Gestione e sfruttamento delle risorse faunistiche nei siti di Vallone Inferno (Palermo) e Case Bastione (Enna) (original) (raw)
Related papers
The rock shelter of Vallone Inferno is located within the Scillato (PA) district area in the northern part of the Madonie mountain chain. The deposit within the shelter was investigated during eight excavation campaigns from 2008 to 2015. The shelter opens in a valley of fluviokarstic origin set in a strategic position as it represents a natural way of communication between high and low altitudes of Madonie area and a crossroad for the livestock pasture. The Case Bastione Village is placed in the central portion of the Erei uplands, in a hilly area in central Sicily in the Morello river valley, a tributary of Southern Imera River. The deposit of the Village has been investigated during five excavation campaigns from 2007 to 2015. The faunal samples of Early Bronze Age coming from both sites have been analysed and compared: the faunal spectrum is very similar being in both cases livestock - particularly caprines with less pig and cattle - strongly prevails over wild game, represented mainly by red deer.
2023
This volume presents the results of fifteen years of an interdisciplinary archeological research carried out in a mountainous territory in the central part of the Mediterranean basin. A surface survey, led by Vincenza Forgia for her PhD research project between 2006 and 2008 (with Dr. Andreu Ollé and Dr. Josep Maria Vergès as cotutors of the PhD), was conducted on sample areas of the Madonie Mountain Range, on the northern part of Sicily (Italy), as part of a major research project on the Himera river valley. The latter, led by Cattedra di Topografia Antica (Prof. Oscar Belvedere), was devoted to the study of the chora of the ancient colony of Himera and interested in all the periods (prehistoric and historic) and in the investigation of the relationship between the lowlands, the mountainous area and its natural resources. One of the sample areas selected for the new surface survey was located between the Imera River valley and the highlands with an altitudinal range spanning from 500 to 1000 meters above the sea level. In this sample area, in the territory of Scillato, we were able to identify the Vallone Inferno rock shelter with its impressive archaeological and paleo environmental deposit. Since the first inspection, it was immediately clear the importance of the place, because the Inferno stream had cutted the archeological deposit, showing a section of several meters with different layers alternating coarse to fine beds, the latter rich in organic matter and archaeological finds (pottery, lithics, fauna). The site has been immediately selected as the reference site, in order to give an absolute chronological framework to the results of the survey on the same mountainous area. The excavation started in 2008, in collaboration and agreement with the Soprintendenza ai BB.CC.AA. of Palermo (responsible for the area, Dr. Rosa Maria Cucco). The first campaigns were devoted to the geoarchaeological description of the stratigraphy by Prof. Diego Angelucci and to the definition of the absolute chronology of the whole sequence. Synchronous results from the excavation and the surface survey led the team to plan a new research project, named HUMAnS (Human Upland Mobility in Ancient Sicily), in order to complete the paleoenvironmental and archaeological investigation. Test pits were opened on the highlands, along a natural corridor reconstructed by spatial analyses and in coincidence with very specific places as pastoral pens (as Fonte Castellaro or Zottafonda) or dry small lakes (as Piano Cervi). The book is conceived like a synthesis of the entire research, with a focus on the results from the excavation of the upper archaeological layers, covering a period spanning from the Early Middle Ages to the Middle Neolithic when, after a long period of absence since the Mesolithic, human groups returned to the mountains. Our results are then contextualized on a wider territorial area in order to interpret the settlement strategies adopted on a diachronic perspective. After the introduction to the local topography and to the state of the art in the archaeological research and the methodology of excavation, two subchapters are devoted to the description of the geological background of the area and to the geoarchaeological description of the stratigraphy of the deposit. This description, with the identification of the stratigraphic units, is at the base of the excavation strategy, complicated from cyclical phenomena of deposition and erosion of anthropogenic and natural origin. The core of the book is the presentation of the whole archaeological record, with chapters divided with a chronological criterion describing structures, pottery finds, lithic finds, personnel ornaments and macro fauna. The interdisciplinary approach, as described in the methodological chapter, led us to collect the whole information coming from the excavation, involving experts of different disciplines, like paleobotany, analytical chemistry and paleoanthropology. The paleoenvironmental reconstruction was also completed by the study of the microfaunal remains. During the VII-IX century CE, the deposition activity of the Inferno stream formed a couple of meters of new deposit in less than two hundred years. During this period the human activity into the rock shelter is poorly documented by common pottery, while the herding strategy, as shown by zooarchaeology and analytical chemistry on biomarkers from sediments, was strongly oriented to the breeding of suids. The site gave shelter to pregnant females and to the newborns during the first months of life. The anthropic signal