theheterogeneity of botanical and faunal remains have demonstrated a rather varied diet of the visitors of this site.
Nonostante la sempre piu vasta applicazione di metodi quantitativi ad alta risoluzione in campo t... more Nonostante la sempre piu vasta applicazione di metodi quantitativi ad alta risoluzione in campo tafonomico, sono pochi gli studi incentrati sul riconoscimento di impatti di proiettile su resti faunistici. Per questo motivo, in un precedente lavoro abbiamo esplorato la potenzialita della microscopia 3D nella distinzione di lesioni ossee dovute ad impatti balistici da altre tracce tafonomiche, sviluppando un metodo diagnostico di ampio utilizzo basato su dati sperimentali e incentrato su proiettili tardo epigravettiani (Duches et alii 2016). Nonostante sia stato possibile confermare la validita di questo metodo su resti archeozoologici appartenenti a mammiferi di media taglia (Nannini et alii submitted), l’affidabilita del campione sperimentale in rapporto ad animali di piccola taglia necessitava ulteriori verifiche: la dimensione e lo spessore delle ossa, infatti, potevano condizionare la resistenza delle ossa all’impatto, influenzando la morfometria degli impatti e la rappresentativ...
Riassunto - La localita Col del Buson e ubicata sulla destra idrografica dell’Ardo, torrente prea... more Riassunto - La localita Col del Buson e ubicata sulla destra idrografica dell’Ardo, torrente prealpino affluente del Piave. L’insediamento frequentato dal tardo Neolitico a tutta l’eta del Rame occupa la parte sommitale di un rilievo roccioso (m 715 slm), che e caratterizzato da due creste contrapposte e da una depressione centrale di origine naturale. Indagini archeologiche pluriennali hanno consentito di accertarne la natura d’insediamento permanente o quantomeno a lungo ciclo stagionale (primavera-autunno). L’analisi faunistica, fondata su circa 800 reperti determinati provenienti dagli strati dell’eta del Rame, tende ad indicare un quadro abbastanza tipico delle faune eneolitiche, momento in cui l’approvvigionamento di carne non si basa piu prevalentemente sulla caccia ma puo contare in misura crescente sull’apporto delle faune domestiche. Gli animali d’allevamento, in prevalenza buoi e caprovini, costituiscono l’85% dell’intero lotto mentre i selvatici sono dominati dal cervo, ...
Abstract Recent advances in the functional study of stone technology have highlighted how, since ... more Abstract Recent advances in the functional study of stone technology have highlighted how, since the early Paleolithic, non-flaked stone tools were employed in a wide range of tasks, from food processing to craft activities. Non-flaked tools are documented within the stone assemblages of various Mesolithic sites of Italy. However, these tools are still poorly known and no analysis was ever conducted for investigating their use. In this study, we present the results of the functional study performed on Mesolithic non-flaked stone artefacts from Pradestel and Romagnano Loc III, two sites located in the Adige Valley of the Eastern Alpine region of Italy. This area yielded some of the best-known Mesolithic record in Europe, and significant evidence of forager lifeways between the second half of the 10th millennium cal BC and the beginning of the 6th millennium cal BC. Through the application of qualitative and quantitative functional analyses we were able to interpret residues and use wear from the processing of plant and animal materials, finally assessing the activities performed with non-flaked stones at both sites. Our data provide the first direct evidence of the role played by little modified pebbles in the daily life of the Mesolithic foragers of the Italian Eastern Alpine region, so far assumed only through indirect evidence.
The role of small game in prehistoric hunter-gatherer economy is a highly debated topic. Despite ... more The role of small game in prehistoric hunter-gatherer economy is a highly debated topic. Despite the general assumption that this practice was uneconomic, several studies have underlined the relevance of the circumstance of capture – in terms of hunting strategies and technology – in the evaluation of the actual role of small mammals in human foraging efficiency. Since very few studies have focused on the recognition of bone hunting lesions, in a previous work we explored the potential of 3D microscopy in distinguishing projectile impact marks from other taphonomic marks, developing a widely-applicable diagnostic framework based on experimental data and focused on Late Epigravettian projectiles. Even though we confirmed the validity of the method on zooarchaeological remains of large-sized mammals, the reliability of the experimental record in relation to smaller animals needed more testing and verification. In this report we thus present the data acquired through a new ballistic ex...
