Papers by girolamo fiorentino
Use of Space and Domestic Areas: Functional Organisation and Social Strategies, 2021
archaeological and ethnoarchaeological studies. For the Bronze Age in the central Mediterranean s... more archaeological and ethnoarchaeological studies. For the Bronze Age in the central Mediterranean spatial analyses integrating various ranges of data, from artefacts to ecofacts, still remain limited in number. Moreover, studies have mainly focussed on well-preserved contexts affected by sudden destructions; spaces inhabited over long periods and so subjected to dynamic depositional processes, are more challenging to interpret as to their function(s). Yet, these latter are commonly encountered archaeological contexts. Representing palimpsests of repeated activities, they are valuable case studies for investigating the spatial organisation of activities.
This paper presents an integrated spatial analysis of a long-occupied area of the Coppa Nevigata settlement from the Late Bronze Age. It is a trial, aimed at both building a viable methodology to deal with ‘dynamic’ deposits and verifying the potential of the observed record in terms of activity areas and fossilised patterns of behaviour.
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 2005
ABSTRACT Western Australia has a rich diversity of seagrasses, many of which are meadow-forming s... more ABSTRACT Western Australia has a rich diversity of seagrasses, many of which are meadow-forming species with a high diversity of associated epiphytes. Potential food sources and dominant invertebrates and fishes were collected in a non-quantitative sampling programme designed to examine the variability in naturally occurring isotopes (13C/12C and 15N/14N) within an Amphibolis griffithii dominated seagrass bed in Western Australia. The aims of this study were to determine the isotopic composition of the organisms, and to determine the sources of carbon available to consumers using the variations in the ratio of 15N/14N and 13C/12C among organisms in the seagrass assemblage. Autotrophs showed a wide distribution of delta13C values, with seagrass material significantly enriched in 13C relative to macroalgal sources by >100/00. This variation allowed us to successfully identify macroalgae as the main contributor of carbon to the trophic structure. delta15N ratios did not vary to the degree that would make it useful as tracer, but it was applied to estimating the total number of trophic transfers of nitrogen. Analysis of delta15N values suggested that four trophic positions were present, with fishes (Acanthaluteres vittiger, Scobonichthys granulatus and Siphonognathus radiatus, Pelsartia humeralis, Pelates sexlineatus, Leviprora inops, Odax acroptilus and Notolabrus parilus) occupying the top two levels. delta13C of seston (20 200 mum) and sedimentary organic matter indicate that seagrass material is the main contributor to these two carbon pools, and that very little of it is incorporated into the trophic structure.
Climatic, vegetation and cultural change in the eastern Mediterranean during the mid-Holocene
Climatic, vegetation and cultural change in the eastern Mediterranean during the mid-Holocene
Si presentano i risultati di tre campagne di scavo (2001-2003) sul terrazzo di Maddalena di Mucci... more Si presentano i risultati di tre campagne di scavo (2001-2003) sul terrazzo di Maddalena di Muccia, dove è venuto alla luce un ampio villaggio eneolitico, composto da tre grandi capanne e strutture accessorie. Il complesso dei materiali e le radiazioni radiometriche lo collocano alla prima metà del III millennio a.C. in cronologia calibrata.
We use anthracological and experimental approach for decoding fire refuses and thermal alteration... more We use anthracological and experimental approach for decoding fire refuses and thermal alterations of soil in an area of the Sanctuary of Apollo in Hierapolis (Turkey). Results obtained from experimental hearth structures show that the escharon is the result of a series of ground-level hearths, pit hearths and secondary ash deposits. Important ritual implications derive from the contextual identification of these fire events, that shed new light on the Apollo cult in the region.
