Books by Kevin Walsh
Archaeologists do not always differentiate between human activities, practices and techniques wit... more Archaeologists do not always differentiate between human activities, practices and techniques within landscape archaeology. This problem is reflected in some research into the development of pastoralism in the Alps. Here, we develop a framework within a "position paper" that engages with these different processes by assessing recent developments in bioarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental methods. Over the last two decades, alpine research has moved beyond the mere characterisation of human activities toward the classification and interpretation of specific practices and techniques, changing how we study the development of alpine pastoralism. Research into the development of mid-/long-distance transhumance from the Provencal plains to the Western Alps has generated considerable interest over the last 20 years. Therefore, the PATHWAy (Pastoralism, TransHumance in the Western Alps) project focuses on studying the Iron Age to Medieval pastoral systems in the Western Alps and southeastern France, which is today one of the main regions in Europe where transhumant pastoralism still takes place. Finally, this contribution aims to review how bioarchaeological methods, combined with "cultural" archaeology, inform detailed quotidian aspects of lifeways rather than impactful, mediatised generalising statements, such as mass population movements or simplistic generalisations about past diet.
Archaeologists do not always differentiate between human activities, practices and techniques wit... more Archaeologists do not always differentiate between human activities, practices and techniques within landscape archaeology. This problem is reflected in some research into the development of pastoralism in the Alps. Here, we develop a framework within a "position paper" that engages with these different processes by assessing recent developments in bioarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental methods. Over the last two decades, alpine research has moved beyond the mere characterisation of human activities toward the classification and interpretation of specific practices and techniques, changing how we study the development of alpine pastoralism. Research into the development of mid-/long-distance transhumance from the Provencal plains to the Western Alps has generated considerable interest over the last 20 years. Therefore, the PATHWAy (Pastoralism, TransHumance in the Western Alps) project focuses on studying the Iron Age to Medieval pastoral systems in the Western Alps and southeastern France, which is today one of the main regions in Europe where transhumant pastoralism still takes place. Finally, this contribution aims to review how bioarchaeological methods, combined with "cultural" archaeology, inform detailed quotidian aspects of lifeways rather than impactful, mediatised generalising statements, such as mass population movements or simplistic generalisations about past diet.
by Sophie Hueglin, Alexander Gramsch, Liisa Seppänen, Geoffrey Abbott, Dimitrij Mlekuz Vrhovnik, Marina Gallinaro, Thomas Reitmaier, Francesco Carrer, Kevin Walsh, Dominik Maschek, and Giorgio Verdiani Themes in Contemporary Archaeology, 2021
Petrification is a process, but it also can be understood as a concept. This volume takes the fir... more Petrification is a process, but it also can be understood as a concept. This volume takes the first steps to manifest, materialize or “petrify” the concept of “petrification” and turn it into a tool for analyzing material and social processes. The wide array of approaches to petrification as a process assembled here is more of a collection of possibilities than an attempt to establish a firm, law-generating theory. Divided into three parts, this volume’s twenty-plus authors explore petrification both as a theoretical concept and as a contextualized material and social process across geological, prehistoric and historic periods.
Topics connecting the various papers are properties of materials, preferences and choices of actors, the temporality of matter, being and becoming, the relationality between actors, matter, things and space (landscape, urban space, built space), and perceptions of the following generations dealing with the petrified matter, practices, and social relations. Contributors to this volume study specifically whether particular processes of petrification are confined to the material world or can be seen as mirroring, following, triggering, or contradicting changes in social life and general world views. Each of the authors explores – for a period or a specific feature – practices and changes that led to increased conformity and regularity. Some authors additionally focus on the methods and scrutinize them and their applications for their potential to create objects of investigation: things, people, periods, in order to raise awareness for these or to shape or “invent” categories. This volume is of interest to archaeologists, geologists, architectural historians, conservationists, and historians.
