Vadas Ferenc (szerk.): A Szekszárdi Béri Balogh Ádám Múzeum Évkönyve 13. (Szekszárd, 1986)
Bernadio Bagolini–Paolo Biagi: Chronology and distribution of the Square Mouth Pottery Culture settlements of Northern Italy
Chronology and distribution of the Square Mouth Pottery Culture settlements of Northern Italy BERNARDINO BAGOLINI-PAOLO BIAGI, BOLOGNA According to the late David Clarke (CLARKE 1968,490), „Culture is a polythetic set of specific and comprehensive artefact-type categories which consistently recur together in assemblages within a limited geographical area". This definition is well applicable to the Square Mouth Pottery Culture, more of 100 sites of which are known throughout the whole of Northern Italy during the IV and early centuries of the III millenium be. The Culture was defined by L. Bernabô Brea who carried out excavations at the famous Arène Candide Cave in Ligura (BERNABO' BREA 1946; 1956). Further studies were later conducted in Emilia by F. Malavolti who subdivided it into two main stages, namely the Chiozza and the Pescale Cultures (MALAVOLTI 1953-55). L. H. Barfield recognized three moments in the development of the Culture (BARFIELD 1972) which he attributed to the whole IV millennium be, going deep into the argument in many articles (BARFIELD 1970; BARFIELD, BROGLIO 1965; 1971; BARFIELD, BAGOLINI 1976).At about the same time 0. Cornaggia Castiglioni recognized two middle Neolithic/acies in North Western Lombardy which he called the Palude Brabbia and the Isolino Cultures (Cornaggia Castiglioni 1972). Thanks to recent research carried out in various settlements of the regions of the Veneto, Trentino, and Lombardy, and also thanks to the detailed reexamination of the finds from old excavations stored in North Italian museums, the Authors have developed a more flexible model for the understanding of the different Square Mouth Pottery horizons (BAGOLINI, BARBACOVI, BIAGI 1979; BAGOLINI, BIAGI 1977; 1977 a; BIAGI, BARKER, CREMASCHI 1983). An archaic stage or Archaic Style can now be defined (Fig. la). It is distributed in a restricted area mostly confined to the south of the Po. The flint assemblages of this phase still resemble late V millenium BC types being composed of backed retouched artefacts including rhomboids and microburins. Most of the vessels, among which pedestalled beakers, have simple, scratched decorations. The earliest transadriatic connections (BARFIELD 1974) begin at the start of the IV millenium BC, with the Linear Geometric Style (fig. la), especially with the early Danilo Culture (BREGANT 1968), as documented both by pottery decorations and the occurence of monofacial, tanged, long flint arrowheads. The Spyral Meander Style (Fig. lb) dates to the middle of the IV millennium BC when transadriatic connections with the Danilo sphere (KOROSEC 1958; 1964) seem to increase. At this stage the culture reached its maximum expansion. A local fades is known in North Western Lombardy (GUERRESCHI 1976-77) and in the Ticino 25 373
