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Wirtschaftsarchäologische Untersuchungen zu alt- und mittelneolithischen Felsgesteingeräten in Mittel- und Nordhessen : Archäologie und Rohmaterialversorgung /Ramminger, Britta. January 2007 (has links)
Univ., Diss.--Frankfurt (Main), 2005.
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Gravplats--gravfält : platser att skapa minnen vid--platser att minnas vid /Strömberg, Bo, January 2005 (has links)
Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborgs universitet, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 353-361).
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Les matières colorantes au sein des systèmes techniques et symboliques au Néolithique (VIe et Ve millénaires BCE) dans l'arc liguro-provençal / Colouring materials in technical and symbolical systems during Neolithic in Liguro-provençal areaPradeau, Jean-Victor 22 June 2015 (has links)
Ce travail a été entrepris dans le but de déterminer les chaînes opératoires des matières colorantes néolithiques et de les intégrer dans une dynamique chrono-culturelle, à partir de deux sites-clés de l’arc liguro-provençal : Castellar – Pendimoun (5750-4900 cal. BCE) et Nice – Giribaldi (4550-4050 cal. BCE).L’étude technoéconomique montre des situations contrastées. Pendimoun voit, tout au long du VIe millénaire BCE, l’exploitation de trois roches locales aux caractéristiques physico-chimiques variées, traitées selon des schémas simples similaires pour fournir des produits adaptés à tous les besoins : hématite ou goethite, en quantité pour un usage technique ou de granulométrie fine pour exploiter les propriétés colorantes. Giribaldi est le siège d’une gestion dichotomique, où des matières colorantes locales préparées comme à Pendimoun, côtoient des matières exogènes, traitées à travers des actions spécifiques adaptées à leur cohérence.Enfin, de nombreux aspects symboliques ont été mis en évidence et caractérisés. Un bloc calcaire est sculpté et peint pour représenter un visage, selon une tradition peut-être héritée de pratiques proche-orientales. La teinte rouge est associée à la sphère funéraire. La coloration de productions céramiques techniquement très investies et vraisemblablement dédiées à des pratiques sociales particulières est aussi observée ; cette coloration est appliquée par incrustation de poudre durant les VBQ à Pendimoun et par peintures rouges ou noires et par incrustations blanches au Chasséen ancien à Giribaldi. / The aim of this research was to determine the “chaînes opératoires” of colouring materials in the north-western Mediterranean region during the Early and Middle Neolithic and to integrate them in chrono-cultural framework. Two major archaeological sites were selected: Castellar – Pendimoun rock-shelter (5750-4900 cal. BCE) and Nice – Giribaldi, an open-air site (4550-4050 cal. BCE).The techno-economic analysis reveals contrasting situations. At Pendimoun, three local colouring materials, presenting various physic-chemical properties, were used during the VI millennium BCE. They were processed identically according to simple schemes in order to provide a wide range of products: goethite or hematite, in quantities for utilitarian needs or in fine powder for colouring purposes.Giribaldi witnessed a dichotomous management. Some local geomaterials were crafted such as the ones in Pendimoun but exogenous rocks were also specifically processed depending on their cohesion. Furthermore, this overview is not diachronically uniform as bauxites progressively replaced other raw materials in Early Chassey stages.Last, several symbolical aspects have been highlighted and characterized. A calcareous block was carved and painted in red- and yellowed to portray an anthropomorphic “mask”. The colour red is associated with funeral activities. Starting at the SMP phases, the main use of color is aimed at the coloring of ceramics, the latter probably dedicated to specific social activities as suggested by the technical investment involved: red powder incrustation in ceramic (Pendimoun) and then by white powder incrustation in engraved decor, black and red painting (Giribaldi).