This volume presents a comprehensive review of palaeoenvironmental evidence and its incorporation... more This volume presents a comprehensive review of palaeoenvironmental evidence and its incorporation with landscape archaeology from across the Mediterranean. A fundamental aim of this book is to bridge the intellectual and methodological gaps between those with a background in archaeology and ancient history, and those who work in the palaeoenvironmental sciences. The aim of this volume is twofold: first, to provide archaeologists and landscape historians with a comprehensive overview of recent palaeoenvironmental research across the Mediterranean, and second, to consider ways in which this type of research can be integrated with what might be considered “mainstream” or “cultural” archaeology. This volume takes a thematic approach, assessing the ways in which environmental evidence is employed in different landscape types, from coastal zones via rivers and wetlands to islands and mountainous areas. This volume also presents analyses of how people have interacted with soils and vegetation, and revisits the key questions of human culpability in the creation of so-called degraded landscapes in the Mediterranean. It covers chronological periods from the Early Neolithic to the end of the Roman period.
Bridges the gap between environmental science and Mediterranean archaeology
A comprehensive review of the use of environmental evidence in archaeology from across the Mediterranean
The author has not only carried out research in the region, but has also lived there for much of the time since 1994
Conference Presentations by Kevin Walsh
The last ten years have seen significant developments in archaeological science, more specificall... more The last ten years have seen significant developments in archaeological science, more specifically within Bioarchaeology and palaeoenvironmental science (aDNA, isotopes, proteomics, lipid analyses etc.). Within mountain archaeology, these innovative methodologies have started to transform our understanding of the complex networks of economic and cultural activities, the mobility of people and animals and thereby, the web of human-environment interactions that operated across different temporal and spatial scales.
Prior to the emergence of these techniques, research across the higher altitudinal zones, in particular, was limited, due, in part to assumptions and preconceptions that characterised mountain areas in general and especially the higher altitudes as zones of marginal importance. Research projects that developed during the 1990s and 2000s have changed our understanding of mountain landscapes. More recently, the emergence of new bioarchaeological techniques has greatly facilitated our ability to engage with complex questions and theoretical nature relating to mobility, variations in diet and economy, heterogeneous landscape trajectories. In this session, we hope to consider how these methods inform our understanding of a wide range of human practices and activities in mountain environments: from the development of short and long-distance transhumance, mining, trade and exchange, human mobility and changes in diet and health. In addition, we wish to consider how these activities, combined with the complex phases of climatic change, affected mountain environments. We aim to attract contributions from colleagues who work within in both low altitude/valley-bottom zones as well as those researching the higher-altitudinal areas.
This session will aim to involve colleagues working in mountain ranges. Although our aim is to consider the application of bioarchaeological methodologies, as suggested above, we also wish to include contributions that deal with theoretical frameworks that address issues relating to human and animal mobility, socio-ecological trajectories, and the evolution of environmental knowledge in mountain environments.
Collaborations by Kevin Walsh
The AHRC-funded project, Protohistoric to Medieval pastoralism in the Western Alps: The origins a... more The AHRC-funded project, Protohistoric to Medieval pastoralism in the Western Alps: The origins and development of long-distance transhumance, aims to study the development of long-distance pastoral transhumance (the management and movement of animals between lowland to high altitude pasture) in the Western Alps, from the Iron Age to the Medieval Period.
