Analisi antropologica dell’ipogeo eneolitico di Contrada Colombardo (Ragusa)

Abstract

Anthropological study of the Eneolithic hypogeum in Contrada Colombardo (Ragusa) - The evidence of the Eneolithic culture in Sicily (fourth Millennium B.C.) is few and geographically limited. As far as the southern Nebrodi and Iblei districts is concerned, there is limited knowledge of Eneolithic settlements and funerary aspects. This work presents the first anthropological data relating to a hypogeic tomb found in Contrada Colombardo (Ragusa). The excavation, carried out in 2015-2016 by the Soprintendenza of Ragusa, brought to light a complex settlement characterized by three long houses and the hypogeal unit, which constitutes a typological unicum in the funerary landscape for Hyblean Copper Age. The tomb is divided into three small burial chambers, one of which is incomplete and unused. At the time of the excavation, the tombs were found inviolate and sealed by lithic doors. The first chamber housed a single burial (T1-S1), a male individual in right lateral decubitus and a crouched position. The second chamber housed a collective burial of 8 individuals (T2-S2:8). The intensive use of red ochre can be seen in both rooms. In room 2 there is evidence of depositional rituals, such as the peculiar arrangement of some bodies in a secondary position. The anthropological study underlined the presence of adult individuals of both sexes and an infantile individual. A remarkable morphotypical heterogeneity was investigated with a geometric morphometric approach. Furthermore, the combination of pathological and occupational markers provides useful data for the reconstruction of behaviours and of the palaeoecology of the human group.