ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND PREHISTORIC LANDSCAPE PRACTICES IN THE SOUTH-WEST ITALIAN PENINSULA DURING THE PLEISTOCENE-HOLOCENE TRANSITION: A STUDY OF ANTHRACOLOGICAL REMAINS FROM GROTTA DEL ROMITO, GROTTA DELLA SERRATURA AND GROTTA D'ORIENTE

Poggiali, Federico (2022) ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND PREHISTORIC LANDSCAPE PRACTICES IN THE SOUTH-WEST ITALIAN PENINSULA DURING THE PLEISTOCENE-HOLOCENE TRANSITION: A STUDY OF ANTHRACOLOGICAL REMAINS FROM GROTTA DEL ROMITO, GROTTA DELLA SERRATURA AND GROTTA D'ORIENTE. Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Liverpool.

Text 201203608_Oct2022.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript Access to this file is embargoed until 1 August 2026. Download (8MB)

Abstract

This thesis presents the results of the analyses of the anthracological remains (charred fuel wood waste debris) retrieved from the archaeological sites Gr. del Ro-mito, Gr. della Serratura and Gr. d’Oriente, located on the tyrrhenian side of the southern Italian peninsula and in north-west Sicily. These sites span the time period between ~17.5-7.9 ka cal BP. The main aims of this study are: (a) to investigate changing nature of the local woodland vegetation, in particular floristic composition, during the end of the Pleistocene and the early Holocene, (b) to evaluate archaeo-anthracological assemblages as proxies for reconstructing of late Pleistocene and ear-ly Holocene vegetation in regions with few palaeoenvironmental proxies, (c) to assess the fuel procurement strategies of Epigravettian and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer groups in southern Italy, and (d) to compare local-scale archaeo-anthracological data with the available regional palaeoclimatic archives. The anthracological analyses have focused on charcoal macro-remains retrieved in secondary, dispersed contexts from multi-periods caves, which present long periods of intermittent human occupation. The study evaluates the differences between multiples screening techniques applied to the recovery of charred materials, and their dissimilar consequences on the palaeoenvironmental representativeness of anthracological assemblages. Subsequently, the methodology focuses on the taphonomic assessment of charcoal within the sequence. Following, taxon frequency and ubiquity quantitative analyses have been performed on the assemblages, as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis of dendroecological features preserved in selected archaeological charcoal specimens. Multivariate quantitative techniques have also been used to further explore the results of these analyses. This thesis validates the potential of anthracology to provide palaeoecologi-cal data in areas with generally poor archaeobotanical research endeavours. This in-vestigation delivers insight on vegetation history from disappeared landscapes and the people-environment interactions in these landscapes before the advent of Neolithic settlers.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy)
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	29 Aug 2023 10:07
Last Modified:	29 Aug 2023 10:07
DOI:	10.17638/03170748
Supervisors:	Asouti, Eleni Fitzjohn, Matthew
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3170748