Tyrrhenian central Italy: Holocene population and landscape ecology.

Stoddart, Simon; Woodbridge, Jessie; Palmisano, Alessio; Mercuri, Anna Maria; Mensing, Scott Andrew; Colombaroli, Daniele; Sadori, Laura; Magri, Donatella; Di Rita, Federico; Giardini, Marco; Mariotti Lippi, Marta; Montanari, Carlo; Bellini, Cristina; Florenzano, Assunta; Torri, Paola; Bevan, Andrew; Shennan, Stephen; Fyfe, Ralph; Roberts, C Neil

This paper compares changes in vegetation structure and composition (using synthetic fossil pollen data) with proxy data for population levels (including settlements and radiocarbon dates) over the course of the last 10 millennia in Tyrrhenian central Italy. These data show generalised patterns of clearance of woodland in response both to early agriculturalists and urbanism, as well as the specific adoption of tree crops and variations in stock grazing. The results provide a comprehensive understanding of the development of the anthropogenised landscape of one of the most important early centres of European civilisation, showing regional trends as well as local variations.

ITALY; HOLOCENE palynology; LANDSCAPE ecology; FOSSIL pollen; RADIOCARBON dating; AGRICULTURAL scientists; CITIES & towns

Holocene, 2019, Vol 29, Issue 5, p761

0959-6836

Academic Journal

10.1177/0959683619826696