Gallia, 2005
Zusammenfassung Eine von 1998 bis 2003 an der antiken Fundstelle von Richeaume I (Puyloubier, Dép... more Zusammenfassung Eine von 1998 bis 2003 an der antiken Fundstelle von Richeaume I (Puyloubier, Dép. Bouches-du-Rhône) durchgeführte Plangrabung führte zur Entdeckung einer ausgedehnten Villenanlage. Sie nimmt eine Fläche von mehr als 5. 000 m2 ein und war vom ersten Jahrhundert v. Chr. bis zu Beginn des sechsten Jahrhunderts n. Chr. belegt. Sie war durch eine Wasserleitung versorgt, die die Quellen im Norden des Geländes faβt, und von einer bestimmten Anzahl ländlicher Siedelplätze umgeben, die häufig schon in der jüngeren Eisenzeit bestanden. Die auf 2.000 m2 freigelegten archäologischen Überreste betreffen die Wohnbereiche und die landwirtschaftlichen Bereiche der frühkaiserzeitlichen und spätantiken Villa sowie verschiedene wasserbauliche Vorrichtungen (Zierbecken, Leitungskanäle, Abwasserleitungen, Staumauern, Entwässerungsgräben und Reste der Wasserleitung). Die hier vorgetragenen Überlegungen beziehen sich auf die wasserbaulichen Anlagen, die durch geophysikalische Prospektion und archäologische Grabungen auf dem Osthang des Platzes zwischen 315,94 m und 314,05 m ü. N. N. entdeckt wurden. Von diesen Anlagen (Staumauer, Altarm eines Gewässerlaufs, Abschnitte der Wasserleitung) fallen insbesondere Überreste einer Wasserleitung auf die man nur mit der Wasserversorgung der Wohn-und Stallbereiche der weiter bergauf gelegenen Villa in Verbindung bringen kann. Die beschriebene Vorrichtung, bei der die stark abschüssige Hanglage die Errichtung eines gewaltigen Unterbaus erzwang, dürfte mit der Versorgung eines der benachbarten Gebäude zusammenhängen, dessen genaue Funktion noch zu untersuchen wäre. Übersetzung : Stefan WlRTH Gallic, 62, 2005, p. 1-170
Papers since 2000 by Kevin Walsh
Nature Communications, 2022
The European Alps are highly rich in species, but their future may be threa- tened by ongoing cha... more The European Alps are highly rich in species, but their future may be threa- tened by ongoing changes in human land use and climate. Here, we recon- structed vegetation, temperature, human impact and livestock over the past ~12,000 years from Lake Sulsseewli, based on sedimentary ancient plant and mammal DNA, pollen, spores, chironomids, and microcharcoal.We assembled a highly-complete local DNA reference library (PhyloAlps, 3923 plant taxa), and used this to obtain an exceptionally rich sedaDNA record of 366 plant taxa. Vegetation mainly responded to climate during the early Holocene, while human activity had an additional influence on vegetation from 6 ka onwards. Land-use shifted from episodic grazing during theNeolithic and Bronze Age to agropastoralism in the Middle Ages. Associated human deforestation allowed the coexistence of plant species typically found at different elevational belts, leading to levels ofplant richness that characterise the current high diversity of this region. Our findings indicate a positive association between low intensity agropastoral activities and precipitation with the maintenance of the unique subalpine and alpine plant diversity of the European Alps.
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2021
The reconstruction of millennial-scale interactions between ecosystems and societies can provide ... more The reconstruction of millennial-scale interactions between ecosystems and societies can provide unique and valuable references for understanding the creation of cultural landscapes and help elucidate their value, weaknesses and legacies. Among the most emblematic forms of Mediterranean land use, olive groves and pastoralism have occupied a prominent place. Therefore, it is vital to know when, how, and with what ecological consequences these practices were established and developed. Located in the southern part of the Aegean Sea, Crete is the largest island of Greece. The island is characterised by a long human history of land use, but our understanding of past environmental changes for the entire Holocene is fragmentary. This paper presents a new investigation of Lake Kournas in Crete, where recent coring provided a 15-m sequence covering ten millennia of land cover and land-use history. The study of this new core involves the analysis of the sediment dynamics, flood deposits, pollen, diatoms, fungal and algal remains, and microcharcoals. Results show that ecosystem development near Lake Kournas was not a linear process. They reveal linkages and feedbacks between vegetation, biodiversity, fire, human impact, erosion, and climate change. A possible human occupation and agro-pastoral activities around the lake may have been detected as early as 9500 cal BP, perhaps in a transitional phase between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic. At 8500 cal BP, climatic conditions may have promoted the expansion of the evergreen oak woodland. However, human impact was probably the most important driver of ecosystem change with the establishment of an agro-system after 8000 years ago. Thereafter, the trajectory of Kournas’ lake and catchment ecosystems from the Mid to Late Holocene follow the rhythm of land-use change. Among the traditional Mediterranean land uses, olive cultivation locally played a major role in the socio-ecosystem interactions, providing economic benefits but also destabilising soils. During the last six millennia, three main phases of olive cultivation occurred during the Final Neolithic-Minoan period, the Hellenistic-Roman-Byzantine (HRB) period and Modern times. Along with the changing land use under the successive political and economic influences rules, the resilience capacities of vegetation permitted it to shift back to higher biodiversity again after decreasing phases. Forest vegetation was always able to recover until the onset of the Venetian period (13th century), when woodlands were dramatically reduced. Only during the past century has forest vegetation slightly recovered, while the flood regime had already been altered during previous centuries. During the past 100 years, biodiversity markedly declined, probably in response to the industrialization of agriculture.
