ANNUALREPORT:THEPRAN’ESIDDILANDSCAPEPROJECT2016FIELDSCHOOL

Director(s): EmilyHolt,MuseumNationald’HistoireNaturelle(Paris,France)

FieldschoolstudentFrancescaLuriaanalyzeszooarchaeologicalremains

GENERAL

Afive-weekIFRFieldSchoolatSiddi,Sardinia(Italy),tookplacebetweenJuly10thandAugust13th2016.Thefieldschoolfocusedonlaboratoryresearchandformedpartofthethirdseasonof the Pran’e Siddi Landscape Project, which was established to investigate the changingrelationships among social inequality, settlement patterns, and environmental change in theareaaroundthemoderntownofSiddi,locatedinsouth-centralSardinia.ThefiveIFRfieldschoolstudentswhoworkedwiththePran’eSiddiLandscapeProjectweredirectedbyDr.EmilyHolt(MuseumNationald’HistoireNaturelle (Paris,France))withtheassistanceofDr.MauroPerra,director of the Museo Genna Maria (Villanovaforru, Sardinia). This season also saw theintroduction of a new staff member to the project, ceramics expert Davide Schirru (MuseoMultimedialedelRegnodiArborea(LasPlassas,Sardinia)).Our daily routine included labwork from8am-5:30pmwith an hour break for lunch. Twice aweek students attended lectures from 6:30-7:30pm, and weekends included field trips andguestlecturessuchas:·VisitstothearchaeologicalsitesofNuragheSantuAntine(Torralba),thefamouswelltempleofSantaCristina(Paulilatino),andtheUNESCOWorldHeritagesiteNuragheSuNuraxi(Barumini)

·GuidedtoursofongoingexcavationsandconservationworkatSuForru ‘eSintzurreddus(Dr.CarloLugliè,UniversitàdiCagliari),Bruncu‘es’Omu(Dr.RiccardoCicilloni,UniversitàdiCagliari)andNuragheGennaMaria(Dr.MauroPerra)·AtriptotheNationalArchaeologicalMuseuminCagliari· Guest lectures on Food and Drink in the Nuragic Culture by Dr. Mauro Perra, the NuragicWorkedBone IndustrybyDr.LauraManca (UniversitàdiSassari), theNuragicCeramicsof theSiddi Region (Davide Schirru), and Digital Humanities by Caitlin Diddams (PhD Student,UniversityatBuffalo)LABORATORYSET-UPOne of the most exciting parts of this season was inaugurating the new laboratory that hasgenerously been provided for us by the Comune di Siddi. The lab includes both study andstoragespace,allowingus–forthefirsttime–tokeepourartifactsinthesameplacewestudythem.Thiswilldrasticallyreducetraveltimeandpermittingissuesinfutureseasons,leadingtomoreproductiveworkdays.The2016teaminventoriedandorganizedtheentirelab,leavingusreadytohitthegroundrunningnextseason.CERAMICANALYSISThis season’s teammadeexcellentprogresson theanalysisof ceramics fromProgettoPran’eSiddi (2009-2011; Perra and Holt, directors), closing in on the completion of the study. TheProgettoPran’eSiddiceramicswereexcavatedatthesiteofNuragheSaConcaSaCresia,oneofthe Middle Bronze Age towers on the Siddi Plateau that is the focus of the Pran’e SiddiLandscape Project. Our research suggests that an early Nuragic elite began to develop at SaConca Sa Cresia during the Middle Bronze Age. The ceramics study seeks to identify thedevelopment of an elite identity relying on the refinement of pottery production over thecourse of the site’s occupation. IFR students learned to recognize vessel types, measure rimdiameters, assess characteristics of vessel fabrics, and document decoration. These multiplelines of evidencewill be used to understandhow the elites living at Sa Conca Sa Cresia usedceramicstoexpresstheirpower.ZOOARCHAEOLOGICALANALYSISIFR students learned the basics of zooarchaeological analysis by studying the animal remainsfromSaConcaSaCresiaincomparisonwiththemodernskeletalcollectionsoftheMuseoGennaMaria.Studentslearnedtoidentifyanimalbonestospeciesandskeletalelement,aswellastolook for and document bone modifications such as cut and chop marks, burn marks, andcarnivoreandrodentgnawing.Aswithceramics,animalhusbandryandconsumptionpatternscan be used to understand changes in social organization and elite identity. These animalremainswillalsoprovideimportantinformationforunderstandingtheNuragicenvironment.HEAVYFRACTIONSORTINGThis season’s teamcontinued theprocessof sortingheavy fractions fromSaConca SaCresia.They learnedto identifyanddifferentiatesmall fragmentsofobsidian,animalbone,terrestrialandmarine shell, charcoal, and other artifactual and ecofactual remains. The students’ workcontinued to improve our understanding of the Nuragic economy, as well as add to the

resourceswehavetostudybehaviorssuchastoolproduction,use,andmaintenance.