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TRITON'S TRUMPET: A NEOLITHIC SYMBOL IN ITALY
Author(s) -
SKEATES ROBIN
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
oxford journal of archaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1468-0092
pISSN - 0262-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0092.1991.tb00002.x
Subject(s) - symbol (formal) , archaeology , ancient history , meaning (existential) , mediterranean climate , history , geography , linguistics , philosophy , epistemology
Summary. The distribution and uses of triton shells in Italy from the Neolithic to modern times are described in detail, along with a summary of examples from the Neolithic and Copper Age of Central Europe and the central and eastern Mediterranean. Attention is then focused upon the triton shell trumpet, which is interpreted both as a Neolithic visual symbol and an oral signal, and suggestions are offered concerning its changing meaning in historical and more recent times.