This paper discusses the Middle Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age phases of the occupation of a rock shelter at Vallone Inferno (Scillato, Palermo) in Sicily. Vallone Inferno is a key site for studying the early establishment and development of pastoralism in the prehistoric mountainous environments of Sicily. Seasonal use of the site as a shelter is documented for the earliest pastoral communities that exploited the Madonie mountain range. The results of the analysis of pottery and lithic assemblages contribute to the definition of two chronocultural frameworks that were linked by the same economic subsistence base. The special role of obsidian emerges, while the mobility patterns of human groups are contextualized by the combination of archaeological and paleoenvironmental data with a focus on the 4.2 ka cal BP aridification climatic event broadly coincident with the final part of the local Copper Age and beginning of the Early Bronze Age. Moreover, since the transition between the Late Copper Age and the Early Bronze Age, mobility of pastoral groups is inferred to be one of the most important factors for the spread of cultural elements on the island.

本文讨论了西西里岛Vallone Inferno（Scillato，Palermo）岩石掩护所占的新石器时代中期和青铜时代早期。Vallone Inferno是研究史前西西里山区山区牧民早期建立和发展的重要场所。据记载，最早利用该地区作为庇护所的牧场社区曾利用马多尼山脉。陶器和石器组合的分析结果有助于定义由相同的经济生存基础联系在一起的两个年代文化框架。黑曜石的特殊作用应运而生，而人类群体的流动模式则通过结合考古和古环境数据（以“ 4”为重点）进行背景化。2 ka BP干旱化气候事件与当地铜矿时代的最后阶段和青铜时代初期相吻合。此外，由于晚铜时代和青铜时代之间的过渡，据推测，牧民的流动性是岛上文化元素传播的最重要因素之一。