Interdisciplinary researches including archaeological, historical and palynological investigations allow detailed reconstruction of the Holocene environmental changes linked to human activities . Microscopic plant remains (pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs-NPPs: algal and fungal spores and cysts, and other microfossils of biological origin) play key roles in palaeoecological reconstruction. The combined evidence of pollen and NPPs from archaeological records is especially useful in discriminating land uses and pastoral/breeding activities. In pollen diagrams , the clearest signal for p astora lism is given by the abundance of plants reflecting a nimal breeding and graz ing areas, such as daisy-family (Cichorieae and Asteroideae). In addition to these pollen pasture indicators, NPPs – with special attention paid to dung-related fungi (e.g. Sordaria, Sporormiella, Podospora and Cercophora) – can be used to assess the presence of past fauna, in particular herbivores. Altogether, the pasture indicators from palynological investigations help to identify pastoral sites and routes otherwise not clear from the archaeological record alone. Archaeological layers from sites dated from Hellenistic to Medieval periods in Basilicata (southern Italy) give a palynological dataset that may be of key relevance for understanding the past pastoralism practised in the area in the las t 2500 years. 121 pollen samples were taken from small trenches, rooms or floors of houses, and spot samples. Data point to an open landscape dominate d by pastures and cereal fields. Important evidence of pastoral farming rises from the joint record of pollen grazing indicators and spores of coproph ilous fungi. This dataset highlight the pressure of pastoralism in the past and support the idea of the importance of the ancient pasture farming a s a major agent of landscape transformation in this Mediterranean region.

La pastorizia nell’economia e nel modellamento del paesaggio mediterraneo. Esempi da siti archeologici del sud Italia. In: Cambi F., De Venuto G., Goffredo R. (Eds.), Storia e Archeologia Globale 2. I pascoli, i campi, il mare. Paesaggi di altura e di pianura in Italia dall’Età del Bronzo al Medioevo, pp. 245-252. Edipuglia, Bari. ISBN: 9788872287750 / Florenzano, Assunta. - STAMPA. - (2015).

La pastorizia nell’economia e nel modellamento del paesaggio mediterraneo. Esempi da siti archeologici del sud Italia. In: Cambi F., De Venuto G., Goffredo R. (Eds.), Storia e Archeologia Globale 2. I pascoli, i campi, il mare. Paesaggi di altura e di pianura in Italia dall’Età del Bronzo al Medioevo, pp. 245-252. Edipuglia, Bari. ISBN: 9788872287750.

FLORENZANO, Assunta
2015

Abstract

Interdisciplinary researches including archaeological, historical and palynological investigations allow detailed reconstruction of the Holocene environmental changes linked to human activities . Microscopic plant remains (pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs-NPPs: algal and fungal spores and cysts, and other microfossils of biological origin) play key roles in palaeoecological reconstruction. The combined evidence of pollen and NPPs from archaeological records is especially useful in discriminating land uses and pastoral/breeding activities. In pollen diagrams , the clearest signal for p astora lism is given by the abundance of plants reflecting a nimal breeding and graz ing areas, such as daisy-family (Cichorieae and Asteroideae). In addition to these pollen pasture indicators, NPPs – with special attention paid to dung-related fungi (e.g. Sordaria, Sporormiella, Podospora and Cercophora) – can be used to assess the presence of past fauna, in particular herbivores. Altogether, the pasture indicators from palynological investigations help to identify pastoral sites and routes otherwise not clear from the archaeological record alone. Archaeological layers from sites dated from Hellenistic to Medieval periods in Basilicata (southern Italy) give a palynological dataset that may be of key relevance for understanding the past pastoralism practised in the area in the las t 2500 years. 121 pollen samples were taken from small trenches, rooms or floors of houses, and spot samples. Data point to an open landscape dominate d by pastures and cereal fields. Important evidence of pastoral farming rises from the joint record of pollen grazing indicators and spores of coproph ilous fungi. This dataset highlight the pressure of pastoralism in the past and support the idea of the importance of the ancient pasture farming a s a major agent of landscape transformation in this Mediterranean region.
2015
Florenzano, Assunta
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