Papers by Stefania Casini
Le Globe. Revue genevoise de géographie, 2009
Résumé : Plusieurs centaines de dessins de figures anthropomorphes et zoomorphes, d'armes, de... more Résumé : Plusieurs centaines de dessins de figures anthropomorphes et zoomorphes, d'armes, de parures ainsi que de soleils et de symboles plus ou moins abstraits ont été gravés sur la roche et des centaines de statues-stèles ont été érigées au cours du IIIe millénaire av. J.-C. en Valteline et en Valcamonica (Lombardie, Italie). L'analyse de l'iconographie et la comparaison d'armes et de parures représentées avec des poignards, des hallebardes, des haches ou des pendentifs trouvés lors des fouilles archéologiques montrent les changements opérés dans l'idéologie des sociétés de l'âge du Cuivre. L 'importance croissante de personnages hégémoniques — peut-être descendants d'une divinité — profondément imbibés d'une image masculine reconnaissable à travers son armement et son habillement, expriment une société en forte mutation sous le signe de la hiérarchisation et du pouvoir.
Le ultime ricerche e studi nel campo delle statue stele e massi incisi in Valcamonica e Valtellin... more Le ultime ricerche e studi nel campo delle statue stele e massi incisi in Valcamonica e Valtellina, Itali
Il contributo traccia un resoconto sulle pi\uf9 recenti ricerche sul gruppo di statue-menhir del ... more Il contributo traccia un resoconto sulle pi\uf9 recenti ricerche sul gruppo di statue-menhir del gruppo Valcamonica-Valtellin
L'articolo riguarda le nuove scoperte di statue stele dell'et\ue0 del Rame in Valtellina,... more L'articolo riguarda le nuove scoperte di statue stele dell'et\ue0 del Rame in Valtellina, Itali
L'articolo prende in considerazione le incisioni rupestri eseguite dai pastori in alta quota ... more L'articolo prende in considerazione le incisioni rupestri eseguite dai pastori in alta quota a Carona (Val Brembana, BG)tra il XV ed il XX secolo analizzando anche l'economia pastorale dell'epoca considerat
Il contributo propone una disamina delle peculiarit\ue0 delle stele-menhir presenti in Valtellina... more Il contributo propone una disamina delle peculiarit\ue0 delle stele-menhir presenti in Valtellina durante l'et\ue0 del Rame (Stile III A
MUSÉE D'ANTHROPOLOGIE PRÉHISTORIQUE DE MONACO n u m é r o 6 0, 2022
The new National Museum of Prehistory in Capo di Ponte (BS) (MUPRE) displays many engraved boulde... more The new National Museum of Prehistory in Capo di Ponte (BS) (MUPRE) displays many engraved boulders and steles found in Valcamonica in the last 50 years. The analysis of this new iconographic evidence resulted in supplementary results; however, the research also confirmed the overall picture of the chronology (Copper Age until the early Bronze Age), the succession of styles (style III A1, A2 and A3) and relationships between the symbolic groups (sun, weapons, ornaments, and fringed cloaks) as outlined in our previous research. With regard to the Valtellina monuments (the majority of them areon display in the Antiquarium Tellinum at Palazzo Besta, Teglio (SO)), in the last 15 years new monuments have been brought to light; the local heritage has thus been enhanced in addition to expanding the iconographic repertoire. The comparison with the figures from Valcamonica, in particular those considered female, has revealed iconographic and chronologic differences. The characteristics of the Valtellina steles can be considered as a form of expression stressing particular aspects of cultural identity within the same artistic language and ideological system. Over the last few years, the interpretational research of these monuments has been expanded, especially regarding the analysis of animal figures and their arrangement on the engraved surfaces, identifying dominant social groups within the local social structure in relation to the sites in question.
Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche - LXXII S2 - 2022 Preistoria e Protostoria in Lombardia e Canton Ticino , 2022
The statue-stele in Valtellina: an update - In the last 15
years new fragments of stele have been... more The statue-stele in Valtellina: an update - In the last 15
years new fragments of stele have been brought to light in Valtellina, bringing the total number of monuments to 28 (found in 14 different sites). The local heritage has thus been enhanced in addition expanding the iconographic repertoire. Of these boulders/stele 18 show male imagery, 7 female, 3 are mixed and show the gender change of the monument. The present paper deals with the two famous stele Caven 1-2, where, due to new tracings, we could see that the gender attribution of these stele have been changed several times. In both Caven 1 and 2 the
first phase is represented by a female imagery shown by a composition of several double spiral pendants. The second phase of Caven 1 continues with the addition of a different female imagery (the so-called sun with three rays, double spiral pendants and combs), while the second phase of Caven 2 changes the gender of the stele, showing a male subject with a hammer axe associated with a ploughing scene with the plough pulled by two bulls with big horns, a unique case seen in Valtellina (while the theme is well known on the Valcamonica monuments). The third phase of Caven 1 shows the change of the gender, with the classic male representation
of the III A1 style, the sun associated to the weaponry (axe, halberd, Remedello type daggers) and animals (two deer and one boar), together with the unique representation of a wagon pulled by two bulls with big horns. This is a quite rare finding as the other two figures of wagon are known only in Lagundo 2 stele in Alto Adige and Cemmo 2 boulder in Valcamonica. The fourth phase of Caven 1 still belongs to the III A1 style showing animal figures and a Spilamberto dagger. The last (fifth) phase on Caven 1 is represented not only by the presence of a Bell Beaker dagger but also by group of animals in III A2 style, that show the typical curvilinear back. The third phase of Caven 2, instead, changes gender again going back to the female one with the sun with three rays, double
spiral pendants and combs. In the fourth phase Caven 2 goes back to the male gender with an imagery similar to the one known in the third phase of Caven 1, a sun associated to the weaponry (axe, halberd, Remedello and Spilamberto type daggers) and one deer. The last phase of Caven 2 belongs to the III A2 style, showing a Bell Beaker dagger and an ibex engraved on the side B of the stele. Probably to this phase belongs also a series of little cup-marks overlapped on several images of previous periods. 5 different phases alternate on both the stele: four of them can be attributed to the III A1 (3000-2500 BC), on the basis of the iconography, and only one to the III A2 (2500-2200 BC). Particularly interesting is the first phase constituted only by pendants. Pending new data and contexts that can clarify these chronological aspects, we can state that over the course of about five centuries the stele were engraved in four successive moments of the Copper 2 period, while the last intervention took place in the Bell Beaker period.
Preistoria e Protostoria in Lombardia e Canton Ticino, Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, LXXII, s.2, 2022
In 1990 the Archaeological Superintendency of Lombardy carried out some excavations at the Biblio... more In 1990 the Archaeological Superintendency of Lombardy carried out some excavations at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana (Ambrosiana Library), reaching the Iron Age levels of the ancient settlement. Among the few structures, surfaced a loam floor with a heart and several post holes, indicating that there were wooden buildings with some wattle and daub partitions. The materials are datable to the period between the 4th and the 3rd century BC and are comparable to those found in the nearby excavation in via Moneta, which can be attributed to Late Golasecca and early La Tène cultures. Worthy of note is a big vase decorated by horizontal ribbons characterized by the so called technique of “stralucido” (over polished), comparable to some few findings from via Moneta and the settlement of Como and several ceramics traceable back to the Ligurian tradition of the 4th-2nd century BC.
OLTRE LE STRATIGRAFIE. STORIE DI SITI, AMBIENTI E POPOLI, Omaggio a Lanfredo Castelletti nel 2022, a cura di Gian Pietro Brogiolo, Sila Motella De Carlo, Marina Uboldi, Documenti di Archeologia, 70, 2022
Atti del convegno, Ricerche sulle comunità del Bergamasco tra tarda Antichità e alto Medioevo (secoli IV-X) a cura di Gian Pietro Brogiolo, Giosuè Bonetti e Matteo Rabaglio, Archivio Bergamasco, Bergamo, 2022
Notiziario della Società Botanica Italiana, 5 (2): 87‐184, 2021, 2021
We present a new paleoecological record from a peat bog close to a medieval settlement in the sub... more We present a new paleoecological record from a peat bog close to a medieval settlement in the subalpine Valle Brembana, Lombardy Alps. The present-day vegetation structure of the area is the result of interaction between climate change and human activity since the Late Neolithic/Bronze Age (Furlanetto et al. 2018). A recent archaeological excavation at the "Piani di Sasso" (1690 m a.s.l.) unearthed a settlement dating back to the Early Medieval Period. The site was possibly an iron ore processing site. Iron mines are historically attested in the valley at least from the High Middle Ages (Cucini Tizzoni 1994, Riceputi 2004), as supported by dated charcoal burner sites located close to the settlements. Interestingly, such a medieval village was (still is) lying close to a peat bog archive which was investigated to provide information on cultural interference on ecosystems. The paleoecological analysis, supported by radiocarbon dating, is aimed at reconstructing the vegetation history all along the period of strong human impact including prior pristine forests. Pollen spectra point to dense spruce forests during the II millennium b.C., followed by an opening during the Iron Age testified by increasing abundance of pollen from shrubs (Alnus viridis (Chaix) DC. and Corylus). After the III sec b.C. the record of Juglans starts, slightly anticipating Castanea. From the IV/V century AD a peak in charcoal deposition mirrors the exploitation of local woody resources to power the furnaces. Charcoal production and livestock husbandry triggered the demise of pristine subalpine forests into pastures. In the Late Middle Ages charcoal deposition decreases, while pasture proxies persist with high values.
