Papers by isabella salvador
Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche LXXIII S3 - 2023, 2023
The paper summarizes the new results of the “Bàsura revisited” interdisciplinary research project... more The paper summarizes the new results of the “Bàsura revisited” interdisciplinary research project. Revision of paleontological data on Ursus spelaeus occupation of the cave and new data coming from a test excavation made in the “Sala dei Misteri” are here presented together with the preliminary results of radiometric dates performed on bear bones and charcoals. The integrated interpretation of recent archaeological data and palaeosurfaces laser scans, along with geoarchaeological, sedimentological, geochemical and archaeobotanical analyses, geometric morphometrics and digital photogrammetry of human footprints, enabled us to reconstruct the activities that an Upper Palaeolithic human group led inside a deep cave in northern Italy within a single exploration event dating about 14 ky cal BP. A complex and diverse track records of humans and other animals shed light on individual and group level behaviour, social relationship, and mode of exploration of the uneven terrain at the end of the Upper Palaeolithic. A group of five individuals, composed of two adults, an adolescent and two children, entered the cave barefoot lightening the way with a bunch of wooden sticks (Pinus t. sylvestris/mugo bundles) apparently for a single exploration episode, despite the fact that they left several traces of possible symbolic behaviour that will be the subject of future research projects.
Montagne e Archeologie, 2023
Archaeological finds and documentary sources allowed us to reconstruct the progressive use of the... more Archaeological finds and documentary sources allowed us to reconstruct the progressive use of the Pasubio pastures between the Roman era and the nineteenth century. Sporadic findings confirm the presence of sheep shepherds between the 2nd and 5th centuries. More abundant archaeological materials reveal a widespread exploitation throughout the subsequent medieval period up to the 11th century, indeed. In this phase the first buildings appear: small constructions at the top of reliefs with 360-degree panoramic views and near water sources. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the lack of archaeological evidence suggests a stasis in the mountain frequentation. Traces of material culture and documentary attestations reappear starting from the mid-fourteenth century. The buildings of this phase are similar to the previous ones and distinguishable only by their larger size. During the seventeenth century there was a
shift from sheep to cattle breeding with a change in the logistic system of the summer farms. The multifunctional building, which for centuries had been the only pole of the pastures, is splitted into two buildings: the dairy, where the milk is processed, and the warehouse, where the dairy products are kept. This organization continued unchanged until the beginning of the twentieth century.
Central Europe is among the regions with the largest availability of pre-industrial meteorologica... more Central Europe is among the regions with the largest availability of pre-industrial meteorological records. In the Alps, however, such records are relatively rare, especially in the southern slope. We recently found and digitized two new pressure and temperature series for the Alpine cities of Rovereto (1800-1839) and Bolzano/Bozen (1842-1849) covering together the first half of the 19th century, a period characterized by large climate variability and important extreme events. The meteorological record of Rovereto, in particular, is the oldest available for the southeastern Alps. We used the shorter record of Bolzano/Bozen as a testbed for different digitization methods, namely citizen science and machine-learning based Optical Character Recognition. The data are converted to modern units, quality controlled, and homogenized. We also provide daily and monthly means together with an estimation of their uncertainty. 1 Introduction Natural climate forcing can have significant impacts on global and regional climate. The most prominent example in modern history is the early 19th century, when two large volcanic eruptions in 1808 and 1815 contributed to several years of unusually low temperatures, particularly in the Eurasian continent (Brönnimann et al., 2019b; Reichen et al., 2022). Currently available instrumental measurements are often insufficient for a detailed analysis of climate variability before 1850, even in Europe, where many data remain unexploited because they are only available in paper form (Brönnimann et al., 2019a). Unfortunately, digitization is a very expensive process and the quality of early instrumental measurements is also a concern. Being located at the center of Europe, the Alps were visited and studied by early climatologists already during the Enlightenment. By the early 19th century several meteorological observatories had been established, some of which delivered continuous records until the present day (
Un paesaggio incantato, scolpito dall'acqua nella pietra calcare per centinaia di migliaia d&... more Un paesaggio incantato, scolpito dall'acqua nella pietra calcare per centinaia di migliaia d'anni. Ecco come si presentano le grotte di toirano, in Liguria: uno straordinario complesso carsico che, oltre a colpire per la sua bellezza naturalistica, riveste un'importanza fondamentale per la conoscenza della nostra preistoria.Fil: Starnini, Elisabetta. No especifica;Fil: Arobba, Daniele. No especifica;Fil: Avanzini, Marco. No especifica;Fil: Caramiello, Rosanna. No especifica;Fil: Citton, Paolo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología; ArgentinaFil: Clementi, Livia. No especifica;Fil: Conventi, Marta. No especifica;Fil: de Pascale, Andrea. No especifica;Fil: Firpo, Marco. No especifica;Fil: Giannotti, Stefano. No especifica;Fil: Negrino, Fabio. No especifica;Fil: Panizza, Fiorenzo. No especifica;Fil: Rellini, Ivano. No especifica;Fil: Romano, ...
