Transformed by fire: a ritual practice dating back to the Early Neolithic in Italy. Interdisciplinary analysis of burnt bone remains in Lugo di Grezzana (Veneto), 5000 − 4850 cal BCE

Abstract

The use of fire for the treatment of human remains in funerary rituals characterises Italian prehistory since the Neolithic, being the dominant funerary practice from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman period, with regional differences. New osteoarchaeological and radiometric data allow us to confirm the occasional use of fire as a transformative element for the body already in the Early Neolithic. During the excavation of the Early Neolithic settlement of Lugo di Grezzana in 2003 and 2005 (Fiorano Culture – province of Verona, Veneto, northeastern Italy), five pits were discovered, each containing burnt osteological remains. One pit, interpreted as an oven (ES 541 sector XVI), yielded numerous bones intermingled with abundant fragments of pottery and flint. Most of the bones were identified as non-human remains. However, the morphological examination revealed fragments of diaphyses with characteristics consistent with human bone. Subsequent histomorphological analysis confirmed the taxonomic identification of these fragments as belonging to the genus Homo and provided insights into the age distribution, indicating that they belonged to individuals spanning different age groups. The ¹⁴C analysis of charcoal and bones suggests that the use of ovens dates from 5400 to 5000 cal BCE. A new radiocarbon date of a calcined human bone fragment has been placed between 5024 and 4845 cal BCE, indicating that the oven was likely reused as funerary structure during the final phase of the site use. This discovery has increased the number of recent findings of burnt human bones within Neolithic contexts in Italy, prompting us to reflect on the significance of their presence as possible early evidence of fire rituals involving the treatment of human remains in the Italian Peninsula.