Sitting and working around a fireplace: an attempt to identify spatial organization from the portion of a well-preserved domestic area in Riparo Tagliente (Verona, Italy)
Creators: name: Chavez, Diana Carolina
name: Donadio, Alfredo
name: Cavulli, Fabio
name: Fontana, Federica
name: Thun Hohenstein, Ursula
name: Turrini, Maria Chiara
name: Visentin, Davide
Publisher: name: Sezione di Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica
Year: 2018

description: Tagliente rock-shelter is located in the Lessini Mountains (Stallavena di Grezzana, Verona) along the Pantena Valley. Archaeological research carried out since 1962 has revealed a thick stratigraphic sequence composed of two main deposits. The present work deals with the uppermost one that formed during the Lateglacial attesting a long-lasting Late Epigravettian occupation (17,000-13,500 cal BP). More specifically it focuses on the most recent layers of the inner series from the Southern sector (with an approximate age of 14,500-13,500 cal BP) while all previous works had concerned the oldest levels of the Northern sector (Fontana et alii 2008; 2009; in press).

Since the greatest portion of the innermost deposits was removed in medieval times such layers are preserved only in a small area. Moreover, part of them is deeply affected by post-depositional disturbance. In particular, this study concerns SU 616 which lied close to a partially destroyed fireplace. Its preservation appeared excellent with all the findings still lying in a horizontal position although it extended over a small area of around 1 m2 located at the entrance of the shelter and less than one meter from its roof. The largest elements of the unit were coordinated in the field before being removed (n. 258 lithic implements and n. 99 osseous remains, 29 pebbles, 11 limestone clasts, two of which were characterized by traces of ochre) while the finest ones were collected during water sieving of the sediments by squares of 33x33 cm.

The aim of this paper is to set a methodological protocol aimed at identifying the natural and cultural processes responsible for the formation of this layer, apparently corresponding to the well-preserved portion of a larger domestic area. Both the lithic assemblages and the osseous remains from SU 616 were integrally analyzed by applying respectively a techno-economic and zooarcheological approach and then integrated into a spatial distribution analysis carried out with GIS.

The lithic assemblage is composed of 240 items diagnostic for the reconstruction of reduction sequences along with 293 flakes smaller than 10mm and 1486 undetermined fragments. Thermic alteration was identified on 30% of the findings. The meaningful presence of unretouched blades in the assemblage (n. 38) associated to some retouched tools suggests that such items could have been used for domestic activities carried out in this area. A functional analysis is in progress in order to verify the possible use of such artifacts.

The analyses regarding the osseous evidence included both the coordinated and the uncoordinated material recovered within the SU 616. As a result of these analyses, it was established that the ungulate remains were accumulated after an intense human exploitation on the carcasses, aimed at butchering, filleting, disarticulating (cut-marks and scraping) and fracturing bones in order to recover the marrow (impact notches and percussion cones). The taxa Cervus elaphus, followed by the Capreolus capreolus are the dominant species in this assemblage and the most easily available game in the surroundings of the rock shelter.

At last distribution maps of lithics and bones were designed in order to identify possible activities zones. The programs used were AutoCAD 2013 and the open source software QGIS 2.18.9 - Las Palmas. Information was uploaded from orthophotos, field maps, and coordinates as well as from shapefiles created during previous works. Although the small surface analyzed forces us to retain results with caution, areas of concentration of lithics, bones and burned elements were identified suggesting a differential use of the space and a possible relation with the fireplace. Due to the location of the analyzed area, we may also assume that Late Epigravettian hunter-gatherers carried out such activities while sitting around the fireplace.
description: Sezione di Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica, Vol 13 (2017): IV IAPP - Ferrara 2018