I ciottoli decorati di Paglicci: raffi gurazioni e utilizzo

Résumé En

In this paper we analyze nine pebbles (two of which are unpublished) coming from the mobiliary art assemblage of Paglicci cave (Foggia - Italy). The principals aims of the study are: - To understand the production process of artistic incisions on the pebbles, through the study of the engravings, as the starting point for deciphering their symbolic and cognitive value. Every engraved stroke has in fact retained, at a microscopic level, important technological information and by means of experimental replication of the engravings, it has been possible to retrieve microscopic indexes which allow one to re-create the link between the result of the engraving, the tools used and the action performed. The importance of re-enacting the sequence of actions which led to the creation of the artistic object is given not only by the possibility to understand in depth the technique employed during such events, but, more importantly, by the possibility to test their cultural signifi cance. - To assess the cultural value of the artistic production, also through functional analysis. Engravings, different from cave art which has solely a symbolic value, are in this case carried out on artefacts used in every-day life. The identifi cation of use-wear traces on such objects, or at least on those which possess the necessary characteristics to suggest their likely utilization, is undertaken in an attempt to fi nd out whether such objects were used before and/or after they were engraved. Within the technological study of engravings and the functional analysis of pebbles, the interpretation of the archaeological data has been possible thanks to the comparison with the data obtained through replication under controlled parameters. Technological analysis of the incisions has underlined the employment of various engraving tools, or at least various active edges of the same tool. Strokes are generally redone several times to make them readable. Use-wear analysis has highlighted that the majority of pebbles has been used as retouchers or hammer stones (active percussion). Three pieces show use-wear far from the edges denoting a function of these pebbles as anvil (passive percussion) or mallet (indirect percussion). In two cases the surface has been abraded after utilization and before the engravings. All pebbles have been used before being engraved. This observation may suggest that pebbles, at a certain moment, lost a functional value for a different one. The care employed in preparing and engraving pebbles after utilization denotes the will of using no longer these objects, even though their life continues, as polish following the incisions show.