Which Origin for Charcoal in Soils? Case-Studies of Environmental Resources Archaeology (ERA) From the Ligurian Apennines, Seventh to the Twentieth Century

Valentina Pescini

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2019.00077

Abstract

Currently, soils types such as Amerindian “Terra Preta” or “charcoal earth” are considered as archaeological/anthropogenic soils, where explicit human impacts have transformed the patterns, chemistry and shape of the soil. There are several woodmanship practices, poorly visible in archaeological features, that have modified the characteristics of these soils and sediments. Today, these activities are difficult to identify, especially those relating to the multiple management of environmental resources (e.g. agro-sylvo-pastoral systems) due to their abandonment and disappearance in southern Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Describing a selection of researches conducted by the Laboratory of Archaeology and Environmental History (LASA) team in the Ligurian Apennines, this article explores the potential role of Environmental Resources Archaeology (ERA) and site(s)-level historical ecology approaches to past land use and woodmanship practices characterisation. In particular, focus is given to the practices derived from analysis of microcharcoal in the soils and sediments. Such an approach involves and combines the use of multiple sources (documentary, oral, observational and bio-stratigraphic sources), a regressive analysis method and a strong spatial and social contextualization.

Highlights

The characterization and classification of soils deeply “modified” or even “built” by humans is an increasingly important consideration in soil science (Dazzi and Lo Papa, 2015)
It has been shown that several woodmanship practices have modified the characteristics of soils and sediments in the past
Related archaeological evidence are often poorly visible and difficult to identify, especially those related to the multiple management of environmental resources

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The characterization and classification of soils deeply “modified” or even “built” by humans is an increasingly important consideration in soil science (Dazzi and Lo Papa, 2015). This was common in the Trebbia Valley, and for other North-Western Apennines areas, such as in the territories of the surrounding leading city-states of Parma, Reggio or Lucca (Moreno et al, 2019) Thanks to such disputes, it is possible to find in different archives (local and national) series of manuscript maps that provide detailed evidence of management practices marking the mountain pastoral resources ecology (grassland, moorland, and beech wooded meadows). Comparing the spot of such view maps with current technical regional maps is possible to note that the mapped mountain reaches 1,630 m asl and the indicated “ronchi” sites are located around 1,300 m asl; even if at high altitude, such cultivation system was possible and strictly linked with pastoral activities The ecology of such mountain, mostly dominated by wooded grassland pastures, and their management practices what kind of soil could have produced?. Land use/cover history at the studied sites: results of map comparison (1750–2015 A.D)

Wooded pasture Pastureland Wood

Findings

CONCLUSION