Cascina Valmaione 2 (VM-2): A Preboreal Mesolithic site in the Central Alps (Lombardy, Northern Italy)

Excavations carried out at Cascina Valmaione in the Central Alps of Valcamonica (Lombardy, Northern Italy) have led to the discovery of several archaeological sites, one of which, Cascina Valmaione 2 (VM-2), has yielded a characteristic knapped stone assemblage attributed to the Early Preboreal Mesolithic Sauveterrian culture. The attribution is confirmed by four charcoal radiocarbon dates which show that the site was settled around the middle of the ninth millennium cal bce. Valmaione 2 is located in the centre of a wide saddle that opens at 1778 m a.s.l. close to the northern edge of a watering hole which was exploited by local herders to water their flocks until a few years ago. The excavations carried out in 1993 and 1994 uncovered c.50% of the site. The finds consist exclusively of knapped stone artefacts and charcoals. Bones are absent due to the acidity of the mountain soil. The lithic assemblages are represented by artefacts obtained mainly from Mt. Alto chert, whose sources outcrop south of Lake Iseo, c.26 km southwest of the VM-2 Mesolithic site as the crow flies. The rich microdebitage has been retrieved mainly by water-sieving at 0.3 and 0.5 mesh.