Bàsura Cave (Toirano, NW Italy) became famous worldwide in 1950 for the discovery of prehistoric ... more Bàsura Cave (Toirano, NW Italy) became famous worldwide in 1950 for the discovery of prehistoric human footprints and of an impressive Ursus spelaeus bone deposit baptized by the first explorers 'Cimitero degli Orsi' (Bear Cemetery). Bear remains belonging to the deeper layer of the deposit have been left in situ and are now one of the principal attractions for visitors. A new research project aimed at re-evaluating the legacy and collections from this important cave involved the taphonomic study of the bones, along with sedimentological and micromorphological analyses and new radiocarbon dates to understand the nature and chronology of the deposit. In the present study, element quantification and state of preservation of bone surfaces displayed by distinct skeletal elements were analysed to assess the origin of bone accumulation, the composition of the assemblage in terms of age and species, and the representation of the different portions of the carcasses. Bone sorting, the orientation of skeletal elements along with oxidation pattern and micromorphological data indicate intense reworking of sediments and bones. The site can be considered among those known in Europe as representative of the last populations of U. spelaeus before the demise of this species during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Journal of Quaternary Science, 2022
Quaternary International, 2021
Abstract The Basura Cave (Toirano, Savona, NW Italy) hosts important cave bear bone assemblages a... more Abstract The Basura Cave (Toirano, Savona, NW Italy) hosts important cave bear bone assemblages and a numerous and varied, tracks and traces record left by humans and other producers. An outstanding element of the analysed material is represented by fossil bear fur fragments, which were found in the inner deposits of the cave, and that, to date, are virtually unknown in the cave global record. After analysing and discussing micromorphological features of the inedited material, we integrate and interpret new radiocarbon data, along with taphonomic, sedimentological, geochemical and mineralogical evidences, with the aim of improving our understanding about the nature and chronology of the bear fur-bearing deposit. The bear fur fragments are included in a stratigraphic succession corresponding to a secondary deposit, formed after the dismantling, reworking and redeposition of a former bear-bearing deposit, as a result of short but intensive flooding events that most probably took place at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. After sediments redeposition, important diagenetic changes have occurred and probably driven by guano deposits, whose pre-existence, in absence of record, is inferred from corrosion features, nutrient concentrations, mineral species identified (REE bearing hydroxyapatite), and claw traces left by bats on the cave ceiling and walls. Diagenetic imprint derived by guano deposits caused mineralization of bear fur fragments by replacement with apatite, which faithfully copied the form and structure of hairs but also of vegetal tissues, phytoliths and pollen found within them. Our study demonstrates for the first time that the bear fur is one of the main vectors in introducing botanical microremains into the interior of the “Old World” caves.
Riassunto La comprensione delle relazioni tra estesi fenomeni geologici e manifestazioni metereol... more Riassunto La comprensione delle relazioni tra estesi fenomeni geologici e manifestazioni metereologiche a breve e lungo termine, è una conquista scientifica che può essere fatta risalire solo agli anni settan-ta del ventesimo secolo. Nonostante ciò gli effetti diretti o indiretti di eventi geologici particolarmen-te significativi non sfuggirono agli osservatori del passato ed ebbero spesso ricadute su credenze, folclore, opere artistiche e letterarie. Il presente contributo si basa su testimonianze, manoscritti e notizie registrate negli anni a cavallo tra XVIII e XIX secolo che mettono in evidenza effetti meteoro-logici anomali verosimilmente connessi ad attività vulcanica intensa. Tra questi, figurano le strane anomalie atmosferiche registrate nel diario meteorologico del fisico roveretano Giuseppe Bonfioli nel 1821, del tutto simili a quelle verificatesi nel 1783 in concomitanza all'eruzione del Laki. Summary Understanding the relationships between extensive geological phenom...
The ichnological record of human traces from Italy is rich and quite diversified. In recent years... more The ichnological record of human traces from Italy is rich and quite diversified. In recent years, the development and dissemination of various methodologies and technological facilities has implemented the re-analysis of this record, enabling to reach different, sometimes deeper, interpretations favoured by the integration of external data, both geological and palaeontological. The oldest occurrence of the human ichnological record from Italy is represented by the Middle Pleistocene ‘Devil’s Trails’ ichnosite in the “Foresta” area (Roccamonfina volcano, southern Italy), depicting human trackmakers trampling a pyroclastic flow deposit while descending a slope about 349 ka. Most of the record is Holocene in age and is constituted by the Upper Palaeolithic Grotta della Basura site (Toirano, northern Italy, about 14 ky), the protohistoric sites of Afragola, Nola and Palma, the area of Pompei and the site of Aosta. The record is enriched by the ichnological evidences preserved in milita...
