Search

This study recreates aspects of the life and death of a young adult male who died during the siege of Roca Vecchia, a Bronze Age fortified coastal site in Italy. The partially charred and unburied individual, Roca US813A, was found among the debris in the southern room of the main gate to the city. This paper highlights information that can be retrieved from a single partially preserved skeleton. Detailed bioarchaeological, forensic, and taphonomic analysis, and thorough examination of archaeological and contextual data permit an osteobiography of this individual to be developed, which we situate in the overall picture of Middle Bronze Age regional events and exchanges between Italy and the Aegean world. This individual represents a unique example of information derived from bones from an archaeological context. After suffering fatal blows to the body, the individual was accidently exposed to heat. This allowed us to analyze wounds that had undergone thermal alteration. Since the combustion of the body was only partial and the same bone retains both highly burned and unburned parts, we were able to document the variations induced by heat at a macroscopic and microscopic level. To investigate the circumstances of his death, we focus on macroscopic and microscopic details of taphonomy and trauma using micro-CT, forensic, and multi-isotopic analysis. This may be the first secure evidence of a Middle Bronze Age (MBA) war casualty in Italy. In addition to detailed information about their manner of death, we discuss implications for the peopling of the site, tactics in Bronze Age warfare, and the nature of relations between Roca and the Aegean region. • Roca Vecchia; Middle Bronze Age; Warfare; Perimortem Traumas; Burned bones; Indigenous-Aegean relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates core reduction intensity in the early Protoaurignacian lithic assemblage from Fumane Cave in northeastern Italy. Reduction intensity serves as a key tool to characterize blank selection strategies, raw material management, and the variability of knapping strategies throughout the reduction sequence by reconstructing the operatory field of core assemblages. Finally, it also aids in addressing the relationship between blades and bladelets, providing valuable insights into the behavioral and chrono-cultural significance of laminar productions within the Aurignacian technocomplex. To achieve these research goals, experimental work employing 3D scanning technology was conducted. This facilitated the comparison of different methods and variables for measuring reduction intensity, including the percentage of non-cortical surface, the Scar Density Index (SDI), and a novel adaptation of the Volumetric Reconstruction Method (VRM). Results demonstrate the effectiveness and potential of adapting the VRM for the study of reduction intensity in Upper Paleolithic laminar cores, and the provided R scripts and datasets will enable this method to be applied to other contexts with minimal need for modification to the workflow. Analysis of reduction intensity measures applied to the Protoaurignacian assemblage from Fumane Cave reveals slight variations based on factors such as the abundance and proximity of selected raw materials for blank production. Notably, the most prevalent raw material variety, the Maiolica, yields a higher number of less reduced cores, while reduction levels across all cores discarded at the site remain relatively high. The observed variability in the operatory field and the interrelation between blade and bladelet productions underscore the complexity and flexibility of Protoaurignacian behavior. This inherent complexity challenges any definitive separation between the operatory fields of blade and bladelet productions. These findings are particularly important to emphasize the importance of considering reduction intensity when examining technological variability and human behavior in Aurignacian studies. The proposed adaptation of the VRM and the effective combination with other measures of reduction, promises to allow future research to incorporate reduction intensity as a vital temporal component within studies on stone tool production. This integration offers a pathway to enhancing our understanding of the adaptive behaviors exhibited by Homo sapiens across diverse ecological settings and provides a clearer framework for better framing the development of the Upper Paleolithic. • Tested an adapted version of the VRM on blade & bladelet cores using experimental knapping and 3D scanning technology. • VRM effective with laminar core types, enhanced by methods like the SDI for comprehensive reduction intensity insights. • VRM & SDI used to explore raw material, core classification, and blank production in the Protoaurignacian from Fumane cave. • Results highlight challenges in separating the operatory fields of blade & bladelet productions in the Protoaurignacian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raw counts of archaeological sites, estimates of changing settlement size and summed radiocarbon probability distributions have all become popular ways to investigate long-term regional trends in human population. Nevertheless, these three archaeological proxies have rarely been compared. This paper therefore explores the strengths and weaknesses of different kinds of archaeological evidence for population patterns, as well as how they address related issues such as taphonomic loss, chronological uncertainty and uneven sampling. Our overall substantive goal is to reconstruct demographic fluctuations in central Italy from the Late Mesolithic to the fall of the Roman Empire (7500 BC-AD 500), and with this in mind, we bring to bear an unusually detailed and extensive