New data on the first human settlements in western Trentino: The site of Pozza Lavino in the Ledro valley (Trentino, Italy)

• Published in: Quaternary international Vol. 423; pp. 49 - 57
• Main Authors: Scoz, Luca, Cavulli, Fabio, Fedrigotti, Alessandro, Neri, Stefano, Pedrotti, Annaluisa, Dalmeri, Giampaolo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 22.11.2016
• Subjects: Castelnovian; High altitude; Mesolithic; Neolithic; Northern Italy; Sauveterrian; Northern Italy; Castelnovian; High altitude; Mesolithic; Sauveterrian; Neolithic
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.112
• ISSN: 1040-6182

Until 2011, the Ledro valley (Trentino, northern Italy) was known only for the pile-dwelling site of Molina di Ledro, dating to the Bronze Age. During 2011, a survey campaign was carried out in the Ledro valley by the Museo delle Palafitte del Lago di Ledro to check for the presence of further prehistoric archaeological sites. The surveys, using both field walking and remote sensing analyses, identified 15 archaeological sites. One of these is Pozza Lavino, on Mount Tremalzo at 1800 m asl, dating to the Mesolithic. This new site is significant because in all of western Trentino only four other Mesolithic sites are known, while in the east of the province there are more than 200. Recent research shows that this is not a problem of the morphology of the landscape or the “visibility” of the archaeological evidence, but, rather, the gap is mainly due to the different intensities of research to date. At the site of Pozza Lavino some scattered pottery fragments also suggest another occupational phase after the Mesolithic. Two radiocarbon determinations and two arrowheads indicate a Middle/Late Neolithic presence: this is particularly exceptional because no other Neolithic site in Trentino is above 1000 m asl. The third remarkable aspect of this site is the presence of four double-backed points typologically dated to the Epigravettian. The excavation is still in progress and so here we can provide only some preliminary results and thoughts. The sites and the deposit under excavation testify to a Mesolithic occupation in the western Trentino region that had, until almost literally yesterday, been a black hole, or at best a sparsely occupied area, in archaeological maps. The new evidence, linked to the known finds in the Brescia pre-Alps, also gives support to the idea of a new route linking the area to the Po valley. The Mesolithic and Neolithic remains of Pozza Lavino open new horizons for the study of the Mesolithic and Neolithic at high altitude and our research at this settlement has already begun to shed new light on the behaviour and settlement strategies of our prehistoric ancestors in the mountains of western Trentino.