Ecosistemi naturali ed ecologia umana in Valcamonica a partire dall'ultima deglaciazione

Valcamonica is traditionally an area of archaeological investigations. Started in the last century, surveys and excavations revealed ceremonial and votive structures, necropolis, remnants of huts, seasonal camps, settlements. Rock art sites deserve special attention. Thousand of prehistoric and historic images carved on rocks were identified in more than 180 sites located along the valley. Archaeological evidence documents the interest that humans had, since the Upper Palaeolithic, for Valcamonica and adjacent valleys, making this area a hotspot for disentangling the history of ecological relationships between peopling, environment and climate change. This paper provides a synthesis on regional landscapes, climate and human history in Valcamonica since the last deglaciation.

Integrating the picture provided in a previous publication, archaeological data will be coupled with palaeoecological information and 14C chronologies from stratigraphic archives (lakes and mires) to depict past landscapes, land use changes and human activities. Focussing on selected time windows, reconstructions of past plant environments and data on presence and typologies of human settlements and activities will be provided and discussed. [Publisher's text]