Resti umani isolati in contesto non funerario: il problema delle reliquie dal Paleolitico al Neolitico europeo

In Europa, since the end of Palaeolithic to Neolithic we know some human remains detained outside the funeral context. The large incidence of this kind of discoveries, lead us to think that many human skeletons have undergone possible secondary treatments, probably after the decomposing of putrescible elements. Several isolated human remains also reveal deliberate signs of anthropic manipulations. Apart from this, a dominance of cranio-dental elements seems to be obvious and can only be explained by deliberate selection. Furthermore, humans skulls or skeletal fragments were integrated into the daily life like possible “relics”. The recurring presence of human bones in not funeral context play a fundamental role. Who were these people? Why they were in store for this kind of depositions? Were they enemies or people of higher lineage? The treatment of corpses however does not seem to stop at the level of burying the body or the bones to keep them away from the living. There are several indicators showing that some of the human remains were curated and used, and probably played a significant role for the prehistoric people, especially in the Neolithic.In some skulls, calotte and mandible were also found traces of intentional manipulations, such as signs of perforation, cutting and scraping. Although the meaning of these special human remains has to remain unclear, I have to suggest that some kind of link between the deceased and the living persons might be true.