Menschen In Stein Gemeisselt, J. Perifanakis, L. Tori (eds.), Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum (hg.), Christoph Merian Verlag, 2021
Preistoria del cibo. L'alimentazione nella preistoria e nella protostoria, STUDI DI PREISTORIA E PROTOSTORIA, 6, a cura di Isabella Damiani, Alberto Cazzella, Valentina Copat, FIRENZE 2021, 2021
Iberic KHALATOI from MEDIOLANUM and the honey trade during the late Iron Age: chemical analysis o... more Iberic KHALATOI from MEDIOLANUM and the honey trade during the late Iron Age: chemical analysis of the organic traces –
Amongst the finds from the site of via Moneta in Milan which underwent
chemical analyses with the aim to discover their original contents there were also fragments of pots belonging
to imported Iberian ware and their locally made imitations. The analyses studied their powders and their
organic extracts using infrared spectrometry, elements analyzer (CHNS) and mass spectrometry. Above all the
system to characterize the fatty compounds remains in archaeological finds. Using GC-MS it was possible to observe
the markers typical of bee-wax, because of this it was inferred that they were used as containers for honey.
Les dédicaces cultuelles sont un des principaux genres épigraphiques dans la plupart des langues ... more Les dédicaces cultuelles sont un des principaux genres épigraphiques dans la plupart des langues de l’ouest du bassin méditerranéen antique, y compris dans les langues d’attestation fragmentaire. Le présent volume, issu d’un colloque tenu à l’Academia Belgica à Rome les 18 et 19 mai 2017, est consacré à la visée pragmatique de ces textes, qui commémorent un acte de communication avec la divinité, tout en s’adressant à des êtres humains, en général membres de la même collectivité que l’auteur de l’acte cultuel commémoré. Nous souhaitons montrer la diversité des situations attestées dans l’ouest de l’aire méditerranéenne, à la fois ouverte aux échanges et extrêmement riche en cultures épigraphiques distinctes avant la généralisation des modèles latins.
The paper summarizes the discovery of a Celtic Sanctuary at the Brembo river sources at Carona, i... more The paper summarizes the discovery of a Celtic Sanctuary at the Brembo river sources at Carona, in Val Brembana (BG
Fig. 10. Pottery of the phases G. III A3-LT B1 (4th century BC) from the site of Prestino, via Is... more Fig. 10. Pottery of the phases G. III A3-LT B1 (4th century BC) from the site of Prestino, via Isonzo-La Pesa structure n° 1 (drawings by S. Casini).
Fig. 3. The area of the protohistoric settlement of Como during the G. II period (6th century BC)... more Fig. 3. The area of the protohistoric settlement of Como during the G. II period (6th century BC). The pottery are more frequently than before related to structures .
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Papers by Stefania Casini
years new fragments of stele have been brought to light in Valtellina, bringing the total number of monuments to 28 (found in 14 different sites). The local heritage has thus been enhanced in addition expanding the iconographic repertoire. Of these boulders/stele 18 show male imagery, 7 female, 3 are mixed and show the gender change of the monument. The present paper deals with the two famous stele Caven 1-2, where, due to new tracings, we could see that the gender attribution of these stele have been changed several times. In both Caven 1 and 2 the
first phase is represented by a female imagery shown by a composition of several double spiral pendants. The second phase of Caven 1 continues with the addition of a different female imagery (the so-called sun with three rays, double spiral pendants and combs), while the second phase of Caven 2 changes the gender of the stele, showing a male subject with a hammer axe associated with a ploughing scene with the plough pulled by two bulls with big horns, a unique case seen in Valtellina (while the theme is well known on the Valcamonica monuments). The third phase of Caven 1 shows the change of the gender, with the classic male representation
of the III A1 style, the sun associated to the weaponry (axe, halberd, Remedello type daggers) and animals (two deer and one boar), together with the unique representation of a wagon pulled by two bulls with big horns. This is a quite rare finding as the other two figures of wagon are known only in Lagundo 2 stele in Alto Adige and Cemmo 2 boulder in Valcamonica. The fourth phase of Caven 1 still belongs to the III A1 style showing animal figures and a Spilamberto dagger. The last (fifth) phase on Caven 1 is represented not only by the presence of a Bell Beaker dagger but also by group of animals in III A2 style, that show the typical curvilinear back. The third phase of Caven 2, instead, changes gender again going back to the female one with the sun with three rays, double
spiral pendants and combs. In the fourth phase Caven 2 goes back to the male gender with an imagery similar to the one known in the third phase of Caven 1, a sun associated to the weaponry (axe, halberd, Remedello and Spilamberto type daggers) and one deer. The last phase of Caven 2 belongs to the III A2 style, showing a Bell Beaker dagger and an ibex engraved on the side B of the stele. Probably to this phase belongs also a series of little cup-marks overlapped on several images of previous periods. 5 different phases alternate on both the stele: four of them can be attributed to the III A1 (3000-2500 BC), on the basis of the iconography, and only one to the III A2 (2500-2200 BC). Particularly interesting is the first phase constituted only by pendants. Pending new data and contexts that can clarify these chronological aspects, we can state that over the course of about five centuries the stele were engraved in four successive moments of the Copper 2 period, while the last intervention took place in the Bell Beaker period.
