BRAIN Database: a shared research collection for effective and multifaceted outreach of Italian Archaeobotany

This paper provides an overview of BRAIN - Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network, a unique and large research network in which plant micro- and macro- remains are collected in the same database, and to which different experts can contribute. BRAIN aims at sharing the archaeobotanical studies carried out in archaeological sites and human-influenced off-sites located in Italy and some Mediterranean countries. Since 2014, hundreds of archaeobotanical metadata have been entered in BRAIN; the database reports lists of sites, their location, culture, archaeological contexts, and how many types of botanical analyses have been performed in research studies since the 1980ies. The compilation of the great wealth of archaeobotanical data from both peer-reviews scientific journals and grey literature improves our knowledge on plant-human interaction during pre-historical and historical times, and increases the impact of archaeobotanical research on recent issues such as environmental sustainability, biodiversity, nature conservation under global change. In this regard, particular attention is being paid to the long-term human-environment dynamics based on floristic data by BRAIN within the ‘National Biodiversity Future Center’ for biodiversity management and conservation planning. Plants are at the heart of BRAIN, as a paramount element related not only to nature but also to the cultural, social, technical, and symbolic realms in which humans are embedded. The vast set of data collected in BRAIN presents archaeobotany as a self-informative science; whether through searching a catalogue of sites and plants, their chronology and location, this reference database aims to increase awareness of the role of plants in human life. Abstract implemented under the NRRP, Mission 4 Comp.2 Inv.1.4—Call for tender No.313816122021, rectified by Decree n.3175 of 18.12.2021 of Italian MUR funded by Next Generation EU. Project code CN_00000033, Concession Decree No.1034 of 17.06.2022 adopted by MUR, CUP E93C22001090001, Project title “National Biodiversity Future Center — NBFC”