Harbour sites as a support to the reconstruction of networks and influences: the case of the Mistras Lagoon (Sardinia, Italy)

Ancient harbours and anchorages are valuable contexts to investigate the different material culture that could reach a region, and to reconstruct ancient commerce and connections between different areas. Moreover, as they usually present waterlogged and anoxic sedimentation conditions, organic materials are preserved in addition to ceramics and other inorganic objects, giving more elements to the archaeological reconstruction. This is the case of the Mistras lagoon in Central-West Sardinia. The lagoon has been identified as the harbour of the city of Tharros, active during the Punic period, from the 7th to the 3rd century BC. It is characterised by an interior sandy barrier, recognised as a palaeobeach; here the University of Cagliari held two archaeological excavations during the years 2014 and 2015, revealing a natural stratigraphy rich in archaeological materials, typical of a waterlogged site. The analysis of the carpological remains, seeds, and fruits, recovered by sampling 29 different stratigraphic units, reveals the presence of a great number of cultivated species. Some of the species identified were possibly introduced during that period to the island, together with agricultural practices and technologies that improved local cultivations. Concerning the xylological remains found in the excavations, some fragments of manufactured wood provide important information about objects of common use, while other fragments are attributable to remains of ships.Gli antichi porti e approdi sono siti di grande valore per ricostruire le antiche rotte commerciali e più in generale le connessioni tra diverse regioni. Inoltre, grazie alla frequente presenza di condizioni di sedimentazione anossiche, essi possono restituire non solo ceramiche e altri materiali inorganici, ma anche elementi organici, raramente preservati sui siti terrestri, che forniscono elementi aggiuntivi alla ricostruzione archeologica e paleoambientale. È questo il caso della laguna di Mistras, nella Sardegna centro-occidentale. La laguna è stata identificata come porto della città di Tharros in età punica, tra il VII e il III sec. a.C. Essa è caratterizzata nella parte interna da una cuspide sabbiosa, riconosciuta come una paleospiaggia; in quest’area, durante gli anni 2014 e 2015, l’Università degli Studi di Cagliari ha condotto due campagne di scavo archeologico che hanno consentito di indagare una stratigrafia di formazione naturale ricchissima di materiali archeologici, tipica di un sito impregnato d’acqua. L’analisi dei reperti carpologici, semi e frutti recuperati grazie al campionamento sistematico dei sedimenti, sta rivelando la presenza di un gran numero di resti di specie coltivate. Alcune di queste furono probabilmente introdotte nell’Isola durante il periodo in questione, altre sono già attestate durante i periodi precedenti e continuano ad essere sfruttate con nuovo impulso. Per quanto riguarda i resti xilologici rinvenuti negli scavi, alcuni frammenti di legno lavorato forniscono importanti informazioni su oggetti di uso comune, mentre altri sono attribuibili a resti di imbarcazion

Discovering Plum, Watermelon and Grape Cultivars Founded in a Middle Age Site of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy) through a Computer Image Analysis Approach

The discovery of several waterlogged plant remains in a Middle Ages context (1330–1360 AD) in Sassari (NS, Sardinia, Italy) enabled the characterisation of archaeological plum fruit stones and watermelon and grape seeds through computer image analysis. Digital seed/endocarp images were acquired by a flatbed scanner and processed and analysed by applying computerised image analysis techniques. The morphometric data were statistically elaborated using stepwise linear discriminant analysis (LDA), allowing comparisons among archaeological remains, wild populations and autochthonous cultivars. Archaeological samples of plum were compared with 21 autochthonous cultivars of Prunus domestica from Sardinia, while archaeological watermelon seeds were compared with 36 seed lots of Citrullus from Europe, Africa and Asia. Moreover, archaeological grape seeds were compared with 51 autochthonous traditional cultivars of Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera from Sardinia, 16 cultivars from Tuscany, six cultivars from Liguria, and eight cultivars from Catalonia (Spain). Archaeological plum remains showed morphological affinity with five cultivars of Sardinia. Seed features of the archaeological watermelon remains demonstrated affiliation with a proper sweet dessert watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, and similarity with some Sardinian cultivars. Regarding the archaeological remains of grape, morphometric comparisons showed a high similarity with autochthonous cultivars from Catalonia and Liguria. This study provides new information about ancient fruit cultivated and consumed during the Middle Ages in Sardinia

An Integrated Taxonomic Approach Points towards a Single-Species Hypothesis for Santolina (Asteraceae) in Corsica and Sardinia

