Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives
Since the end of the 19th century the Calabria region in southern Italy has been known for an abundance of grooved stone axes and hammers used during late prehistory. These artefacts are characterized by a wide and often pronounced groove in the middle of the implement, thought to have aided securin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Edinburgh
2016-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Lithic Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/1673 |
| _version_ | 1819137125613830144 |
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| author | Felice Larocca Francesco Breglia |
| author_facet | Felice Larocca Francesco Breglia |
| author_sort | Felice Larocca |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since the end of the 19th century the Calabria region in southern Italy has been known for an abundance of grooved stone axes and hammers used during late prehistory. These artefacts are characterized by a wide and often pronounced groove in the middle of the implement, thought to have aided securing the head to a wooden haft. Their widespread presence is known both in prehistoric archaeological literature and in the archaeological collections of various regional and extra-regional museums. At first, scholars did not relate these tools to the rich Calabrian ore deposits and to possible ancient mining activities; they were regarded simply as a variant of ground lithic industry of Neolithic tradition. However, between 1997 and 2012, about 50 tools were discovered in the prehistoric mine of Grotta della Monaca in northern Calabria where there are outcrops of copper and iron ore. This allowed us to recognize their specific mining value and to consider them as a sort of “guide fossil” for the identification of ancient mining districts. This paper presents the results of a study involving over 150 tools from the entire region, effectively demonstrating an almost perfect co-occurrence of grooved axes and hammers with areas rich in mineral resources, especially metalliferous ores. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:45:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-582cb20932114e7484cf3538900ef88b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2055-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:45:54Z |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Lithic Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-582cb20932114e7484cf3538900ef88b2022-12-21T18:28:55ZengUniversity of EdinburghJournal of Lithic Studies2055-04722016-10-013310.2218/jls.v3i3.16731673Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectivesFelice Larocca0Francesco Breglia1Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo MoroUniversità degli Studi di Bari Aldo MoroSince the end of the 19th century the Calabria region in southern Italy has been known for an abundance of grooved stone axes and hammers used during late prehistory. These artefacts are characterized by a wide and often pronounced groove in the middle of the implement, thought to have aided securing the head to a wooden haft. Their widespread presence is known both in prehistoric archaeological literature and in the archaeological collections of various regional and extra-regional museums. At first, scholars did not relate these tools to the rich Calabrian ore deposits and to possible ancient mining activities; they were regarded simply as a variant of ground lithic industry of Neolithic tradition. However, between 1997 and 2012, about 50 tools were discovered in the prehistoric mine of Grotta della Monaca in northern Calabria where there are outcrops of copper and iron ore. This allowed us to recognize their specific mining value and to consider them as a sort of “guide fossil” for the identification of ancient mining districts. This paper presents the results of a study involving over 150 tools from the entire region, effectively demonstrating an almost perfect co-occurrence of grooved axes and hammers with areas rich in mineral resources, especially metalliferous ores.http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/1673grooved stone toolsItalyCalabriaprehistoryminesground stone tools |
| spellingShingle | Felice Larocca Francesco Breglia Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives Journal of Lithic Studies grooved stone tools Italy Calabria prehistory mines ground stone tools |
| title | Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives |
| title_full | Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives |
| title_short | Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives |
| title_sort | grooved stone tools from calabria region italy archaeological evidence and research perspectives |
| topic | grooved stone tools Italy Calabria prehistory mines ground stone tools |
| url | http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/article/view/1673 |
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