Umberto Tecchiati

University of Milan | UNIMI · Dipartimento di Beni culturali e ambientali

Palynological and archaeobotanical analyses have been carried out as part of the interdisciplinary project of Colombare di Negrar, a prehistoric site in the Lessini Mountains (northern Italy). The palaeoenvironmental and economic reconstruction from the Late Neolithic to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age was based on 16 pollen samples and three...

The Archaeological Excavations in the Castel Corno Caves presents the results of two diff erent excavation campaigns in a prehistoric archaeological site in a deep cave in Trentino Alto Adige (Castel Corno, Isera, Trento, Italy). The excavations uncovered a number of tombs deep in the cave and, outside, the remains of a settlement. The site is sign...

Donkeys transformed human history as essential beasts of burden for long-distance movement, especially across semi-arid and upland environments. They remain insufficiently studied despite globally expanding and providing key support to low- to middle-income communities. To elucidate their domestication history, we constructed a comprehensive genome...

The archaeological site of Salorno—Dos de la Forca (Bozen, Alto Adige) provides one of the rarest and most significant documentations of cremated human remains preserved from an ancient cremation platform ( ustrinum ). The pyre area, located along the upper Adige valley, is dated to the Late Bronze Age ( ca . 1150–950 BCE) and has yielded an unprec...

L’archeologia dell’infanzia è un campo di ricerca molto attuale nel quadro internazionale degli studi dedicati all’antichità e negli anni più recenti ha visto una crescita considerevole anche grazie all’approccio interdisciplinare che arricchisce le indagini archeologiche di prospettive complementari, prime fra tutte quella dell’antropologia fisica...

KEYWORDS Paleo-environmental research; multi-and interdisciplinary methodology; archaeobotany; zooarchaeology; flint; vine. RIASSUNTO Il sito delle Colombare di Negrar di Valpolicella, oggetto di ricerche all'inizio degli anni Cinquanta del secolo scorso, è ora al centro di un progetto di indagini archeologiche e paleoambientali a cura dell'Univers...

This paper presents the results of the study of a small lot of animal bones discovered during the excavation of a Rhaetian Culture settlement at Gargagnago near Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella (Verona). The settlement was occupied from the second half of the 5th to the 1st century BC. The animal bones amount to 217, 112 of which could be determined t...

Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare¹. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling2–4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc³. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestic...

The Bronze Age in Europe is characterized by major socio-economic changes, including certain aspects of animal husbandry. In the Alpine region archaeozoological data, though not very abundant, reveal that cattle were the most important domestic animals in this time period. They were probably used differently in the lowlands than at higher altitude,...

Abstract - Matteo Maggio, Stefano Viola & Umberto Tecchiati – Ornamental decorations on animal teeth from the Copper Age to the early Bronze Age in northern Italy. List of sites, artifacts typology and their distribution. Th is contribution deals with the study of ornamental elements obtained by the working of animal teeth between Copper Age and ea...

ITA Gli autori presentano in questo contributo un progetto di ricerca avviato nel sito preistorico delle Colombare di Negrar di Valpolicella. Esso comprende la ripresa degli scavi per la soluzione di quesiti cronologici, culturali e paleoambientali, e inoltre una valutazione del popolamento dei Lessini tra il Neolitico Antico e l’età del Rame. Il c...

Although several scientific papers mention the use of HD silicone based impression materials for the study of small perforations, until today there are no published explicit and detailed protocols in this research's field. This technique is particularly useful in the field of the technological study of prehistoric ornaments, in particular for drill...

Abstract - Alessandra Mazzucchi, Giada Bonelli, Maurizio Battisti & Umberto Tecchiati - The prehistoric burials of the caves of Castelcorno di Isera (TN). The paper presents the anthropological studies carried out on the human bones found in the archaeological excavations led by Museo Civico di Rovereto in 1998 and 1999 in the Castel Corno Caves, l...

The paper presents the anthropological studies carried out on the human bones found in the archaeological excavations led by Museo Civico di Rovereto in 1998 and 1999 in the Castel Corno Caves, located at about 800 meters of altitude between the villages of Patone and Lenzima, in the municipality of Isera (Trento, Italy). The burials, unfortunately...

The series, directed by Lucio Milano, is devoted to the studies of ancient and late-ancient world. It is intended for hosting both publications arising from the research activities of Ca’ Foscari and publications of Italian and foreign scholars and institutions that help to highlight the academic network of national and international collaborations...

In Early Middle Ages (sixth–eleventh centuries AD), South Tyrol (Italian Alps) played a key role for geographical and military reasons. Historical sources document that allochthonous groups (germani) entered the territory, and the material culture shows mutual cultural exchanges between autochthonous and germani. Besides the nature of the migration...