- ALEX FONTANA, STEFANO MARCONI & UMBERTO TECCHIATI - The faunal remains from the Early Bronze Ag... more - ALEX FONTANA, STEFANO MARCONI & UMBERTO TECCHIATI - The faunal remains from the Early Bronze Age site of «Grotte di Castel Corno» (Isera - TN). The site of «Castel Corno» (Isera, Trento) is located on the right side of the Adige river, in the surroundings of ...
MUSE Museo delle Scienze (MUSE) – Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, IT 38123, Trento, Italie Un... more MUSE Museo delle Scienze (MUSE) – Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, IT 38123, Trento, Italie Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche – Corso Ercole I d’ Este 32, IT 44121, Ferrara, Italie Università degli Studi di Siena, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia – Via Laterina 8, IT 53100, Siena, Italie University of Bologna, Department of Cultural Heritage – Via degli Ariani 1, 48121 Ravenna, Italie
The site of “Castel Corno” (Isera, Trento) is located on the right side of the Adige river, in th... more The site of “Castel Corno” (Isera, Trento) is located on the right side of the Adige river, in the surroundings of Rovereto, and stretches over the slopes of the Biaena mountain (850 meters a.s.l.). The site, dating to the Late Bronze Age, shows a peculiar importance in terms of settlement and paleoeconomic strategies.
Archaeological finds have been recovered in the hollows shaped by the rocks of an ancient landslip. In one of these “caves” two burial mounds (with three individuals) have been found.
The research, carried over on approximately 8000 animal bones, is part of a widespread project centred on the Vallagarina area and includes archeozoological studies of faunal remains from “Pizzini di Castellano” and “Colombo di Mori”. The proposed analysis adds information on the economy, environment, material culture and, in general, on the settlement strategies occurred in this area during the Late Bronze Age.
Contrary to the generalised scarcity of pigs in Trentino-South Tyrol during the Bronze Age, it is worthy to underline that this animal group is highly represented at Castel Corno.
Il presente contributo illustra i risultati delle ricerche archeologiche svolte negli anni 2005 e... more Il presente contributo illustra i risultati delle ricerche archeologiche svolte negli anni 2005 e 2008 a Ortisei, Cjamp da Mauritz (Hotel Adler, Hotel Regina), Via Roma e Col de Flam. I primi due siti si configurano come porzioni di un vasto abitato che si sviluppò sugli aprichi pendii alle falde del Col de Flam fra il IV e il II sec. a.C., mentre il terzo rappresenta un luogo di culto funebre caratterizzato da una notevole complessità rituale, contemporaneo ai primi due e ad essi funzionalmente collegato. Il lavoro illustra le vicende stratigrafiche e strutturali dell’abitato, anche alla luce degli eventi di degrado e dissesto del versante, proponendone una suddivisione in fasi e una prima presentazione dei risultati dell’indagine multidisciplinare sui reperti di cultura materiale e sui resti faunistici. Del luogo di culto sono proposte alcune linee interpretative circa la formazione dei bassi tumuli che lo dovevano caratterizzare al momento dell’uso, di cui sono indagati, oltre ai resti materiali, i reperti scheletrici animali e umani calcinati in essi rinvenuti. Le indagini microscopiche sui medesimi sono tra i primi esempi di questo tipo di ricerca su scala regionale. Il significato reciprocamente funzionale dei siti, è interpretato infine alla luce delle dinamiche, forse a carattere ripetutamente stagionale, che presiedettero a livello locale alla formazione di sistemi insediativi e di sfruttamento del territorio nella protostoria.
Istituto italiano di preistoria e protostoria ; Soprintendenza per i beni archeologici del Veneto : Università degli studi di Padova, 2015
SUMMARY - Castelnuovo di Teolo (Padova), exc avations 2011. The archaeobotanical and archaeozoolo... more SUMMARY - Castelnuovo di Teolo (Padova), exc avations 2011. The archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data - In 2011 a short excavation campaign carried out at the base of the eastern slope of Mount Pendice at Castelnuovo di Teolo allowed to recover a small but significant sample of archaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains. The study of material culture allowed to date the archaeological deposits to the Late Neolithic. The paleobotanical sample consists of 302 burned seeds of cereals (naked and clothes), legumes and fruits of wild plants. The animal remains so far analyzed are 3800; 319 of them are determined at the taxonomic level. The most common domestic animals are the cattle and ovicaprines, followed by pigs. An important part of food resources being represented by wild animals like wild boars, red deer, roe deer and aurochs. Moreover some fragments of fish and turtles could also be found at the site. Theheterogeneity of botanical and faunal remains have demonstrated a rather varied diet of the visitors of this site.