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Mammals in Late Neolithic Orkney (with reference to mammal bone recovered from Links of Noltland, Westray)Fraser, Sheena Mary January 2015 (has links)
Excavation of thirty skulls, twenty-eight cattle and two sheep from the foundation course of a Late Neolithic structure at Links of Noltland (LON), Structure 9, is the starting point for this thesis, which investigates the economic and socio-cultural relationships of cattle and other mammals on Orkney communities between 3000 and 2500 BC. The LON settlement was located on a machair plain in Westray, the most N-W island within the Orkney archipelago (HY 428 493). Male and female cattle skulls were inter-mixed within the LON foundation course so a “bull cult” is not represented. The sequence from living skulls to skulls “animating the building is (i) breed/acquire (ii) nurture (iii) cull/butcher (iv) consume (v) transform to object (vi) curate (vii) deposit. A skull deposit infilling an internal passageway from another LON, Structure 18, is compared and contrasted with the Structure 9 foundation deposit. Special treatment of cattle skulls from a wide range of European and Near-East sites is also reviewed to emphasise the widespread use of this symbol during the Neolithic period. Orkney was separated from mainland Scotland prior to the establishment of the LON settlement so consideration is given to modes of arrival for mammals and their impact on this depauperate archipelago. Cattle and sheep dominated the domestic mammal remains examined, pig and dog were rare and goat and horse absent. The most abundant non-domestic mammals were red deer and Orkney voles, but otters and sea mammals were also present in low numbers. Genetic studies indicate that one cattle skull carried genetic material from aurochs, wild cattle. To date there is sparse evidence of interbreeding between wild aurochs and Neolithic domesticated cattle in Europe and none in Britain. The alterative explanation that aurochs were already present on Orkney during the Neolithic is explored. Articulated red deer deposits from LON were also examined. Although previous publications explored the possibility that these deposits are “ritual” other possible explanations for these deposits are outlined. No parallels were noted between the cattle skull and articulated red deer deposits, but the importance of antler for practical and symbolic use in Neolithic Orkney may be under-estimated. Stature of cattle remained relatively stable during the Mid to Late Neolithic in Orkney but underwent diminution by the Iron Age. A similar, but less marked reduction was also noted for sheep, but red deer already had small stature compared with early Holocene mainland Scotland red deer. The thesis concludes that cattle, sheep and red deer were of fundamental importance to the Neolithic society of Orkney, providing surplus food, tools and possibly traction, to support an increasingly sophisticated Neolithic society undertaking construction of complex structures and monuments. In addition, cattle fulfilled an important role in their cultural and spiritual life.
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Assessing the nature of early farming in Neolithic western Asia : a functional ecological approach to emerging arable weedsGreen, Laura January 2017 (has links)
Research on the origins of agriculture in western Asia has placed great emphasis on the location and pace of domestication. However, much less attention has been given to reconstructing the specific nature and social implications of early cultivation practices across the agricultural transition, and to the potentially varied land management strategies involved. By employing a functional ecological approach to the interpretation of arable 'weed' taxa associated with early cultivars, this research addresses this gap in archaeobotancial research by enabling detailed analysis of the growing conditions and farming methods involved in early plant cultivation in western Asia. The core methodology analyses the functional ecological attributes (e.g. leaf area and thickness; canopy dimensions; stomatal density and distribution) of the relevant arable weed taxa isolated from archaeological contexts to determine the specific growing conditions of early crops and hence the nature of management practices. Functional attributes are morphological or behavioural characteristics that predict species' potential in relation to major environmental variables, such as soil productivity, disturbance and moisture. Statistical analysis incorporating these attributes is used to explore variation amongst early cultivation contexts and compare them with weed survey data from contrasting (semi-)arid modern regimes, including a recent study of traditional cereal farming in Morocco. Ecological 'signatures' were determined using the isolated weed dataset from four well documented and contextually rich Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic sites, which were strategically selected to explore agricultural strategies from its initial stages through to the established Neolithic, as well as to exploit detailed sample-by-sample data and extensive in situ deposits. The sites investigated are PPNA Jerf el-Ahmar and PPNA/EPPNB Dja'de in northern Syria, PPNB Tell Aswad in southern Syria, and PPN-PN Çatalhöyük in Central Anatolia. Refined identification of selected weed genera at these sites enabled more accurate indications of their arable ecologies. The results generated suggest that early farming practices were highly variable within sites, reflecting the specific affordances of local climate and surrounding landscapes, but relatively labour-intensive in comparison with later urban agrosystems. Furthermore, there are indications for greater cultivation intensity over time, as households became more autonomous.