Riassunto Scopo di questo lavoro è fare luce sul ruolo e sul significato degli animali selvatici nel Neolitico e nell'Età del Rame dell'Italia nordorientale. Il lavoro si concentra sui siti delle regioni Veneto, Tren-tino-Alto Adige/Südtirol e Friuli-Venezia Giulia interessati nel corso degli anni da studi archeo-zoologici. La ricostruzione del rap...

Many sites dating from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age have been investigated in northern Italy and have provided important zooarchaeological data. These sites are mostly settlements, but also places of worship and necropoli. While there are few zooarchaeological studies for the north-western part of Italy, the north-east and the Po Valley have bee...

A collection of polished stone axes from a late Neolithic site and an Early Bronze Age hill fort in South Tyrol (Italy) have been analysed through a multi-analytical approach, mainly based on non-destructive techniques (i.e. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence and prompt gamma activation analysis) to identify the raw materials used in the same a...

Il Complesso Monumentale della Civita di Tarquinia (VT) è un’importante sito etrusco occupato dal X al II sec. a.C. Le campagne di scavo sono state condotte tra il 1989 e il 2011, grazie al “Progetto Tarquinia”, dalla cattedra di Etruscologia dell’Università degli Studi di Milano sotto la direzione scientifica della prof. Dr. M. Bonghi Jovino e del...

Cattle burials are part of the wider phenomenon of animal burials. It has a very wide chronological and geographical spread. Its functional interpretation varies according to the epochs and regions examined, but it can be considered a universal phenomenon in the history of mankind. Cattle burials characterize the late Neolithic and Copper Ages of l...

Details to the shotgun and amplicon datasets, FastQScreen results, mapping statistics and detected variants.

Data S2: Additional Information to the Multi-omics Data and Elemental/Stable Isotope Analysis, Related to Figures 2–4 Details to the comparative modern animal samples used in this study and to the metabolite, glycan, stable isotope, elemental, protein, and lipid analysis results.

The history of humankind is marked by the constant adoption of new dietary habits affecting human physiology, metabolism, and even the development of nutrition-related disorders. Despite clear archaeological evidence for the shift from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture in Neolithic Europe [1 • Fowler C. • Harding J. • Hofmann D. Defining th...

Alfonsina Amato & Umberto Tecchiati - Faunal remains of the VI century BC from the settlement of San Lorenzo di Sebato-Stocker Stole (BZ). The San Lorenzo’s site is located in Val Pusteria about 1000 m above sea level. Th e animal bones analyzed come from levels connected to a late-Hallstatt house dated to the 6th century BC. The faunal assemblage...

SUMMARY - Castel de Pedena (San Gregorio nelle Alpi, Belluno): faunal remains from a mountain settlement between the Ancient Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age - Zooarchaeological studies, that were analyzed faunal remains founded during the archaeological excavations between 2006 and 2012 at Castel de Pedena (BL), pointed out how animal economy has...

The animal bone assemblage from Castelrotto, although composed of a number of specimens which cannot be considered statistically representative, provides important information about the animal-human interaction occurred during a long chronological span. The site, located at c. 1000 metres on the Fié-Castelrotto plateau (left hydrographic side of th...

Excavations in 1996, at Terranegra, a site located in the proximity of Legnago (Verona) produced animal remains from a Bronze Age occupation and from a proto-urban settlement dating to the Iron Age (800-600 BC). A total of 4,409 animal remains recovered, of which 2,804 (63.6%) could be identified to the genus and species level. Our analysis shows t...

Faunal remains from Late Bronze Age sites in the Codroipo area – In the area surrounding Codroipo (UD), along the left bank of the middle section of the Tagliamento river, a long sequence of protohistoric researches has been carried out since 1996. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the archaeozoological data from the latest excavations...

The animal bone assemblage from Castelrotto, although composed of a number of specimens which cannot be considered statistically representative, provides important information about the animal-human interaction occurred during a long chronological span. The site, located at c. 1000 metres on the Fié-Castelrotto plateau (left hydrographic side of th...

SUMMARY - The necropolis of Olmo di Nogara (Verona). 2009 excavation - The paper presents the results of the last excavation in the well-known Bronze-Age necropolis. The new area of investigation is located at the north-western corner of Area C. The new excavations have brought to light the traces of the two parallel palisades which delimited the n...

Intense contacts and cultural exchange between different sides of the Alpine watershed, more particularly in the Eastern Alps, existed as far back as the Palaeolithic, in connection with the trade of raw materials, mainly flint stone. These contacts increased from the Neolithic Age, and they were subsequently, in the Roman Era, to be indisputably p...

