The principal scientific and professional interests of Andrea Cardarelli are concentrated in five interrelated sectors: A = Archaeological excavations and surveys, particularly dedicated to protohistoric contexts
The distribution analysis of the types with Adriatic diffusion documented at Manaccora Cave (Pesc... more The distribution analysis of the types with Adriatic diffusion documented at Manaccora Cave (Peschici-FG) confirmed the existence of a preferential relationship between northern Apulia and Dalmatia; the carsic-istrian elements could have reached Apulia either through Dalmatia, or through less intense connections. At this stage of the research it seems possible to underline a peak of the contacts during the MBA 2 and 3, while during the RBA, when the diffusion of Aegean pottery reaches the areas north of the Gargano, the link between the two opposite shores seems reduced or transformed
Rivista di scienze preistoriche. Italia tra Mediterraneo ed Europa: mobilità, interazioni e scambi, 2020
The role of the central Dalmatian coast and islands in the Adriatic interaction network has been ... more The role of the central Dalmatian coast and islands in the Adriatic interaction network has been often neglected in research on maritime contacts in the Bronze Age, as very few coastal and island sites have been excavated and published thus far. Study of the ceramic material from three sites – one located on the coast (Vranjic in the Gulf of Kaštela) and two on the Island of Brač (hillforts Rat and Škrip) – allows for the preliminary establishment of some ideas on the role played by this geographical district during the Bronze Age, not only within the framework of the Adriatic interactions, but also regarding connections between coast and hinterland. A distribution analysis of highly diagnostic shapes and decorations – namely Proto-Apennine or Apennine-like types, Istrian types and “Dinara” decorations – is used as a principle investigative tool.
La conformazione del Mar Adriatico, corridoio di accesso privilegiato tra Mediterraneo ed Europa ... more La conformazione del Mar Adriatico, corridoio di accesso privilegiato tra Mediterraneo ed Europa centrale attraverso il Caput Adriae, ha di certo favorito un’intensa mobilita fra le due sponde del suo bacino, testimoniata almeno dal Neolitico Antico. La navigazione in Adriatico, e in particolare nel suo settore centrale, e stata certamente facilitata dalla presenza di punti di riferimento strategici come i promontori del Conero e del Gargano da una parte, e le isole medio-adriatiche dall’altra, ponte naturale tra le due coste. Questo contributo intende analizzare le interazioni tra i diversi distretti dell’Adriatico durante la media eta del Bronzo (ca. 1700-1325 a.C.), fase caratterizzata dalla presenza in diversi contesti della Puglia settentrionale di forme ceramiche e metalliche che rimandano a due aspetti archeologici ben distinti: da una parte alle facies peninsulari protoappenninica e appenninica, dall’altra, alle facies dei castellieri carso-istriani e di Dinara in Dalmazia. ...
During the first half of the 12th century BC in continental Italy important changes were taking p... more During the first half of the 12th century BC in continental Italy important changes were taking place in the geo-political order. The present contribution examines demographic and socio-political dimension in the area between the Po and Tiber rivers in the Late Bronze Age and initilal phases of Iron Age, until the formation of proto-urban centres
Thanks to the last decade acquisitions about Northern Italy Bronze Age necropolis (Casinalbo abov... more Thanks to the last decade acquisitions about Northern Italy Bronze Age necropolis (Casinalbo above all) we are now able to provide a deeper view of the ritual practices, demography and social structures of the communities that were settled in Northern Italy in the second half of the II millennium BC.
It is very well known that the appearance of large cemeteries, consisting of hundreds or even thousands of graves, coincides with the progressive adoption of cremation during the Middle Bronze Age and with the start of the historical cycle of the Terramare.
This change of ritual is accompanied by the extreme reduction of grave goods in general, and by the total absence of weapons in male burials. At the same time, new practices, such as fragmentation rituals, begin to be performed in honour of the ancestors or of the deceased himself in specific areas of the cemeteries.
New relevant advances are also due to the convergence of archaeological and anthropological research. More than 1000 cremation burials have been investigated recently, and the results have shed light on the transformations in the criteria of inclusion/exclusion from the cemeteries, and from distinct topographic groups. Moreover, the integration of anthropological data and chronology has allowed to obtain a diachronic development of the social structures and different systems of kinship.