Nonostante la sempre piu vasta applicazione di metodi quantitativi ad alta risoluzione in campo t... more Nonostante la sempre piu vasta applicazione di metodi quantitativi ad alta risoluzione in campo tafonomico, sono pochi gli studi incentrati sul riconoscimento di impatti di proiettile su resti faunistici. Per questo motivo, in un precedente lavoro abbiamo esplorato la potenzialita della microscopia 3D nella distinzione di lesioni ossee dovute ad impatti balistici da altre tracce tafonomiche, sviluppando un metodo diagnostico di ampio utilizzo basato su dati sperimentali e incentrato su proiettili tardo epigravettiani (Duches et alii 2016). Nonostante sia stato possibile confermare la validita di questo metodo su resti archeozoologici appartenenti a mammiferi di media taglia (Nannini et alii submitted), l’affidabilita del campione sperimentale in rapporto ad animali di piccola taglia necessitava ulteriori verifiche: la dimensione e lo spessore delle ossa, infatti, potevano condizionare la resistenza delle ossa all’impatto, influenzando la morfometria degli impatti e la rappresentativ...
Riassunto - La localita Col del Buson e ubicata sulla destra idrografica dell’Ardo, torrente prea... more Riassunto - La localita Col del Buson e ubicata sulla destra idrografica dell’Ardo, torrente prealpino affluente del Piave. L’insediamento frequentato dal tardo Neolitico a tutta l’eta del Rame occupa la parte sommitale di un rilievo roccioso (m 715 slm), che e caratterizzato da due creste contrapposte e da una depressione centrale di origine naturale. Indagini archeologiche pluriennali hanno consentito di accertarne la natura d’insediamento permanente o quantomeno a lungo ciclo stagionale (primavera-autunno). L’analisi faunistica, fondata su circa 800 reperti determinati provenienti dagli strati dell’eta del Rame, tende ad indicare un quadro abbastanza tipico delle faune eneolitiche, momento in cui l’approvvigionamento di carne non si basa piu prevalentemente sulla caccia ma puo contare in misura crescente sull’apporto delle faune domestiche. Gli animali d’allevamento, in prevalenza buoi e caprovini, costituiscono l’85% dell’intero lotto mentre i selvatici sono dominati dal cervo, ...
Abstract Recent advances in the functional study of stone technology have highlighted how, since ... more Abstract Recent advances in the functional study of stone technology have highlighted how, since the early Paleolithic, non-flaked stone tools were employed in a wide range of tasks, from food processing to craft activities. Non-flaked tools are documented within the stone assemblages of various Mesolithic sites of Italy. However, these tools are still poorly known and no analysis was ever conducted for investigating their use. In this study, we present the results of the functional study performed on Mesolithic non-flaked stone artefacts from Pradestel and Romagnano Loc III, two sites located in the Adige Valley of the Eastern Alpine region of Italy. This area yielded some of the best-known Mesolithic record in Europe, and significant evidence of forager lifeways between the second half of the 10th millennium cal BC and the beginning of the 6th millennium cal BC. Through the application of qualitative and quantitative functional analyses we were able to interpret residues and use wear from the processing of plant and animal materials, finally assessing the activities performed with non-flaked stones at both sites. Our data provide the first direct evidence of the role played by little modified pebbles in the daily life of the Mesolithic foragers of the Italian Eastern Alpine region, so far assumed only through indirect evidence.
The role of small game in prehistoric hunter-gatherer economy is a highly debated topic. Despite ... more The role of small game in prehistoric hunter-gatherer economy is a highly debated topic. Despite the general assumption that this practice was uneconomic, several studies have underlined the relevance of the circumstance of capture – in terms of hunting strategies and technology – in the evaluation of the actual role of small mammals in human foraging efficiency. Since very few studies have focused on the recognition of bone hunting lesions, in a previous work we explored the potential of 3D microscopy in distinguishing projectile impact marks from other taphonomic marks, developing a widely-applicable diagnostic framework based on experimental data and focused on Late Epigravettian projectiles. Even though we confirmed the validity of the method on zooarchaeological remains of large-sized mammals, the reliability of the experimental record in relation to smaller animals needed more testing and verification. In this report we thus present the data acquired through a new ballistic ex...
