SESS 0_retro e indice edi.pub Il Quaternario Italian Journal of Quaternary Sciences 24, (Abstract AIQUA, Roma 02/2011), Congresso AIQUA Il Quaternario Italiano: conoscenze e prospettive Roma 24 e 25 febbraio 2011 HOLOCENE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES RECONSTRUCTED IN TWO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN CALABRIA (SOUTHERN ITALY): A PEDOLOGICAL AND ANTHRACOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Teresa Pelle 1, Fabio Scarciglia 1, Emilia Allevato 2, Gaetano Di Pasquale 2, Mauro F. La Russa 1, Domenico Marino 3, Elena Natali 4, Gaetano Robustelli 1 & Vincenzo Tinè 4 1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università della Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende (CS) 2Laboratorio di Storia della Vegetazione e Anatomia del Legno, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, Dipartimento di Arboricoltura, Botanica e Patologia Vegetale, Portici (NA) 3Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Calabria, Ufficio Territoriale della Sila, Crotone 4Soprintendenza Speciale al Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico “L. Pigorini”, Roma Corresponding author: T. Pelle ABSTRACT: Pelle T. et al., Holocene environmental changes reconstructed in two archaeological sites in Calabria (southern Italy): a pedological and anthracological perspective. (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2011) A reconstruction of Holocene climatic and environmental changes in two archaeological sites of SW and N-central Calabria (southern Italy) is proposed in this paper, based on a comparison of geoarchaeological, pedological and pedo- anthracological data from soil profiles in the coastal hilly and inland mountainous surroundings of Palmi and Cecita Lake, respectively. RIASSUNTO: Pelle T. et al., Ricostruzione dei cambiamenti ambientali olocenici in due siti archeologici della Calabria (Italia meridionale): una prospettiva pedologica ed antracologica. (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2011) In questo lavoro viene proposta una ricostruzione delle variazioni climatiche ed ambientali avvenute nel corso dell’Olocene in due siti archeologici della Calabria sud-occidentale e centro-settentrionale (Italia meridionale). Essa si basa sul confronto di dati geoarcheologici, pedologici e pedoantracologici relativi ad alcuni profili di suolo nelle vicinanze di Palmi e del Lago Cecita, rispettivamente in un’area collinare costiera e montana interna. Key words: soil features; pedoanthracology; Holocene climatic changes; human impact; deforestation Parole chiave: caratteri pedologici; pedoantracologia; cambiamenti climatici olocenici; impatto antropico; deforestazione The study of Holocene paleoclimate and paleoen- vironments represents a topical issue in the recent scientific literature, because of its time immediacy and connection with modern climatic changes. Great interest is focused on exploring cause-effect relationships between climate modifications and cultural dynamics across this period, as well as on estimating their mutual role in changing environ- ments. This paper deals with the reconstruction of climatic and environmental changes recorded in some Holocene soil profiles from two archaeological sites in Calabria (southern Italy). They were exca- vated in the surroundings of Palmi and Cecita Lake, located in southwestern coastal and north- central inland Calabria, respectively. An integrated archaeological, pedostratigraphic and paleobotani- cal (pedoanthracological) approach was applied. In particular, archaeological finds and settlements of different epochs provide useful chronological con- straints; mineralogical, physical, chemical, macro- and micromorphological soil features are used as proxies of climatic conditions and man’s activities; macroscopic soil charcoal content derived from in situ natural or anthropogenic fires represents a reliable detailed indicator (complementary to tradi- tional pollen-based methods) of diachronic vegeta- tion changes on a local scale (e.g. DI PASQUALE et al., 2007). The excavation close to Palmi (Piani della Corona site) is located on a wide terrace at about 500 m a.s.l., along the southern Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, characterized by a typical stair-like se- quence of Pleistocene marine terraces (e.g. TOR- TORICI et al., 2003). It exposed a pedostratigraphic succession partly described by BERNASCONI et al. (2010). Deep argillic (Btb) horizons with variable amounts of clay coatings stacked within pores in- clude late Neolithic settlements and artifacts (about 6500-5800 years BP). They are partly truncated and buried by anthropogenically disturbed surface organic-mineral (Ap) horizons, that display re- peated ploughing traces of undifferentiated histori- cal epochs, separated by a late early Bronze