What now seems to emerge is that the Po Valley communities differ significantly from the rest of the Peninsula, and that the gaps is likely to rely on a different social, economic and political organization.
This abstract traces the various stages of geomorphological evolution of the plain area around Mo... more This abstract traces the various stages of geomorphological evolution of the plain area around Modena from the VI millennium B.C. to the Present, through reconstruction of the ancient landscape and human settlements.Geomorphological investigations have led to the implementation of a Micro-relief Map, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), a Map of surface deposits and a Geomorphological Map.As regards archaeological studies, it was possible to connect archaeological findings with geomorphological surface evidence with a good level of precision. The topographic and stratigraphic positions of archaeological finds have been compared with paleoenvironmental data, in order to reconstruct the evolution of the territory.The comparison of geomorphological and archaeological data allowed many fluvial forms to be dated. In particular, it was interesting to observe the westward shift of the River Panaro from the Bronze Age and the connection of many sites of this period with the fluvial forms identified. In addition, in the area of the historical centre of Modena it was possible to reconstruct the ancient soil levels, starting from Roman times, and measure the thickness of archaeological stratigraphies and alluvial deposition layers. This led to a model of fluvial evolution which shows the aggradation of the plain where the watercourses turn from deepened riverbeds to hanging riverbeds
At the onset of the 2nd millenniumbc, a wool economy emerged across continental Europe. Archaeolo... more At the onset of the 2nd millenniumbc, a wool economy emerged across continental Europe. Archaeological, iconographical, and written sources from the Near East and the Aegean show that a Bronze Age wool economy involved considerable specialised labour and large scale animal husbandry. Resting only on archaeological evidence, detailed knowledge of wool economies in Bronze Age Europe has been limited, but recent investigations at the Terramare site of Montale, in northern Italy, document a high density of spindle whorls that strongly supports the existence of village-level specialised manufacture of yarn. Production does not appear to have been attached to an emerging elite nor was it fully independent of social constraints. We propose that, although probably managed by local elites, wool production was a community-based endeavour oriented towards exports aimed at obtaining locally unavailable raw materials and goods.
Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric t... more Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric times. In addition to the long-standing theoretical dichotomy between ‘cultural transmission’ and ‘demic diffusion’, many alternative models borrowed from sociology can be used to explain the spread of innovations. The emergence of urnfields in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe is certainly one of these large-scale phenomena; its wide distribution has been traditionally emphasized by the use of the general term Urnenfelderkultur/zeit (starting around 1300 BC). Thanks to new evidence, we are now able to draw a more comprehensive picture, which shows a variety of regional responses to the introduction of the new funerary custom. The earliest ‘urnfields’ can be identified in central Hungary, among the tell communities of the late Nagyrév/Vatya Culture, around 2000 BC. From the nineteenth century BC onwards, the urnfield model is documented among communities in northeastern Serbia, south of t...
Il contributo illustra i risultati dello scavo effettuato al di sotto della Pieve di S. Giulia (P... more Il contributo illustra i risultati dello scavo effettuato al di sotto della Pieve di S. Giulia (Palagano - Modena) nel 201
Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric t... more Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric times. In addition to the long-standing theoretical dichotomy between 'cultural transmission' and 'demic diffusion', many alternative models borrowed from sociology can be used to explain the spread of innovations. The emergence of urnfields in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe is certainly one of these large-scale phenomena; its wide distribution has been traditionally emphasized by the use of the general term Urnenfelderkultur/zeit (starting around 1300 BC). Thanks to new evidence, we are now able to draw a more comprehensive picture, which shows a variety of regional responses to the introduction of the new funerary custom. The earliest 'urnfields' can be identified in central Hungary, among the tell communities of the late Nagyrév/Vatya Culture, around 2000 BC. From the nineteenth century BC onwards, the urnfield model is documented among communities in northeastern Serbia, south of the Iron Gates. During the subsequent collapse of the tell system, around 1500 BC, the urnfield model spread into some of the neighbouring regions. The adoption, however, appears more radical in the southern Po plain, as well as in the Sava/Drava/Lower Tisza plains, while in Lower Austria, Transdanubia and in the northern Po plain it seems more gradual and appears to have been subject to processes of syncretism/hybridization with traditional rites. Other areas seem to reject the novelty, at least until the latest phases of the Bronze Age. We argue that a possible explanation for these varied responses relates to the degree of interconnectedness and homophily among communities in the previous phases.
