The Neolithic Age/2 – The Burials
In 1992, during roadworks along the Collecchio bypass, the first Neolithic burials ever found in the Parma region came to light. The three graves, dated to the 5th millennium BCE, offer a rare glimpse into early funerary practices. One of them belonged to a woman aged between 25 and 30, buried on her left side, with her arms and legs bent and her hands resting near her face. Around her neck and chest was a delicate necklace made of tiny marine shells (serpulids). Placed in front of her face were a bone spatula, a bone point, and a small San Martino-type vessel—typical of burial contexts in southern Italy. Interestingly, while these pots are usually associated with imports, those found in a handful of female graves belonging to the Square-Rimmed Pottery Culture were actually produced locally.
1.
Several artifacts recovered from the surface of the ploughed field likely belonged to burials from the same period. These include a San Martino-type pot, steatite beads, a polished greenstone axe, and a flint arrowhead.
2.
Over sixty burials dating to the mid-5th millennium BCE have been uncovered at the site. Most are individual interments in simple pits, with around one-third containing grave goods. Male burials often featured greenstone axes of various types, large flint blades, and flint arrowheads—frequently placed behind the back, with the point facing downward, likely mimicking arrows stored in a quiver.
Female burials tended to contain square-rimmed bowls, miniature vessels, and—more rarely—San Martino-type pots, along with bone tools and decorative items. The vessels are usually undecorated and distinct from domestic pottery, suggesting they were made specifically for funerary use.
The personal ornaments include single pendants or elaborate necklaces made of black steatite, calcite or bone beads, microdentalia (tiny marine shells), Conus shells, pierced carnivore canines, and even bone imitations of deer teeth. A small, fragmented female figurine, about 5 cm tall, was found in the grave of a young child aged 2 to 3.
3.
Around fifteen other burials were found within the settlement itself, likely placed during periods of temporary abandonment. The deceased were laid in simple oval pits dug into the ground—sometimes near the edges of large lobed structures, other times along the sides or bottoms of wide circular pits. Stratigraphy and associated materials show that these burials span different phases, reflecting a pattern of alternating domestic and funerary use and a recurring return to the place of the ancestors.
Only a few of these burials contained grave goods. One man was buried with part of a deer antler; another had a richer set consisting of a large axe, a flint arrowhead, and a bone pin. A five-year-old girl wore a necklace of microdentalia, while a young boy was buried with an impressive assemblage: a greenstone axe, a flint arrowhead, a necklace of animal teeth, and another made of shells. Particularly unusual was a burial containing fragments of grinding stones and a group of flint flakes, possibly linked to symbolic or ritual practices.