Amongst the finds from the site of via Moneta in Milan which underwent
chemical analyses with the aim to discover their original contents there were also fragments of pots belonging
to imported Iberian ware and their locally made imitations. The analyses studied their powders and their
organic extracts using infrared spectrometry, elements analyzer (CHNS) and mass spectrometry. Above all the
system to characterize the fatty compounds remains in archaeological finds. Using GC-MS it was possible to observe
the markers typical of bee-wax, because of this it was inferred that they were used as containers for honey.
years new fragments of stele have been brought to light in Valtellina, bringing the total number of monuments to 28 (found in 14 different sites). The local heritage has thus been enhanced in addition expanding the iconographic repertoire. Of these boulders/stele 18 show male imagery, 7 female, 3 are mixed and show the gender change of the monument. The present paper deals with the two famous stele Caven 1-2, where, due to new tracings, we could see that the gender attribution of these stele have been changed several times. In both Caven 1 and 2 the
first phase is represented by a female imagery shown by a composition of several double spiral pendants. The second phase of Caven 1 continues with the addition of a different female imagery (the so-called sun with three rays, double spiral pendants and combs), while the second phase of Caven 2 changes the gender of the stele, showing a male subject with a hammer axe associated with a ploughing scene with the plough pulled by two bulls with big horns, a unique case seen in Valtellina (while the theme is well known on the Valcamonica monuments). The third phase of Caven 1 shows the change of the gender, with the classic male representation
of the III A1 style, the sun associated to the weaponry (axe, halberd, Remedello type daggers) and animals (two deer and one boar), together with the unique representation of a wagon pulled by two bulls with big horns. This is a quite rare finding as the other two figures of wagon are known only in Lagundo 2 stele in Alto Adige and Cemmo 2 boulder in Valcamonica. The fourth phase of Caven 1 still belongs to the III A1 style showing animal figures and a Spilamberto dagger. The last (fifth) phase on Caven 1 is represented not only by the presence of a Bell Beaker dagger but also by group of animals in III A2 style, that show the typical curvilinear back. The third phase of Caven 2, instead, changes gender again going back to the female one with the sun with three rays, double
spiral pendants and combs. In the fourth phase Caven 2 goes back to the male gender with an imagery similar to the one known in the third phase of Caven 1, a sun associated to the weaponry (axe, halberd, Remedello and Spilamberto type daggers) and one deer. The last phase of Caven 2 belongs to the III A2 style, showing a Bell Beaker dagger and an ibex engraved on the side B of the stele. Probably to this phase belongs also a series of little cup-marks overlapped on several images of previous periods. 5 different phases alternate on both the stele: four of them can be attributed to the III A1 (3000-2500 BC), on the basis of the iconography, and only one to the III A2 (2500-2200 BC). Particularly interesting is the first phase constituted only by pendants. Pending new data and contexts that can clarify these chronological aspects, we can state that over the course of about five centuries the stele were engraved in four successive moments of the Copper 2 period, while the last intervention took place in the Bell Beaker period.
Amongst the finds from the site of via Moneta in Milan which underwent
chemical analyses with the aim to discover their original contents there were also fragments of pots belonging
to imported Iberian ware and their locally made imitations. The analyses studied their powders and their
organic extracts using infrared spectrometry, elements analyzer (CHNS) and mass spectrometry. Above all the
system to characterize the fatty compounds remains in archaeological finds. Using GC-MS it was possible to observe
the markers typical of bee-wax, because of this it was inferred that they were used as containers for honey.