Radiocarbon dates and XRF analyses from two prehistoric contexts in the Badisco area (Otranto –Le)

Abstract

We presents the results of a radiocarbon dating and XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) measurements performed on organic samples and pottery recovered from “Grotta dei Cervi” and “Cunicolo dei Diavoli” caves, two important prehistoric contexts located in the area of Porto Badisco, Southern Italy. The radiocarbon dating analyses allowed to assess the funeral use of the “Cunicolo dei Diavoli” cavity during the Copper Age and to clarify the long debated chronology of one of the pottery style widely diffused in Southern Italy during the Neolithic and namely the Macchia a Mare/Zinzulusa style. This was obtained through the analysis of a charcoal fragment extracted from a jug ascribed to this ceramic style. At the same time XRF (X-ray Fluorescence), non destructive analyses allowed to identify as cinnabar a red pigment used to decorate pottery recovered in the “Grotta dei Cervi” and dated to the 5th millenium BC.