World Archaeology, 2021
Terraces are highly productive, culturally distinctive socioecological systems. Although they for... more Terraces are highly productive, culturally distinctive socioecological systems. Although they form part of time/place-specific debates, terraces per se have been neglected-fields on slopes or landscape elements. We argue that this is due to mapping and dating problems, and lack of artefacts/ecofacts. However, new techniques can overcome some of these constraints, allowing us to re-engage with theoretical debates around agricultural intensification. Starting from neo-Broserupian propositions, we can engage with the sociopolitical and environmental aspects of terrace emergence, maintenance and abandonment. Non-reductionist avenues include identifying and dating different phases of development within single terrace systems, identifying a full crop-range, and other activities not generally associated with terraces (e.g. metallurgy). The proposition here is that terraces are a multi-facetted investment that includes both intensification and diversification and can occur under a range of social conditions but which constitutes a response to demographic pressure in the face to fluctuating environmental conditions.
Geomorphology, 2021
25 Terraces and lynchets are ubiquitous worldwide, and particularly within Europe, can provide 26... more 25 Terraces and lynchets are ubiquitous worldwide, and particularly within Europe, can provide 26 increasingly important Ecosystem Services (ESs) which may be able to mitigate aspects of climate 27 change. They are also a major cause of non-linearity between climate and erosion rates in 28 agricultural systems as noted from alluvial and colluvial studies. New research in the 'critical zone' 29 has shown that we must now treat soil production as an ecologically sensitive variable with 30 implications for soil carbon sequestration. In this review and synthesis paper we present a modified 31 classification of agricultural terraces, review the theoretical background of both terraces and 32 lynchets, and show how new techniques are transforming the study of these widespread and often 33 ancient anthropogenic landforms. Indeed the problems of dating terraces and also the time-34 consuming nature of costly surveys has held back the geomorphological and geoarchaeological study 35 of terraces until now. The suite of techniques available now, and reviewed here, includes Digital 36 Terrain Models (DTMs) from Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry, Airborne and Terrestrial 37 Laser Scanning (ALS-TLS); the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL and pOSL), portable x-ray 38 fluorescence (pXRF), Fourier-transform infra red analysis (FTIR), phytoliths from plants, and 39 potentially environmental DNA. Three process-related geomorphological questions arise from using 40 this suite of methods; a) can they provide both a chronology of formation and use history, b) can we 41 identify the sources of all the soil components? And c) can terrace soil formation and ecosystem 42 services be modelled at the slope to catchment scale? The answers to these questions can also 43 inform the management of the large areas of abandoned and under-used terraces that are resulting 44
Journal Mediterranean Archaeology, 2020
Open access for the moment
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The Jebel Ouss... more Open access for the moment
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The Jebel Ousselat, on the eastern edge of the Atlas Mountains in Tunisia, is a semi-arid, degraded upland landscape; in many ways, it is a marginal environment. Here we present evidence from the early to middleHolocene (ca. 6200–4200 bc), a period of significant climate change in the wider region, moving from the African Humid Period towards an arid environment and the development to the south of the Saharan desert. Employing rock art and lithic evidence from across the landscape, we consider how these strands ofarchaeological evidence intersect and facilitate the description of human–environment interactions that were wholly different from those we see today. The interpretation of the full range of sites is underpinned by a landscape/environmental framework that considers site location and relationships with topography and hydrology. We also develop a socio-ecological approach that avoids environmental determinism but willingly accepts the role that the environment plays in contributing to the structure of human activity in a complex landscape. The art and archaeology of the Jebel Ousselat reflect complex interactions during a period of environmental, economic and cultural change. We feel that the art is not a mere reflection of food procurement but instead points to the production of complex socio-ecological relationships during a period of transition.
