Faunal exploitation in an Early Neolithic site: the assemblage from Casa Gazza (Travo, Piacenza, Northern Italy)

The faunal assemblage of Casa Gazza, providing new data to lighten the economic model of the Early Neolithic communities in northern Italy, represents a significative evidence in the Po Plain. The settlement, a half-buried pit, is located on a large terrace on the left bank of the Trebbia River (150 m a.s.l.), in the area of Travo (Piacenza, northern Italy). The results of zooarchaeological, taphonomic and paleoecological analyses are here discussed. The faunal assemblage consists of 7,354 remains of which 1,417 were identified (NISp). Faunal composition shows a prevalence of domestic animals on the wild ones. Butchery marks are well documented and several modifications are related to hard animal material manufacturing. Comparisons with Neolithic sites of the Po Plain, show that the economy at Casa Gazza was characterized by a fully-developed sedentary breeding.