Tracing Technological Traditions Through Personal Ornaments: Steatite Ornament Production in Neolithic and Copper Age Italy

Abstract

Personal ornaments constitute one of the most informative forms of archaeological evidence for investigating identity, social interaction and how technical knowledge was learned, transmitted and transformed within prehistoric communities. Previous research has demonstrated their value for reconstructing cultural affiliations, exchange networks, technological choices and practices of use. However, identifying technological traditions and forms of craft organisation from ornament assemblages remains methodologically challenging, because formal recurrence, manufacturing traces and use-wear evidence do not in themselves demonstrate shared technical practice unless assessed in relation to operational sequences and archaeological context. This paper addresses this issue through the integrated analysis of 383 steatite ornaments and production-related artefacts from Neolithic and Copper Age contexts in central-northern Italy. By combining techno-typometric analysis, traceology, experimental replication and non-destructive archaeometric characterisation within a chaîne opératoire framework, the study formalises an integrated and transferable analytical approach to evaluate technical convergence and divergence, and to identify learning processes through manufacturing errors and variability in technical execution. The results show that steatite ornament production relied on multiple coexisting chaînes opératoires rather than on a single linear trajectory of standardisation or diversification. Comparable morphologies were produced through different operational sequences, while the integration of compositional and technological data highlights the limits of provenance attribution based solely on raw-material characterisation. Manufacturing anomalies, such as incomplete perforations, repeated drilling attempts and reworked fractures, indicate the coexistence of different levels of skill, from exploratory or learning-related gestures to highly controlled procedures. Together with the distribution of preforms, production waste and unfinished artefacts, this evidence suggests a polycentric organisation of production in which shared technical principles coexisted with local routines and community-specific practices. The case study contributes to broader archaeological discussions on standardisation, communities of practice, craft organisation and the transmission of technical knowledge.