The Archaeology of Grotta Scaloria: Ritual in Neolithic Southeast Italy [Hardcover]

Grotta Scaloria, a cave in Apulia, was first discovered and explored in 1931, excavated briefly in 1967, and then excavated extensively from 1978 to 1980 by a joint UCLA-University of Genoa team, but it was never fully published. The Save Scaloria Project was organized to locate this legacy data and to enhance that information by application of the newest methods of archaeological and scientific analysis. This significant site is finally published in one comprehensive volume (and in an online archive of additional data and photographs) that gathers together the archaeological data from the upper and lower chambers of the cave. These data indicate intense ritual and quotidian use during the Neolithic period (circa 5600-5300 BCE). The Grotta Scaloria project is also important as historiography, since it illustrates a changing trajectory of research spanning three generations of European and American archaeology.Grotta Scaloria, in Apulia, first discovered in 1931, excavated briefly in 1967, extensively from 1978-1980 by a joint UCLA-University of Genoa team, but not fully published until now. The project is important as historiography, showing changing trajectory of research across three generations of European and American archaeology.Ch. 1 Grotta Scaloria: An Archaeological History by Ernestine S. ElsterComments, Scaloria Day, Genoa 2008 by Santo Tine Ch. 2 Introduction to Scaloria CaveCh. 2.1 Discovery and Explorations of the Cave, 1931-2013 by Eugenia Isetti Ch. 2.2 Research in Occhiopinto Cave by Nicoletta Bianchi, Eugenia Isetti, and Antonella Traverso Ch. 2.3 Radiocarbon Dating and Absolute Chronology by John Robb Ch. 3 The Ancient Cave and Its Human OccupationCh. 3.1 Geoarchaeological Studies by Ivano Rellini, Andrea Ciampalini, Marco Firpo, and John Hellstrom Ch. 3.2 Archaeobotanical Analysis: Paleoenvironmental Implications by Girolamo Fiorentino and Cosimo D'Oronzo Ch. 3.3 Prehistoric Animal Remains from Grotta ScalorlCÇ