Decoding an open-air archaeological deposit: the prehistoric settlement of Terragne (Manduria – Taranto, South Eastern Italy). Formation processes and spatial analysis.

In Southern Italy, rarely analyses of the site formation processes have been faced. This attempt has been carried out in the open-air site of Terragne (Manduria-TA, South Eastern Italy), a stratified archaeological context of the late Mesolithic (Lower Level-US 5, 7260 ±70 bp) and Early Neolithic (Upper Level-US 3, 6870 ±70 bp). The analysis has been performed by means of some archaeological indicators, evaluating qualitative and quantitative features. The integration of unidimensional univariate spatial analyses led us on one hand to value the inner characteristics of the different occupation levels, on the other hand to recognise a discrete capacity of preservation of the spatial configurations in open-air deposits: the importance of testing the demolishing postdepositional processes has been stressed.