Human communities at the transition between the Eneolithic period and the Bronze Age had to rapid... more Human communities at the transition between the Eneolithic period and the Bronze Age had to rapidly adapt to cultural and climatic changes, which influenced the whole Mediterranean. The exact dynamics involved in this crucial passage are still a matter of discussion. As newer studies have highlighted the key role of climatic fluctuations during this period, their relationship with the human occupation of the landscape are yet to be fully explored. We investigated the infilling of negative structures at the archaeological site of Tegole di Bovino (Apulia, Southern Italy) looking at evidence of the interaction between climate changes and human strategies. The archaeological sedimentary deposits, investigated though geoarchaeological and micromorphological techniques, show the presence of natural and anthropogenic infillings inside most structures. Both human intervention and/or natural events occurred in the last phases of occupation of the site and its subsequent abandonment. The tra...
The Viking maritime expansion from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) marks one of the swi... more The Viking maritime expansion from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) marks one of the swiftest and most far-flung cultural transformations in global history. During this time (c. 750 to 1050 CE), the Vikings reached most of western Eurasia, Greenland, and North America, and left a cultural legacy that persists till today. To understand the genetic structure and influence of the Viking expansion, we sequenced the genomes of 442 ancient humans from across Europe and Greenland ranging from the Bronze Age (c. 2400 BC) to the early Modern period (c. 1600 CE), with particular emphasis on the Viking Age. We find that the period preceding the Viking Age was accompanied by foreign gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east: spreading from Denmark and eastern Sweden to the rest of Scandinavia. Despite the close linguistic similarities of modern Scandinavian languages, we observe genetic structure within Scandinavia, suggesting that regional population differences were already ...
The island of Antiparos belongs to the Aegean volcanic arc. The obsidian outcrops here contain pi... more The island of Antiparos belongs to the Aegean volcanic arc. The obsidian outcrops here contain pieces of excellent tool-making quality, but of small size making the raw material less attractive. Geological samples collected at Soros beach, at Blaco and Mastichi, in the southern part of the island, were analysed using Optical Microscopy, XRF (whole rock) and SEM-EDS (glass and microliths-microphenocrysts). The results obtained demonstrate the potential for distinguishing the Antiparos obsidian from other major central-western Mediterranean sources in an absolutely non-destructive way, using an XRF spectrometer or alternatively with an SEM equipped with an ED spectrometer.
The authors attempt to specify the diffusion pattern of the Impressed-Ware Neolithic (Impresso-c... more The authors attempt to specify the diffusion pattern of the Impressed-Ware Neolithic (Impresso-cardial complex, ICC), from south-eastern Italy onto the French Mediterranean coasts. Using ChronoModel® software, a Bayesian model was built with sets of dates obtained on well-contextualised, short-lived samples. The results highlight a clear tightening of the chronology in the so-called nuclear area (Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria) and a pioneer dispersal at record speed in the Tyrrhenian Basin. Moreover, they question the origins and initial developments of the Impressed-Wares techno-complex.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016
In the absence of any direct evidence, the relative importance of meat and dairy productions to N... more In the absence of any direct evidence, the relative importance of meat and dairy productions to Neolithic prehistoric Mediterranean communities has been extensively debated. Here, we combine lipid residue analysis of ceramic vessels with osteo-archaeological age-at-death analysis from 82 northern Mediterranean and Near Eastern sites dating from the seventh to fifth millennia BC to address this question. The findings show variable intensities in dairy and nondairy activities in the Mediterranean region with the slaughter profiles of domesticated ruminants mirroring the results of the organic residue analyses. The finding of milk residues in very early Neolithic pottery (seventh millennium BC) from both the east and west of the region contrasts with much lower intensities in sites of northern Greece, where pig bones are present in higher frequencies compared with other locations. In this region, the slaughter profiles of all domesticated ruminants suggest meat production predominated....
Early Farmers Late Foragers and Ceramic Traditions on the Beginning of Pottery in the Near East and Europe 2009 Isbn 978 1 4438 0159 1 Pags 87 115, 2009
SOME SAMPLE AREAS OF CENTRAL ITALY - This paper reports the results of a one-year IIPP project &a... more SOME SAMPLE AREAS OF CENTRAL ITALY - This paper reports the results of a one-year IIPP project "Adriatico e Tirreno a confronto". The project aimed to compare the settlement strategies during Final Neolithic and Copper Age in four sample areas of Toscana, Latium and ...