Studi di Preistoria e Protostoria - 5 - Preistoria e Protostoria del Caput Adriae, 2018
The distribution analysis of the types with Adriatic diffusion documented at Manaccora Cave (Pesc... more The distribution analysis of the types with Adriatic diffusion documented at Manaccora Cave (Peschici-FG) confirmed the existence of a preferential relationship between northern Apulia and Dalmatia; the Karstic-Istrian elements could have reached Apulia either through Dalmatia or through less intense connections. At this stage of the research, it seems possible to identify a peak of contacts during MBA 2 and 3, while during the RBA , when the diffusion of Aegean pottery reaches the areas north of the Gargano, the link between the two opposite shores seems reduced or transformed.
... Doriano Castaldini, Andrea Cardarelli, Maurizio Cattani, Mario Panizza et Daniela Piacentini.... more ... Doriano Castaldini, Andrea Cardarelli, Maurizio Cattani, Mario Panizza et Daniela Piacentini. p. 33-60. ... The superficial alluvial deposits in the study area are Holocene in age; their particle-size distribution ranges from gravel to clay (G. GASPERI et al., 1989; GB CASTIGLIONI ...
The distribution analysis of the types with Adriatic diffusion documented at Manaccora Cave (Pesc... more The distribution analysis of the types with Adriatic diffusion documented at Manaccora Cave (Peschici-FG) confirmed the existence of a preferential relationship between northern Apulia and Dalmatia; the carsic-istrian elements could have reached Apulia either through Dalmatia, or through less intense connections. At this stage of the research it seems possible to underline a peak of the contacts during the MBA 2 and 3, while during the RBA, when the diffusion of Aegean pottery reaches the areas north of the Gargano, the link between the two opposite shores seems reduced or transformed
Rivista di scienze preistoriche. Italia tra Mediterraneo ed Europa: mobilità, interazioni e scambi, 2020
The role of the central Dalmatian coast and islands in the Adriatic interaction network has been ... more The role of the central Dalmatian coast and islands in the Adriatic interaction network has been often neglected in research on maritime contacts in the Bronze Age, as very few coastal and island sites have been excavated and published thus far. Study of the ceramic material from three sites – one located on the coast (Vranjic in the Gulf of Kaštela) and two on the Island of Brač (hillforts Rat and Škrip) – allows for the preliminary establishment of some ideas on the role played by this geographical district during the Bronze Age, not only within the framework of the Adriatic interactions, but also regarding connections between coast and hinterland. A distribution analysis of highly diagnostic shapes and decorations – namely Proto-Apennine or Apennine-like types, Istrian types and “Dinara” decorations – is used as a principle investigative tool.
La conformazione del Mar Adriatico, corridoio di accesso privilegiato tra Mediterraneo ed Europa ... more La conformazione del Mar Adriatico, corridoio di accesso privilegiato tra Mediterraneo ed Europa centrale attraverso il Caput Adriae, ha di certo favorito un’intensa mobilita fra le due sponde del suo bacino, testimoniata almeno dal Neolitico Antico. La navigazione in Adriatico, e in particolare nel suo settore centrale, e stata certamente facilitata dalla presenza di punti di riferimento strategici come i promontori del Conero e del Gargano da una parte, e le isole medio-adriatiche dall’altra, ponte naturale tra le due coste. Questo contributo intende analizzare le interazioni tra i diversi distretti dell’Adriatico durante la media eta del Bronzo (ca. 1700-1325 a.C.), fase caratterizzata dalla presenza in diversi contesti della Puglia settentrionale di forme ceramiche e metalliche che rimandano a due aspetti archeologici ben distinti: da una parte alle facies peninsulari protoappenninica e appenninica, dall’altra, alle facies dei castellieri carso-istriani e di Dinara in Dalmazia. ...
During the first half of the 12th century BC in continental Italy important changes were taking p... more During the first half of the 12th century BC in continental Italy important changes were taking place in the geo-political order. The present contribution examines demographic and socio-political dimension in the area between the Po and Tiber rivers in the Late Bronze Age and initilal phases of Iron Age, until the formation of proto-urban centres
Thanks to the last decade acquisitions about Northern Italy Bronze Age necropolis (Casinalbo abov... more Thanks to the last decade acquisitions about Northern Italy Bronze Age necropolis (Casinalbo above all) we are now able to provide a deeper view of the ritual practices, demography and social structures of the communities that were settled in Northern Italy in the second half of the II millennium BC.
