Prehistoric anthropic pastures in the western italian Alps are as old as the onset of the Copper Age

What is it about?

The paper addresses the origin and development of the oldest prehistoric pasture in the timberline ecotone known so far in the Alps and its relation to anthropogenic pressure and natural climate change. Paleoecological and geochemical techniques were applied on the Crotte Basse mire stratigraphy (2365 m asl, northwestern Italy) to describe changes in vegetation composition, forest biomass, land use and fertilization between ca. 6400 - 1800 yrs cal BP. We demonstrate that subalpine forests dominated by Pinus cembra occurred at very high-altitude up to ca. 5600 yrs cal BP, when a sharp contraction of woody vegetation took place. This major vegetation shift is matched by increasing charcoal input and markers of pastoral/grazing activities (pollen, dung spores, and forms of phosphorus) in the sediment sequence in this small basin. Interestingly, major phases of landscape change detected in our multiproxy record chronologically match intervals of cumulative probability density of 14C ages from nearby archaeological sites, suggesting that human activity was the factor leading to massive landscape change from the onset of the Copper Age (ca. 5600 yrs cal BP). The change may have been reinforced by climate variability in the period 5700 - 5300 years cal BP. Mt. Fallère provides some of the oldest and consistent evidence so far available in the Alps for major anthropogenic pressure at the upper forest limit. As far back as 5600 cal years BP, high-elevation forest ecosystems were permanently disrupted and the alpine pastures were created. Palaeoecological data enable a clear distinction between a random and sporadic use of the alpine space, typical for Mesolithic and Neolithic societies, and an organized seasonal exploitation of natural resources, starting from the Copper Age onwards. The chronological comparison of independent climate proxies, paleoecological information and pollen-based temperature reconstructions sheds light on the relationships between climate and humans since prehistoric times.

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Why is it important?

This is the oldest-known so far found evidence of an anthropic pasture in the timberline ecotone of the Alps, dating back to the onset of the Copper Age.

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