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Les industries en quartz de Kovačevo (Bulgarie), Madžari (ARYM), Promachonas-Topolniča et Dikili Tash (Grèce) : reconstitution des systèmes techniques dans le contexte de la Néolithisation de l’Europe du Sud-Est / Quartz industries from Kovačevo (Bulgaria), Madžari (FYROM), Promachonas-Topolniča and Dikili Tash (Greece) : reconstruction of technical systems in the context of neolithization of southeastern EuropeTardy, Nicolas 12 September 2016 (has links)
Les publications scientifiques traitant de l’utilisation des matériaux quartz en préhistoire sont rarissimes comparé à celles traitant des roches siliceuses cryptocristallines comme le silex ou l’obsidienne. Pourtant, les populations humaines ont abondamment utilisé les divers matériaux réunis sous l’appellation « quartz » pour la confection de leur outillage, et ce depuis les périodes les plus reculées du Paléolithique Inférieur jusqu’aux époques modernes. Les raisons de cette sélection préférentielle des outils en silex comme matériel d’étude sont multiples. Outre le poids des approches traditionnelles à la Préhistoire où l’étude du silex est prépondérante, le matériel en quartz présente des difficultés d’études qui sont à la fois liées à la texture du matériau et à ses propriétés mécaniques, mais aussi à l’utilisation de méthodologies d’analyses dérivées de l’étude du silex et qui s’avèrent inadéquates ou mal adaptées pour le quartz de filon. Un premier chapitre introductif est ainsi destiné à présenter les principales causes du manque d’intérêt des préhistoriens envers les matériaux quartz. Nous proposerons, dans un second temps, de délivrer les principaux éléments de caractérisation minéralogique et pétrographique de ce que l’on nomme communément « quartz ». Le second chapitre est entièrement destiné à réunir et confronter les principaux résultats de quelques spécialistes pionniers ayant travaillé sur l’utilisation du quartz pour la confection d’un outillage lithique. Au travers de cette récolte de données informatives, il s’agira d’établir les principales caractéristiques des quartz de filon en termes de comportement à la taille et d’établir une liste des principaux critères technologiques, morphologiques et typologiques permettant son analyse. Le troisième chapitre est consacré à la présentation de la méthodologie d’analyse typo-technologique employé dans cette étude. Cette méthode se fonde principalement sur les divers critères exposés au sein du chapitre 2. Le quatrième et dernier chapitre est entièrement consacré à l’analyse des séries en quartz des sites néolithiques de Kovačevo (Bulgarie), Madžari (ARYM), Promachonas-Topolniča (frontière gréco-bulgare) et Dikili Tash (Grèce). L’objectif étant, à partir de la création d’une méthodologie de référence, de reconnaître les choix opérés par les sociétés néolithiques balkaniques dans la gestion et la production de leurs outillages domestiques. Ces choix sont évalués, en termes culturels, en établissant la part des contraintes environnementales, la disponibilité des ressources des domaines lithologiques locaux, les technologies utilisées ainsi que les grands domaines d’activités impliquant l’utilisation de la fraction quartz de l’outillage. Les modes de production de l’industrie du quartz seront aussi replacés dans la gestion de l’ensemble des industries néolithiques, du silex, mais aussi de la poterie, afin de comprendre leur place dans le système socio-économique des premières communautés agropastorales des Balkans. / Scientific publications dealing with the use of quartz in Prehistory are rare compared to those dealing siliceous cryptocristalline rocks such as flint, chert and obsidian. Yet, human populations have extensively used the various materials gathered under the appelation « quartz » for making their tools since the remotest times of the Lower Palaeolithic to modern times. The reasons for this preferential selection of flint tools as study materials are multiple. Besides the weight of traditional approaches to prehistoric times where the study of flint is predominant, quartz materials present difficulties of studies that are both related to the texture of the material and its mechanical properties, but also to the use of derivative methodologies of analysis of the study of flint that prove inadequate or unsuitable for vein quartz materials.An introductory chapter is thus intended to present the main causes of the lack of interest from prehistorians towards quartz materials. We then propose to deliver the main mineralogical and petrographic elements that characterize what is commonly called “quartz”.The second chapter is