" Starting from 2003, several archaeobotanical campaigns have been carried out o... more " Starting from 2003, several archaeobotanical campaigns have been carried out on the Ebla site, NW Syria, in order to shed light on the use of plants between the Early Bronze Age IIIa and Middle-Late Bronze Age. The results of the anthracological analysis, here presented for the first time, following a continuous chronological pattern, reveal changes in plants exploitation according to cultural aspects, functions of use and climate. Several contexts were investigated and the anthracological analysis shows changes in the use of wood between the Early and Middle-Late Bronze Age. Wood species found in the EBA Royal palace G were, for the major part, beams and poles of Cedrus and Abies employed as carpentry. In the same layers luxury artefacts of Pomoideae, Fraxinus sp. and Olea wood were found. More complex is the picture that results from the study of material coming from M/LBA phases due to the variety of contexts investigated. The anthracological analysis, carried out on private houses, cooking ovens (type tannurs), dumps and ritual wells, has revealed, indeed, a complex pattern of wood exploitation which varied according to cultural habits and natural resources. "
Radiocarbon, 2014
Charred plant materials found in archaeological contexts are usually considered the most reliable... more Charred plant materials found in archaeological contexts are usually considered the most reliable remains for radiocarbon dating. Usually, seeds and fruits are preferred to wood fragments because their short lifecycle reduces the range of uncertainty of the 14C measurement. A selection of short-lived samples, mainly from barley and wheat, from the Late Roman site of Faragola (SE Italy) were 14C dated; however, the 14C dates obtained were not always consistent with the chronology provided by other archaeological evidence. A careful analysis of all the macrobotanical remains found in each of the dated contexts provides insight into the origin of the plant material, helping to distinguish between in situ and non-in situ material. The 14C dates are reconsidered in the context of findings and the kind of material selected for dating. Using the archaeological context, a Bayesian model was employed to reduce the range of the calibrated date and thereby refine the chronology of the site on ...
Paesaggi, uomini e tradizioni di, 2002
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2021
While we are struggling against the COVID-19 pandemic, it is with greater pleasure and nostalgia ... more While we are struggling against the COVID-19 pandemic, it is with greater pleasure and nostalgia that we remember the intense and “free to hug” days of the 18th Conference of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany held in Lecce, Italy, between the 3rd and 8th of June, 2019. Thanks to the hosting team of the Laboratorio di Archeobotanica e Paleoecologia and the great efforts of the researchers, students and administrative staff of the Department of Cultural Heritage at the University of Salento, the conference was a great success and pleased all participants. It was the first time that an IWGP meeting had taken place in Italy, where the young Maria Follieri (1932–2012) took the first steps in studying plant remains and who was among the small group of colleagues who met in Prague in 1968 to found the Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Paläoethnobotanik (IAP), the predecessor of the IWGP. While we were planning the 18th IWGP, we lost another great personality: it was o...
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, May 1, 2010
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Papers by girolamo fiorentino
This paper presents an integrated spatial analysis of a long-occupied area of the Coppa Nevigata settlement from the Late Bronze Age. It is a trial, aimed at both building a viable methodology to deal with ‘dynamic’ deposits and verifying the potential of the observed record in terms of activity areas and fossilised patterns of behaviour.
This paper presents an integrated spatial analysis of a long-occupied area of the Coppa Nevigata settlement from the Late Bronze Age. It is a trial, aimed at both building a viable methodology to deal with ‘dynamic’ deposits and verifying the potential of the observed record in terms of activity areas and fossilised patterns of behaviour.
I tumuli di Salve, fatti di terra e di pietre, ricoprivano monumenti realizzati con tipologie diverse, alcuni con articolazioni complesse al loro interno, altri molto semplici costituiti solo da una piattaforma basale su cui poggiavano i vasi con i resti incinerati o questi stessi sparsi sulla superficie, privi di contenitori. In nessuno dei tumuli era presente il corredo.
Ma, accanto all’incinerazione, nella necropoli è attestato anche l’uso dell’inumazione come nei tumuli 6, 9 e 7: nei primi due si trattava di ossa non combuste; nel tumulo 7, invece, all’interno di una cista litica che pure conteneva alla base tre incinerati, erano stati deposti circa 50 individui in seguito sottoposti a manipolazioni. Essi, a differenza degli incinerati avevano con sé il corredo i cui componenti, vasi in ceramica e oggetti di ornamento, sono molto simili a quelli rinvenuti a Grotta Cappuccini di Galatone.
