Quaternary International 402 (2016) 5e14

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Quaternary International

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Prehistoric landscapes of the Dolomites: Survey data from the highland territory of Cadore (Belluno Dolomites, Northern Italy)

* Davide Visentin a, b, , Francesco Carrer c, Federica Fontana a, Fabio Cavulli d, Piergiorgio Cesco Frare e, Carlo Mondini f, Annaluisa Pedrotti d a Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Universita degli Studi di Ferrara, Corso Ercole I d'Este 32, 44121, Ferrara, Italy b UMR 5608 TRACES, Universite Toulouse Jean Jaures, Maison de la Recherche, 5 allees A. Machado, 31058, Toulouse Cedex 9, France c McCord Centre for Historic and Cultural Landscapes, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University, Armstrong Building, Queen Victoria Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK d Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, Universita degli Studi di Trento, Via T. Gar 14, 38122, Trento, Italy e Via Maraga 11, 32100, Belluno, Italy f Associazione Amici del Museo di Belluno, Via San Francesco 64, 32100 Belluno, Italy article info abstract

Article history: The identification of Mesolithic lithic scatters on the highland district of Cadore (1700e2700 m a.s.l.), in Available online 17 November 2015 the Eastern Italian Alps, started during the 1980s, enhanced by the discovery of the rock-shelter site of Mondeval de Sora. A new archaeological survey project was developed in this area, particularly between Keywords: Passo Giau and Col de la Puina, from 2011 to 2014. The adoption of a “total archaeology approach” Lithic scatters enabled the identification of different types of archaeological evidence. This paper focuses specifically on Mesolithic the small-scale record represented by lithic artefacts. Both previously identified sites and newly recog- Copper Age nised find-spots have been positioned, described and spatially analysed in connection to the topography Belluno Dolomites Landscape archaeology of the investigated territory, in order to set hypotheses on the settlement strategies adopted by pre- historic groups. Most of these scatters can be attributed with a good approximation either to the Sau- veterrian or to the Castelnovian phase of the Mesolithic or generically to the Mesolithic, thus confirming the intense occupation of these territories by the last groups of hunteregatherers. Nonetheless the presence of some lithic artefacts that can be attributed to more recent prehistoric periods has led the authors to reconsider the common assumption that all lithic assemblages at high altitude should necessarily be attributed to the Mesolithic. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The project sought to record any evidence of human activity identifiable on the surface, with no chronological restriction, Between 2011 and 2014 a new upland field survey project was including prehistoric and historical sites, as well as modern and undertaken in the Cadore territory (Belluno Dolomites, Northern contemporary occupations, overcoming the traditional chronolog- Italy). The study area is delimited e north to south e by the Boite ical boundaries of archaeological research. It is worth pointing out and Cordevole valleys, sub-tributaries of the Piave river, and com- that other archaeological projects in the Alps and in mountainous prises the mountainous areas known as Passo Giau, Mondeval de areas have a similar diachronic approach (Rendu, 2003; Reitmaier, Sora and Malga Prendera-Col de la Puina (1800e2700 m a.s.l.). It 2012; Walsh et al., 2014), although very few of them focus on represents the easternmost part of the so-called Dolomites area contemporary material evidence of human activities. Fieldwork extending between the Adige river to the west and the Piave river was undertaken by adopting a multi-scale approach, searching for to the east and bordered to the north by the Pusteria valley and to evidence of different sizes: small (e.g. artefacts), medium (e.g. rock the south by Valsugana (cf. Supplementary material). engravings) and large (e.g. structures and facilities). The multidis- ciplinary, diachronic and multi-scale approach adopted in this project was named “total archaeology”. This definition has been used to describe other archaeological projects that integrate * Corresponding author. Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Universita degli Studi different methods and scales (Evans et al., 2006; Olson et al., 2013), di Ferrara, Corso Ercole I d'Este 32, 44121, Ferrara, Italy. E-mail address: [email protected] (D. Visentin). but has been rarely referred to diachronic landscape analysis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.080 1040-6182/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 6 D. Visentin et al. / Quaternary International 402 (2016) 5e14

