Trepanation and (ritual?) perimortem actions in the Neolithic period at Grotta Patrizi (Lazio, Italy)

Abstract

Grotta Patrizi (Cerveteri, Roma, Lazio) discovered by Patrizi in 1933 is a vast karst network. Excavation by Radmilli revealed an individual burial reliably attributed to the Ceramica a Linee Incise group that contributed to the Neolithization of central and Tyrrhenian Italy around 5000 cal BC. The remains of the individual bore signs of numerous pathological conditions and of trepanation. Expanding on previous studies, a stereomicroscopic examination of the trepanation site suggests new interpretations of the bone changes. This latest analysis confirms the hypothesis that the individual survived an initial complete trepanation, and it specifies the nature and form of the operator's hand movements. A repeat intervention was apparently made during the perimortem period. It can be hypothesized that this intervention was performed after the death of the individual and possibly on the severed head of the deceased, as an integral part of the funerary treatment. If so, this would be the earliest evidence of the practice of ritual trepanation in this chrono-cultural context.

A new case of prehistoric trepanation and scalping in the Iberian Peninsula: The tomb of La Saga (Cáseda, Navarre)

“…Posthumous trepanations, on the other hand, have been connected with ritual motivations, whether to obtain cranial roundels to be used later as amulets (Cordier, 2005; Erdal & Erdal, 2011; Lisowski, 1967; Zemour, 2020), to extract the brain (Murphy, 2003) or to suspend the enemies' crania (Gillman, 1876; Gresky, Haelm, & Clare, 2017).…”

Pottery vessels and technology of “colouring materials” in the central-western Mediterranean (Sardinia, Italy) during the Middle Neolithic: An interdisciplinary approach combining use-wear and chemical-physical analysis

“…Considerable archaeological evidence exists for the peninsular and insular regions of present Italy, where the main recognised uses of colouring materials were as pigments: (i) in the decoration of artefacts such as pottery (Colombo, Boschian 2009;Fabbri et al 2013;Giustetto et al 2013;Quarta et al 2018;Angeli et al 2018Angeli et al , 2019Armetta et al 2023), anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines (Dal Rì et al 2001;Fugazzola Delpino, Tinè 2002Colombo 2012;Ferrari, Pessina 2012;Grifoni Cremonesi, Pedrotti 2012;Gorgoglione et al 2012;Bernabò Brea, Mazzieri 2014), personal ornaments (Dal Rì et al 2001;Mazzieri, Micheli 2014), bone tools (Grifoni 1967;Colombo 2006), pebbles (Grifoni 1967;Cassano et al 2003), (ii) in rock painting (Graziosi 1973(Graziosi , 1980, and (iii) possibly in decorating body and/or perishable objects, as suggested by colour traces on clay stamps (Serradimigni 2012;De Pascale 2014). Red pigments, such as ochre and cinnabar, were also a component of funerary behaviour, distinguishing several burials (Cipolloni-Sampò 1982;Santoni 1982;Dal Rì et al 2001;Grifoni Cremonesi, Radmilli 2001;Odetti 2003;Ucelli Gnesutta 2003;Quarta et al 2006;Zemour et al 2017;Zemour 2019;Sparacello et al 2019). Parallelly, the use of ochre for its multiple complementary properties, other than colouring (abrasive, drying, antimicrobial, preservative), is probably underestimated…”