Human communities at the transition between the Eneolithic period and the Bronze Age had to rapid... more Human communities at the transition between the Eneolithic period and the Bronze Age had to rapidly adapt to cultural and climatic changes, which influenced the whole Mediterranean. The exact dynamics involved in this crucial passage are still a matter of discussion. As newer studies have highlighted the key role of climatic fluctuations during this period, their relationship with the human occupation of the landscape are yet to be fully explored. We investigated the infilling of negative structures at the archaeological site of Tegole di Bovino (Apulia, Southern Italy) looking at evidence of the interaction between climate changes and human strategies. The archaeological sedimentary deposits, investigated though geoarchaeological and micromorphological techniques, show the presence of natural and anthropogenic infillings inside most structures. Both human intervention and/or natural events occurred in the last phases of occupation of the site and its subsequent abandonment. The tra...
The Viking maritime expansion from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) marks one of the swi... more The Viking maritime expansion from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) marks one of the swiftest and most far-flung cultural transformations in global history. During this time (c. 750 to 1050 CE), the Vikings reached most of western Eurasia, Greenland, and North America, and left a cultural legacy that persists till today. To understand the genetic structure and influence of the Viking expansion, we sequenced the genomes of 442 ancient humans from across Europe and Greenland ranging from the Bronze Age (c. 2400 BC) to the early Modern period (c. 1600 CE), with particular emphasis on the Viking Age. We find that the period preceding the Viking Age was accompanied by foreign gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east: spreading from Denmark and eastern Sweden to the rest of Scandinavia. Despite the close linguistic similarities of modern Scandinavian languages, we observe genetic structure within Scandinavia, suggesting that regional population differences were already ...
The island of Antiparos belongs to the Aegean volcanic arc. The obsidian outcrops here contain pi... more The island of Antiparos belongs to the Aegean volcanic arc. The obsidian outcrops here contain pieces of excellent tool-making quality, but of small size making the raw material less attractive. Geological samples collected at Soros beach, at Blaco and Mastichi, in the southern part of the island, were analysed using Optical Microscopy, XRF (whole rock) and SEM-EDS (glass and microliths-microphenocrysts). The results obtained demonstrate the potential for distinguishing the Antiparos obsidian from other major central-western Mediterranean sources in an absolutely non-destructive way, using an XRF spectrometer or alternatively with an SEM equipped with an ED spectrometer.
The authors attempt to specify the diffusion pattern of the Impressed-Ware Neolithic (Impresso-c... more The authors attempt to specify the diffusion pattern of the Impressed-Ware Neolithic (Impresso-cardial complex, ICC), from south-eastern Italy onto the French Mediterranean coasts. Using ChronoModel® software, a Bayesian model was built with sets of dates obtained on well-contextualised, short-lived samples. The results highlight a clear tightening of the chronology in the so-called nuclear area (Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria) and a pioneer dispersal at record speed in the Tyrrhenian Basin. Moreover, they question the origins and initial developments of the Impressed-Wares techno-complex.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016
In the absence of any direct evidence, the relative importance of meat and dairy productions to N... more In the absence of any direct evidence, the relative importance of meat and dairy productions to Neolithic prehistoric Mediterranean communities has been extensively debated. Here, we combine lipid residue analysis of ceramic vessels with osteo-archaeological age-at-death analysis from 82 northern Mediterranean and Near Eastern sites dating from the seventh to fifth millennia BC to address this question. The findings show variable intensities in dairy and nondairy activities in the Mediterranean region with the slaughter profiles of domesticated ruminants mirroring the results of the organic residue analyses. The finding of milk residues in very early Neolithic pottery (seventh millennium BC) from both the east and west of the region contrasts with much lower intensities in sites of northern Greece, where pig bones are present in higher frequencies compared with other locations. In this region, the slaughter profiles of all domesticated ruminants suggest meat production predominated....
Early Farmers Late Foragers and Ceramic Traditions on the Beginning of Pottery in the Near East and Europe 2009 Isbn 978 1 4438 0159 1 Pags 87 115, 2009
SOME SAMPLE AREAS OF CENTRAL ITALY - This paper reports the results of a one-year IIPP project &a... more SOME SAMPLE AREAS OF CENTRAL ITALY - This paper reports the results of a one-year IIPP project "Adriatico e Tirreno a confronto". The project aimed to compare the settlement strategies during Final Neolithic and Copper Age in four sample areas of Toscana, Latium and ...
