Chert exploitation and circulation in Eastern Lombardy (Northern Italy). A diachronic overview trough Prehistory

This work focuses on the Eastern Lombardy Prealps (central SouthernAlps), including the Brescia and Bergamo provinces. Knappable lithic rawmaterials are represented by cherts and radiolarites which are quitecommon in the Jurassic-Cretaceous sedimentary series. Tectonicsplayed an important role for the preservation of good chert outcrops.Several prehistoric sites are located not far away from the primary lithicsources; in particular we have identified three main areas with goodoutcrops. South-north mobility along the main valleys is highlighted by theraw materials displacements from the outcrops, situated at the mouth ofthe valleys, to the north. The Palaeolithic record of the area is very poor.Mousterian sites are generally located near the outcrops. AnEpigravettian site is situated far away from the primary sources in the mid-mountain easily accessible by valley routes. A greater mobility isdocumented in the Mesolithic when also extra-regional cherts (westernTrentino) were introduced in the sites. In the Brescia district, starting fromthe Neolithic and during the Copper age, we observe an increase in theimport of very good chert types from the Baldo/Lessini area for specificpurposes together with the exploitation of the local resources for domestic use