Prehistoric landscapes of the Dolomites: Survey data from the highland territory of Cadore (Belluno Dolomites, Northern Italy)

Abstract

The identification of Mesolithic lithic scatters on the highland district of Cadore (1700–2700 m a.s.l.), in the Eastern Italian Alps, started during the 1980s, enhanced by the discovery of the rock-shelter site of Mondeval de Sora. A new archaeological survey project was developed in this area, particularly between Passo Giau and Col de la Puina, from 2011 to 2014. The adoption of a “total archaeology approach” enabled the identification of different types of archaeological evidence. This paper focuses specifically on the small-scale record represented by lithic artefacts. Both previously identified sites and newly recognised find-spots have been positioned, described and spatially analysed in connection to the topography of the investigated territory, in order to set hypotheses on the settlement strategies adopted by prehistoric groups. Most of these scatters can be attributed with a good approximation either to the Sauveterrian or to the Castelnovian phase of the Mesolithic or generically to the Mesolithic, thus confirming the intense occupation of these territories by the last groups of hunter–gatherers. Nonetheless the presence of some lithic artefacts that can be attributed to more recent prehistoric periods has led the authors to reconsider the common assumption that all lithic assemblages at high altitude should necessarily be attributed to the Mesolithic.