The Bonnanaro culture is a

protohistoric Protohistory is a period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their own writings. For example, in ...

culture that flourished in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

during the 2nd millennium BC (1800–1600 BC), considered to be the first stage of the

Nuragic civilization The Nuragic civilization, also known as the Nuragic culture, was a civilization or culture on Sardinia (Italy), the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, which lasted from the 18th century BC (Middle Bronze Age) (or from t ...

. It takes its name from the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

of Bonnanaro in the

province of Sassari The province of Sassari ( it, provincia di Sassari, sc, provìntzia de Tàtari, sdc, prubìnzia di Sàssari, ca, província de Sàsser, french: province de Sassari, co, pruvincia di Sassari) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sa ...

where in 1889 the eponymous site was discovered.

Chronology

The Bonnanaro culture is divided chronologically into two main phases:

Origin

According to

Giovanni Lilliu Giovanni Lilliu (born in Barumini, Italy on 13 March 1914 – died in Cagliari, 19 February 2012), was a renowned archeologist, academician, publicist and politician and public figure and an expert of the Nuragic civilization. Largely due to his sci ...

the people who produced this culture probably originated in Central Europe and the

Polada culture The Fouladi (alternatively Polada, Poladha, Puladi); ( prs, پولادی) is a tribe of Hazara found in Afghanistan, of the Southern branch of Hazara. Per several references, the Poladha are among the eight overarching Hazara tribes. One study i ...

area. From a material culture point of view, the Bonnanaro culture shows influences of the preceding pan-European

Bell Beaker culture The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from a ...

, the post-Beaker (''epicampaniforme'') Polada culture from

northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

, the

Remedello culture The Remedello culture (Italian ''Cultura di Remedello'') developed during the Copper Age (4th and 3rd millennium BC) in Northern Italy, particularly in the area of the Po valley. The name comes from the town of Remedello (Brescia) where several ...

Rinaldone culture The Rinaldone culture was an Eneolithic culture that spread between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BC in northern and central Lazio, in southern Tuscany and, to a lesser extent, also in Marche and Umbria. It takes its name from the town of Rinald ...

and

El Argar El Argar is an Early Bronze Age culture that was based in Antas, Almería, within modern Spain. It is believed to have been active from about 2200 B.C. to 1500 B.C.Lull et al."Emblems and spaces of power during the Argaric Bronze Age at La Almol ...

culture. M.Perra (1997) theorizes a season of conflict between the

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

natives and the groups of Beaker heritage which caused a general involution, typical of this historical phase.

Description

Carta di distribuzione dei siti della facies Corona Moltana di Bonnanaro

Carta di distribuzione dei siti di facies Sant’Iroxi

Bonnanaro sites, mostly burials, are scattered throughout Sardinian territory, with a higher concentration in the mining regions of

Nurra The Nurra is a geographical region in the northwest of Sardinia, Italy. It is the second largest plain of the island, located between the towns of Sassari, Porto Torres and Alghero. It covers a surface of 700 km² and is bounded by the ...

and

Sulcis Sulcis (''Maurreddia'' or ''Meurreddia'' in Sardinian language) is a subregion of Sardinia, Italy, in the Province of South Sardinia. Geographical extension Its municipalities are: Calasetta, Carbonia, Carloforte, Giba, Gonnesa, Masainas, Narc ...

Iglesiente The Iglesiente is a traditional and geographical subdivision of Sardinia, Italy. It encompasses the northern province of Carbonia-Iglesias and the south-western one of the province of Medio Campidano, and its main center is Iglesias. Languages ...

and in the

Campidano Campidano ( sc, Campidànu) is a plain located in South-Western Sardinia (Italy), covering approximately 100 kilometres between Cagliari and Oristano. Geography Geologically, it is a graben, a tectonic structure formed in the mid-Pliocene/earl ...

. Ceramics were smooth and linear without decorations and characterized by handles. Numbers of metal objects increased and the first swords of

arsenical bronze Arsenical bronze is an alloy in which arsenic, as opposed to or in addition to tin or other constituent metals, is combined with copper to make bronze. The use of arsenic with copper, either as the secondary constituent or with another component ...

appeared. Only four settlements of this culture are known: ''Su Campu Lontanu''

Florinas Florinas ( sc, Fiolìnas) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italy, Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southeast of Sassari. Florinas borders the following municipalities: Banari, C ...

