A Neolithic Household at Piana di Curinga, Italy

The report gives the first detailed description of an early Neolithic house in the Western Mediterranean. Among the wattle-and-daub structures excavated at Piana di Curinga, a settlement of Impressed Ware Neolithic age located on the Tyrrhenian coast of southern Italy, the best preserved is the one found in Area H at the site. Excavations here have led to the recovery of more than one ton of baked daub fragments representing the walls of the structure. The many impressions left in the daub by timbers and wattles belonging to the wooden framework of the structure permit detailed studies to be made on the materials and techniques used in its construction. The report also examines the lithic remains, predominantly worked pieces of obsidian; found in association with the house. Attention is paid to the reduction technology used in the working of obsidian and to traces of microscopic wear observed on the edges of obsidian blades. The report considers the question of the use and organization of space as seen at the household level in Area H at Piana di Curinga. It also discusses several cases of resource exploitation and some of their wider implications for the study of Neolithic economics.