A number of slags of all known sites in the Italian Eastern Alps showing occurrences of copper smelting activities in the Copper Age have been characterized by lead isotope analysis. All the investigated smelting slags from Trentino (Romagnano Loc, La Vela, Gaban, Acquaviva di Besenello, Montesei di Serso) and Alto Adige/Sud Tyrol (Millan, Gudon, B...

UMBERTO TECCHIATI, SIMONE CAVALIERI & ANDREA DI BRAIDA-Remains of a Final Bronze Age (Laugen/Luco Culture) settlement found at Bäckenwiesl, Tiers (BZ). This paper presents the results of a rescue excavation carried out between 2001 and 2002 at Bäckenwiesl, Tiers. The extremely residual and damaged structural remains are interpretable as the foundat...

Archeozoologia (U.T.) L a ricostruzione del rapporto uomo-animale durante l'età del Rame è un compito al quale la moderna archeozoologia può dirsi ancora in gran parte impreparata. Si tratta, infatti, di un arco di tempo significativo, pari a più di mille anni, e di un teatro geografico e ambientale molto complesso, comprendente vaste aree planizia...

The authors describe the contents of a pit (pottery and faunal remains) found in the Final Bronze Age settlement at the site of Kreuzwiese in Elvas. The study was in particular aimed at clarifying the function of the pit. It shows that there is no valid reason to interpret the pit fill as the result of ritual activity. The range of finds, in fact,...

Zusammenfassung 2991 relativ gut erhaltene, obwohl vorwiegend fragmentarische Reste aus der bronze-und eisenzeit-lichen Siedlung auf dem Kiabichl in Faggen (Tirol) wurden untersucht und in paläoökonomischer und haustierkundlicher Hinsicht ausgewertet. Die in diesem Beitrag analysierten Tierknochen stammen aus Siedlungsschichten, durch die das Leben...

Abstract - UMBERTO TECCHIATI & JASMINE RIZZI - A cremation burial of the Final Bronze Age discovered at Novale di Sotto near Laion (BZ). This short contribution describes the remarkable discovery at the very least of one cremation burial datable by the grave goods to the Final Bronze Age. The burial produced an urn containing the ashes of an adult...

Archaeobotanical and archaeozoological analyses conducted on Late Neolithic settlement layers at Latsch provide the first data on the subsistence strategy, diet and environmental conditions in the valley of origin of the Alpine Iceman. The results prove that during the Late Neolithic, the valley was occupied by an agro-pastoral society based on the...

UMBERTO TECCHIATI, ALESSANDRO MORANDI, PATRIZIA NEGRI, GIANNI RIZZI & JASMINE RIZZI ZORZI-Archaeology, epigraphy, archaeobotany and archaeozoology of a Middle Iron Age house (5 th-4 th century BC) excavated at Bressanone (Brixen), Stufles (BZ), on the Russo site (Stu-fles 16). The results are presented of an excavation carried out in 2001 of a Midd...

Burials and human remains found in settlements in Northern Italy during Pre- and Protohistory referring in particolar to Trentino-Alto Adige. The Author discusses the meaning of the humans bones and burials found in some Neolithic to Iron Age settlements of Northern Italy, also from a methodological point of view. The Alpine region of Alto Adige is...

Dendrochronology in Suedtirol

Dendrochronology in Suedtirol

Die Gegend um St. Andrä hat in der Archäologie einen hervorragenden Ruf. Mit dem Albanbühel und dem Gräberfeld in Mellaun weist sie zwei Fundstellen auf, die zu den ersten zählen, die in Südtirol entdeckt und ausgegraben wurden. Eine ganze Epoche-die Laugen-Melaun-Kultur-ist danach benannt. Dieses Kapitel gibt einen Überblick über die Bronze-und Ei...

Archaeological excavations carried out at the sites of Laion/Lajen (Bolzano/Bozen) and Stufles-Oberegger (Bressanone/Brixen) in northern Italy uncovered well-preserved wooden samples in cultural layers archaeologically dated to the Iron Age. From the 2 sites, different wooden samples were recovered that were well preserved enough to allow clear ide...

Recent studies on the Copper Age in the Isarco Valley (Bolzano). With a contribution by Lorna Anguilano on the chemical-petrographical analyses of fusion-slags The palaeoethnological research in South Tyrol is nowadays, as it is elsewhere, strongly conditioned by a massive, intense and widespread expansion of buildings and infrastructure, which mea...

MAURO COLTORTI, ELENA PORCARELLI, SILVIA RAVANI, UMBERTO TECCHIATI & PIERLUIGI PIERUCCINI -The archaeological succession of Barbiano-Firehouse (Bozen): evidence of slope terracing during the Neolithic. Barbiano archaeological site was occupied at various stages from the Prehistory to the Ro-man era. The earliest occupation of the area, seems to hav...