- ALEX FONTANA, STEFANO MARCONI & UMBERTO TECCHIATI - The faunal remains from the Early Bronze Ag... more - ALEX FONTANA, STEFANO MARCONI & UMBERTO TECCHIATI - The faunal remains from the Early Bronze Age site of «Grotte di Castel Corno» (Isera - TN). The site of «Castel Corno» (Isera, Trento) is located on the right side of the Adige river, in the surroundings of ...
MUSE Museo delle Scienze (MUSE) – Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, IT 38123, Trento, Italie Un... more MUSE Museo delle Scienze (MUSE) – Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, IT 38123, Trento, Italie Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche – Corso Ercole I d’ Este 32, IT 44121, Ferrara, Italie Università degli Studi di Siena, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell’Ambiente, UR Preistoria e Antropologia – Via Laterina 8, IT 53100, Siena, Italie University of Bologna, Department of Cultural Heritage – Via degli Ariani 1, 48121 Ravenna, Italie
The site of “Castel Corno” (Isera, Trento) is located on the right side of the Adige river, in th... more The site of “Castel Corno” (Isera, Trento) is located on the right side of the Adige river, in the surroundings of Rovereto, and stretches over the slopes of the Biaena mountain (850 meters a.s.l.). The site, dating to the Late Bronze Age, shows a peculiar importance in terms of settlement and paleoeconomic strategies.
Archaeological finds have been recovered in the hollows shaped by the rocks of an ancient landslip. In one of these “caves” two burial mounds (with three individuals) have been found.
The research, carried over on approximately 8000 animal bones, is part of a widespread project centred on the Vallagarina area and includes archeozoological studies of faunal remains from “Pizzini di Castellano” and “Colombo di Mori”. The proposed analysis adds information on the economy, environment, material culture and, in general, on the settlement strategies occurred in this area during the Late Bronze Age.
Contrary to the generalised scarcity of pigs in Trentino-South Tyrol during the Bronze Age, it is worthy to underline that this animal group is highly represented at Castel Corno.
Il presente contributo illustra i risultati delle ricerche archeologiche svolte negli anni 2005 e... more Il presente contributo illustra i risultati delle ricerche archeologiche svolte negli anni 2005 e 2008 a Ortisei, Cjamp da Mauritz (Hotel Adler, Hotel Regina), Via Roma e Col de Flam. I primi due siti si configurano come porzioni di un vasto abitato che si sviluppò sugli aprichi pendii alle falde del Col de Flam fra il IV e il II sec. a.C., mentre il terzo rappresenta un luogo di culto funebre caratterizzato da una notevole complessità rituale, contemporaneo ai primi due e ad essi funzionalmente collegato. Il lavoro illustra le vicende stratigrafiche e strutturali dell’abitato, anche alla luce degli eventi di degrado e dissesto del versante, proponendone una suddivisione in fasi e una prima presentazione dei risultati dell’indagine multidisciplinare sui reperti di cultura materiale e sui resti faunistici. Del luogo di culto sono proposte alcune linee interpretative circa la formazione dei bassi tumuli che lo dovevano caratterizzare al momento dell’uso, di cui sono indagati, oltre ai resti materiali, i reperti scheletrici animali e umani calcinati in essi rinvenuti. Le indagini microscopiche sui medesimi sono tra i primi esempi di questo tipo di ricerca su scala regionale. Il significato reciprocamente funzionale dei siti, è interpretato infine alla luce delle dinamiche, forse a carattere ripetutamente stagionale, che presiedettero a livello locale alla formazione di sistemi insediativi e di sfruttamento del territorio nella protostoria.
Forthcoming in V. Nizzo (ed.), Archaeology and Anthropology of Death, Rome 2016
This paper focuses on the significance of the finding of skeletal remains of dogs in an archeolog... more This paper focuses on the significance of the finding of skeletal remains of dogs in an archeological excavation, through the case study of the mixed human/dog cemetery, that was excavated in Via Tommaso Gar (TN) in 2009 by the Soprintendenza per I Beni Archeologici di Trento, under the supervision of the officer Cristina Bassi.
