“Pozzetti, buche, piccole fosse, silos…” Le strutture in negativo neolitiche di piccole dimensioni: metodi di indagine e problemi interpretativi. Abstract book

In the past, several meetings have been devoted to the tricky evidence of Neolithic dwelling structures, since, due to their intensive use and abandonment, they are frequently ephemeral and prone to significant transformation processes. Despite this, a dense cloud of uncertainty still envelops our understanding of the function of some small dug-out structures: they seem to fall outside the behavioural sphere linked to everyday-life tasks and, equally, do not present any evidence of explicitly belonging to specific craft activities. As components of the multi-faceted and tenuous range of socially and/or symbolically invested activities, resulting from both their high morpho-dimensional variability and the heterogeneity of their respective backfilling, this category of archaeological structures mostly retains its enigmatic and mainly anecdotal nature. Certainly, among archaeologists it still lacks a fully agreed-upon interpretation, and this is reflected by the absence of any univocal designation. This specific Annual Meeting aims to promote an up-to-date discussion of the state-of-the-art regarding this problematic category of the archaeological record. Scholars with expertise on this specific topic, from different geographical regions and methodological backgrounds, are invited to join and exchange their experience and interpretative pathways.