Age paleosurface (about 4000-3700 years BP). This surface is in turn affected by marks of archaeologi- cal structures, ploughing and various excavations, often filled with organic-rich soil material derived from overlying A horizons. The archaeological soils from Cecita, a nowadays 197 - 199 198 artificial lake which occupies a paleo-lake depres- sion in the Sila Massif upland (e.g. SCARCIGLIA et al., 2005, 2008), occur on fluvio-lacustrine terraces at about 1130-1140 m a.s.l. Their main features are described by PELLE et al. (2010). They span from late Neolithic/early Eneolithic (about 5800- 5350 years BP) to Greek (6th to 3rd century BC) and Roman times (3rd century BC – 6th century AD). We focused on late prehistoric and Roman soils, because at present the Greek site is sub- merged about 6 m below lake level. They all con- sist of surface A horizons, in places affected by repeated prehistoric to modern ploughing traces (Ap). These organic-mineral horizons may include very scarce clay coatings in pores, which become more abundant in the Neolithic soil, where the A horizon overlies a Bw horizon. Above soils from both sites partly developed on volcanic ash and display variable Andisol-like fea- tures (IUSS WORKING GROUP WRB, 2006; SOIL SURVEY STAFF, 2010) related to formation of some amounts of short-range order minerals. Volcanic parent material mainly consists of very small pum- ices with rhyolitic composition, identified and ana- lyzed at the microscale using SEM-EDS. Their composition, the pedostratigrahic position and some radiometric dates suggest a provenance from late Pleistocene/Holocene explosive erup- tions of the Aeolian Islands (SCARCIGLIA et al., 2008; BERNASCONI et al., 2010), about 80 to 170 km far to the southwest (from Palmi and Cecita Lake, respectively). Micromorphological observations performed in thin sections prepared from undisturbed soil samples, highlighted the occurrence of clay coatings in the Neolithic layers of both sites, and their relict (present-day inactive) significance (cf. CATT, 1989), testified by smooth-banded to grainy extinc- tion pattern in crossed polarized light and fragmen- tation (e.g. FITZPATRICK, 1984; KEMP, 1998). These features, coupled with the dominance of phyllosili- cate clays identified by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Fourier transformed infrared spectros- copy (FTIR) in the same horizons, suggest climatic conditions characterized by high moisture availabil- ity and some seasonal contrast, enhanced by a warm-humid climate. Therefore, main soil develop- ment may have occurred during the late early- middle Holocene climatic optimum (SCARCIGLIA et al., 2005, 2008; BERNASCONI et al., 2010; PELLE et al., 2010). The post-Neolithic soil horizons (Roman age at Cecita and undetermined at Palmi) show more abundant short-range order minerals than phyllosilicates (XRD, FTIR and geochemical pa- rameters) and no to very rare clay coatings, that suggest climatic changes towards overall pro- longed humid (and probably cooler) conditions. The lack of a distinct and continuous chronological record for the post-Neolithic soil horizons from Palmi and Cecita dos not permit a detailed recon- struction and interpretation of late Holocene cli- matic changes and their extent in these sites. How- ever, above humid/cool conditions during the late Holocene could be related to repeated phases of higher lake levels documented from middle Europe to central Italy around 2700-2500, ~1800 and 1300 -1000 years BP (MAGNY, 2004; GIRAUDI, 2007). Moreover, between the distinct climatic phases identified during and after the Neolithic, a severe land degradation is recorded. It is testified by hu- man impact (deforestation, cultivation and other activities) and soil erosion. Pedoanthracological data from Cecita give good evidence of it. In fact, charcoal fragments from Neolithic soils are domi- nated by deciduous oak-forest (mainly Quercus deciduous type), whereas a transition to a moun- tain pine forest dominated by Pinus sylvestris group (probably Pinus laricio) is recorded in the Roman soils. Preliminary soil charcoal data from Palmi suggest a stability of a deciduous forest cover dominated by oaks. In fact, this taxon is pre- sent both in the Neolithic and in the post-Bronze Age horizons. Finally it is noteworthy the presence of Abies alba, belonging today only to mountain vegetation, identified in a Neolithic horizon. Both the data concerning the silver fir and post-Bronze oaks need to be dated with AMS technique. It cannot be ruled out that also some effects of cli- mate drying (one or more episodes known in the literature; e.g. SAURO et al., 2003; MAYEWSKI, 2004; DI DONATO et al., 2008; DI RITA & MAGRI, 2009) could have enhanced land degradation after the Neolithic climatic optimum. 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