fully intended to unite and confront the main results of some pioneers specialists who have worked on the use of quartz for the manufacture of stone tools. This collection of informative data will help us establish the main features of vein quartz in terms of knapping behavior and also to list the main technological, morphological and typological criteria enabling its analysis.The third chapter is devoted to the presentation of the methodology used in this study. It consists of a typo-technological analysis mainly based on the various criteria outlined in chapter 2.The fourth and final chapter is fully devoted to the analysis of the quartz series from Neolithic sites Kovačevo (Bulgaria), Madzari (FYROM), Promachonas-Topolnica (Greek-Bulgarian border) and Dikili Tash (Greece). The objective is to recognize the choices made by the Balkan Neolithic societies in the management and production of their domestic tools. These choices are evaluated in cultural terms, establishing the share of environmental constraints, resource availability of local lithological domains, technologies and major areas of activity involving the use of quartz tools. The quartz industry production patterns will also be replaced in the management of the entire Neolithic industries, flint, but also pottery, to understand their place in the socio-economic system of the first agro-pastoral communities in the Balkans.
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Le néolithique tellien de la grotte de Gueldaman GLD1 (Babors d'Akbou, Algérie, VIII-V millénaire BP) / Tellian neolithic from Gueldaman GLD1 cave (Babors d'Akbou, Algeria, VIII-V millennium BP)Kherbouche, Farid 09 December 2015 (has links)
La grotte GLD1 dans l’Adrar Gueldaman (Babors d’Akbou/Algérie) a bénéficié d’un programme de recherche pluridisciplinaire du CNRPAH depuis 2010. Une séquence néolithique couvrant la période VIII-Ve millénaires BP a été mise au jour et fouillée (Secteurs 2 et 3). La reconstitution du cadre chronostratigraphique climatique, économique et culturel des occupations a permis d’individualiser 4 unités archéologiques chronologiquement calées par 28 dates 14C (cal BP) : UA1 [7200-6500], UA2 [6500-530], UA3 [5000-4600], UA4 [4500-4200]. Une reconstitution paléoclimatique est proposée à travers des analyses isotopiques (d13C et d18O) réalisées sur deux stalagmites STM2 et STM4 de GLD1 dont la croissance (dates U/Th), couvre les trois dernières unités archéologiques. Une corrélation entre changements climatiques et occupations du site est mise en évidence. L’abandon de la grotte coïncide avec la crise d’aridité de 4200 BP enregistrée sur le pourtour méditerranéen. La faune domestique est représentée par des chèvres, des moutons (UA1) et des bovins (UA2). Les systèmes d'élevage des chèvres et moutons correspondent aux modèles de gestion des troupeaux des ovicaprinés de sites néolithiques méditerranéens du Sud de la France et de l’Italie ainsi que du Proche-Orient. Les résultats préliminaires paléobotaniques (étude sur 10% du corpus) indique l’a présence de blé et de l'orge en UA4. La céramique à fond conique est décorée par incision (UA1) et impression sans recours au cardium. Les résidus organiques identifiés concernent les matières grasses carnées et laitières ainsi que la cire d’abeille (miel). Le mobilier lithique est typique constitué d’outils du fonds commun épipaléolithique et de nouveaux apports (armatures de flèches, racloirs et scies). L’industrie osseuse est exceptionnellement riche, diversifiée et bien conservée. Les documents symboliques sont en ivoire d’éléphant, derme ossifié de tortue, test d’œuf d’autruche, coquillage marin et ocre. / A multidisciplinary project at GLD1 cave in the Adrar Gueldaman ridge (Babors near Akbou/North Algeria) was initiated by CNRPAH in 2010. A Neolithic sequence covering the VIII-V millennia BP has been revealed (Sectors S2 and S3). The chronostratigraphic, climatic, economic and cultural contexts have been studied, leading to the definition of four archaeological units chronologically delimited using 28 14C dates on charcoal (cal BP): UA1 [7200-6500], UA2 [6500-530], UA3 [5000-4600], UA4 [4500-4200]. The paleoclimate for periods UA2 to UA4 was reconstructed using isotopic analysis (d13C and d18O) of two stalagmites (STM2 and STM4), demonstrating a correlation between climatic changes and the occupation of the cave. A prolonged drought at ca. 4400–3800 cal BP is supposed to be the responsible of cave abandonment shortly after ca. 4403 cal BP. The domestic fauna is composed of sheep and goat (UA1) and cattle (UA2). The slaughter profiles for the ovis/capra assemblages suggest a mixed meat/milk