, ''Sa Turricula''

Muros Muros may refer to: *Muros, A Coruña, a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain * Muros, Sardinia, a comune in the province of Sassari in the region Sardini, Italy * Muros (comarca), a comarca in the ...

, ''Costa Tana''

Bonarcado Bonarcado ( sc, Bonaccatu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari and about north of Oristano. Bonarcado borders the following municipalities: Bauladu, Mil ...

and ''Abiti''

Teti Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in outdated sources, was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroyed on the Turin King List bu ...

. The houses had a base of

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

while the roof was made of wood and branches. It is still uncertain whether the first "

protonuraghi A protonuraghe is a style of megalithic building dating from the first half of the 2nd millennium BC that precedes the classical nuraghe in Sardinia. Of the approximately 7,000 nuraghes, only 300 belong to this type.Paolo Melis''Civiltà nuragica' ...

" or "pseudonuraghi" were built at this time, or in the successive ''Sub-Bonnanaro culture'' (or ''Bonnanaro B'') of the Middle Bronze Age (1600–1330 BC), although C14 on organic finds from the Protonuraghe Bruncu Madugui (

Gesturi Gesturi, Gèsturi in the Sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about northeast of Sanluri in the Marmilla area. Gesturi border ...

) suggest that it was built sometime around 1820 BC. The Proto-Nuraghi were

megalithic A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

edifices which are considered the precursors of the classic

Nuraghi The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese dialect, Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese dialect, Campidanese Sardinian , Italian language, Italian ), or also nurhag in English language, English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in ...

. They are horizontal buildings characterized by a long corridor with rooms and cells. Li Lolghi 24

The Bonnanaro grave typologies include the '' domus de janas'', caves,

cist A cist ( or ; also kist ; from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...

s and allée couvertes.

Physical anthropology

About 200 human skeletons of the period show that the Bonnanaro population (phase A1) was composed mainly of dolicochepalic individuals (67%) with a minority of brachycephalics (33%), the latter concentrated in the north-western portion of the island. The average height was 1.62 m for men and 1.59 m for women. The Bonnanaro population suffered from

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...

hyperostosis Hyperostosis is an excessive growth of bone. It may lead to exostosis. It occurs in many musculoskeletal disorders. See also * Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis * Hyperostosis frontalis interna * Infantile cortical hyperostosis * Porotic ...

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...

caries Tooth decay, also known as cavities or caries, is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The cavities may be a number of different colors from yellow to black. Symptoms may include pain and difficulty with eating. Complicatio ...

and

tumors A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

. Cranial trepannation was practiced.

Paleogenetics

A 2022 study by Marjusha Chintalapati et al. found evidences of moderate steppe-related ancestry (although minoritarian compared to

Western Hunter-Gatherer In archaeogenetics, the term Western Hunter-Gatherer (WHG), West European Hunter-Gatherer or Western European Hunter-Gatherer names a distinct ancestral component of modern Europeans, representing descent from a population of Mesolithic hunter-gat ...

and

Early European Farmer Early European Farmers (EEF), First European Farmers (FEF), Neolithic European Farmers, Ancient Aegean Farmers, or Anatolian Neolithic Farmers (ANF) are names used to describe a distinct group of early Neolithic farmers who brought agriculture to E ...

ancestries) in some of the Early Bronze Age Sardinians from the North-West (e.g.

necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu The necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu is an archaeological site located in the municipality of Porto Torres, Sardinia. The necropolis includes at least twenty-two domus de janas, all made in the period between the Neolithic (IV millennium BC ) ...

) and Central part of the Island (Table J). Manjusha Chintalapati, Nick Patterson, Priya Moorjani (2022) The spatiotemporal patterns of major human admixture events during the European Holocene eLife 11:e77625 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77625

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{cite book, first=Gary S. , last=Webster , title=The Archaeology of Nuragic Sardinia, location= , publisher=Equinox Publishing , year=2015 , isbn=978-1781791356 , language=en