intensifies in the units relating to the medieval and modern age horizons, in which, in addition to observing a marked decrease in the arboreal component of the vegetation, the presence of ruderal, adventitious and herbaceous plants appears well defined. The most important activity identified on the basis of the palynological analysis is breeding, which could indicate the consumption of arboreal fodder in the initial stages, as the anthracological results suggest. In any case, the cultivation of cereals progressively assumed greater importance in the early medieval occupation levels, as also demonstrated by the carpological documentation. The archeological layers corresponding to the Classical Age has been destroyed, likely by the Inferno stream, but the archaeological record testifies the human presence in the shelter also in these periods. In particular, it has to be noticed the possible funerary use of the place, for the presence of a Hellenistic unguentary. A small fragment of a colony-made cup testifies to the interest in shelter within a larger territorial context. The extensive human activities across a broad area are confirmed by the large colonial settlement on the surrounding hills and the permanent site identified on the highlands, at an altitude of 1400 metres, coinciding with the Fonte Castellaro water source. The Vallone Inferno rock shelter is located exactly in between the main settlements and the mountainous basecamp, topographically and politically dependent from Himera. The stratigraphy is again complete for the Early Bronze Age and Final Copper Age (end 3rd - mid 2nd millennium BCE). The record spans over a period of more than one thousand years, during which it has been possible to follow the uninterrupted use of the shelter by pastoral groups coming from the central and the southern part of the island and interested in the exploitation of the mountainous resources exclusively located on the northern part of Sicily. The interest in the mountains by human communities here began during the Middle Neolithic (end of 6th millennium BCE). This is evidenced by the presence of a stratigraphic unit with tricromica pottery, obsidian, and chert, absolutely dated to the second part of the 6th millennium BCE. During the Early Neolithic, this mountainous territory was likely less attractive than the coastal area for the first agro-pastoral communities that reached the island. The closed forests, in fact, were difficult to exploit for both pastoral practice and agriculture. However, during the Middle Neolithic period, the landscape opened up to medium-high altitudes (around 1000 metres), allowing the peopling of the uplands. Concomitant action of anthropogenic fires and the over-exploitation of certain shrub species finally indicate the importance of pastoral practices in a mountainous context.
Resti faunistici dall'area della cd. Casa Lucana e dal settore S di Grumentum
in A. MASTROCINQUE, C.M. MARCHETTI, R. SCAVONE (a cura di), Grumentum and Roman cities in Southern Italy, Grumento e le città romane nell’Italia meridionale, in BAR-International Series, 2016
This article presents the zooarchaeological study of animal remains brought to light in the so-called “Lucanian house” and in the sector S of Grumentum during the archaeological investigation of the University of Verona in 2010. The archaeozoological analysis allowed us to know some aspects of the ancient Roman town from the Republican period to the Late Antiquity. A few bones pertain to the earliest phases (2nd-1st B.C.) of the Lucanian house, and this can depend either on the restricted width of the trench or on the diet of the ancient Romans in this area. Before the Imperial Age, in fact, they normally consumed cereals, vegetables, cheese, and only a small quantity of flesh, mostly during some festivals and the related sacrifices. The main domestic mammals are represented, and especially caprine livestock, but also cattle and pigs. Goats, sheep and cattle were bred for secondary products: sheep for wool and milk, the second for ploughing. Caprine livestock was exploited for wool and cheese, two very important products in ancient Lucania, as we are also told by different sources and archaeological studies. These results confirm the data ascertained by previous analyses of contemporary animal bones from Temple D and the Forum of Grumentum. The animal bones from sector S come from the latest phase (6th-7th cent. A.D. ) of a residential building and pertain to a totally different situation. The zooarcheological study shows that in the Late Antiquity the animal breeding in Grumentum aimed at producing both secondaries products and meat. The majority of caprine remains and the scarce amount of cattle (butchered during their subadult age) could be seen as a sign of a agricultural crisis, which previewed a decrease of farmed land and an increase of breeding for the production of wool and cheese. The diet was based mainly on pig’s meat, and pigs were the most numerous animals in Lucania, to whom one could add the boars, hunted in the Lucanian woods. These results confirm that the consumption of meat was higher in the Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Age than in the previous periods, and this trend has been noticed in other zones of Grumentum and other sites of Lucania, as well, where a general increase of animal bones and a change in the documented species (a prevalence of pigs and caprine animals) are evident. Many were the historical and cultural factors which caused this change of the Roman diet and the increase of meat consumption: the agricultural crisis, the increasingly numerous uncultivated fields, the diffusion of pastoralism, the Christianization, and the contacts with Germanic peoples.