It is very well known that the appearance of large cemeteries, consisting of hundreds or even thousands of graves, coincides with the progressive adoption of cremation during the Middle Bronze Age and with the start of the historical cycle of the Terramare.
This change of ritual is accompanied by the extreme reduction of grave goods in general, and by the total absence of weapons in male burials. At the same time, new practices, such as fragmentation rituals, begin to be performed in honour of the ancestors or of the deceased himself in specific areas of the cemeteries.
New relevant advances are also due to the convergence of archaeological and anthropological research. More than 1000 cremation burials have been investigated recently, and the results have shed light on the transformations in the criteria of inclusion/exclusion from the cemeteries, and from distinct topographic groups. Moreover, the integration of anthropological data and chronology has allowed to obtain a diachronic development of the social structures and different systems of kinship.
What now seems to emerge is that the Po Valley communities differ significantly from the rest of the Peninsula, and that the gaps is likely to rely on a different social, economic and political organization.
This abstract traces the various stages of geomorphological evolution of the plain area around Mo... more This abstract traces the various stages of geomorphological evolution of the plain area around Modena from the VI millennium B.C. to the Present, through reconstruction of the ancient landscape and human settlements.Geomorphological investigations have led to the implementation of a Micro-relief Map, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), a Map of surface deposits and a Geomorphological Map.As regards archaeological studies, it was possible to connect archaeological findings with geomorphological surface evidence with a good level of precision. The topographic and stratigraphic positions of archaeological finds have been compared with paleoenvironmental data, in order to reconstruct the evolution of the territory.The comparison of geomorphological and archaeological data allowed many fluvial forms to be dated. In particular, it was interesting to observe the westward shift of the River Panaro from the Bronze Age and the connection of many sites of this period with the fluvial forms identified. In addition, in the area of the historical centre of Modena it was possible to reconstruct the ancient soil levels, starting from Roman times, and measure the thickness of archaeological stratigraphies and alluvial deposition layers. This led to a model of fluvial evolution which shows the aggradation of the plain where the watercourses turn from deepened riverbeds to hanging riverbeds
At the onset of the 2nd millenniumbc, a wool economy emerged across continental Europe. Archaeolo... more At the onset of the 2nd millenniumbc, a wool economy emerged across continental Europe. Archaeological, iconographical, and written sources from the Near East and the Aegean show that a Bronze Age wool economy involved considerable specialised labour and large scale animal husbandry. Resting only on archaeological evidence, detailed knowledge of wool economies in Bronze Age Europe has been limited, but recent investigations at the Terramare site of Montale, in northern Italy, document a high density of spindle whorls that strongly supports the existence of village-level specialised manufacture of yarn. Production does not appear to have been attached to an emerging elite nor was it fully independent of social constraints. We propose that, although probably managed by local elites, wool production was a community-based endeavour oriented towards exports aimed at obtaining locally unavailable raw materials and goods.
Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric t... more Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric times. In addition to the long-standing theoretical dichotomy between ‘cultural transmission’ and ‘demic diffusion’, many alternative models borrowed from sociology can be used to explain the spread of innovations. The emergence of urnfields in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe is certainly one of these large-scale phenomena; its wide distribution has been traditionally emphasized by the use of the general term Urnenfelderkultur/zeit (starting around 1300 BC). Thanks to new evidence, we are now able to draw a more comprehensive picture, which shows a variety of regional responses to the introduction of the new funerary custom. The earliest ‘urnfields’ can be identified in central Hungary, among the tell communities of the late Nagyrév/Vatya Culture, around 2000 BC. From the nineteenth century BC onwards, the urnfield model is documented among communities in northeastern Serbia, south of t...
