Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives

  • Felice Larocca Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro
  • Francesco Breglia Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro
Keywords: grooved stone tools, Italy, Calabria, prehistory, mines, ground stone tools

Abstract


Since the end of the 19th century the Calabria region in southern Italy has been known for an abundance of grooved stone axes and hammers used during late prehistory. These artefacts are characterized by a wide and often pronounced groove in the middle of the implement, thought to have aided securing the head to a wooden haft. Their widespread presence is known both in prehistoric archaeological literature and in the archaeological collections of various regional and extra-regional museums. At first, scholars did not relate these tools to the rich Calabrian ore deposits and to possible ancient mining activities; they were regarded simply as a variant of ground lithic industry of Neolithic tradition. However, between 1997 and 2012, about 50 tools were discovered in the prehistoric mine of Grotta della Monaca in northern Calabria where there are outcrops of copper and iron ore. This allowed us to recognize their specific mining value and to consider them as a sort of “guide fossil” for the identification of ancient mining districts. This paper presents the results of a study involving over 150 tools from the entire region, effectively demonstrating an almost perfect co-occurrence of grooved axes and hammers with areas rich in mineral resources, especially metalliferous ores.

Author Biographies

Felice Larocca, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro

Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro
Gruppo di Ricerca Speleo-Archeologica
Piazza Umberto I n. 1, 70121 Bari
Italy

and

Centro Regionale di Speleologia “Enzo dei Medici”
Via Lucania n. 3, 87070 Roseto Capo Spulico, Cosenza
Italy

Francesco Breglia, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro

Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro
Gruppo di Ricerca Speleo-Archeologica
Piazza Umberto I n. 1, 70121 Bari
Italy

and

Centro Regionale di Speleologia “Enzo dei Medici”
Via Lucania n. 3, 87070 Roseto Capo Spulico, Cosenza
Italy

References

Acquafredda, P., & Piccarreta, G., in press, I manufatti litici: aspetti petroarcheometrici. In: Grotta della Monaca. Studi e Ricerche I (Larocca F., Ed.), Centro Regionale di Speleologia “Enzo dei Medici”, Roseto Capo Spulico: p. 65-103 (in Italian) (“The lithic artefact: petro-archaeometric aspects”)
Amodio-Morelli, L., Bonardi, G., Colonna, V., Dietrich, D., Giunta, G., Ippolito, F., Liguori, V., Lorenzoni, S., Paglionico, A., Perrone, V., Piccarreta, G., Russo, M., Scandone, P., Zanettin-Lorenzoni, E., & Zuppetta, A. 1976, L'Arco calabro-peloritano nell’orogene appeninico-maghrebide. Memorie della Società Geologica Italiana, 17: 1-60. (in Italian) (“The Calabria-Peloritani Arc in the Apenninic-Maghrebian orogen”)
Bonardi, G., De Vivo, B., Giunta, G., Lima, A., Perrone, V., & Zuppetta, A. 1982, Mineralizzazioni dell’arco calabro-peloritano. Ipotesi genetiche e quadro evolutivo. Bollettino della Società Geologica Italiana, 101: 141-155. (in Italian) (“Mineralization of the Calabria-Peloritani Arc. Genetic hypotheses and evolutionary framework”)
Guarascio, M. 1982, Un contributo di dati e metodi della ricerca geomineraria in archeologia: il caso di Temesa. In: Temesa e il suo Territorio (Maddoli G., Ed.), Atti del Colloquio di Perugia e Trevi, 30-31 maggio 1981 Istituto per la Storia e l’Archeologia della Magna Grecia, Taranto: p. 125-142. (in Italian) (“A contribution of data and methods from geo-mineral research to archaeology: the case of Temesa”)
Larocca, F., (Ed.), 2005, La miniera pre-protostorica di Grotta della Monaca (Sant’Agata di Esaro - Cosenza). Centro Regionale di Speleologia “Enzo dei Medici”, Roseto Capo Spulico, 98 p. (in Italian) (“The pre-protohistoric mine of Grotta della Monaca (Sant’Agata di Esaro - Cosenza)”)
Larocca, F. 2010, Grotta della Monaca: A prehistoric copper and iron mine in the Calabria region (Italy). In: Mining in European History and its Impact on Environment and Human Societies. Proceedings for the 1st Mining in European History - Conference of the SFB-HIMAT (Anreiter P., Goldenberg, G., Hanke, K., Krause, R., Leitner, W., Mathis, F., Nicolussi, K., Oeggl, K., Pernicka, E., Prast, M., Schibler, J., Schneider, I., Stadler, H., Stöllner, T., Tomedi, G., Tropper, P., Eds.), Forschungszentrum HiMAT, Innsbruck: p. 267-270.
Larocca, F., & Breglia, F. 2014, L’alta valle dell’Esaro e le sue miniere preistoriche. Speleologia, 71: 30-36. (in Italian) (“The upper Esaro valley and its prehistoric mines”)
Larocca, F., & Breglia, F., 2012, Grooved Stone Tools as Indicators of Ancient Mining Activities. Evidence from Calabria Region (Italy) (poster) presented at the 2nd Mining in European History - Conference, The Impact of Historic and Prehistoric Mining Activities on the Environment and Societies in Europe, Innsbruck, 7-10 November 2012.
Lovisato, D. 1878a, Di alcune azze, scalpelli, martelli e ciottoli dell’epoca della pietra trovati nella Provincia di Catanzaro. Bollettino della Societa Adriatica di Scienze Naturali in Triste, 3: 475-505. (in Italian) (“About some axes, chisels, hammers and pebbles of the stone age found in the province of Catanzaro”)
Lovisato, D. 1878b, Strumenti litici e brevi cenni geologici sulle province di Catanzaro e di Cosenza. Tip. Salviucci, Roma, 22 p. (in Italian) (“Stone tools and brief geological references about the provinces of Catanzaro and Cosenza”)
Salerno, A., & Pessina, A. 2004, Le asce in pietra levigata della Calabria nelle collezioni del Museo Pigorini. In: Preistoria e Protostoria della Calabria, Atti della XXXVII Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Scalea, Papasidero, Praia a Mare, Tortora, 29 settembre-4 ottobre 2002, Vol. 2, Instituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze: p. 765-771. (in Italian) (“The polished stone axes from Calabria in the Pigorini Museum collections”)
Topa, D. 1927, Le Civiltà Primitive della Brettia. Paletnologia. Stabilimento Tipografico (Genovesi, A., & Figli, Eds.), Palmi, facsimile reprint (ristampa anastatica) (1980), Barbaro Editore, Oppido Mamertina, 200 p. (in Italian) (“Primitive civilizations of Brettia. Palethnology”)
De Vivo, B., Closs, L.G., Lima, A., Marmolino, R., & Perrone, V. 1984, Regional geochemical prospecting in Calabria, Southern Italy. Journal of Geochemical Exploration (10th International Exploration Symposium - 3rd Symposium on Methods of Geochemical Prospecting), 21(1-3): 291-310. doi:10.1016/0375-6742(84)90055-4
Published
31-Oct-2016
How to Cite
Larocca, F., & Breglia, F. (2016). Grooved stone tools from Calabria region (Italy): Archaeological evidence and research perspectives. Journal of Lithic Studies, 3(3), 301-312. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.v3i3.1673
Section
Presented at the 1st Meeting of the Association for Ground Stone Tools Research