E’ un quadro composito quello che restituisce la necropoli di Salve: documenta la pluralità di tradizioni esistente tra comunità che vivevano nel medesimo territorio e che condividevano la medesima cultura ispirata ai canoni di Gaudo e Laterza.
L’architettura dei tumuli, inoltre, rinvia a modelli diffusi che – se pure con tipologie varie – caratterizzavano il paesaggio funerario di molte regioni europee, inserendo il Salento in quel “mondo interconnesso” che era l’Europa del III millennio a.C.
Geomorfologia, paleobotanica, antropologia, analisi archeometriche contribuiscono a ricostruire una visione d’insieme in cui la dimensione funeraria risulta ancorata a dati di realtà che ne affiancano gli aspetti ideologici.
Non ultima, la cronologia: la serie di datazioni ottenuta dai vari tumuli fornisce importanti aggiornamenti sull’eneolitico meridionale, spostandone l’insorgenza alla metà del IV millennio in linea con quanto avviene nel resto della penisola.
Given that these unusual finds represent direct and rare evidence of the food productsoffered by indigenous and south Italian Greeksinside a particular "place of encounter" between the Messapian and the Greek form of the cult of Demeter, their detailed analysis and microscopical re-evaluation seemed crucialfor understanding further aspects of food production (the plant components and processes involved),as well as thecultural dimension of the offered foodstuff.
Therefore, ESEM (Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope) analyses were performed on theMonte Papalucio findings: Tissue remains and their particle sizes, along with other parameters, were used in order to elucidate ingredients and production techniques, and the various processes involved (grinding, sieving, leavening, baking). Also, the hypothesis of a connection between ingredients, production techniques and cake/biscuit shape and decoration was tested. The contribution presents and discusses the unexpected results of these analyses.
Starting from the archaeobotanical remains, that highlight a regular exploitation of wild tree fruits since the Bronze Age, the paper examines the various aspects related to the development of arboriculture, in particular the cultivation of olive trees in Apulia. Beyond the distinction between wild and domestic, the contribution also aims to discuss the implications in paleoeconomy (supply and preparation of by-products), ancient technologies (vegetative propagation and grafting), social sphere (long investment term) and land exploitation (construction of spaces and landscapes) dealing with the relationship between man and fruit trees.
siti pre-protostorici della Puglia hanno permesso di acquisire nuove
conoscenze inerenti le caratteristiche paleoeconomiche delle comunità
antiche tra il Neolitico e l’età del Bronzo. Sulla base di un ampio
database è oggi possibile ricostruire e delineare, per un arco di tempo
piuttosto ampio, la storia e lo sviluppo delle pratiche colturali e delle
strategie di gestione delle risorse vegetali tra il 6.200 e il 1000 a.C.
Gli approcci multidisciplinari utilizzati nell’analisi di archivi naturali
ed antropici, suggeriscono per alcuni periodi chiave, un ruolo
significativo di alcune variabili nelle scelte economiche evidenziate
dagli assemblaggi archeobotanici. Il presente contributo, ricostruendo le
variazioni dinamiche di lungo periodo nella gestione delle risorse
vegetali, vuole porre l’accento sulle relazioni tra i cambiamenti delle
caratteristiche paleo-agronomiche ed i differenti impulsi trasformativi
(climatici, ambientali e sociali) che, di volta in volta, in relazione a
specifiche condizioni hanno dato avvio a risposte adattive differenti.
Studies and long-term experiments carried out in the last decades show significant relationships between the growing-site conditions and the isotope signature in cereals: edaphic features and water availability influence N and C ratio in plant remains.
Based on this assumption, in order to reconstruct past trades, the incidence of foreign supply on local production and verifying the presence of clusters of cereals referring to different harvesting areas, samples of caryopses from two archaeological sites were selected and subjected to quantitative analysis of stable isotopes. The measure of carbon and nitrogen ratio was also extended to charred wood remains of wild local vegetation considered marker of local pattern.
The first site is an insular Early-Bronze Age settlement, Filo Braccio, located in Filicudi in the Aeolian archipelago, where were found some huts and a multifunctional open area which was probably assigned to the processing of cereals (threshing and roasting). The Aeolian Islands represent a privileged point of view for biological and human dynamics and trades in Central Mediterranean area.