Santolina is a plant genus of dwarf aromatic shrubs that includes about 26 species native to the western Mediterranean Basin. In Corsica and Sardinia, two of the main islands of the Mediterranean, Santolina corsica (tetraploid) and S. insularis (hexaploid) are reported. Along with the cultivated pentaploid S. chamaecyparissus, these species form a group of taxa that is hard to distinguish only by morphology. Molecular (using ITS, trnH-psbA, trnL-trnF, trnQ-rps16, rps15-ycf1, psbM-trnD, and trnS-trnG), cypsela morpho-colorimetric, morphometric, and niche similarity analyses were conducted to investigate the diversity of plants belonging to this species group. Our results confute the current taxonomic hypothesis and suggest considering S. corsica and S. insularis as a single species. Moreover, molecular and morphometric results highlight the strong affinity between S. chamaecyparissus and the Santolina populations endemic to Corsica and Sardinia. Finally, the populations from south-western Sardinia, due to their high differentiation in the studied plastid markers and the different climatic niche with respect to all the other populations, could be considered as an evolutionary significant unit

The Botanical Record of Archaeobotany Italian Network - BRAIN: a cooperative network, database and website

The BRAIN (Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network) database and network was developed by the cooperation of archaeobotanists working on Italian archaeological sites. Examples of recent research including pollen or other plant remains in analytical and synthetic papers are reported as an exemplar reference list. This paper retraces the main steps of the creation of BRAIN, from the scientific need for the first research cooperation to the website which has a free online access since 2015

Osservazioni sulla pesca in età preistorica. Attrezzature, catture e preparazioni

EnThe poor conservation of the fish in prehistoric contexts and the difficulties of identification and collection of the remains greatly limit the possibility to trace a satisfactory drawing of alimentary use of marine and fresh water fish. Very fragmentary is the documentation of the instruments, of which remain only a few non-perishable parts, and then the activities that were put in place for the procurement of fish.Nevertheless, there are information to say that fishing practices have been, since the end of the Pleistocene, important part in the economies of the groups settled in river or lakes basins, or along the sea coast and we can reconstruct, in a largely hypothetical way, a part of fish capture methods.ItLa scarsa conservazione della fauna ittica nei contesti preistorici e le difficoltà dell’individuazione e del prelievo dei resti limitano notevolmente la possibilità di ricostruire un quadro soddisfacente dell’utilizzo alimentare dei pesci di mare e di acqua dolce.Molto frammentaria è la documentazione dello strumentario, di cui si trovano solo alcune parti non deperibili, e quindi delle attività poste in atto per il procacciamento del pesce.Nonostante ciò vi sono indizi per affermare che le pratiche alieutiche sono state, già dalla fine del Pleistocene, parte importante nelle economie dei gruppi insediati presso bacini fluviali, lacustri o sulla costa marina e si può ricostruire in via largamente ipotetica una parte dei metodi di cattura delle prede ittiche

The Botanical Record of Archaeobotany Italian Network - BRAIN: a cooperative network, database and website

The BRAIN (Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network) database and network was developed by the cooperation of archaeobotanists working on Italian archaeological sites. Examples of recent research including pollen or other plant remains in analytical and synthetic papers are reported as an exemplar reference list. This paper retraces the main steps of the creation of BRAIN, from the scientific need for the first research cooperation to the website which has a free online access since 2015

Morpho-Colorimetric Characterization of the Sardinian Endemic Taxa of the Genus Anchusa L. by Seed Image Analysis

In this work, the seed morpho-colorimetric differentiation of the Sardinian endemic species of Anchusa (Boraginaceae) was evaluated. In Sardinia, the Anchusa genus includes the following seven taxa: A. capellii, A. crispa ssp. crispa, A. crispa ssp. maritima, A. formosa, A. littorea, A. montelinasana, and A. sardoa. Seed images were acquired using a flatbed scanner and analyzed using the free software package ImageJ. A total of 74 seed morpho-colorimetric features of 2692 seed lots of seven taxa of Anchusa belonging to 17 populations were extrapolated and used to build a database of seed size, shape, and color features. The data were statistically elaborated by the stepwise linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to compare and discriminate each accession and taxon. In addition, the seed morpho-colorimetric differences among coastal and mountainous taxa were evaluated. Considering the ecological conditions, the LDA was able to discriminate among the Anchusa taxa with a correct identification of 87.4% and 90.8% of specimens for mountainous and coastal plants, respectively. Moreover, the LDA of the 17 populations of Anchusa showed a low separation among species and populations within the coastal group, highlighting how the long-distance dispersal by flotation on the sea water surface and the pollination network may influence the similarity patterns observed. In addition, a misattribution was observed for A. crispa ssp. crispa, which was misclassified as A. crispa ssp. maritima in 14.1% of cases, while A. crispa ssp. maritima was misidentified as A. crispa ssp. crispa in 21.1% of cases, highlighting a close phenotypic relationship between these two taxa. The statistical results obtained through the seed image analysis showed that the morpho-colorimetric features of the seeds provide important information about the adaptation and evolution of Anchusa taxa in Sardinia