"Harvesting Memories" : Integrated approaches of Human Ecology and Landscape Archaeology in rural Sicily, the case of Castro Valley and Mt. Barraù (Corleone, Palermo), 4th Landscape Archaeology Conference (LAC 2016), 23/25-08-2016, Uppsala (Sweden) (original) (raw)

The Harvesting Memories Project: Historical ecology and landscape changes of the Sicani Mountains in Sicily

Ecocycles, 2022

The Harvesting Memories project aims to investigate the historical landscape dynamics in an inner area of the Sicani Mountains district in Western Sicily (Contrada Castro, Corleone-Palermo). The interdisciplinary approach of the project allowed us to combine and integrate methods from different disciplines such as historical ecology, landscape archaeology, archaeobotany and GIS-based spatial analysis. In this paper some results have been summarized. The comparison between land mosaic change during the last 60 years, the relationship between site catchment area and land suitability and the correlation between archaeobotanical and phytosociological data. This approach underlined the relevance of the historical ecology for understanding landscape trajectories and planning strategy of suitable development of rural areas.

Vegetation series as a marker of interactions between rural settlements and landscape: new insights from the archaeological record in Western Sicily

Landscape Research, 2020

Plant communities are complex and dynamic elements of the landscape, intertwined with both natural factors and human activities. Vegetation series reflect the environmental characteristics of the landscape, but also the anthropic impact, one of the exogenous forces that most profoundly affects the landscape formation process. This paper aims to investigate the interactions between long-term human settlement catchment areas and vegetation series. The case study area of the Sicani Mountains (Central-Western Sicily) proved to be an ideal place to perform GISbased spatial analysis in order to compare a data set of rural archaeological sites and land units created through the mapping of vegetation series. The existence of a causal link between vegetation series and human settlement patterns allows us, as well as future researchers, to find new explanations for the formation of the multifaceted Mediterranean rural landscape.

Carta Archeologica d’Italia - Forma Italiae” project: Research method, in 3rd International Landscape Archaeology Conference 2014, Rome, Italy, 17th – 20th of September 2014, 2016

This paper presents the research method applied to the Archaeological Map of Italy -Forma Italiae project, comprising to date the Ager Venusinus project (completed) and the Ager Lucerinus project (ongoing). The methodology of the project is based on the extensive and systematic survey of the entire selected district. The countryside is systematically searched by groups of students and researchers in different seasons, time of the day, weather and visibility conditions, and status of cultivation of the ground. The GPS georeferenced data are integrated in a GIS specifically realised. The results of the research projects relating to the territory of the Luceria's colony, in Apulia, starting from the area of the medieval site of Montecorvino, in the Daunian district is presented. So far the part of the vast territory of Lucera studied concerns the area North-East of the ancient Latin colony. Discussed here are studies conducted on the western area, towards the Daunian subappennine and in particular focused on the territory of the municipalities of Lucera, Pietramontecorvino, Motta Montecorvino, and Volturino. This area, in fact, is the object of research that includes the whole of the Fortore River valley. The data emerging from recent surveys show a large population over the time-span from prehistory to the High Middle Ages. The settlements of the Neolithic and Bronze ages, so far identified, are placed on vast plains; on the northern sector of the territory, it is possible to catch a glimpse of traces of a village characterised by the typical C shaped ditch, with huts located inside. A very interesting part of our project regards Dauni and Samnite settlements in the period preceding the arrival of the Romans and the Romanisation of the area. The most notable transformations in the ancient landscape were undoubtedly produced by the Roman intervention that gave birth to the new colony and the planning of the village centre, which consequently led to the reorganisation of a vast territory and the division of the rural area into a dense network of small properties assigned to the settlers.

Castrorao Barba A., Speciale C., Miccichè R., Pisciotta F., Aleo Nero C., Marino P. & Bazan G. (2021), The Sicilian Countryside in the Early Middle Ages: Human–Environment Interactions at Contrada Castro, Environmental Archaeology, DOI: 10.1080/14614103.2021.1911768

Environmental Archaeology, 2021

Within the project ‘Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani Landscapes’, this paper aims to reconstruct human–environment interactions in the inland areas of Western Sicily during the Early Middle Ages through a comparative analysis of environmental archaeological data. We analyse carpological and anthracological finds and faunal remains originating from different layers of the rural settlement of Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo), excavated in 2017–2019. The site was mainly occupied between the Byzantine and Islamic periods (late 8th to 11th c. AD). The examination of wood charcoal enabled the identification of plant species selected and exploited in the landscape of the site for each main chronological period. The archaeobotanical data indicated a precise, qualitative picture on the historical vegetation of this area, accompanied with the agricultural practices of the communities. The zooarchaeological data added further information on the reconstruction of rural economy and animal exploitation patterns. An integrated comparison of the characteristic landscape and the archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data presented the dynamics of agricultural strategy, wood exploitation, and management of animal resources of an early medieval rural community in Western Sicily.

Landscape Archaeology in the Venetian Plain (Northern Italy)

This study underlines the links between environmental sciences and social sciences and aims for a better understanding of the landscape dynamics in the Venetian plain. The geodynamic constraints resulting from natural forces and the historical land occupation patterns are approached jointly. The analysis of the agrarian morphology of the plain is integrated with the geomorphological data. The prevalence of the irrigation networks constructed in order to control the hydrous flows, by irrigation or draining is highlighted. This includes 1) centurial forms, understood as a remarkable tool for agrarian improvement, 2) patterns of land planning, dating from the 12th and 13th centuries AC, 3) modern networks accompanying the Venetian nobility’s colonisation campaign of the plain. These agrarian dynamics allow us to pinpoint the complexity of the historical heritages, closely combined with the natural components, while restricted to the Venetian plain landscape.