Programme > Par auteur > Nicolosi Teresa

This communication examines the several caves used for funerary purposes in the chronological range between the Eneolithic and the Bronze Age in Tuscan-Lazian Maremma. The natural cavities that contain human remains are 26. Among these, 21 are located in Tuscany, mainly in the area of Colline Metallifere and in the Grosseto area, and 5 in Latium, concentrated along the left bank of Fiora river. The caves used for funerary purposes are characterized by large spaces, simple galleries and/or overlapping chambers and natural clefts. The funerary ritual that is attested includes the inhumation and the creation of collective burials, as it is demonstrated by absolute datings. Collective burials are characterized by the diachronic deposition of multiple individuals in subsequent times, hence structures are clearly reopened in order to place new corpses or human remains.

On the basis of the available literature, the aim is to provide an overall view of the demographic composition, the ratio between primary and secondary burials, and the representation of each skeletal element. In fact, this last analysis may highlight anomalous concentrations of one or more skeletal districts, with the opportunity to point out the eventual intentional selection of the bones to be buried or particular displacements during which some elements could have been lost.