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The lithic assemblage from the well‐known site of Lugo di Grezzana (Italy) attributable to the Fiorano group (5,300–4,900 BC cal) is analysed to shed new insights on the early Neolithic lithic technology in North‐Eastern Italy. Techno‐typological data are discussed allowing detailed reconstruction of the reduction sequence, thanks also to several refittings. A complex laminar production with several technical objectives has been identified. Whereas clues for the heat treatment of lithic materials have been identified, we verified it by a combined experimental approach. In the first place, we used density measurements, which already proved to be useful for prescreening analysis, to detect potentially heated artefacts. Afterward, we performed Fourier Transform Infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy tests to assess the actual (de)hydration condition of the siliceous materials. Reflectance spectra have been acquired, analysing any item and avoiding any constraint related to both morphology and thickness of the sample. The archaeometric results, combined with the reduction sequence reconstruction, provide new indications on the technical capabilities and knowledge of the human groups that inhabited the region during the early Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous researchers point out the emergence of human symbolism is related to the evolution of the complexity of human cognition. Red mineral pigments have been used extensively, particularly with anatomically modern humans, for various purposes. However, the management and supply of these pigments during prehistoric periods remains poorly investigated. Still today, the limited application of physico-chemical analyses often leads to a simplistic attribution of these pigments as ochre. The studies of data from recent literature presented in our paper show a progressive introduction and exploitation of cinnabar ore, to achieve a red pigment, from the seventh millennium BC. In this panorama, the new data obtained from the analyses of samples of artefacts from La Marmotta (Italy) show a wide use of cinnabar in central Italy from the early Neolithic and attest to the earliest use of this ore in the western Mediterranean area. • Pigments can provide insight into changes in the traditions and symbolic practices of human groups during prehistoric times. • XRF and Raman analyses are used to determine pigment composition. • Residues on personal ornaments at La Marmotta (Italy) attest to the first use of cinnabar in the Western Mediterranean. • The chrono-cultural diffusion of cinnabar in the Mediterranean basin follow the arrhythmic wave of the Neolithisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological site La Marmotta (AnguillaraSabazia, Italy) is a singular place as regards the conservation and recovery of wood and plant remains. The exceptional preservation at the site allowed the recovery of five canoes and numerous objects related to navigation, house building, agriculture, hunting and craft activities. The wide range of artefacts found, and the time of the occupation between 5700 and 5300 cal BC, make La Marmotta a point of reference for the study of technology in wood during the early Neolithic in the Mediterranean basin. The specific objective of this study is the taxonomic identification of the ligneous species used as raw material to make artefacts for farming activities. An assemblage of complete and fragmented sickles has been studied. Deciduous Quercus sp. Is the most important taxonaccording to the number of sickles identified. However, other taxa were also used. Woodworking implies a profound knowledge of the natural environment and the characteristics of the wood. The assemblage of wooden objects found at the La Marmotta site reflects the significance of this raw material for Neolithic societies. They are undoubtedly the reflection of a technologically skilled society that will revolutionise our conception of Neolithic communities, which were much more advanced than we thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heat treatment of siliceous raw materials is one of the most ancient evidence of pyrotechnology in human history. In fact, the controlled heating of rocks to facilitate the production of lithic artefact has been proved in several contexts, even back to the Palaeolithic. The use of the heat treatment can be preliminarily assessed by eye inspection of the stone tools. However, the rock variability and possible surface alterations make uncertain the result of this simple macroscopic approach. Therefore, more reliable methods, based on archaeometric techniques, have been developed, in order to characterize structural modifications of rocks due to the heating process. These techniques may involve some limitations, as concerns the size of the sample and/or its preparation. In this paper, we show how density measurement, using the Archimedes balance, may provide a clear indication on the presence of heat-treated archaeological lithic artifacts. The method involves the construction of a reference master curve: density vs heat treatment temperature, of geological chert samples with the same provenance of the archaeological artifacts under investigation. The novel procedure has successfully been tested with some stone tools from La Vela Neolithic site (Trento - Italy), which had been previously proved to be heat-treated by means of infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. In this regard, the "density method" turns out to be a cost-effective and fast non-destructive approach, particularly suited for a preliminary assessment of the heat treatment of large lithic assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a palynological study conducted on adhesive materials obtained from both experimental and archaeological wooden sickles. The archaeological sickles, dating back to the Early Neolithic period, were recovered from the waterlogged site of La Marmotta, located near Lake Bracciano in Rome, Italy. Experimental harvesting was carried out on cereal crops using sickles purposefully made with a modern resinous material that closely replicates the original composition. This approach allowed us to retrieve palynological information consistent with and comparable to that observed on ancient tools. The study's results highlighted the excellent adhesiveness of these materials, capable of trapping and preserving micro-remains collected during harvesting practices. The discovery of Hordeum -type and Avena - Triticum -type pollen grains confirmed the predominant use of these agricultural tools for cereal harvesting. Notably, one particular neolithic sickle, whose resin primarily