Landscape Archaeology Conference 2016
Uppsala (Suècia), del 23 al 25 d'agost
Recent landscape archaeology research on high mountain environments has been mainly characterised by the integration of palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data. However, some difficulties arise when attempting to integrate both datasets. Whereas palaeoenvironmental studies provide data characterised by high temporal resolution but low spatial resolution, archaeological studies provide important cultural data, which is restricted chronologically but very accurate in spatial terms. Hence, it is difficult to reach a proper correlation of cultural practices and their effects on the environment. The present work aims to provide a new approach to this problem in the framework of a multidisciplinary landscape archaeology project in a high-mountain area. Soil analyses are being conducted in the profiles excavated inside and outside archaeological structures, including topsoil, occupation levels, and layers below in order to thoroughly characterise taphonomical processes. The studied sediments correspond to huts and enclosures located at high-altitude (2000- 2500 m.a.s.l) dated from the Neolithic to the Medieval period. Furthermore, horizons with archaeological evidence are being studied through micromorphological analysis to improve the microstratigraphic resolution of local sequences. Diachronical comparison of the results provided by these different contexts will allow production of a relative chronology of both human occupation and environmental processes. Additionally, high-resolution continuous sedimentary sequences obtained from local peatbogs have been extracted to conduct multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental studies. The pedological analysis of these histosoils will establish the relationship between environmental changes and stability and erosive episodes at a microregional scale. The integration of both local and regional sequences and cultural data will define the landscape dynamics in relation to the human occupation of the valley. This study illustrates the scope of a geoarchaeological approach in Mountain Landscape Archaeology as a potential tool for the integration of multidisciplinary data.