L'archeologia sperimentale come metodo di indagine per lo studio delle Veneri del Paleolitico Superiore

In this paper we propose a new methodology to approach the study of the Upper Paleolithic Venus figurines using the scientific principles of experimental archaeology. The main aim is to understand the chaine operatoire and how the prehistoric artists made the Paleolithic Venus figurines. The bone figurine found in Parabita (Lecce, Puglia) known as "Venere Grande" is used as case study. It has been developed an experimental protocol, that implies the comparison between the technological traces present on the Paleolithic Venus figurine surface and the one experimentally recreated.The experimental samples consists of the realisation of series of technological traces on bone objects with lithics similar to those found at the Parabita site and also the reproduction of a Venus figurine that looks like the original one. The final result has been the schematic description of the actions involved in the making of the "Venere Grande".