The burial area - dated to III century A.C. on the basis of the grave goods -consisted in 23 human burials (7 adults, 4 infans, 12 individuals who died in perinatal age), and 4 dog burials , all adults dog, disposed beside a long wall, not completely excavated.
In this site there was a clear association between the dog burials and the graves of some individuals died in perinatal age, probably fetuses or stillborn. This fact opens a discussion related to the role of the dogs, whose presence in ritual situations is commonly interpreted as having an archaic expiatory and purifying function, that is well-documented in Mediterranean area.
In particular in this work both archeological, anthropological and archaeozoological analysis contribute to examine - in an interdisciplinary process - the association to animal burials to graves of individuals considered as particular or dangerous in ancient cultures. In the case of the cemetery of Via Tommaso Gar we could appreciate the dog offering as an important grave goods for the little child that venture in the word of spirits, as a companion ad a protector.
But another possible interpretation regards the role of the dogs as guardians, connected to the concept of limes between the world of the livings and the word of the dead; in this case the sacrifice assumes another light, and the dogs acquires the role of champion of livings against the dead, in particular a kind of dead that has not a distinct status as a stillborn (someone who died at birth, and could be conceived as an open door on the afterworld).
In this paper we will debate about this double interpretation at the light of all the crossed interdisciplinary data at our disposal, trying to understand an uncommon ritual that swing between necrophilia and necrophobia.
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Archaeological finds have been recovered in the hollows shaped by the rocks of an ancient landslip. In one of these “caves” two burial mounds (with three individuals) have been found.
The research, carried over on approximately 8000 animal bones, is part of a widespread project centred on the Vallagarina area and includes archeozoological studies of faunal remains from “Pizzini di Castellano” and “Colombo di Mori”. The proposed analysis adds information on the economy, environment, material culture and, in general, on the settlement strategies occurred in this area during the Late Bronze Age.
Contrary to the generalised scarcity of pigs in Trentino-South Tyrol during the Bronze Age, it is worthy to underline that this animal group is highly represented at Castel Corno.
Archaeological finds have been recovered in the hollows shaped by the rocks of an ancient landslip. In one of these “caves” two burial mounds (with three individuals) have been found.
The research, carried over on approximately 8000 animal bones, is part of a widespread project centred on the Vallagarina area and includes archeozoological studies of faunal remains from “Pizzini di Castellano” and “Colombo di Mori”. The proposed analysis adds information on the economy, environment, material culture and, in general, on the settlement strategies occurred in this area during the Late Bronze Age.
Contrary to the generalised scarcity of pigs in Trentino-South Tyrol during the Bronze Age, it is worthy to underline that this animal group is highly represented at Castel Corno.
The burial area - dated to III century A.C. on the basis of the grave goods -consisted in 23 human burials (7 adults, 4 infans, 12 individuals who died in perinatal age), and 4 dog burials , all adults dog, disposed beside a long wall, not completely excavated.
In this site there was a clear association between the dog burials and the graves of some individuals died in perinatal age, probably fetuses or stillborn. This fact opens a discussion related to the role of the dogs, whose presence in ritual situations is commonly interpreted as having an archaic expiatory and purifying function, that is well-documented in Mediterranean area.
In particular in this work both archeological, anthropological and archaeozoological analysis contribute to examine - in an interdisciplinary process - the association to animal burials to graves of individuals considered as particular or dangerous in ancient cultures. In the case of the cemetery of Via Tommaso Gar we could appreciate the dog offering as an important grave goods for the little child that venture in the word of spirits, as a companion ad a protector.
But another possible interpretation regards the role of the dogs as guardians, connected to the concept of limes between the world of the livings and the word of the dead; in this case the sacrifice assumes another light, and the dogs acquires the role of champion of livings against the dead, in particular a kind of dead that has not a distinct status as a stillborn (someone who died at birth, and could be conceived as an open door on the afterworld).
In this paper we will debate about this double interpretation at the light of all the crossed interdisciplinary data at our disposal, trying to understand an uncommon ritual that swing between necrophilia and necrophobia.