The paper outlines how an integrated approach can be applied to the study of pottery manufacturin... more The paper outlines how an integrated approach can be applied to the study of pottery manufacturing processes, showing how variability in time and space can be used to understand early Neolithic societies.
This research focuses on study of unpublished archaeological materials recovered during fieldwork on the main settlements of the Marche region, at now never totally studied. The sites under analysis are located in fluvial valleys which cross the country in a west-east direction, and they are associated to communities of the typical Central Adriatic Impressed ware culture (VI mill. BC).
The ceramic collection, formed by thousands of sherds, come from the excavation of subterranean structures with a not clearly defined function in some cases. Macro analysis of assemblages focuses on qualitative and quantitative analysis, remarking on morphological, technological and typological aspects. Archaeometrical analyses were performed on a set of pottery samples collected from each site, and allow examining petrographic, mineralogical and chemical characteristics of the ceramics, highlighting strategies for raw materials selection and technological specialization.
I recenti lavori di sintesi delle ricerche archeobotaniche condotte nei
siti pre-protostorici del... more I recenti lavori di sintesi delle ricerche archeobotaniche condotte nei siti pre-protostorici della Puglia hanno permesso di acquisire nuove conoscenze inerenti le caratteristiche paleoeconomiche delle comunità antiche tra il Neolitico e l’età del Bronzo. Sulla base di un ampio database è oggi possibile ricostruire e delineare, per un arco di tempo piuttosto ampio, la storia e lo sviluppo delle pratiche colturali e delle strategie di gestione delle risorse vegetali tra il 6.200 e il 1000 a.C. Gli approcci multidisciplinari utilizzati nell’analisi di archivi naturali ed antropici, suggeriscono per alcuni periodi chiave, un ruolo significativo di alcune variabili nelle scelte economiche evidenziate dagli assemblaggi archeobotanici. Il presente contributo, ricostruendo le variazioni dinamiche di lungo periodo nella gestione delle risorse vegetali, vuole porre l’accento sulle relazioni tra i cambiamenti delle caratteristiche paleo-agronomiche ed i differenti impulsi trasformativi (climatici, ambientali e sociali) che, di volta in volta, in relazione a specifiche condizioni hanno dato avvio a risposte adattive differenti.
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Papers by Italo Maria Muntoni
This research focuses on study of unpublished archaeological materials recovered during fieldwork on the main settlements of the Marche region, at now never totally studied. The sites under analysis are located in fluvial valleys which cross the country in a west-east direction, and they are associated to communities of the typical Central Adriatic Impressed ware culture (VI mill. BC).
The ceramic collection, formed by thousands of sherds, come from the excavation of subterranean structures with a not clearly defined function in some cases. Macro analysis of assemblages focuses on qualitative and quantitative analysis, remarking on morphological, technological and typological aspects. Archaeometrical analyses were performed on a set of pottery samples collected from each site, and allow examining petrographic, mineralogical and chemical characteristics of the ceramics, highlighting strategies for raw materials selection and technological specialization.
siti pre-protostorici della Puglia hanno permesso di acquisire nuove
conoscenze inerenti le caratteristiche paleoeconomiche delle comunità
antiche tra il Neolitico e l’età del Bronzo. Sulla base di un ampio
database è oggi possibile ricostruire e delineare, per un arco di tempo
piuttosto ampio, la storia e lo sviluppo delle pratiche colturali e delle
strategie di gestione delle risorse vegetali tra il 6.200 e il 1000 a.C.
Gli approcci multidisciplinari utilizzati nell’analisi di archivi naturali
ed antropici, suggeriscono per alcuni periodi chiave, un ruolo
significativo di alcune variabili nelle scelte economiche evidenziate
dagli assemblaggi archeobotanici. Il presente contributo, ricostruendo le
variazioni dinamiche di lungo periodo nella gestione delle risorse
vegetali, vuole porre l’accento sulle relazioni tra i cambiamenti delle
caratteristiche paleo-agronomiche ed i differenti impulsi trasformativi
(climatici, ambientali e sociali) che, di volta in volta, in relazione a
specifiche condizioni hanno dato avvio a risposte adattive differenti.