economy. Molecular and isotopic analysis of absorbed food residues from 140 pottery vessels confirms the exploitation of domesticated animals, for their carcass fats and their secondary products, e.g. dairy fats. Preliminary palaeobotanical results (10% of the remains studied) show that both wheat and barley were cultivated during the last unit (UA4). Vessels with conical bottoms were decorated by incision (UA1) or impression techniques without using cardium shell. Lithic tools have epipalaeolithic characteristics, but typical Neolithic ones such as arrowheads, scrapers, and saws are also present. The worked bone industry is exceptionally rich, diversified and well preserved. A large variety of well-preserved ornaments were crafted from elephant ivory, marine gastropod shells, bird bones, tortoise shells, and ostrich eggshell.
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Les populations du Néolithique moyen autour du Bassin lémanique : une approche anthropométrique / Middle neolithic populations around Lemanic basin : an anthropomometrical approachCivetta, Aude 15 January 2010 (has links)
Le Néolithique moyen (4500-3500 av. J.-C) est une période transitoire entre deux phases importantes de la préhistoire récente : la néolithisation des territoires occidentaux de l’Europe au Néolithique ancien et la multiplication des identités culturelles au Néolithique final. Longtemps considérée comme une période de « stabilisation » des groupes humains, les recherches archéologiques ont montré la complexité de cette période particulière de la Préhistoire récente. Les Alpes se situent à la confluence de plusieurs aires chronoculturelles et présentent à ce niveau un intéressant terrain d’étude. Notre étude se porte sur plusieurs populations appartenant à cette phase chronologique. Plusieurs analyses statistiques univariées et multivariées ont été effectuées à partir des données métriques crâniennes et infracrâniennes des groupes appartenant à la région du Bassin lémanique afin de percevoir leur variabilité diachronique. Puis, ils ont été comparés à des populations chronologiquement similaires, mais appartenant à d’autres aires chronoculturelles voisines. La morphologie crânienne ne nous a pas permis de mettre en évidence de variations dans les groupes lémaniques au cours du millénaire considéré, qui paraissent ainsi présenter une certaine stabilité morphologique. Toutefois, un gradient morphologique est perceptible entre les différentes populations occidentales considérées dans notre échantillon. La forme et le format infracrâniens nous ont permis d’avancer plusieurs hypothèses quant aux conditions et modes de vie de ces différentes populations. Ils remettent en question la définition initiale des populations du Néolithique moyen à savoir une réduction du format et une tendance à la gracilisation et montrent, au contraire, une certaine variation des caractères de forme et de format qui semble dépendante du contexte environnemental dans lequel évoluaient ces groupes humains. / The mid Neolithic period (4500-3500 BC) is a transitional one, between two important phases of recent prehistory: neolithization of western Europe’s territories in the ancient neolithic period and the multiplication of cultural identities in the final Neolithic period. For a long time, it has been considered the « stabilisation » period of the human groups. Archaeological research has shown the complexity of this particular period of recent prehistory. The Alps are located at the confluence of several chronocultural eras and are thus an interesting study ground. Our study deals with several populations of this particular chronological period. Several statistical analysis, univariate and multivariate, were carried out using cranial and infracranial metric based data on groups from the Geneva lake Basin to determine their diachronic variability. Then they were compared to other similar populations of the same period, from neighbouring areas. The cranial morphology based findings did not highlight any variations in Geneva Basin groups during the millennium studied which seems to prove a morphological stability. However, a morphological gradient is discernible between the different western populations sampled. Infracranial shapes and sizes have allowed us to put forward several hypotheses about the conditions and way of life during that period of time. They question the initial definition of middle Neolithic population, i.e. format reduction and a tendency to slenderness, but show on the contrary a certain form and size variation, which seem to be dependant on the environmental context in which these human groups were living.
