<p>The stratigraphic surveys periodically done since the 1980s within the Neolithic settlement of Montedoro (Grottaglie, Taranto, southern Italy), the north-eastern slope of the basin of the &#39;Small Sea&#39; of Taranto, have highlighted aspects and problems about the process of neolithization in an area insufficiently studied. In this work the author has made a detailed analysis of the archaeological and topographic stratigraphy, including the recovery of the geo-paleoenvironmental data and of the archaeozoological data for historic and cultural reconstructions. The documentation includes ceramic and lithic objects, as well as faunal and palinological finds. The contextualized data provide a significant contribution to an area little known from the preclassical viewpoint.</p>