dataset of published central Italian archaeological surveys, consisting of some 10,971 occupation phases at 7383 different sites. The comparative results demonstrate reassuring consistency in the suggested demographic patterns, and where such patterns diverge across different proxies (e.g. Late Bronze Age/Iron Age) they often do so in useful ways that suggest changes in population structure such as site nucleation or dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper proposes a Bayesian model for the 14C chronology of Sicilian Early and Middle Bronze Age, with a specific focus on the northeastern sector of the island. Building on the available 14C determinations, the model allows addressing a number of chronological questions left open in literature, making a first step towards an independent absolute chronology. The analysis put the start of the earlier part of Early Bronze Age (Capo Graziano 1-Casa Lopez phase) between 2400 and 2175 cal BC, and the end at about 1960 cal BC. The advanced stage of the same period (Capo Graziano 1-Filo Braccio phase) is likely to have started and ended around 1960 and 1730 cal BC respectively. The model indicates that the time slot with the highest posterior probability for the start of the Middle Bronze Age–Milazzese (Portella phase) is between 1490 and 1460 cal BC. This turns up to be earlier than held to date. Notably, the model enables for the first time to bracket the development of the later stage of Early Bronze (Capo Graziano 2-M. di Capo Graziano phase) between 1730 (end of Filo Braccio phase) and 1490/60 cal BC (start of Middle Bronze Age–Portella phase). The latter date is earlier than usually held for the end of Capo Graziano 2. The existence of a narrow gap between the end of the latter and the start of Middle Bronze Age-Portella phase is tentatively proposed only on stratigraphic grounds. Further, the analysis enables for the first time to pinpoint and quantify the lag that is likely to have existed between the start of those Sicilian prehistoric phases and the appearance of Late Helladic imports. The comparison with the Aegean 14C Bayesian chronology indicates that a time lag (about 45 yr) is likely to have occurred between the start of Capo Graziano 2 and of the Late Helladic period. A time lag between 20 and 70 yr is likely to have existed between the start of the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age and of the Late Helladic III. Arguments tentatively supporting the narrower interval are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper documents a comprehensive study of thirty-two stamped bricks found in territory of the ancient town of Cosa (Ansedonia, Grosseto). The geographical distribution of these materials distinguished ‘municipal’ productions, i.e. those found within the territory of Cosa (ager cosanus) only, and ‘urban’ productions, i.e. those found in the ager cosanus, as well as in the territory comprising Rome and its suburbs and/or the entire Tiber Valley. Main aim of the study was to verify the provenance of ‘municipal’ productions, by a combination of archaeological, epigraphical, prosopographical and archaeometrical (OM, SEM–EDS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, INAA) research instruments and techniques. Data integration revealed that six ‘municipal’ productions (over a total of nine) were produced in the territory surrounding the Cosa''s promontory, using marine and fluvial clayey deposits. Conversely, three ‘municipal’ productions were assigned to the ‘urban’ area, and possibly assigned to the Tiber Valley. An important distinction was made among the ‘urban’ productions, proving the feasibility of their discrimination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper is focused on a spectroscopic study of some pottery shards from an archaeological site in Syracuse (Sicily, Southern Italy), dating back to the Hellenistic–Roman period. Structural characterization was performed at different scales of observation, i.e. from macroscopic to mesoscopic. The main goal was to point out the potentiality of the small angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique as a non-invasive analytical tool in archaeometry, also in conjunction with other, more usual, methodologies. Correlation of experimental data, i.e. macroscopic typology and texture, obtained from petrographic analysis, and radius of gyration and fractal dimension of the interfaces of the mesoscopic aggregates obtained using SANS, together with mineralogical X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, allowed hypotheses to be made on the production technology of the investigated samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The analysis of the composition of organic residues present in ancient pottery are an important source of information for archaeologists. The chemical characterisation of these materials gives information on diets, habits, technologies and original use of the vessels. In this paper the resinous materials from the interior surfaces of Roman amphoras and the contents of two particular vessels (called Kadoi) coming from Monte Poro, in Calabria (Italy) were studied. The organic materials were identified by Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The presence of monocarboxylic acids and terpenic species shows that the organic residues were of vegetable origin or mainly consist of vegetable-based resins. Moreover, the presence of characteristic diterpenic biomarkers permits to recognize the use of pine resin and pine pitch, while the presence of methyl dehydro-abietic acid is likely linked to the use of wood tar and not only to the pine pitch. It was not possible to identify with accuracy the species of Pine used to prepare the pitch since the