The other site considered is the site of Egnazia, in the Apulian region. This is a long life city, occupied from the Bronze age to the Middle Ages; our study focused on the period between II cent. BC to XIII cent. AD. Egnazia is located in a region particularly suitable for crop growing thanks to its geomorphological features. Furthermore, its coastal location also projected the city towards maritime trades.
This approach shows how the analysed kernels could refer to statistically distinct groups, then grown in different areas, some of which are probably not of local production.
Edaphical features and water availability are the main factors that influence the N and C ratio in plant remains: significant relationships were observed between the growing-site conditions and the isotope signature in cereals. So, in order to distinguish different harvesting sites among caryopses, stable istotope composition was measured. The isotopic analyses was extended also to charred wood remains of wild local vegetation to identify local pattern. This approach shows how the analysed kernels could refer to statistically distinct groups, then grown in different areas, one of which is not of local production.
This data record synthesis (Mercuri et al. submitted) reports for the first time the census of the Holocene archaeological sites that have been studied for archaeobotany in Italy over the last quarter in a century. Sites are typical on-site contexts where samples for botanical analyses were collected during stratigraphical excavation fieldwork. Pollen, seeds and fruits, woods/charcoals and other plant remains were analysed in multidisciplinary researches. Fifteen archaeobotanical teams provided 630 sites (see below, 3 examples in the orange boxes from Northern , Central and Southern Italy).
Site distribution is plotted in maps of site density according to geographical districts and main chronological phases. The sites are located across the 20 regions of Italy, and in the Republic of San Marino (356 sites in northern Italy, 118 in central Italy, 156 in southern Italy and on the islands). They belong to several cultural phases, prevalently belonging to a pre-Roman phase.
In the majority of sites, seeds and fruits are important part of archaeobotanical studies. Charcoal analyses are also common, while those on woods are probably limited by preservation problems. One third of the sites include pollen analyses. Interestingly, many sites include other microscopic remains, such as non pollen palynomorphs and charcoal particles; the interest in phytoliths is still limited. Only around 20% of the studies include combined micro - and macroremains; however, there is an evident tendency in recent bibliographies towards the increasing consideration of combined botanical analyses (Sadori et al. 2010).
The synthesis presents a 796 titles reference list that helps to find analytical data referring to the descriptive papers that may be scattered throughout monographies and specific books on the matter.
Recent investigation reveal the role of V. faba (variety minor), among the earliest cultivated plant in the ancient world.
In this study, we present the results of biometric and morphometric analyses carried out on ancient seed of V. faba L., dated to different chronological periods.
One group of archaeological samples of V. faba var. minor, collected from the protohistoric sites of Coppa Nevigata, Apani and Roca, was compared with a group found in historical sites of the same region and with a modern reference collection of V. faba var. minor and equina.
The analysis of transformation in seed morphology provides accurate criteria to discriminate between different cultivar and to identify possible improvements occurred during the protracted cultivation of the specie.
The study offered a base to compare well-preserved archaeological remains to modern varieties, and to assess the potential of biometric analysis for the characterization of legumes.
The comparison between the biometric and morphometric results obtained for the modern carbonized samples and for the archaeological samples allowed to highlight the differences between the different groups. Insights into local in agricultural practices that include the use of V. faba L. can be inferred from our results.
for Palaeoethnobotany
Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, July 4th-9th
In this complex framework, thanks to the accurate archaeological field work, have been individuated traces of rituals connected to the divinities that patronized the sanctuary. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach has been used in order to investigate these contexts, where stratigraphical evidences, archaeobotanical remains and analytical chemistry talk together.
During the excavation, the archaeological strata sampled have been used for the archaeobotanical analyses: after the flotation, seeds and charcoals have been isolated and identified.
To identify different types of lipids absorbed by the ceramic core, vessels coming from the same contexts has been sampled and analysed using high temperature gas chromatography and compound-specific isotopic ratio.
The collected data are indispensable to reach the final goal: discover and understand the set of actions that connect divinities, human actions and environment.