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Della Casa, Philippe | Carlevaro, Eva. | Dufraisse, Alexa | Jacquat, Christiane | Sauerbier, Martin

Dal proxy ambientale alla testimonianza archeologica : un approccio multidisciplinare alla storia del paesaggio e dell'insediamento nella Leventina (Ticino) e nella zona subalpina

2022 - Istituto italiano di preistoria e protostoria

P. 49-61

  • While we are used to rely on archaeological features and finds to evidence human settlement and activity, there is a series of environmental proxies from soils, vegetation history, and floral or faunal remains that provide indirect and mostly off-site clues to human presence and impact on the natural environment. Landscape history can thus be built from both archaeological and environmental data; however, the two are not always in good accordance. Taking the site of Airolo-Madrano, the Leventina and Ticino Alpine valleys and their wider setting as an example, a multi-disciplinary research program investigated evidence for prehistoric settlement and the relationship between human activities and environmental transformations in the years 2004–12.
  • Archaeological information was gathered from archival sources, extensive and intensive survey activities, as well as archaeological excavations; vegetation history relied on pollen, macrofossil and charcoal signals in sediment cores, as well as on archaeobotanical and anthracological analysis of soil samples and settlement strata for subsistence activities. A large series of radiocarbon dates provided a reliable chronological framework, ranging from early postglacial to post-medieval periods, with a priority on the younger prehistoric periods. We focus on the pause and pulse signals obtained from the various environmental proxies and the chronological distribution of the archaeological evidence.
  • There is only partial overlap of the different data, and apparent contradictions between e.g., proxies for agricultural activity and a total lack of archaeological finds, such as in the Neolithic, or the obvious time shift between valley-bottom and subalpine sites in certain phases of the Bronze and Iron ages, leave ample room for the discussion of methodological and source-based problems. GIS-based models provide powerful visualization opportunities in these contexts. [Publisher's text]

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Rivista di scienze preistoriche : LXXII, S2, 2022