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Re-thinking diffusion 'in-between' : cultural encounters, time and the formation of hybrid identitiesGarcia Rovira, Irene January 2012 (has links)
For some time now, social scientists, literary critics and others who have examined socio-political developments characterised by intercultural interaction (e.g. colonialism or globalisation), have emphasised the creative, transformative and hybrid character of the space 'in-between' (e.g. Bhabha 1994; Young 1995). Even though 'hybridity discourses' have principally explored spheres of intercultural interaction in order to dismantle traditional binary oppositions used in colonial studies, or to describe the subtleties of our contemporary globalised environment, they have also raised awareness of the need to integrate such insights into accounts that explore and theorise a range of social phenomena (e.g. Nederveen Pieterse 2009). Whilst this integration has taken place in the wider context of the social sciences, scant attention has been given within the reflective arena of post-processualism to devising theoretical approaches which allow for analyses either of the space 'in-between' or the 'multivoicedness' (Bakhtin 1981) of material culture (for an exception see Fahlander 2007). This thesis seeks to define the theoretical as well as methodological strategies needed to incorporate the notion of 'hybridity' into the post-processual discourse. Although the effects of hybridity can take various forms (e.g. linguistics, culture, politics, religion) (Ashcroft et al. 1998), our possibilities for exploring this concept in archaeology amount to identifying the effects of hybridity on the realm of material culture. This research focuses on developing a theoretical and methodological approach that allows intercultural interaction to be examined through the identification of material patterning. To do so, the notion of 'diffusion' is reconsidered as an analytical concept in archaeology. This thesis then draws upon this approach to explore developments within the Orcadian Neolithic during the later fourth millennium BC. As a period of structural change in the islands, it has been the breeding ground for the development of various differing approaches to interpretation (e.g. Renfrew 1979b, Hodder 1982a; Sharples 1985). On this occasion, I will argue that this period represented a classic example of the formation of hybrid identities. Whilst a self-unified image of society was sought in these islands during this period, it is suggested that the cultural expressions used to depict identity reflected intercultural interaction with the Boyne Valley (Ireland).
