Theme:
2. Net Zero Archaeologies – Sustainability in the Past, Present and Future
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Mountains as Interaction Zones – Human Impact on the Alpine Landscape through Time
Content:
Mountains were at no time an insurmountable barrier, but rather a lively cultural landscape allowing connections between the areas inside and outside the alpine zones. Humans have interacted in mountainous regions since the Palaeolithic and adapted their way of subsistence to the sensitive ecosystem, showing that this supposedly inhospitable landscape has always been an attractive living and economic space, holding a rich archaeological heritage today. Pasture and livestock farming have dominated the alpine areas since the Neolithic, as well as the mining of raw materials such as copper or rock crystal. Furthermore, the spiritual perception and ritual use of alpine landscapes should not be underestimated. Archaeological sites can therefore be found at all altitudes from the valleys up to the high mountains. Nevertheless, many of these sites are threatened by natural forces such as erosion, relocation or flooding and the melting of glaciers and permafrost caused by climate change. During the last few years, numerous objects melted from the ice were reported, revealing historical and archaeological finds, ranging from Mesolithic artefacts to remains of the World Wars. This increases data and knowledge on alpine land use in the past but at the same time drives their destruction, once they are exposed to environmental forces. Thus arises the question, of how archaeologists can research and preserve the archaeological heritage in light of environmental changes? The aim of the session is a diachronic discussion on the human impact on the alpine landscape in a long-term perspective, starting with early land use by Late Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers up to archaeological and historical finds from the 20th century. We are looking forward to papers on past and future land use and management, pastoralism, mobility and mining of raw material in the Alps and other mountain ranges in Europe.
Keywords:
Alpine Archaeology, Human impact, Interaction, Glacial archaeology, Alpine land use
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Cynthia Marti (Switzerland) 1
Co-organisers:
Franco Nicolis (Italy) 2
Affiliations:
1. University of Bern, Institute of Archaeological Sciences
2. Soprintendenza per i beni culturali, Ufficio beni archaeologici, Trento
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