Scopo di questa pubblicazione è descrivere i risultati ottenuti dall'applicazione di una metodologia di analisi e valutazione delle emergenze faunistiche, già note per l'area dei Monti Sicani, al fine di individuare gli ambiti territoriali meritevoli di una pianificazione attenta alla loro salvaguardia. Lo sviluppo di tale metodologia e la sua applicazione sono una parte del lavoro svolto nell'ambito dello "Studio relativo al Progetto Strategico del Sistema Naturale dei Sicani" 1 . Nell'ambito di tale studio è stata prodotta una carta degli habitat (sensu Corine Biotopes) a scala 1:25.000 che ha fornito un indispensabile supporto all'analisi qui presentata. Sebbene i Sicani rappresentino un vasto comprensorio montuoso di straordinario valore faunistico -basti pensare che qui si concentrano buona parte degli ultimi siti riproduttivi in Italia per alcune specie di rapaci -risultano, nel complesso, ancora limitate le conoscenze naturalistiche soprattutto per quel che concerne alcuni importanti taxa (Mammiferi in primis). Con queste premesse, è apparso subito impegnativo il compito di elaborare una metodologia che permettesse di evidenziare le aree di maggior valore faunistico, partendo dalla sola raccolta delle informazioni esistenti. Si è resa pertanto necessaria un'analisi critica di tutte le fonti documentarie edite ed inedite, reperite grazie al coinvolgimento di alcuni esperti naturalisti siciliani, i quali hanno messo a disposizione le proprie conoscenze e le proprie banche dati georeferenziate. Il risultato di tale analisi ha consigliato di concentrare l'attenzione su alcuni taxa tra quelli più conosciuti e rappresentativi della maggiore varietà di ambienti: Anfibi, Rettili e Uccelli nidificanti.
I reperti faunistici e l'ambiente della Rocca
G. Vannini (ed) Rocca Ricciarda, dai Guidi ai Ricasoli. Storia e archeologia di un castrum medievale nel Pratomagno aretino, Firenze, SEF, pp. 317-328., 2009
introduzione Le indagini archeologiche condotte presso l'insediamento di Rocca Ricciarda, hanno restituito, unitamente alle altre tipologie di reperti, un numero considerevole di resti osteologici animali. Il nucleo più consistente è stato recuperato dagli strati di butto della fase 3a (fine XIV secolo -metà XV secolo) che riempivano parte dell'ambiente ubicato sotto la pavimentazione lignea 1 . Considerata l'attendibilità, la natura e l'omogeneità del deposito è stato ritenuto opportuno concentrare l'analisi sui resti appartenenti a questa fase (UUSS: 9, 10, 11, 78, 115 2 ). I contesti relativi alla fase 3b sono stratigraficamente meno affidabili per una ricerca archeozoologica, infatti gli strati attribuiti a questa fase risultano molto disturbati dai crolli di materiale edilizio verificatisi successivamente all'abbandono. I pochi dati importanti desunti da questi resti riguardano specifiche presenze faunistiche utili alla ricostruzione del dato ambientale 3 . I reperti osteologici animali del periodo 4 (fase a e b), riferibili probabilmente anche essi ai resti di pasto prodotti durante le ultime fasi di vita della rocca (fase 3b), in questa sede non sono stati considerati a causa della natura dei contesti: crolli.
Strategie di sfruttamento delle risorse animali dei livelli uluzziani di Grotta di Fumane (Verona)
Sezione di Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica, 2016
Strategie di sfruttamento delle risorse animali dei livelli uluzziani di Grotta di Fumane (Verona) Exploitation strategies of the animal resources from the Uluzzian levels of Grotta di Fumane (Verona, Italy) Riassunto-La Grotta di Fumane (Verona, Italia), situata sui monti Lessini Occidentali, ad una quota di 350 m s.l.m., presenta una serie stratigrafica conservante il passaggio dal Paleolitico medio al Paleolitico superiore. Le unità A3 e A4, caratterizzate da un'industria litica di tipo Uluzziano, attestano una frequentazione della cavità attorno ai 37,4-38,3 14 C Ky BP, (MIS 3). L'analisi dell'insieme faunistico mostra una ricca associazione di ungulati, carnivori ed uccelli appartenenti ad ambienti e climi differenti. Gli animali più cacciati sono il cervo e lo stambecco seguiti dal capriolo, e in misura minore camoscio, megacero e bisonte. L'analisi tafonomica rivela la presenza di tracce antropiche riferibili alle diverse attività di macellazione sulla quasi totalità degli ungulati presenti in entrambe le unità. Un quadro più articolato sembra risultare dallo studio approfondito del trasporto e sfruttamento delle carcasse di cervo e stambecco oltre che dalla presenza di tracce di macellazione sulle superfici ossee di carnivori. Modificazioni antropiche sono state osservate anche su pochi resti di uccelli. Summary-Grotta di Fumane (Verona-Italy), located in the western Monti Lessini, at 350 m a.s.l., presents a stratigraphic sequence thick that includes the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition. Units A3 and A4, characterized by an Uluzzian lithic industry, bear evidences of the frequentation of the cave around 37.4-38.3 14 C Ky BP (MIS 3). The analysis of the faunal assemblage shows a rich ungulate, carnivore and bird association, belonging to different environments and climates. The most frequently hunted animals are: red deer and ibex followedby roe deer, and, to a lesser extent, chamois, giant deer and bison. The taphonomic analysis reveals the presence of human modifications referable to different butchering activities on almost all the ungulate taxa from the investigated units. A more specific pattern seems to arise from the thorough study on the transportation and exploitation of red deer and ibex carcasses, as well as the presence of butchery induced traces on carnivores' bones. Anthropic modifications have been observed also on a few bird bones.
