Going off the beaten path? The Casera Lissandri 17 site and the role of the Cansiglio plateau on human ecology during the Early Sauveterrian in North-eastern Italy

Abstract

The Early Mesolithic colonization of the northeastern Italian Alps is well known thanks to the very high number of discoveries that have been made since the 1970's. Rich evidence from the Adige valley, in particular, led to the development of the so-called “vertical nomadism model,” based on the dichotomy of valley bottom and high altitude sites. The Sauveterrian evidence of the Cansiglio plateau, being located at mid-altitude in the Venetian pre-Alps, differs from the former settlement model. Based on the data achieved from the techno-economic and traceological analyses carried out on the lithic assemblage from the Casera Lissandri 17 site, the role and function of this evidence is analysed and contextualised. In particular, raw materials indicate a relation with the Belluno valley as far as provisioning territories are concerned. In accordance with its use-wear data and overall composition dominated by microliths, the site should be considered as a seasonal camp dedicated to hunting activities and to the preliminary processing of games.