Abstract Grotta dei Cervi (Apulia, Southern Italy) is the most important European figurative art site for its Neolithic red and brown paintings found in the various galleries of the cave. It was frequented with particular intensity between an advanced phase of the Early Neolithic (first half of the sixth millennium BCE) and continued up to the end of the Bronze Age (last centuries of the second millennium BCE). Among the more than thirty thousand finds, some ceramic shards had black residues on them. These residues were sampled so that molecular and isotopic investigations could be carried out. GC–MS-MS and EA–IRMS after fractionation of the samples allowed us to identify bitumen on some archaeological potsherd remains and to identify its geographic source by comparison with geological samples from Majella and Selenice, two deposits located respectively in Italy and Albania and known to have been exploited since Neolithic times. All the bitumens from Porto Badisco correlate with each other and with the Selenice geological samples. Isotopic fingerprints strongly support the biomolecular evidence and confirm the Albanian origin of the archaeological bitumen. The data presented herein provide the first evidence of export and trade of raw bitumen across the Adriatic Sea from Selenice to Apulia during the Neolithic age thus bringing back to the fifth millennium BCE the transport of bitumen across the Adriatic Sea in the central Mediterranean area.

中文翻译：

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将亚得里亚海之间的沥青贸易扩展到公元前五千年以后

摘要 Grotta dei Cervi（意大利南部普利亚）是欧洲最重要的具象艺术遗址，因其在洞穴的各个画廊中发现的新石器时代红色和棕色画作而闻名。在新石器时代早期（公元前六千年前半）和青铜时代末期（公元前二千年的最后几个世纪）之间，它以特别的强度频繁出现。在三万多件发现物中，一些陶瓷碎片上有黑色残留物。对这些残留物进行取样，以便进行分子和同位素研究。样品分馏后的 GC-MS-MS 和 EA-IRMS 使我们能够识别一些考古陶片遗骸上的沥青，并通过与 Majella 和 Selenice 的地质样品进行比较来确定其地理来源，两个矿床分别位于意大利和阿尔巴尼亚，已知自新石器时代以来就已被开采。Porto Badisco 的所有沥青相互关联，并与 Selenice 地质样本关联。同位素指纹强烈支持生物分子证据，并证实了考古沥青的阿尔巴尼亚起源。此处提供的数据提供了新石器时代期间从亚得里亚海到阿普利亚的原始沥青出口和贸易的第一个证据，从而将沥青在地中海中部地区穿越亚得里亚海的运输带回了公元前五千年。同位素指纹强烈支持生物分子证据，并证实了考古沥青的阿尔巴尼亚起源。此处提供的数据提供了新石器时代期间从亚得里亚海到阿普利亚的原始沥青出口和贸易的第一个证据，从而将沥青在地中海中部地区穿越亚得里亚海的运输带回了公元前五千年。同位素指纹强烈支持生物分子证据，并证实了考古沥青的阿尔巴尼亚起源。此处提供的数据提供了新石器时代期间从亚得里亚海到阿普利亚的原始沥青出口和贸易的第一个证据，从而将沥青在地中海中部地区穿越亚得里亚海的运输带回了公元前五千年。