Archaeometric research on the Early Neolithic pottery production in Liguria (Northern Italy): preliminary data from San Sebastiano di Perti (Savona)

Abstract

The Early Neolithic site of San Sebastiano di Perti is the only open-air site of the Impressed Ware Culture so far discovered in Liguria. It is located in the Finalese area, on a river terrace along the Pora Valley. One radiocarbon AMS date of 6760±45 BP (GrA-25715) was obtained from two caryopsis of Hordeum vulgare. The ceramic assemblage consists of 123 potsherds mainly decorated with impressions from Cardium shell and with implements; six representative samples have been submitted for thin-section analyses. The petrographic characteristics of the inclusions are consistent with those of the acid metavolcanites and metasediments of the Permo-Carboniferous basement and of the Miocenic limestones outcropping in the area. A local production and the use of raw materials of fluvial origin (from the Pora River) can be hypothesised. The San Sebastiano production differs in textural, compositional and technical features from other ceramic contexts of neighbouring cave sites of the same chronology and Culture studied so far. In particular, it is important to point out the absence at San Sebastiano of fabrics with crushed calcite temper, that are on the contrary frequent, for instance, at the Arene Candide Cave.