Remote Sensing, 2020
Agricultural terraced landscapes, which are important historical heritage sites (e.g., UNESCO or ... more Agricultural terraced landscapes, which are important historical heritage sites (e.g., UNESCO or Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) sites) are under threat from increased soil degradation due to climate change and land abandonment. Remote sensing can assist in the assessment and monitoring of such cultural ecosystem services. However, due to the limitations imposed by rugged topography and the occurrence of vegetation, the application of a single high-resolution topography (HRT) technique is challenging in these particular agricultural environments. Therefore, data fusion of HRT techniques (terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and aerial/terrestrial structure from motion (SfM)) was tested for the first time in this context (terraces), to the best of our knowledge, to overcome specific detection problems such as the complex topographic and landcover conditions of the terrace systems. SfM-TLS data fusion methodology was trialed in order to produce very high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) of two agricultural terrace areas, both characterized by the presence of vegetation that covers parts of the subvertical surfaces, complex morphology, and inaccessible areas. In the unreachable areas, it was necessary to find effective solutions to carry out HRT surveys; therefore, we tested the direct georeferencing (DG) method, exploiting onboard multifrequency GNSS receivers for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and postprocessing kinematic (PPK) data. The results showed that the fusion of data based on different methods and acquisition platforms is required to obtain accurate DTMs that reflect the real surface roughness of terrace systems without gaps in data. Moreover, in inaccessible or hazardous terrains, a combination of direct and indirect georeferencing was a useful solution to reduce the substantial inconvenience and cost of ground control point (GCP) placement. We show that in order to obtain a precise data fusion in these complex conditions, it is essential to utilize a complete and specific workflow. This workflow must incorporate all data merging issues and landcover condition problems, encompassing the survey planning step, the coregistration process, and the error analysis of the outputs. The high-resolution DTMs realized can provide a starting point for land degradation process assessment of these agriculture environments and supplies useful information to stakeholders for better management and protection of such important heritage landscapes.
Human Ecology, 2020
Human interaction with mountain environments is generally perceived as an adaptation of local com... more Human interaction with mountain environments is generally perceived as an adaptation of local communities to the constraining ecological and morphological characteristics of their territory, a preconception challenged by many historians and ecologists yet still largely accepted for seasonally exploited uplands. Traditional upland seasonal practices are considered timeless and immutable as the mountain landscapes shaped by such practices. We combine the methodologies of landscape archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, and historical ecology in order to examine the validity of this assumption. Our analysis of two case studies from the French and Italian Alps between the eighteenth and the twenty-first century shows that socioeconomic dynamics affect the resilience of local montane ecosystems and the historical character of upland landscapes, and reveals that historical social, economic, and ecological driving forces contributed to upland landscape change, so that the sustainability of ‘traditional’ mountain land-use should not be presumed.
