ABSTRACT
One of the main problems that have limited the general understanding of early Neolithic agriculture in Italy has been the restricted dissemination of archaeobotanical data, largely because there are few recent publications in English. This chapter addresses this problem by summarizing the latest data from Italian Neolithic sites. Archaeobotanical reports at the time suggested that cereals were progressively introduced into the early Neolithic diet, but it was only during the middle Neolithic that, agriculture became a fundamental element of subsistence. At Sammardenchia in Friuli, northeastern Italy, a new Neolithic group is well-documented, which was influenced by both the Fiorano and the Danilo cultures. From an archaeobotanical point of view, settlements in Friuli are the best studied Neolithic sites from northern Italy. Wood charcoal analyses from northern Italian sites indicate that the first Neolithic occupation occurred in a heavily forested plain.