Based on the integration of laser scan, sedimentology, geochemistry, archeobotany, geometric morp... more Based on the integration of laser scan, sedimentology, geochemistry, archeobotany, geometric morphometrics and photogrammetry, here we present evidence testifying a Palaeolithic group that explored a deep cave in northern Italy about 14 ky cal. BP. Ichnological data enable us to shed light on individual and group level behavior, social relationship and mode of exploration of the highly uneven environment. Five individuals, two adults, an adolescent and two children, entered the cave barefoot and with a set of wood chips to illuminate the way. Traces of crawling locomotion are documented for the first time in the global human ichnological record. The anatomic details recognizable in the crawling traces show that no garment was interposed between the limb and the trampled sediments. Our study demonstrate that very young children (the youngest less than three years old) were active members in the Upper Palaeolithic populations, even in seemingly dangerous activities and social ones.
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2017
The essay presents the evolution of the relationship between natural environment and human enviro... more The essay presents the evolution of the relationship between natural environment and human environment in the mountains to be found in the south-eastern part of Rovereto. In the 16th century, local communities gained an autonomy that led to an increased exploitation of the natural resources, which called for the definition of new norms regarding deforestation, the maintenance of buildings, the construction of wells for watering, the definition of boundaries. Pervasive human penetration in the area took place following well documented stages that slowly led to the construction of the territory and to the formation of a local, alpine identity.
Upland population levels are strongly correlated to environmental dynamics such as morphology, ex... more Upland population levels are strongly correlated to environmental dynamics such as morphology, exposure and climate. A temperature fall leads to a shortening of the plant growth season, which can lead to lower pasture productivity and thus livestock can spend shorter periods in the mountains. The aim of this research is to correlate natural climate constraints with variation in post-medieval human settlement of the Pasubio pla-teau, located between 1500 and 2000 m in the Italian Southern Alps (Trento). Survey of a 7000 ha area has located remains of 145 structures used for milk processing dating from the 17th-19th centuries. A "building density curve", grouped into fifty year intervals, shows oscillations over time related to the local temperature anomaly trend. The change in lease payments in some malghe between 1750 and 1870 showed that pastures placed at higher altitudes suffer directly from adverse climatic oscillations.
Historia Agraria Revista de agricultura e historia rural, 2019
In the Alps as in many mountain areas, livestock farming has constituted an important source of i... more In the Alps as in many mountain areas, livestock farming has constituted an important source of income, especially since the Middle Ages. The importance of livestock farming within the Alpine economy has changed over time due to the dynamics of supply and demand combined with evolving environmental, technological and institutional constraints. This paper focuses on the latter aspect and attempts to reconstruct how the relative importance of the production factors of land, labour and capital changed throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in a mountainous area of eastern Trentino. The underlying objective of the investigation is to provide a micro-level empirical basis for hypotheses advanced in the literature regarding the evolution of a crucial sector in the Alpine economy, drawing attention to the long-term role of exogenous and endogenous factors as well as elements of continuity and change. The work is grounded in multiple sources drawn from local archives and official...
This study investigates variations in pasture lease rents during the eighteenth and nineteenth ce... more This study investigates variations in pasture lease rents during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in a sector of the Italian Alps and how these correlate with climate changes. Analysis of the rents in the three data sets clearly demonstrates a sharp increase over the period considered, which can generally be ascribed to increased human pressure following population growth during the same period. Oscillations in the values obtained for fifty-year periods between the last half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth suggest a strong connection with environmental and climatic factors. Increases or decreases in temperature seem to have a less marked and less direct effect on the values of grazing lands close to the upper limit of vegetation, while socio-economic and infrastructural signals impinge significantly on climate signals on the grazing lands at lower altitudes.
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Papers by isabella salvador
shift from sheep to cattle breeding with a change in the logistic system of the summer farms. The multifunctional building, which for centuries had been the only pole of the pastures, is splitted into two buildings: the dairy, where the milk is processed, and the warehouse, where the dairy products are kept. This organization continued unchanged until the beginning of the twentieth century.
shift from sheep to cattle breeding with a change in the logistic system of the summer farms. The multifunctional building, which for centuries had been the only pole of the pastures, is splitted into two buildings: the dairy, where the milk is processed, and the warehouse, where the dairy products are kept. This organization continued unchanged until the beginning of the twentieth century.