Publication Date:
2021-06-04
Description:
New investigations on Ustica (Palermo, Sicily) originated from the need to improve our knowledge
of the island’s archaeological and environmental heritage. Through field surveys, particular attention was
paid to human occupation in the Neolithic phases and focused on the less investigated southern side of the
island. The systematic survey of the area of Piano dei Cardoni in 2018 brought to light a new Middle/Late
Neolithic site, already partially documented in the literature. The island was settled for the first time during
these phases, as also testified from the area of Punta Spalmatore. The presence of Serra d’Alto, incised dark
burnished, and Diana styles suggests that the site and the archaeological assemblage dates from the mid to
late 5th millennium BC, as confirmed by AMS dating. In addition to pottery, obsidian artifacts were also
recovered, and a preliminary study of these materials is presented here. Portable XRF analyses on a sample of
41 obsidian artifacts, representing a high percentage of the lithic assemblage compared to chert tools, show
that the provenance of the raw material is Gabellotto Gorge (Lipari) and Balata dei Turchi (Pantelleria). These
results provide new insight into broader regional debates about obsidian technology and its exchange during
the Neolithic and open an important consideration for sites that are far from the raw material sources
Description:
Published
Description:
273-290
Description:
3V. Proprietà chimico-fisiche dei magmi e dei prodotti vulcanici
Description:
6SR VULCANI – Servizi e ricerca per la società
Description:
JCR Journal
Keywords:
obsidian exploitation
;
island archaeology
;
Middle Neolithic
;
pXRF
;
Sicily
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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