This paper focuses on the small evidence represented by lithic Preboreal when Pinus was still prevailing and it became dominant artefacts. Both previously identified sites and newly recognised in the Boreal when also Abies appeared. In the Eastern Alps the find-spots were positioned, described and spatially analysed in diffusion of Picea seems to begin earlier than in the Central Alps. connection to the topography of the investigated territory, in order During the Atlantic Picea was associated to Larix, Pinus cembra and to study the settlement and exploitation strategies adopted by Pinus mugo while in the Sub-boreal Pinus cembra and Abies prehistoric groups. The project did not include any specific envi- consistently increased. ronmental analysis so that the diachronic evolution of the local landscape was inferred from previous studies available for the 2.2. Palaeo-Mesolithic evidence investigated area. The results were contextualised through a com- parison with the dataset available for the Western Dolomites, in the The first discovery of Mesolithic artefacts in the Cordevole Basin eastern side of the Adige drainage system. This enabled a better dates to the late 1970s. During the summer of 1979 B. Bagolini and understanding of prehistoric occupation in the south-eastern Alps. D. Nisi identified some lithic artefacts on Monte Forca (next to Passo The interplay of novel fieldwork methods and multidisciplinary Pordoi, 2300 m a.s.l.) a few dozen metres far from the border be- interpretative approaches provided interesting, although pre- tween Veneto region and Trentino Alto-Adige region (Bagolini and liminary, results. Most of the recorded sites could be attributed Nisi, 1978). In spite of the absence of retouched items this evidence with a good approximation to the Mesolithic, thus confirming the was attributed to the Early Mesolithic. During 1981 three other intense occupation of these territories during the first part of the discoveries confirmed the presence of Mesolithic assemblages in Holocene. Nevertheless the last hunteregatherers were not the the Belluno Dolomites. In particular B. Bagolini, D. Loss and D. Nisi only late-prehistoric groups that exploited the highland territories collected some laminar blanks at Passo Falzarego (2100 m a.s.l.) and of the Dolomites. This assumption, motivated by an accurate revi- Passo Giau (2200 m a.s.l.; Bagolini et al.,1980a, 1980b) while Broglio sion of past documentation and by the results of recent surveys, led and Corai (1980) identified an assemblage composed of both chert us to analyse the available dataset in a wider diachronic and rock crystal artefacts on Passo Valparola (2150 m a.s.l.). Be- perspective. tween 1983 and 1985 R. Lunz recorded other lithic scatters in the same area (Lunz, 1986). 2. The Belluno Dolomites: palaeo-environmental and After these first findings, in the following years a few local archaeological background amateurs took up the survey activities. On the basis of the as- sumptions derived from the so called “vertical nomadism model” 2.1. Palaeo-environmental context proposed for the Adige valley (Bagolini, 1972; Broglio, 1973, 1980), they started looking for Mesolithic evidence in the most likely lo- Direct palaeo-environmental data on the study area are scarce cations, especially in proximity of the main passes. From these most and most information has to be derived from comparisons with promising spots they gradually enlarged their research areas, similar mountainous districts of the central and eastern Alps. At a identifying a conspicuous number of sites (Mondini and Villabruna, general level it is possible to synthetize the history of the vegeta- 1982, 1992). In the same years V. Cazzetta discovered the first tion cover as follows: Mesolithic artefacts in Mondeval de Sora under the overhangs of At the beginning of the Holocene temperature and moisture two large erratic boulders (VF1 and VF2; 2135 m a.s.l.) (Fig. 1). One gradually increased favouring the development of mixed oak for- year later (1986) the first excavation campaign was undertaken at ests in the plain and in the lower part of the inner valleys (Drescher- the so-called site VF1 by A. Guerreschi (Alciati et al., 1992). This site Schneider, 2009). Highlands were characterised by the diffusion of represents so far the only stratified deposit extensively excavated in Pinus, Pinus cembra, Larix and Betula. The development of a forested the Belluno Dolomites, thus standing as the main reference for the environment enhanced the rapid rising of the timberline. Around Mesolithic of the area (Fontana et al., 2009a, 2009b). Its importance 8850 cal BC the latter is attested at 2100 m a.s.l. (Oeggl and is related to the extraordinary preservation of organic materials Wahlmüller, 1994) with the belt located between 1700 and together with a rich lithic assemblage and to the discovery of a 2100 m a.s.l. and characterised by the presence of a Larix-Pinus Castelnovian burial, which still represents the only funerary cembra forest with Betula, and Alnus alnobetula. context dated to this period in the Italian peninsula (Gerhardinger This trend continues in the Boreal with the spread of Picea in the and Guerreschi, 1989; Fontana, 2006; Fontana et al., 2015). subalpine belt and in the inner valleys of the south-eastern Alps During the latest years of the last century and the first of the (Drescher-Schneider, 2009). During the Atlantic dense Picea new millennium further survey campaigns were undertaken by woodlands are attested in central-eastern Alps up to 2200 m a.s.l. independent researchers over a wide area spanning from the Pre- while at higher altitudes Larix-Pinus cembra forests characterised Alps to the inner Dolomites, covering most of the Belluno Prov- the timberline (Nicolussi et al., 2005). No significant changes in the ince territory (Fontana et al., 2002; Marsale, 2003; Cesco Frare and composition of the forest are attested at high altitudes during the Mondini, 2005; Marsale and Reberschak, 2007). A systematic sur- Late Holocene but for the decrease of the timberline starting at vey was also carried out in 2001 by the University of Ferrara in the about 2000 cal BC (Drescher-Schneider, 2009). area of Mondeval de Sora, allowing the recording of almost thirty As far as the investigated area is concerned important data are sites between Malga Prendera and Forcella Giau (Fontana and Pasi, provided by the multidisciplinary study carried out at the Alpe 2002). Two new sites were the object of stratigraphic investigations Federa on the east side of the Croda da Lago. Here a thick soil was in the last years. In 2007 at Pian de la Lora, on the lower slopes of identified at 2050 m a.s.l. (Soldati et al., 1997). Results derived from Mount Civetta, a Castelnovian site with a chronology very close to pedological and palynological analyses together with radiometric the burial of Mondeval de Sora was explored (Franco, 2015). In 2011 dating carried out on peat and wood samples found in the soil excavations started at Casera Staulanza, on the southern slope of profile allowed the reconstruction of the environmental evolution Passo Staulanza (1681 m a.s.l.), yielding a Late Epigravettian rich of the area in the last 10,000e12,000 years. This suggested the assemblage which represents, at present, the most ancient evi- presence of pioneer plants (Salix, Betula, Pinus mugo) in the first dence of human occupation in the inner area of the Belluno Dolo- part of the Holocene, later replaced by a Picea, Larix and Pinus mites after the LGM (Fontana et al., 2014). cembra dominated woodland. Most palynological studies from the These field activities have provided a massive dataset for the Eastern Alpine area confirm that Picea started spreading in the Mesolithic occupation of the Belluno Dolomites. Nonetheless, in Download English Version: https://daneshyari.com/en/article/1040154

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