profile of diterpenoid acids of an aged and thermal treated resin is very different from the one of fresh resin. Nevertheless, the hypothesis about the use of Pinus Laricius and Pinus Negrus to prepare the pitch is plausible as these two species were and are both very abundant in Monte Poro''s area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper discusses the results of the analysis of a female skull from a collective burial dated to the Ancient Bronze Age in Italy (Ballabio, LC). A virtual restoration and 3D reconstruction was also produced from the digitalized skull to complete the damaged parts and to recreate the facial appearance of this young adult female from the Bronze Age. The skull shows clear evidence of post-mortem modifications, as some series of scraping marks on the external cranial vault cross the parietal bones longitudinally. The contemporaneous presence of taphonomic linear marks on the skull and periostitis on the frontal bone, as well as the provenance of the specimen from a secondary burial (a typical funerary habit documented in Italy during the Copper Age and Ancient Bronze Age), makes it difficult to interpret the case (scalping, surgery, or ritual practice linked to secondary burial). The advanced methods used to analyse the skull surface allowed us to discriminate intentional marks from modifications due to other taphonomic processes and to determine the timing of their formation (peri- or post-mortem). The possibility that the scraping marks are related to a ritual practice, conducted during the individual''s life (with specific symbolic or social value) or after death or at the moment of secondary burial, is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present paper reports the results of archaeometric characterisation of the opaque tesserae, intentionally coloured with antimony- or phosphorus-based opacifiers, coming from one of the two only palaeo-Christian glass mosaics known in the Veneto region (Italy), i.e., the mosaic which decorated the votive chapel of St. Prosdocimus in Padova. In particular, 55 tesserae belonging to glass types “White”, “Blue”, “Yellow”, “Green” and “Brown” are examined here. The multi-methodological approach (SEM-EDS, EMPA, XRPD, imaging spectroscopy coupled, in some cases, with XAS) gave valuable insights into the complexities of palaeo-Christian glass mosaic production technologies. Two main groups are identified, one characterised by glassy matrixes and opacifiers (calcium or lead antimonate) typical of the Roman period and comprising all “White”, “Blue”, and “Yellow” tesserae and some “Green” ones, and the other characterised by glassy matrixes and an opacifier (calcium phosphate) typical of the 6th century AD, composed of “Green” and “Brown” tesserae. This suggests that, during that century there was a gradual change from older to “new” production technologies: although new opacifiers such as calcium phosphate started to be used, the frequent use of antimony-based ones (43/55 samples) supports the hypothesis that their systematic use was extended until the 6th century, although re-using old tesserae cannot be completely excluded. In addition, comparisons with compositional groups already identified in the “gold” tesserae of the same mosaic and tesserae from Ravenna demonstrate that both the same “base compositions” of the glass were used to produce transparent and opaque glass. This evidence, coupled with the results of the historical-artistic study, suggests technological connections between Padova and Ravenna, the capital of Byzantine mosaics in Italy. Micro-structural observations and chemical analyses of the Paduan antimony-based opacified glass demonstrate that different processes and raw materials were used in their production. Both in situ and ex situ crystallisation can be identified for calcium and lead antimonate in Paduan tesserae, whereas the production of tesserae opacified with calcium phosphate generally appears to be highly standardised. Although the opacifiers used in the Paduan tesserae support technological transitions, the colouring elements identified here, i.e., iron and manganese for white, yellow, brown and some green tesserae, cobalt for blue, and copper for blue and green, suggest continuity, because their use is widely testified in the production of both transparent and opaque glass artefacts dating from the Bronze Age until Medieval times, from whichever archaeological site the samples come. Peculiar relationships among the oxidation states of colouring elements, their contents in the glassy matrix, the types of opacifiers used, and the final colour of tesserae were identified. In addition, the correlations of cobalt and/or copper with other elements, together with identification of relics of colouring and “metallic” droplets, allow us to speculate on possible sources and production technologies. Lastly, identification of newly formed crystalline inclusions in tesserae also yields information on kiln temperatures, which ranged between 900 and 1150 °C, a range easily reached in the furnaces of the 6th century AD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a case study that questions the behavioral model of a “non-modern” provisioning of raw materials by Neanderthals. The Salento is a peninsula in south eastern Italy rich in Mousterian sites and Neanderthal remains. This region is particularly suitable for raw material economy studies, for its peninsular status and the scarceness of good raw materials. Surveys made in 2006 showed the pattern of utilization of different local raw materials (limestone, siliceous limestone) and the absence of good quality raw materials, that are present in archaeological record. A very long distance provisioning is supposed to be at the origin of their presence in Mousterian Salento sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Traumatic dental injuries, although apparently rare in archaeological populations, can be found under certain circumstances affecting the dentition in a variety of ways. This paper contributes to the paleopathology literature by reporting one case of dental trauma. Evidence for differentiating antemortem/perimortem dental trauma from postmortem damage is presented, and it is suggested that these injuries were sustained due to an accidental fall, supported by the morphology, location and extension of the injuries and characterization of the impact. These data provide a valuable information for a reconstruction of past behaviors in the Samnitic necropolis of Opi Val Fondillo (VI–V century BC; Central Italy). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A systematic and extensive archaeometric study was carried out on the loose polychrome tesserae of the palaeo-Christian glass mosaic which decorated the votive chapel of St. Prosdocimus in Padova until its replacement by the current frescoes of Renaissance age and which is one of the only two known in the Veneto region (Italy). In particular, the present paper focuses on the ‘gold’ tesserae, i.e., tesserae with a metal foil, usually composed of gold, and characterised by transparent glass not deliberately coloured or decolourised. The main research aims were the identification of the ‘base composition’ of the glass used for mosaics and the reconstruction of production techniques. In addition, comparisons with major compositional groups identified in the literature allowed us to contextualise Paduan ‘gold’ tesserae in the wider context of glass production in the 6th century AD. The compositional characterisation of Paduan ‘gold’ tesserae, carried out by means of EMPA and LA-ICP-MS analyses, showed that most of the glass samples were obtained with natron as flux, although the coexistence of various production technologies and the extent of recycling, which confirm the 6th century AD as a period of technological transition, are documented. Identification of some soda ash tesserae also allowed us to attest Medieval restoration operations. The good match between compositional groups identified in the literature for glass vessels and compositional groups identified in the ‘gold’ tesserae suggests technological links between these two production types. The chemical similarity between ‘gold’ tesserae from Ravenna and some from Padova also links production technologies in these two towns during the 6th century; coupled with the results of the historical-artistic study, these factors provide further evidence to the hypothesis that the Paduan production was mainly influenced by the nearby city of Ravenna, the capital of Byzantine mosaics in Italy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: “Learn about the past to better understand the present and predict the future”. Although used abundantly to justify our interest in ancient societies, this statement lacks practical meaning due to the high degree of uncertainty which cloaks archaeological studies and theories, and the fact that there is no real way to prove or validate them. That is why it is so important to approach this study from a multidisciplinary point of view, providing several inputs which complement each other and so maximize the amount of factual information drawn from the analysis. Even then, the study will never be truly complete because there will always be a missing document, a small trace of an object (), that still needs to be analysed. This paper aims to be a useful contribution to historical research, specifically to the study of architectural history. Its purpose is to create a series of methods and tools for testing and analysing theories and hypotheses for historical scenarios () through the use of 3D modelling tools and Virtual Reality (VR) engines. The project was developed in two stages: The first was the creation of several three-dimensional (3D) models, each representing a different theory or hypothesis. The models were based on accurate Computer Assisted Design (CAD) () models for the reconstruction of the buildings, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) () for the recreation of the terrain, thereby creating a realistic representation of what exists now, and a close approximation to what may have once existed. In the second stage, a simplified version of the models was imported into a Virtual Reality (VR) game engine () to create the ambience of the villa at the time, allowing full exploration of the space. It also includes fauna and flora, as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven avatars, as can be seen in the provided in the electronic version of this manuscript. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a quite recent (mid-1990s) remote sensing technique used to measure terrain elevation. Recent studies have examined the possibility of using LiDAR in archaeological investigations to map and characterize earthworks, to capture features that may be indistinguishable on the ground and to aid the planning of archaeological excavation campaigns. Despite the great potential of LiDAR in archaeology, also linked to its unique capability to penetrate vegetation canopies and identify archaeological earthworks and remains even under dense vegetation cover, the use of airborne laser scanning data encounters serious challenges. Data filtering and processing as well as pattern extraction, classification of terrain information from raw LiDAR data is still a challenging ongoing research. In this paper, we present the data processing chain along with the threshold-based algorithm we devised for the classification of ground and