Prehistoric exploitation of minerals resources. Experimentation and use-wear analysis of grooved stone tools from Grotta
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(2020) 12:259
ORIGINAL PAPER
Prehistoric exploitation of minerals resources. Experimentation and use-wear analysis of grooved stone tools from Grotta della Monaca (Calabria, Italy) Isabella Caricola 1,2 François Giligny 2,4
&
Francesco Breglia 2,3 & Felice Larocca 2,4 & Caroline Hamon 5 & Cristina Lemorini 6 &
Received: 24 June 2020 / Accepted: 2 October 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The Calabria region of Southern Italy is rich in mineralisation. Unfortunately, no consistent data are available about mineral exploitation in the later prehistoric periods. The Grotta della Monaca mine in Calabria is a prehistoric site that is characterised by the mineralisation of iron ores (such as goethite) and copper carbonates (malachite and azurite). For this reason, the site provides an exceptional opportunity to study a prehistoric mine in which several minerals were exploited during the late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic. In this study, we present the results of an experimental protocol and use-wear analysis conducted using macrolithic tool replicas to extract mineral resources. The experimental test aimed at reconstructing the function of grooved stone tools found at Grotta della Monaca. Use-wear observation, through a combined low- and high-power approach on experimental and archaeological objects, allowed us to define different extraction techniques and methods of mineral treatments. These data enhance our understanding and reconstruction of the chaîne opératoires, economic choices, and cultural aspects that characterised prehistoric miners in Southern Italy. Keywords Grooved stone tools . Use-wear . Experimental archaeology . Prehistoric mines . Minerals . Italy
Introduction The study of prehistoric mining practices can enhance our understanding of ancient communities’ socio-economic and Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01219-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Isabella Caricola [email protected] 1
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
2
Centro Regionale di Speleologia “Enzo dei Medici”, Via Lucania, 3, 87070 Roseto Capo Spulico, CS, Italy
3
Cultural Heritage Science, Salento University, Lecce, Italy
4
Aldo Moro, Gruppo di ricerca speleo-archeologica, Bari University, Piazza Umberto I, 1, 70121 Bari, Italy
5
Paris1-Panthèon Sorbonne University, UMR 8215 – Trajectories, Paris, France
6
Department of Classics, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
cultural complexity and organisation. Indeed, prehistoric exploration of mineral resources can be related to increasing demand for raw materials by ancient human groups (Binder et al. 2013). The exploitation of minerals produces a series of collateral activities, such as exchanges, contacts between populations, and the development of specific technical skills necessary for the exploitation of the mineral resources. Techno-economy models (Binder et al. 2013; Stöllner 2003) can help illumina
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