LA CONQUÊTE DE LA MONTAGNE : DES PREMIÈRES OCCUPATIONS HUMAINES À L’ANTHROPISATION DU MILIEU, 2019
Research conducted for over twenty years in the Southern French Alps has highlighted the presence... more Research conducted for over twenty years in the Southern French Alps has highlighted the presence and intensity of human mobility in the core of this region since prehistoric times. Surveyed and excavated sites are numerous in the sub-alpine zone (1,500 – 2,300 m). The study of lithic and ceramic material allows us to consider connections with other territories and infer exchange and circulation networks over a range of distances. The same is true for certain types of ritual sites. The study of rock art, based on the assessment of the similar forms and techniques apparent at a number of sites, allows us to consider the question of the mobility of ideas at the European scale from the Neolithic onwards. Three emblematic sites have been chosen to illustrate this subject: the Faravel rock shelter (Freissinières, Hautes-Alpes, 2,133 m) in Les Écrins National Park, the Oullas shelter (Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, Alpes-de-Haute- Provence, 2,390 m) and the Sagnes burnt-mound (Jausiers, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 1,900 m) in the Upper Ubaye
Nature: Scientific Reports, 2019
Over the last decade, an increasing number of studies have used lake sediment DNA to trace past l... more Over the last decade, an increasing number of studies have used lake sediment DNA to trace past landscape changes, agricultural activities or human presence. However, the processes responsible for lake sediment formation and sediment properties might affect DNA records via taphonomic and analytical processes. It is crucial to understand these processes to ensure reliable interpretations for “palaeo” studies. Here, we combined plant and mammal DNA metabarcoding analyses with sedimentological and geochemical analyses from three lake-catchment systems that are characterised by different erosion dynamics. The new insights derived from this approach elucidate and assess issues relating to DNA sources and transfer processes. The sources of eroded materials strongly affect the “catchment-DNA” concentration in the sediments. For instance, erosion of upper organic and organo-mineral soil horizons provides a higher amount of plant DNA in lake sediments than deep horizons, bare soils or glacial flours. Moreover, high erosion rates, along with a well-developed hydrographic network, are proposed as factors positively affecting the representation of the catchment flora. The development of open and agricultural landscapes, which favour the erosion, could thus bias the reconstructed landscape trajectory but help the record of these human activities. Regarding domestic animals, pastoral practices and animal behaviour might affect their DNA record because they control the type of source of DNA (“point” vs. “diffuse”).
Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, 2019
Today, some still consider the higher elevations of the European Alps as mostly wild or “natural”... more Today, some still consider the higher elevations of the European Alps as mostly wild or “natural” landscapes; biomes that have to some extent avoided the consequences of human economic activities. This article explains how this notion is misplaced via an overview of the interplay of climate, topography and human activity. Offering a synthesis of recent research from across the alpine arc, this contribution considers how human-environment interactions have developed through the Holocene. The evidence employed here focusses on palaeoenvironmental archaeological evidence spanning the Alps, from Austria to France.
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Books by Kevin Walsh
Topics connecting the various papers are properties of materials, preferences and choices of actors, the temporality of matter, being and becoming, the relationality between actors, matter, things and space (landscape, urban space, built space), and perceptions of the following generations dealing with the petrified matter, practices, and social relations. Contributors to this volume study specifically whether particular processes of petrification are confined to the material world or can be seen as mirroring, following, triggering, or contradicting changes in social life and general world views. Each of the authors explores – for a period or a specific feature – practices and changes that led to increased conformity and regularity. Some authors additionally focus on the methods and scrutinize them and their applications for their potential to create objects of investigation: things, people, periods, in order to raise awareness for these or to shape or “invent” categories. This volume is of interest to archaeologists, geologists, architectural historians, conservationists, and historians.
Bridges the gap between environmental science and Mediterranean archaeology
A comprehensive review of the use of environmental evidence in archaeology from across the Mediterranean
The author has not only carried out research in the region, but has also lived there for much of the time since 1994
Conference Presentations by Kevin Walsh
Prior to the emergence of these techniques, research across the higher altitudinal zones, in particular, was limited, due, in part to assumptions and preconceptions that characterised mountain areas in general and especially the higher altitudes as zones of marginal importance. Research projects that developed during the 1990s and 2000s have changed our understanding of mountain landscapes. More recently, the emergence of new bioarchaeological techniques has greatly facilitated our ability to engage with complex questions and theoretical nature relating to mobility, variations in diet and economy, heterogeneous landscape trajectories. In this session, we hope to consider how these methods inform our understanding of a wide range of human practices and activities in mountain environments: from the development of short and long-distance transhumance, mining, trade and exchange, human mobility and changes in diet and health. In addition, we wish to consider how these activities, combined with the complex phases of climatic change, affected mountain environments. We aim to attract contributions from colleagues who work within in both low altitude/valley-bottom zones as well as those researching the higher-altitudinal areas.
