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Late Würm and Early-Middle Holocene environmental change and human activities in the Northern Apennines, Italy
No full textAn enhanced radiocarbon-dated pollen-stratigraphical record from Rovegno (Liguria, 812m asl), northern Apennines (Italy), has provided a history of vegetation succession from before 17,056-16,621 cal yrs BP to the present day. The record indicates the transition from open Pinus woodland to Artemisia dominated grassland, and finally Juniperus shrubland during the late Würm. This is succeeded by Betula and Pinus woodland, and the expansion of thermophilous taxa, namely Abies, Corylus and Quercus during the Late Würm Lateglacial Interstadial. The ‘Younger Dryas’ is possibly represented by an increase
in Betula and Artemisia. During the early Holocene, mixed coniferous-deciduous woodland is dominant with Quercus, as well as Abies, Fagus and Corylus. Fagus woodland becomes established sometime before 6488-6318 cal yrs BP, but never becomes a major component of the woodland cover. Throughout the middle Holocene, Abies woodland fl uctuates, with marked declines between 6488-6318 cal yrs BP and 5287-4835 cal yrs BP, although the cause remains uncertain. Finally, the paper evaluates the application of non-pollen palynomorphs, especially coprophilous fungal spores, at Prato Spilla ‘A’ (Emilia Romagna) and concludes that greater caution must be used when interpreting middle Holocene human activity based
upon pollen data alon
First palynological contribution towards a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Neolithic site La Marmotta
No full textPollen analysis of neolithic adhesives and comparative experimental archaeology: insights from La Marmotta (Lake Bracciano, Rome)
No full textThis article presents a palynological study conducted on adhesive materials obtained from both experimental and archaeological wooden sickles. The archaeological sickles, dating back to the Early Neolithic period, were recovered from the waterlogged site of La Marmotta, located near Lake Bracciano in Rome, Italy. Experimental harvesting was carried out on cereal crops using sickles purposefully made with a modern resinous material that closely replicates the original composition. This approach allowed us to retrieve palynological information consistent with and comparable to that observed on ancient tools. The study's results highlighted the excellent adhesiveness of these materials, capable of trapping and preserving micro-remains collected during harvesting practices. The discovery of Hordeum-type and Avena-Triticum-type pollen grains confirmed the predominant use of these agricultural tools for cereal harvesting. Notably, one particular neolithic sickle, whose resin primarily retained Oenanthe-type pollen, stands out for its exclusive use in cutting herbaceous plants of potential medicinal interest. In parallel, the analysis of pollen content retained in modern cereal spikes confirmed their potential to provide information about the type of crop and, to some extent, the floristic component of the surrounding environment.This research is part of the following research projects: ‘AGER. Crescita agricola nell'Europa preistorica. Un approccio al cambio tecnologico, economico e sociale’ project (PGR18BQHM7) funded by the Italian Ministry for Education, Universities and Research within the ‘Rita Levi Montalcini’ program (PI N. Mazzucco); the project ‘Pratiche artigiane tra Mediterraneo ed Oriente. Studi interdisciplinari dalla Preistoria al Medioevo’ funded by University of Pisa within PRA2022 program.Peer reviewe
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Integrated microscopy approaches in archaeobotany: proceedings of the 2016 and 2017 workshops, University of Reading, UK
Full text linkArchaeobotany is the study of archaeological plant remains, which include macroremains, such as seeds and wood charcoal, and a range of associated microfossils, such as phytoliths, pollen, spores and starch grains. These papers showcase a range of microscopy approaches that can be applied to examine and interpret botanical and organic assemblages in the archaeological record, and to address a range of topical research themes and current debates in archaeology, such as environmental management, human responses to environmental change and sustainable life-ways spanning a broad geographical and chronological time periods. Soil micromorphology is a technique that enables the formation and post-depositional processes of archaeological deposits to be understood by reconstructing sediment histories. It allows archaeobotanical remains to be examined within their depositional context to provide a micro-contextual interpretation of the evidence, and to understand different types of archaeobotanical remains in a range of preservation conditions. As with many other proxies, formation processes and taphonomy are key issues in the study of any type of plant remains, and this is reflected in several contributions of this volume.Funding, administrative and technical support has been provided by the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science for the successful development of the IMAA workshops, and we thank the Association for Environmental Archaeology, Beta Analytic and Quaternary Scientific (QUEST) for their sponsorship. The 2017 workshop also received funding from the University of Reading's Endowment Fund. Rowena Banerjea's research was carried out within the framework of The Ecology of Crusading project, which received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/ 2007–2013) under grant agreement No. 263735. Catherine Barnett's research was funded by the Calleva Foundation as part of the wider Silchester Environs project. The work of Marta Portillo was carried out within the framework of the EU Horizon 2020 MICROARCHEODUNG project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-702529.Peer reviewe