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La grotte des Arene Candide : Productions céramiques et dynamiques du peuplement en Ligurie occidentale au cours du VI millénaire AEC / La Caverna delle Arene Candide : Produzioni ceramiche e dinamiche di popolamento in Liguria occidentale nel corso del VI millennio BCE / Arene Candide cave : Pottery production and peopling dynamics in western Liguria during the sixth millennium BCEPanelli, Chiara 21 March 2019 (has links)
Le premier néolithique de la Méditerranée occidentale est représenté par un ensemble d'expressions culturelles polymorphes qui se sont développées au cours du VIème millénaire AEC et qui sont définies traditionnellement par la présence de céramiques imprimées. En traçant la variabilité morphologique et décorative des productions céramiques, on peut suivre les dynamiques de diffusion du Néolithique selon un modèle de progression arythmique, d’est en ouest, caractérisée par un renouvellement continu des composantes technoculturelles.Dans ce cadre, à partir du début du VIème millénaire AEC, la Ligurie se révèle comme un espace particulièrement représentatif des transformations sociales et culturelles en jeu et constitue donc un domaine privilégié pour la compréhension des mécanismes de diffusion néolithique en Méditerranée nord-occidentale. Cette recherche s’est focalisée sur l'analyse technologique de la production céramique pour décoder les systèmes techno-économiques des groupes néolithiques, à travers une étude structurée sur deux niveaux progressifs et complémentaires, du site à l'échelle régionale.Les récentes fouilles effectuées aux Arene Candide (1997-2012) ont documenté en détail une séquence stratigraphique relative aux premières phases du Néolithique et ont fourni de nouvelles et cohérentes données contextuelles. La lecture technologique de l’assemblage céramique issu de ces recherches a permis de reconstruire le système de production céramique en relation avec l’articulation stratigraphique et chronologique, en mettant en évidence une évolution des comportements techniques et stylistiques au cours du VIème millénaire AEC. On a pu ainsi élaborer un modèle de périodisation, fondé sur des marqueurs techno-stylistiques spécifiques des différents horizons chrono-culturels. Ce modèle a été ensuite appliqué dans le cadre d’une révision systématique des céramiques provenant des sites contemporains, répartis entre la région de Finale et le Val Pennavaira, souvent très peu considérées parce que provenant généralement de contextes jugés peu fiables. Cette approche a permis de clarifier l'attribution chronologique et culturelle de ces séries céramiques, en fournissant des éléments pour une reconstruction diachronique des dynamiques de peuplement, et pour l'organisation et la gestion du territoire au cours du VIème millénaire AEC. Ces résultats ont alimenté le débat sur les interactions culturelles dans le bassin occidental de la Méditerranée. / The early Neolithic of the western Mediterranean is represented by a polymorphic set of cultural expressions, traditionally defined by the presence of impressed wares, that developed during the sixth millennium BCE. By tracing the morphological and decorative variability of these ceramic productions, it was possible to outline a model of arrhythmic progression of the Neolithic package diffusion, from east to west, characterized by a continuous renewal of its techno-cultural components. Within this context, from the beginning of the sixth millennium BCE, Liguria is a particularly representative space of the social and cultural transformations that took place in the western Mediterranean and represents a privileged area for the untangling of the mechanisms of Neolithic diffusion in this area. This research focused on the technological analysis of ceramic production in order to decode the techno-economic systems of the Neolithic groups, through an integrated study, which was structured in two progressive and complementary levels, from infra-site to a regional scale.Recent excavations at the Arene Candide cave (1997-2012) documented in detail a clear stratigraphic sequence related to the early Neolithic phases, providing new and consistent proxy data. The technological analysis of the ceramic assemblage resulting from these researches allowed for the reconstruction of the pottery production system in relation to the stratigraphic and chronological articulation, highlighting an evolution of technical and stylistic behaviours during the sixth millennium BCE. This led to the elaboration of a diachronic model, articulated in different chrono-cultural horizons, each characterized by specific techno-stylistic markers. The systematic revision of the pottery from the contemporary sites of the region, mainly distributed between the Finalese region and Val Pennavaira, and often neglected due to their absent or unreliable contextual documentation, was also implemented. This revision allowed for the clarification of the chronological and cultural attribution of these ceramic sets, providing new elements for a diachronic reconstruction of settlement dynamics, as well as of the organization and management of the territory during the sixth millennium BCE, and finally revealed cultural interactions with the western Mediterranean basin.In general, the results obtained by this study increase, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the data relating to the early Neolithic stages of the region, unlocking the informative potential of a holistic approach to the analysis of the ceramic document, even when applied to remarkably fragmentary materials. These new results contribute to the ongoing debate on the complex phenomenon of the neolithization of the western Mediterranean.
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