This session will aim to involve colleagues working in mountain ranges. Although our aim is to consider the application of bioarchaeological methodologies, as suggested above, we also wish to include contributions that deal with theoretical frameworks that address issues relating to human and animal mobility, socio-ecological trajectories, and the evolution of environmental knowledge in mountain environments.
Collaborations by Kevin Walsh
Papers since 2000 by Kevin Walsh
https://journals.equinoxpub.com/JMA/article/view/42344
The Jebel Ousselat, on the eastern edge of the Atlas Mountains in Tunisia, is a semi-arid, degraded upland landscape; in many ways, it is a marginal environment. Here we present evidence from the early to middleHolocene (ca. 6200–4200 bc), a period of significant climate change in the wider region, moving from the African Humid Period towards an arid environment and the development to the south of the Saharan desert. Employing rock art and lithic evidence from across the landscape, we consider how these strands ofarchaeological evidence intersect and facilitate the description of human–environment interactions that were wholly different from those we see today. The interpretation of the full range of sites is underpinned by a landscape/environmental framework that considers site location and relationships with topography and hydrology. We also develop a socio-ecological approach that avoids environmental determinism but willingly accepts the role that the environment plays in contributing to the structure of human activity in a complex landscape. The art and archaeology of the Jebel Ousselat reflect complex interactions during a period of environmental, economic and cultural change. We feel that the art is not a mere reflection of food procurement but instead points to the production of complex socio-ecological relationships during a period of transition.
Topics connecting the various papers are properties of materials, preferences and choices of actors, the temporality of matter, being and becoming, the relationality between actors, matter, things and space (landscape, urban space, built space), and perceptions of the following generations dealing with the petrified matter, practices, and social relations. Contributors to this volume study specifically whether particular processes of petrification are confined to the material world or can be seen as mirroring, following, triggering, or contradicting changes in social life and general world views. Each of the authors explores – for a period or a specific feature – practices and changes that led to increased conformity and regularity. Some authors additionally focus on the methods and scrutinize them and their applications for their potential to create objects of investigation: things, people, periods, in order to raise awareness for these or to shape or “invent” categories. This volume is of interest to archaeologists, geologists, architectural historians, conservationists, and historians.
Bridges the gap between environmental science and Mediterranean archaeology
A comprehensive review of the use of environmental evidence in archaeology from across the Mediterranean
The author has not only carried out research in the region, but has also lived there for much of the time since 1994
Prior to the emergence of these techniques, research across the higher altitudinal zones, in particular, was limited, due, in part to assumptions and preconceptions that characterised mountain areas in general and especially the higher altitudes as zones of marginal importance. Research projects that developed during the 1990s and 2000s have changed our understanding of mountain landscapes. More recently, the emergence of new bioarchaeological techniques has greatly facilitated our ability to engage with complex questions and theoretical nature relating to mobility, variations in diet and economy, heterogeneous landscape trajectories. In this session, we hope to consider how these methods inform our understanding of a wide range of human practices and activities in mountain environments: from the development of short and long-distance transhumance, mining, trade and exchange, human mobility and changes in diet and health. In addition, we wish to consider how these activities, combined with the complex phases of climatic change, affected mountain environments. We aim to attract contributions from colleagues who work within in both low altitude/valley-bottom zones as well as those researching the higher-altitudinal areas.
