Micromorphological investigations at Scaloria Cave (Puglia, South-east Italy): new evidences of multifunctional use of the space during the Neolithic

Abstract

Scaloria Cave represents one of the most extraordinary examples of elaborate cave use known in Neolithic Italy. It became famous thanks to the spectacular evidence for the ritual collection of stillicide waters discovered in the Lower Chamber. Recent excavations in the Upper Chamber have uncovered traces of both habitation and ritual deposition of human bone dating to three or more phases of the Neolithic, implying an occupational use of the cave in addition to its function as cemetery. A micromorphological sampling program was implemented to reinvestigate the stratigraphic succession of the Upper Chamber of the cave, where most of the cave’s human use took place and where all systematic excavations have been conducted. The micromorphological evidence and new absolute dates attest use of the cave for stabling activity in the first half of the sixth millennium BC, corroborating the human-goat/sheep cohabitation, while also confirming the ongoing use of the cave for non-funerary purposes throughout the middle Neolithic. Finally, the contextual and spatial analyses of the sediment helped in reconstruction of the site’s structure.