retained Oenanthe -type pollen, stands out for its exclusive use in cutting herbaceous plants of potential medicinal interest. In parallel, the analysis of pollen content retained in modern cereal spikes confirmed their potential to provide information about the type of crop and, to some extent, the floristic component of the surrounding environment. • This study applies an innovative palynological and experimental approach to adhesive materials sampled from neolithic wooden sickles from the waterlogged archaeological site of La Marmotta near Lake Bracciano (Central Italy). • The results showed that the tools were employed for harvesting cereals, highlighting the occurrence of Hordeum -type and Avena-Triticum -type pollen, in agreement with carpological evidence. • The resin used as adhesive material from one sickle was exceptionally rich in Oenanthe -type pollen, indicating deliberate cutting and collection of plants with toxic and psychotropic properties. • The creation of comparative modern sickles equipped with a modern adhesive material (created based on GC-MS analyses of the neolithic specimens), allowed us to better understand the taphonomic processes involved in trapping micro-remains within the glue during the use of the tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The site of La Vela sector VII (Trentino-Alto Adige – Italy), provides one of the few complete stratigraphic sequences, ranging from the Mesolithic to the middle Neolithic, in northwestern Italy. The site is located in the Adige valley, a way of communication between the Po plan and the Alps. This research focuses on the early Neolithic lithics ascribable to the Gaban facies, dated to 5000–4700 cal BC. Different rocks, coming from local exposures, have been exploited. The goal of the reduction sequence was the production of blades by pressure knapping technique. The technological study of the assemblage raised a particular interest for the presence of flint artifacts suggesting the usage of controlled heat treatment. The presence of this technique has been tested by an experimental approach based on Fourier-Transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Complementary microstructural and analytical characterizations with low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy (LVSEM) observations combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) have been performed. The analyses confirm the presence of artifacts intentionally heat treated. The thermal treatment, achieved in order to increase the quality of the blade production, is the first evidence of this technique in northeastern Italy during the early Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Mediterranean, spanning southern Italy to Portugal, can be considered a single archaeological unit where the diagnostic characteristics of Early Neolithic contexts share common elements, marked by the spread of Cardium-Impressed ceramics. Although some consensus exists regarding the origin of these wares in southern Italy, the debate surrounding its process of expansion to the west remains open. Iberia is a key region for the analysis of the neolithisation process due to its location at the end of the Neolithic Mediterranean expansion. This view includes the problems linked with the mechanism of this spread and the evolutionary dynamics of the early agricultural societies. Our goals are to evaluate the rich archaeological and palaeoenvironmental database produced by recent decades of research in this area in order to address issues related to the Neolithic Transition. We especially deal with the role played by climatic events in the observed dynamics of the last Mesolithic and the Early Neolithic (ca. 8500-6900 cal BP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The major goal of the present study has been to assess the ecological context of the Early Neolithic settlement under excavation in the coastal site of Sa Punta-Marceddì (Terralba, Sardinia, Italy) where a trench of Neolithic age has been brought to light. Based on the origins of the site''s organic fossiliferous content, the purpose of this work is to achieve an understanding of: 1) the reasons why this location was chosen by EN man and 2) its functions. This research has enabled us to suggest a human paleoecological scenario over the course of the last three centuries of the 6th millennium BC in the inland area of the Oristano Gulf. On the basis of pollen spectra and the phytolith morphologies recognised, it is suggested that herbaceous vegetation covered the alluvial plain. Arable agriculture does not seem to have been practiced on the site, but the record of coprophilous fungi and endoparasites, along with clues that there were burning practices, suggest livestock farming activity. To date, a univocal interpretation of the function of this trench is still lacking. However, it is the oldest and the only evidence in Sardinia of a remarkable transformation of an open-air space due to settlement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper reviews the interpretations of pits found in early Neolithic settlement sites in the Po valley of northern Italy, with particular attention paid to the concentration of late 6th-early 5th millennium Cal BC sites around Vhò (Piadena, Cremona). It argues that these are unlikely to have been pit-dwellings, despite a long tradition of interpreting them in this way. It suggests that the assemblages and associations found in the fills of some of the pits indicate the practice of structured deposition, and explores the consequences of this finding for our interpretation of sites dating from this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Technologic analyses of Neolithic obsidian assemblages are quite rare in Sardinia, like in the wider Western Mediterranean. Such an approach is presented here in conjunction with a visual/instrumental provenance study for the Rio Saboccu Early Neolithic (EN) site, which yielded more than 1000 obsidian artefacts. It is shown that this mostly expedient industry was realized from a non-opportunistic exploitation of the four obsidian types of the nearby Monte Arci (Sardinia) volcanic massif. The choice of the raw materials was chiefly guided by their intrinsic knapping qualities and in function of the maximum size of the expected final products; hence some selection in the (primary and/or secondary) sources exploited. The obsidian industries of EN sites from the northern Tyrrhenian area present clearly some affinities with that of Rio Saboccu and of other EN Sardinian sites, mainly those located in its vicinity. This suggests a regional influence of the EN communities settled in the proximity of the Monte Arci. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]