Neolithic occupations (c. 5200-3400 cal BC) at Isolino Virginia (Lake Varese, Italy) and the onset of the pile-dwelling phenomenon around the Alps

Antolín, Ferrán; Martínez-Grau, Héctor; Steiner, Bigna L.; Follmann, Franziska; Soteras, Raül; Häberle, Simone; Prats, Georgina; Schäfer, Marguerita; Mainberger, Martin; Hajdas, Irka; Banchieri, Daria Giuseppina

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103375

Cited by 5 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This assessment of the chronology and emergence of Neolithic cist graves in the Western Alpine region is supported by the fact that the earliest pile dwelling sites on the southern foothills of the Alps were found at Lake Varese (Lombardy, Italy), where the beginning of farming activities was dated around ca. 5000-4850 cal BCE (Antolín et al 2022), whereas the earliest settlement of this type north of the Alps was found in Egolzwil (Lucerne, Switzerland) dating to 4300 cal BCE (Stöckli et al 2013). Therefore, it was suggested that parts of the Neolithic community from Lake Varese could have migrated to north of the Alps, possibly across the Upper Rhône Valley (Antolín et al 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5000-4850 cal BCE (Antolín et al 2022), whereas the earliest settlement of this type north of the Alps was found in Egolzwil (Lucerne, Switzerland) dating to 4300 cal BCE (Stöckli et al 2013). Therefore, it was suggested that parts of the Neolithic community from Lake Varese could have migrated to north of the Alps, possibly across the Upper Rhône Valley (Antolín et al 2022). In that sense, 14 C data of Neolithic settlement layers in the region of Sion (Valais, Switzerland) date to after 4750 cal BCE and increase in the second halve of the 5th millennium BCE (Piguet 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First Radiocarbon Dating of Neolithic Stone Cist Graves From the Aosta Valley (Italy): Insights Into the Chronology and Burial Rites of the Western Alpine Region

et al. 2023

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Previous research on the Neolithic cist graves of the Western Alpine region—also known under the term Chamblandes type graves—mostly focused on sites located in western Switzerland and eastern France. For the adjacent Aosta Valley (Italy), only a little information is available. Within the framework of our research project, it was possible to identify about 120 stone cist graves from 10 sites in the Aosta Valley. Due to the lack of distinctive grave goods and missing absolute dating, however, their chronological position has been unclear until now. Here we present the first extensive series of radiocarbon dates from Neolithic stone cist graves of the Aosta Valley. We analyzed 31 human bone samples from four sites, and most dates indicate an unexpected early chronological position around the first half of the 5th millennium BCE, in particular, the site of Villeneuve, dating to 4800–4550 cal BCE. This identifies these burials from the Aosta Valley as belonging to the oldest known Neolithic cist graves of the Western Alpine region discovered so far. Altogether, our study provides new evidence allowing the first time to clarify the chronology of these sites and trace the evolution of this burial practice in the Western Alps.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Radiocarbon Dating of Neolithic Stone Cist Graves From the Aosta Valley (Italy): Insights Into the Chronology and Burial Rites of the Western Alpine Region

et al. 2023

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“…This happened obviously relatively quickly when the species was brought to outside of its native area (Mediterranean). Connections between Isolino and the earliest pile dwellings north of the Alps have already been postulated based on other archaeobotanical evidence [ 86 ]. It would be interesting to know if such changes would be visible also in more northern lying early Neolithic contexts such as the LBK-wells in Saxony with waterlogged preservation [ 57 ] as the domestication of the poppy plant could have also occurred in other areas such as Belgium and Netherlands (see e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the same study, we underlined the need for additional analyses, particularly in the Mediterranean area and of more recent sites, to reach a better understanding of the timing and geographic origin of the spread and domestication of the opium poppy in Western Europe. The recent investigation of several sites with waterlogged preservation in the Mediterranean area and south of the Alps [ 46 , 67 , 73 , 86 , 87 ] allows to make a step forward in this study that would not have been possible a few years ago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphometrics of waterlogged archaeological seeds give new insights into the domestication and spread of Papaver somniferum L. in Western Europe