Gestione delle aree naturali e semi-naturali lungo l'asta fluviale dell'Arno
L'Italia Forestale e Montana, 2010
FRANCESCA BOTTALICO (*)-PAOLA BRUNDU (*) VALENTINA CAPPELLI (*)-GHERARDO CHIRICI (***) ORAZIO CIANCIO (**)-LEONARDO ERMINI (****) SUSANNA NOCENTINI (*)-DAVIDE TRAVAGLINI (*) GESTIONE DELLE AREE NATURALI E SEMI-NATURALI LUNGO L'ASTA FLUVIALE DELL'ARNO Nel corso degli anni la struttura e la composizione della vegetazione degli ambienti ripariali è stata profondamente modificata per ridurre i rischi idraulici di piene e esondazioni e per sfruttarne le risorse idriche e estrattive. Oggi, le moderne politiche territoriali cercano di conciliare le esigenze di protezione con quelle di tutela e ripristino degli habitat fluviali. Il presente studio ha l'obiettivo di individuare nuovi sistemi di gestione delle aree naturali e semi-naturali lungo l'asta fluviale dell'Arno. Lo studio si è avvalso di una cartografia di dettaglio dei tipi forestali e dell'uso e copertura del suolo realizzata per fotointerpretazione di dati telerilevati e con osservazioni a terra. Inoltre sono stati condotti rilievi su aree di saggio rappresentative delle realtà esistenti lungo il corso dell'Arno e applicati diversi indici funzionali. L'analisi particolareggiata del tratto di fiume ricadente in Provincia di Firenze ha evidenziato la presenza di ambienti diversificati sottoposti a differenti gradi di antropizzazione. Questi ambienti costituiscono importanti bacini di biodiversità e zone di fruizione per lo svago e la ricreazione. I sistemi di gestione proposti sono improntati su criteri di multifunzionalità e di sostenibilità al fine di contemperare le esigenze di sicurezza idraulica con i valori ambientali, sociali e paesaggistici della vegetazione riparia. Parole chiave: vegetazione riparia; gestione adattativa; indici funzionali; suddivisione dell'alveo.
TECCHIATI U. 2016, I resti faunistici dall’area del Tempio (del Castellon di Marano di Valpolicella)
Archeologia e storia sul Monte Castellon di Marano di Valpolicella, 2016
Composizione e impaginazione: Francesca Benetti -SAP Società Archeologica s.r.l. © Immagini: Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo, Archivio della Soprintendenza Archeologia del Veneto. Riproduzione vietata. Le riproduzioni delle mappe delle figg. 2, 13, 14 del cap. 2 sono state autorizzate dall'Archivio di Stato di Verona con concessione n. 33/015 prot. 4962 -28.13.10/1. Le riproduzioni dei Mss. 868, c. 12r. e 1938, tav. I (figg. 2-3 del cap. 3; figg. 1, 14, 16 del cap. 23; figg. 1, 3 del cap. 32; figg. 1-2 del capitolo 35) sono state autorizzate dalla Biblioteca Civica di Verona con autorizzazione prot. 0313036/2015 -07.06.1. Le riproduzioni delle mappe delle figg. 6 e 8 del cap. 2 sono state concesse dall'Archivio di Stato di Venezia con autorizzazione prot. 589/2015 -28.13.07/1. © 2015 SAP Società Archeologica s.r.l. Strada Fienili, 39a -46020 Quingentole (Mn) Tel. 0386 42591 www.archeologica.it