non-ground points and for the detection of archaeological features. The classification of laser data was performed using a strategy based on a set of “filtrations of the filtrate”. Appropriate criteria for the classification and filtering were set to gradually refine the intermediate results in order to obtain the vegetation heights and to discriminate between canopy, understory and micro-topographic relief of archaeological interest. We selected sample areas within two abandoned medieval settlements in Southern Italy characterized by the presence of low and heterogeneous herbaceous cover and complex topographical and morphological features, which make the identification of archaeological features really complex. Results from our investigations pointed out that the applied data processing enables the detection of micro-topographic relief in sparsely as well as in densely vegetated areas. The most important facts to cope with different environmental situations are mainly linked with (i) the resolution of the acquired data set and (ii) the data acquisition and processing chain specifically devised for archaeological purposes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents results of the use-wear analysis of Chalcolithic copper-base metalwork from the Italian peninsula. Previous research led to contrasting scholarly opinions regarding the function of early metal axes, daggers and halberds from this region. Whilst some authors interpreted these objects as utilitarian tools and weapons, others saw them as symbolic signifiers of social status and personhood. The analysis conducted here shows that this is a false dichotomy as all classes of metalwork seem to embody to some extent both utilitarian and non-utilitarian values. In particular, axes were primarily used for woodworking and other practical tasks, but were mostly withdrawn from circulation when still usable. This suggests that deposition practices bore a loose relationship, if any, with the functional value of the tools. Daggers were employed in a range of symbolically charged practices that left little wear on cutting edges. These probably included the sacrificial slaughtering and skinning of large animals such as cattle and horses. Halberds were utilised as weapons in champion’s duels in which display of combative skills and prowess would have been far more important than killing the opponent. This explains the relatively low rate of damaged blades in the record. Regardless of their practical function in lifetime settings, these objects were all similarly employed in burial to reproduce core social values such as gender and age. Importantly, this study contributes to debunking undemonstrated assumptions concerning the function of early metalwork in European prehistory. It also defines a replicable analytical protocol for the use-wear analysis of ancient copper-alloy artefacts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the present paper, it is shown that in the Hergla area (eastern Tunisia), obsidian was present from the early to at least the late sixth millennium cal BC. The presence of cores indicates that obsidian knapping was at least partly carried out in situ. The origin of these obsidians was determined from their elemental composition, by comparison with those originating from western Mediterranean potential sources, including analyses of new samples from the nearby Pantelleria Island. All obsidians were measured following the same protocol, by particle induced X-ray emission or by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersion spectrometry. All the Hergla obsidians were found to originate from the Balata dei Turchi sources of Pantelleria. A review of the present body of knowledge on eastern Maghreb suggests, in spite of the still very preliminary data available, that Pantelleria was almost its unique provider of obsidians from the Epipalaeolithic to and during the Neolithic. However, the relative importance of the two main Pantellerian sources of Balata dei Turchi and Lago di Venere as providers of obsidian to eastern Maghreb remains to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The petrochemical study of millstones can contribute to improve the archaeological research into reconstruction of ancient communication routes and trade networks. Volcanic rocks are geographically restricted and rather rare in the Mediterranean regions, and during the Roman period Italian volcanoes were important sources of raw materials for millstones, so the task of determining their geological origin is relatively straightforward. The Italian vesicular volcanics most frequently employed for this purpose were: trachytes from Euganean Hills (Veneto), leucite-bearing lavas from the Vulsini Volcanic District (Latium), basic-intermediate leucite-bearing lavas from Somma-Vesuvius (Campania), silica undersaturated lavas from Monte Vulture Volcano (Basilicata), a rhyolitic ignimbrite from Sardinia and basic products from Mount Etna and the island of Pantelleria (Sicily). This paper contains a general outline of the trade network for each volcanic typology used for millstones during the Roman period – updated with data concerning the leucite-bearing lavic items discovered in the archaeological sites of the ancient Cuicul (now Djemila, Algeria) – together with a summary of their petrographic and geochemical features. