Marta COLOMBO, Giovanni BOSCHIAN, Carlo TOZZI
INFILLING PROCESSES OF LARGE PIT FEATURES
AT CATIGNANO – NEOLITHIC (ITALY)
UNIVERSITA’ DI PISA
Dipartimento di Scienze archeologiche
53, via S. Maria - I-56100 Pisa Italy
Catignano Culture - SITE DISTRIBUTION
Open-air sites
1 – Villa Badessa
2 – Colle Cera
Cave sites
3 – Grotta dei Piccioni e Grotta Oscura
4 – Monte Queglia /Pescosansonesco
5 – Grotta S. Angelo
6 – Grotta Beatrice Cenci
7 – Grotta S. Nicola
8 – Grotta Continenza
9 – Grotta La Punta
10 – Grotta Scaloria
CATIGNANO
Catignano elements in some other cultural contexts
11 – Passo di Corvo
12 – Casale del Dolce
13 – Monte Venere
14 – Grotta Bella
15 – Grotta dell’Orso
16 – Ripabianca di Monterado
Catignano Culture - DATINGS
Atmo sp h eric d ata fro m Stu iv er et al. (1 9 9 8 ); Ox Cal v 3 .8 Bro n k Ramsey (2 0 0 2 ); cu b r:4 sd :1 2 p ro b u sp [ch ro n ]
Age range at Catignano site:
5640÷4330 cal BC
7590÷6280 cal BP
(30 datings)
Rome 1148 6585±70BP
Rome 1147 6480±70BP
Ly 2186 (Oxa) 6455±35BP
Rome 1146 6410±70BP
LTL072A 6351±50BP
Beta 149259 6350±70BP
LTL 1158A 6346±50BP
Beta 149260 6330±40BP
R996a 6330±70BP
Beta 158321 6290±40BP
LTL073A 6288±45BP
Poz-3643 6280±40BP
LTL527A 6249±45BP
Ly 2185 (Oxa) 6245±35BP
LTL071A 6242±50BP
Poz-3645 6200±40BP
GrN 24487 6180±120BP
Poz-3644 6150±40BP
Beta 167164 6130±40BP
R1420a 6125±70BP
R997 6120±70BP
R1101a 6080±70BP
R1778 6040±70BP
LTL528A 6012±55BP
R1102 6000±70BP
R1422a 5995±70BP
R1421a 5915±65BP
R1777 5910±65BP
R1100 5865±50BP
LTL 1155A 5587±60BP
6500CalBC
6000CalBC
5500CalBC
Calibrated date
5000CalBC
4500CalBC
4000CalBC
Catignano Culture - POTTERY TYPOLOGY
“Figulina” (very fine) pottery
Red-banded
Fine pottery
Incised
Coarse pottery
Red-banded with “stencil” decoration
Catignano - FEATURE TYPOLOGY
Houses
Storage pits
Combustion features
Hearths
Large storage pits (?)
Post holes
5m
N
Catignano - LARGE STORAGE PITS
Deep narrow pit
Several shallow hollows
Deep wide pits
Catignano - SEDIMENT TYPES / SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES
BEDROCK:
marine yellowish sandy loam or sandy clay loam.
Middle Pleistocene
MICROCATASTROPHES:
yellowish sandy loam or sandy clay loam with
brownish sandy clay loam pedorelicts,
deriving from collapse of topsoil and feature sides.
Actualistically experienced under rainstorms.
GARBAGE DUMP:
dark brown to dark grey to blackish clay loam to sandy
clay loam.
Common pedorelicts from topsoil and other
anthropogenous sediments, ash, charcoal, bone, pottery,
etc.
Sometimes well layered (low deposition rate), but
completely homogeneous in some cases (high
deposition rate).
Catignano - LARGE STORAGE PITS
Deep narrow pit
1.6 m
Catignano - LARGE STORAGE PITS
Deep narrow pit
1.6 m
Garbage dump - Slow infilling (well layered; frequent cultural remains)
Dumped refuse of other feature excavation (anthropogenous)
(very few cultural remains = fast accumulation)
Long sequence of microcatastrophes (feature side collapse, rainstorms, runoff)
and slow refuse accumulation.
Few cultural remains = abandonment or non-use?
Catignano - LARGE STORAGE PITS
Deep wide pit
… at different levels.
Possibly remains of the
feature “lid”.
4m
Crescent-shaped units
lie parallel and close
to the feature perimeter ...
Catignano - LARGE STORAGE PITS
Deep wide pit
4m
Garbage dump 2 - Slow infilling (well layered; more cultural remains)
Garbage dump 1 - Fast infilling (poorly layered; fewer cultural remains)
Microcatastrophes - Feature side collapse (rainstorm, trampling?)
Collapse (anthropogenous) and decay of the storage pit “lid”
Catignano - LARGE STORAGE PITS
Deep wide pit
2s calibrations
Timing of the infilling process
• datings roughly contemporaneous
• some inversions in the sequence
• wiggles in the calibration curve
• homogeneous sediment
suggest fast deposition