![]() The lack of funerary equipment, along with the use of a simple pit inside a cave, led to a Neolithic contextualization of the burial. ![]() Despite a consistent anthropogenic presence in the cave, marked by evidence of pottery fragments associated with the Diana and Serra d’Alto facies 5, the cave did not yield any further signs of funerary activity. 1d) were found inside an ovular pit directly carved in the ground: the buried individual (SLB henceforth) was found prone, E–W oriented, face turned to the earth and in an extremely contracted position medium-sized stones covered the skull and the right side of the body, with smaller stones lying above the pelvis, trunk, and limbs. ![]() The archaeological excavations conducted since 2017 revealed the presence of a single burial located a few meters from the entrance of the cavity (Fig. The stratigraphic reconstruction of the archaeological deposit testifies a consistent use of the small cavity (less than 20 m in length) throughout the Neolithic period, as suggested by the presence of trichrome, bichrome and impressed ware, while scarce and sporadic evidence of a more recent frequentation has been attested. 1b) at a rather high altitude (> 1000 m asl) and not easily visible from the valley, has allowed it to survive post-depositional disturbances. Among them, Grotta di Pietra Sant’Angelo preserves the most ancient evidence of human activity in Northern Calabria 4. The massif is extremely rich in cavities, with at least 21 vertical and horizontal caves surveyed in the area. 1a), in the municipality of San Lorenzo Bellizzi (Cosenza). Pietra Sant’Angelo is an extended limestone massif located on the Calabrian side of the Pollino National Park (Fig. In such context, the archaeological site of Grotta di Pietra Sant’Angelo represents a unicum for the human exploitation of SI during the Neolithic. By contrast, evidence of human presence in the inner territories of SI are sporadic until the advanced phases of the Neolithic. Radical changes can be seen in the settlement strategies during the Early and Middle Neolithic phases in SI, mostly based on the occupation of coastal and sub-coastal areas, such as Favella di Corigliano (CS), representing one of the most ancient farming villages in Italy, and one of the first pottery-industry in Central-Western Europe 3. Pottery appears in the archaeological record of the Early and Middle Neolithic phases in Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria the hunting-gathering economic system starts to be replaced by the spread of farming activities, even though a complete shift to an agriculture-based subsistence strategy does not occur before the Bronze Age 2. Finally, paleogenomic data obtained from the individual were compared with ancient and modern Mediterranean populations, including unpublished high-resolution genome-wide data for 20 modern inhabitants of the nearby village of San Lorenzo Bellizzi, which provided interesting insights into the biodemographic landscape of the Neolithic in Southern Italy.Īt the end of the sixth millennium BCE, Neolithic lifeways are well established in Southern Italy (SI) 1. Biomolecular and micromorphological analyses of dental calculus highlight the presence of a rich Neolithic-like oral microbiome, the composition of which is consistent with the presence pathologies. CT analyses, carried out on the maxillary bones, showed the presence of a peculiar type of dental wear, but also a good density of the bone matrix. The paleopathological investigation of the skeletal remains revealed the presence of numerous markers that could be associated with craft activities, suggesting possible interpretations of the individual’s lifestyle. This atypical case requires an interdisciplinary approach aimed to build an integrated bioarchaeological profile of the individual. These elements have prompted wider questions on mortuary customs during the prehistory of Southern Italy. The unusual placement of the inhumation at a rather high altitude and far from inhabited areas, the lack of funerary equipment and the prone deposition of the body find limited similarities in coeval Italian sites. The Neolithic burial of Grotta di Pietra Sant’Angelo (CS) represents a unique archaeological finding for the prehistory of Southern Italy.
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