et al. 2023

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Domesticated opium poppy Papaver somniferum L. subsp. somniferum probably originated in the Western Mediterranean from its possible wild progenitor, Papaver somniferum L. subsp. setigerum and spread to other European regions. Seeds of opium poppy have been identified in different European regions since the Early Neolithic (from the 6th millennium cal. BC onwards) period. However, until recently, the absence of morphological identification criteria has prevented the discrimination between wild and domestic morphotypes. New morphometric approaches to distinguish modern subspecies have been proven to be applicable to waterlogged archaeological remains, opening the possibility of understanding the process of domestication of the plant in both time and space. This paper applies seed outline analyses, namely elliptic Fourier transforms, combined with size and number of cells to archaeological waterlogged Papaver seeds throughout the Neolithic period in the NW Mediterranean and the surroundings of the Alps. Furthermore, one example from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) was added to see what kind of differences appeared during the >1000 years between the end of the Neolithic and the LBA. The aim of the study is to classify the archaeological seeds as domestic or wild morphotypes and observe morphometric changes in connection to geographical and chronological patterns that can explain the spread and domestication process(es) of this important crop. A total of 295 archaeological seeds coming from 10 waterlogged sites dating between 5300–2300 cal. BC (Neolithic), and one LBA site dating to 1070 cal. BC were analysed. The results indicate the presence of seeds, similar to the wild morphotype, in the Mediterranean sites and larger seeds, similar to the domestic morphotype, in the regions surrounding the Alps. The number of cells mainly increased during the Late Neolithic (3300 to 2300 cal. BC) and, finally, in the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1050–800 cal. BC), larger, morphologically domesticated seeds are clearly predominant. A change in the shape of the seeds is only clearly visible in the LBA material. Altogether our results suggest that opium poppy seeds show no sign of domestication in the early periods of the Neolithic, despite the fact that the plant was very probably already cultivated at that time in the western Mediterranean region.

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“…The data here presented indicate that most sites dated between 4500 and 4000 BC in the NW Mediterranean regions based their agriculture in the cultivation of free-threshing cereals, namely naked wheat and naked barley, along with pea, opium poppy and possibly also flax. Free-threshing cereals become widespread in the area around 5100 BC, a characteristic that differentiates farming practices in this area from those in the Balkans and central Europe, where glume wheats are dominant (Antolín et al, 2021(Antolín et al, , 2022de Vareilles et al, 2020;Kreuz and Marinova, 2017). It is surprising that some sites such as Auvelles or Les Bagnoles yielded high amounts of chaff remains, even though we are dealing with free-threshing cereals.…”

Section: Agriculture In the Nw Mediterranean Around 4000 Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

An archaeobotanical and stable isotope approach to changing agricultural practices in the NW Mediterranean region around 4000 BC

Antolín,

Jacomet,

Soteras

et al. 2023

The Holocene

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It has recently been observed, that a change in the crop spectrum happened during the so-called Middle Neolithic in France at ca. 4000 BC. An agricultural system based on free-threshing cereals (naked wheat and naked barley) seems to shift to one based on glume wheats. This is a major change for traditional farmers and this paper aims to shed light on its possible causes. Here we describe the results of new investigations in a key area for the understanding of this process: the NW Mediterranean arch, where free-threshing cereals are the main cultivars since ca. 5100 BC. New data confirm that the shift towards glume wheats is also observed in some sites of the NE of the Iberian Peninsula and that among the glume wheats that spread at ca. 4000 BC we should not only consider emmer and einkorn but also Timopheevi’s wheat. Stable isotope analyses indicate no major decrease in soil fertility or alterations in local precipitation regimes. The agricultural change may be the result of a combination of the spread of damaging pests for free-threshing cereals and presumably new networks being developed with the North-eastern part of Italy and the Balkans.

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Neolithic occupations (c. 5200-3400 cal BC) at Isolino Virginia (Lake Varese, Italy) and the onset of the pile-dwelling phenomenon around the Alps

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

First Radiocarbon Dating of Neolithic Stone Cist Graves From the Aosta Valley (Italy): Insights Into the Chronology and Burial Rites of the Western Alpine Region

First Radiocarbon Dating of Neolithic Stone Cist Graves From the Aosta Valley (Italy): Insights Into the Chronology and Burial Rites of the Western Alpine Region

Morphometrics of waterlogged archaeological seeds give new insights into the domestication and spread of Papaver somniferum L. in Western Europe

An archaeobotanical and stable isotope approach to changing agricultural practices in the NW Mediterranean region around 4000 BC

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