This session will aim to involve colleagues working in mountain ranges. Although our aim is to consider the application of bioarchaeological methodologies, as suggested above, we also wish to include contributions that deal with theoretical frameworks that address issues relating to human and animal mobility, socio-ecological trajectories, and the evolution of environmental knowledge in mountain environments.
https://journals.equinoxpub.com/JMA/article/view/42344
The Jebel Ousselat, on the eastern edge of the Atlas Mountains in Tunisia, is a semi-arid, degraded upland landscape; in many ways, it is a marginal environment. Here we present evidence from the early to middleHolocene (ca. 6200–4200 bc), a period of significant climate change in the wider region, moving from the African Humid Period towards an arid environment and the development to the south of the Saharan desert. Employing rock art and lithic evidence from across the landscape, we consider how these strands ofarchaeological evidence intersect and facilitate the description of human–environment interactions that were wholly different from those we see today. The interpretation of the full range of sites is underpinned by a landscape/environmental framework that considers site location and relationships with topography and hydrology. We also develop a socio-ecological approach that avoids environmental determinism but willingly accepts the role that the environment plays in contributing to the structure of human activity in a complex landscape. The art and archaeology of the Jebel Ousselat reflect complex interactions during a period of environmental, economic and cultural change. We feel that the art is not a mere reflection of food procurement but instead points to the production of complex socio-ecological relationships during a period of transition.
Go to article Table of Contents.
Une décennie fe Modifications des Approches d’archéologie Programmée et Préventive en Préhistoire Récente dans le Département des Hautes-Alpes (1998-2012) Sur la base d’acquis contrastés, la première décennie des années 2000 correspond, dans le département des Hautes-Alpes, à l’engagement et au développement de nouvelles approches d’archéologie programmée visant à mieux appréhender les sites en milieu d’altitude, notamment pour la Préhistoire récente. Parallèlement, un important renouvellement méthodologique des interventions d’archéologie préventive a également permis la mise au jour de données inédites pour cette période. Un regard croisé sur l’archéologie programmée et préventive sur un même territoire, nous permet de mesurer les acquis scientifiques de ces évolutions méthodologiques. Ceux-ci, concernent par exemple, la mise en évidence de fréquentations de haute montagne, notamment mésolithiques, et d’habitats néolithiques structurés de vallées. L’analyse de ces données conforte notre intérêt à adapter ou à renouveler des approches de détection et d’étude spécifiques
often emphasizes changes in technology and the emergence of associated objects and art forms, changes in burial
rites, and developments in economic practices. Notions relating to the evolution of homo economicus dominate
many of the discourses, and the evidence for increased long-distance trade / contact across Europe is used to bolster
this assessment. These themes are underpinned by an obsession with ever-refined chrono-typological phases. In
an attempt to present a more socially embedded perspective, this paper considers the changes that occurred in the
uses of the high-altitude, sub-alpine, and alpine zones in the southern French Alps during the third and second
millennia BC. From c. 2500 BC onwards, there was a fundamental change in the use of and engagement with
this landscape. The first substantial stone-built pastoral structures at high altitude (2000 m and above), appear
at this time. This departure in the use and structuring of the alpine space would have included concomitant
changes in the nature of mobility, notions of territory, and memories associated with this area.
islands by island group. For geomorphological reasons islands have not received as much attention from fluvial
geomorphologists as the continental areas surrounding the Mediterranean. However, the studies that have been undertaken, suggest that they can reveal both climatic and cultural drivers of erosion and sedimentation from relatively small catchments. Although more research is needed, the preliminary analysis published here, suggests that during the mid-Holocene ca. 3000 BC to 800 BC, and the later Holocene, ca. 400 BC to 1600 AD, many islands experienced elevated rates of fluvial activity. Both periods, and particularly the earlier period are the result of climatic fluctuations combined with agriculture and cleared landscapes. At present the Little Ice Age signal appears to be less strong than it is on the continent although it has been recognised in Corsica and Crete. Due to their bounded nature and generally distinct cultural history islands do, however, offer excellent opportunities to research the non-linear relationships between culture, climatic change and fluvial response
The Sainte Victoire Mountain comprises a 1000-m high, 10-km long massif that stands out as an enigmatic form in the Aixois hinterland. Archaeological survey, excavation and environmental evidence from the mountain and its abutting plain will be presented within a framework that assesses population dynamics in this marginal rural area during the Roman period. We will consider the nature of landscape management and engagement with natural environmental processes. We will also consider issues of continuity/discontinuity of settlement and tenure, as well as practices associated with funeral rites. The principal case study employed is the Richeaume villa and associated Necropolis.