Life on a hilltop: vegetation history, plant husbandry and pastoralism at the dawn of Bergamo-Bergomum (northern Italy, 15th to 7th century bc)

Abstract

Cores and trenches drilled or dug in religious and secular buildings in the hilltop town of Bergamo (northern Italy) were investigated by means of micro/macrobotanical and pedochemical analysis to unravel the cultural vegetation history of the area during ca. seven centuries across the Bronze—Iron Ages. We explore the predictive power of biological proxies, nutrients, and coupled 14 C datings to reveal early phases of human settlement and activity in a modern urban context with low visibility and difficult accessibility. Our records suggest that a farming centre was active on the Bergamo hilltop as early as the 15th century bc . Crop and animal husbandry reached a high point between the 11th-8th century bc . Plant and biogeochemical proxies predict extensive and diversified cereal cropping, flax and grapevine cultivation, as well as herd stalling at a watering pond, free range livestock growing in woodlands, and pastoralism, shown by hay making and overgrazing evidence. The suggestive hypothesis of carding wool is mentioned but is currently untenable. Furthermore, we identified a possible phase of abandonment starting from the 8th century bc , to be further investigated, and in agreement with archaeological data suggesting settlement decline in the 8th-6th century bc . Our research highlights the dedication to pastoralism of the Bergamo hill since prehistoric times. The settlement position was strategic for pastoralists to exploit biological and water resources in space, season and elevation, i.e. from the plain to higher Alpine pastures. Ethnographic examples and Middle Age written sources strongly support this picture. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00334-020-00802-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Exploring the complex pre-adaptations of invasive plants to anthropogenic disturbance: a call for integration of archaeobotanical approaches

“…A similar conclusion was reached by the analysis of Bronze-age pollen remains from northern Italy, which highlighted a thinning of forested areas due to the establishment of human settlements (Mercuri et al, 2015). Studies on pollen cores can also correlate human population demographics and activities with variation in plant species composition, identifying periods characterized by e.g., cultivation expansion, abandonment of terrains or livestock herding (Pini et al, 2021;Kolaŕ̌et al, 2022). Botanical remains can provide information on agropastoral practices even without a precise taxonomical information.…”