Il Neolitico antico terminale di Sa Punta - Marceddì (Terralba, OR)

The definition of the Early to Middle Neolithic transition in Sardinia is mainly grounded in few excavated sites, both in caves and in rock shelters. This paper aims at presenting the evolution process of later cardial ware facies, using the preliminary results from the ongoing excavations in the open-air coastal site of Sa Punta, along the southern part of the Gulf of Oristano (central-west Sardinia). Delimited by recent buildings the remaining archaeological surface showed an original Early Neolithic dwelling structure, possibly having either a barrier or a drainage function. Pottery and lithics analysis led us to place the phase of frequentation at the end of the 6th millennium cal BC, according to the available radiocarbon dates. A whole interpretation of the site function is here proposed based on paleofaunistic and palynological data.