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on the chemical characterization of the original contents of an Egyptian origin alabaster unguentarium, found in an Etruscan burial in Chiusi (Tuscany, Italy) and dated 150/125–100 B.C. The unguentarium, found in an intact tomb belonging to a noble woman of Chiusine society, preserved a good part of its original contents owing to a protective layer of clay. The chemical characterization was carried out using a combination of two analytical procedures based, respectively, on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). FTIR is a fast fingerprinting tool able to highlight different classes of organic materials. After wet-chemical treatment of the samples, GC–MS was chosen for the recognition of the organic substances and their degradation products. The analytical approach used allowed us to obtain information on the presence of a mixture of at least three different substances: a vegetable oil, probably moringa, and two plant resins, mastic and pine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper documents a comprehensive study of coarse wares for table use, serving, washing and cooking, found at the archaeological site of Paola (Cosenza, southern Italy). Major aims of the study were to group local products and imports and to determine technological features of local products. Results were obtained through a combination of archaeological (stratigraphy and ceramic typology), chemical and mineralogical–petrographical techniques (ICP-OES, ICP-MS, INAA, XRF, OM, SEM-EDS and EMPA). Data integration revealed that the coarse wares found at Paola were produced locally or imported over short (Calabria region), medium (Campania, Pantelleria, Sicily) and long distances (Greece and Africa). The local production focused on basins, stewpots, pitchers, bowls, pans, casseroles and lids, sometimes imitating African, or Pompei (Campania) or San Foca (Puglia) typical shapes. The production technology of local ceramics used a sandy–clayey blend of materials collected in the immediate vicinity of the archaeological site, fired at intermediate (about 800°C) to low (around 650–750°C) temperatures and used a Fe-rich clayey compound as a red ceramic coating. From a technological perspective, the Paola example arise new questions about table wares produced with clay bodies typical of cooking wares. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we present and discuss the results of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) study carried out in an area of southern Italy where a karst cave with prehistoric remains was found. The aim of the study involved the imaging of the subsurface stratigraphy, both inside and outside the cave, in order to assist archaeologists in an excavation programme. The survey grid comprised 18 intersecting GPR profiles. Problems associated with the use of the GPR within a cave environment are highlighted and the data processing sequence designed to extract useful geo-archaeological signatures is described. Interpretation of the radar sections was controlled by the excavation of two trenches (inside and outside the cave), allowing detailed outlining the complex stratigraphy and the reconstruction of Palaeolithic and Neolithic subsurface horizons. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The production of prepared backed artifacts during the Paleolithic is recognized as an important step in the design of stone tools for manual activities and the development of human tool ergonomics. Backed artifacts are generally identified as proxies of so-called "modern" behavior, partly because they tend to be associated with systematic hafting, but mostly because they are widespread within Middle Stone Age (MSA) or Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) assemblages attributed to anatomically modern humans. However, in Europe these tools were first manufactured by Neanderthal groups associated with the Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MAT) techno-complex and Discoid and Levallois technologies, using a range of flake blanks. Investigating the reasons for this behavioral leap forward can help to unravel the development and diffusion of various aspects defining the behavioral complexity of Paleolithic humans. In this paper we present a detailed analysis of one of the oldest and richest collections of prepared backed items preserved in Europe. We study several dozens of what – in a broad sense – are considered backed artifacts, with both natural and predetermined knapped backs, recovered from unit A9 at Fumane Cave, which is dated to at least 47.6 cal ky, and is characterized by discoid technology. Our methodology integrates results obtained from technological, techno-functional and use-wear analyses, further supported by experimental data. Two distinctive types of anthropogenic modifications have been identified, both aimed at creating a back or at modifying and accommodating an already existing back. By cross-checking our results with use-wear data, we show that some of these modifications were aimed at adjusting the shapes of the tools (knives and/or scrapers) for manual handling, although traces consistent with hafting have been recognized on a few specimens. Contextual information allows us to infer that these adjustments involved mainly tools used in precision activities, whose design and production implies varying levels of expertise and technical skills. Although still not systematic or standardized, the kinds of complex tool-making implied by backing can be considered as typical feature in the technological repertoires of late Neanderthals. Image 1 • Backed tools represent a key step in innovation technologies of Neanderthals. • Multidisciplinary analyses and experimentation are applied to the study of a Late Middle Paleolithic assemblage. • Tools were created or adjusted using pre-existing backs for handling and hafting with improved performance. • A survey on the european record attests the rare occurrence of this technical improvement. • Our knowledge on tool-making and curation by Neanderthals is reinforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]