Tipologia, uso e materie prime delle industrie in pietra non scheggiata della Cultura dei VBQ: materiali dal Veneto e dalla Liguria a confronto

This work presents the results of a comparative study of polished and ground stone tools from two geographical areas of the Square-Mouthed Pottery Culture (Middle Neolithic): Liguria and in particular the assemblage from Arene Candide (617 pieces) and 3 sites of the Veneto region namely Fimon-Molino Casarotto, Quinzano and Rivoli-Rocca (all together 237 pieces). Terminological questions, raw materials and their procurement strategy, operative chain and functional aspects have been considered to reach a terminology which can be shared among scholars. The method of the study included the identification of the raw materials and their textural characteristics, the macroscopic observation of the use wears, the experimental reproduction of instruments for the techno-functional operative chains reconstruction. From the comparative study of the instruments of the two different regions, some common characteristics emerged, which can be considered peculiar of the chronological and cultural context. They can be summarized as follows: the use of different variety of local lithologies (limestones, sandstones, porphyry) for all the instruments excepting cutting edged tools, such as axes/adzes and chisels, which have been always manufactured from HP-metaophiolites, imported from the western Alpine sources. From the technological point of view, a complex operative chain involving the shaping and reworking of the working surfaces was enlightened. From the functional point of view, the assemblages include a wide variety of tools, such as axes, adzes, chisels, grinding stones, millstones, hammer stones, pestles and burnishers. The use wear analysis and the comparative study with the experimental replicas permitted to identify different activities and functional categories and to reconstruct the nature of the different materials (cereals, wood, minerals, leather etc.) processed and worked with the tools. A further achievement was to recognize the existence of multifunctional instruments and the recycling of some tools, which testify for the complexity of the use-reuse-discard cycle of the raw materials. To conclude, the results of the study showed that this category of artefacts can be considered as markers of specific economical and artisanal activities performed at the different sites.