Mouth Culture

About

Mouth Culture is a designation for a Middle Neolithic culture that flourished in northern Italy during the fifth millennium BC. The culture is named after its most distinctive archaeological feature: a characteristic type of ceramic vessel distinguished by a square mouthpiece rather than the circular openings found on vessels from other periods and cultures. Known in Italian as Cultura dei Vasi à Bocca Quadrata, or VBQ, this culture was widespread throughout the northern Italian region during this ancient period. The square-mouthed vessels that define this culture represent a notable innovation in ceramic design and production techniques of the Middle Neolithic era. The prevalence of these distinctive vessels across the archaeological record of northern Italy has made them the defining characteristic by which this entire cultural period is identified and remembered.