Il contributo illustra i risultati dello scavo effettuato al di sotto della Pieve di S. Giulia (P... more Il contributo illustra i risultati dello scavo effettuato al di sotto della Pieve di S. Giulia (Palagano - Modena) nel 201
Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric t... more Archaeological research is currently redefining how large-scale changes occurred in prehistoric times. In addition to the long-standing theoretical dichotomy between 'cultural transmission' and 'demic diffusion', many alternative models borrowed from sociology can be used to explain the spread of innovations. The emergence of urnfields in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe is certainly one of these large-scale phenomena; its wide distribution has been traditionally emphasized by the use of the general term Urnenfelderkultur/zeit (starting around 1300 BC). Thanks to new evidence, we are now able to draw a more comprehensive picture, which shows a variety of regional responses to the introduction of the new funerary custom. The earliest 'urnfields' can be identified in central Hungary, among the tell communities of the late Nagyrév/Vatya Culture, around 2000 BC. From the nineteenth century BC onwards, the urnfield model is documented among communities in northeastern Serbia, south of the Iron Gates. During the subsequent collapse of the tell system, around 1500 BC, the urnfield model spread into some of the neighbouring regions. The adoption, however, appears more radical in the southern Po plain, as well as in the Sava/Drava/Lower Tisza plains, while in Lower Austria, Transdanubia and in the northern Po plain it seems more gradual and appears to have been subject to processes of syncretism/hybridization with traditional rites. Other areas seem to reject the novelty, at least until the latest phases of the Bronze Age. We argue that a possible explanation for these varied responses relates to the degree of interconnectedness and homophily among communities in the previous phases.
Studi di Preistoria e Protostoria - 5 - Preistoria e Protostoria del Caput Adriae, 2018
The distribution analysis of the types with Adriatic diffusion documented at Manaccora Cave (Pesc... more The distribution analysis of the types with Adriatic diffusion documented at Manaccora Cave (Peschici-FG) confirmed the existence of a preferential relationship between northern Apulia and Dalmatia; the Karstic-Istrian elements could have reached Apulia either through Dalmatia or through less intense connections. At this stage of the research, it seems possible to identify a peak of contacts during MBA 2 and 3, while during the RBA , when the diffusion of Aegean pottery reaches the areas north of the Gargano, the link between the two opposite shores seems reduced or transformed.
... Doriano Castaldini, Andrea Cardarelli, Maurizio Cattani, Mario Panizza et Daniela Piacentini.... more ... Doriano Castaldini, Andrea Cardarelli, Maurizio Cattani, Mario Panizza et Daniela Piacentini. p. 33-60. ... The superficial alluvial deposits in the study area are Holocene in age; their particle-size distribution ranges from gravel to clay (G. GASPERI et al., 1989; GB CASTIGLIONI ...
Uploads
It is very well known that the appearance of large cemeteries, consisting of hundreds or even thousands of graves, coincides with the progressive adoption of cremation during the Middle Bronze Age and with the start of the historical cycle of the Terramare.
This change of ritual is accompanied by the extreme reduction of grave goods in general, and by the total absence of weapons in male burials. At the same time, new practices, such as fragmentation rituals, begin to be performed in honour of the ancestors or of the deceased himself in specific areas of the cemeteries.
New relevant advances are also due to the convergence of archaeological and anthropological research. More than 1000 cremation burials have been investigated recently, and the results have shed light on the transformations in the criteria of inclusion/exclusion from the cemeteries, and from distinct topographic groups. Moreover, the integration of anthropological data and chronology has allowed to obtain a diachronic development of the social structures and different systems of kinship.
What now seems to emerge is that the Po Valley communities differ significantly from the rest of the Peninsula, and that the gaps is likely to rely on a different social, economic and political organization.
It is very well known that the appearance of large cemeteries, consisting of hundreds or even thousands of graves, coincides with the progressive adoption of cremation during the Middle Bronze Age and with the start of the historical cycle of the Terramare.
This change of ritual is accompanied by the extreme reduction of grave goods in general, and by the total absence of weapons in male burials. At the same time, new practices, such as fragmentation rituals, begin to be performed in honour of the ancestors or of the deceased himself in specific areas of the cemeteries.
New relevant advances are also due to the convergence of archaeological and anthropological research. More than 1000 cremation burials have been investigated recently, and the results have shed light on the transformations in the criteria of inclusion/exclusion from the cemeteries, and from distinct topographic groups. Moreover, the integration of anthropological data and chronology has allowed to obtain a diachronic development of the social structures and different systems of kinship.
What now seems to emerge is that the Po Valley communities differ significantly from the rest of the Peninsula, and that the gaps is likely to rely on a different social, economic and political organization.