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New evidence on the earliest human presence in the urban area of Genoa (Liguria, Italy): a multi-proxy study of a mid-Holocene deposit at the mouth of the Bisagno river
No full textThe article presents the results of a multi-proxy study investigating an alluvial deposit located in the coastal plain of Genoa (Liguria, Northwest Italy). A very deep core was sampled from 15 to 25 m below ground level to analyse sedimentological properties, pollen assemblages, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils and micro-charcoal. The deposit, spanning from the second half of the 5th Millennium to the end of the 7th Millennium cal. BC, was characterized by an alternation of silty and peaty layers, and proved to be rich in plant remains. Pollen data allowed the confirmation of a gradual increase in Fagus sylvatica to the detriment of Abies alba during the mid-Holocene of the region, and showed the presence of brackish lagoons, as well as the progressively stronger incidence of anthropogenic taxa, indicating the use of the plain for agricultural purposes. The study of non-pollen palynomorphs led to the taxonomic identification of some previously unidentified types, and pointed to the occurrence of marshy environments, which were probably grazed on by domestic herbivores. Macrofossil analysis provided the first record of Triticum new glume wheat type in Liguria. Moreover, the finding of a grain of Triticum dicoccum dated to the second half of the 6th Millennium cal. BC allowed us to pre-date by seven centuries the agriculture in the region. To date, this represents the oldest evidence of human activity in the urban area of Genoa
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
La Collezione Guidi nel Museo Archeologico di Grosseto. La necropoli di Colle Baroncio e la prima età del Ferro a Vetulonia
No full textFra il 1886 e il 1913 il Comune di Grosseto acquisì per il Museo Civico gli oggetti archeologici che i fratelli Antonio e Angelo Guidi di Vetulonia stavano scavando in una loro proprietà a O della città antica: Colle Baroncio.
La collezione è rimasta a lungo inedita e solo oggi, grazie allo studio accurato di Lionello F. Morandi, può essere pubblicata integralmente. Si tratta senza dubbio di un nuovo importante contributo su Vetulonia, sempre troppo poco nota
An ethnoarchaeological case study of dung fungal spore and faecal spherulite taphonomy in a pastoral cave deposit
No full textIn alkaline cave sediments, the presence of faecal spherulites is regarded as a reliable indicator of animal dung. Spores of coprophilous fungi are nowadays frequently employed as grazing indicators in palaeoecological sequences, but their use in dryland pastoral deposits is not routine in geoarchaeological practice. The paper assesses the relationship between the occurrence of spherulites and dung fungal spores from an abandoned rock shelter used as a stable for several decades. A clear match between these proxies is shown, and their distribution across the sediments is discussed, highlighting the potential of coprophilous spore analysis from archaeological stabling deposits, alongside other established dung indicators. The abundance of other microfossils (parasite eggs, coccolith plates and freshwater indicators) is also quantified and discussed
Reconstructing dietary practices at Tell Kamid el-Loz (Lebanon) during the Bronze and Iron Age III / Persian to Hellenistic periods using plant micro-remains from dental calculus and stable isotope analysis of bone collagen
No full textTell Kamid el-Loz (Lebanon) was an important Bronze Age urban center that dominated one of the central crossroads of the Ancient Near East, connecting Egypt and the Levant with northern Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Syria, as well as the interior with the Mediterranean coast. However, by the early Iron Age, the site had shrunk to a small rural settlement. Later, in the Iron Age III / Persian-Hellenistic, only enigmatic pits and a large cemetery remained. In this paper, we analyzed plant micro-remains from the dental calculus of 15 individuals (3 from the Middle Bronze Age II and 12 from the Iron Age III / Persian-Hellenistic) and δ13C and δ15N stable isotope data from tbulk bone collagen of 74 individuals (10 from the Middle Bronze Age II and 64 from the Iron Age III / Persian-Hellenistic) and 13 Late Bronze Age animal bones (7 Ovis/Capra and 6 Bos). Our results indicate general stability of human diet throughout the Middle Bronze Age II and the Iron III / Persian-Hellenistic periods, with a reliance on C3 plant crops and terrestrial animals also consuming C3 plants. In the later period, the plant micro-remains indicate the consumption of C4 plants and sedges, and the stable isotope analysis indicates differences in diet between males and females
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