Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici

Geoarchaeology uses the techniques and methods of the earth sciences with the aim of defining the paleoenvironmental context in which the socio-economic systems of the past interacted (Butzer 1982). Consequently, archaeological sites, like all rocky bodies, can be described, recognizing within them all those structures that were preserved before and after the abandonment of the site, which are an expression of the processes of erosion, transport and pedogenesis that have affected the area and which tend to dilute, over time, the traces of anthropic activity. The above highlights how the physical stratigraphy of a site becomes fundamental, as the observations of the physico-chemical characteristics of the rocks and sediments and how these are organized both vertically and laterally (both in time and in space) provide useful information on what happened before, during and after the abandonment of the site. For this reason, it is essential that the field archaeologist has an adequate knowledge of the geological processes, so that he can define the best way for the strategy of the excavation and its execution.
Based on this previously said two orders of characters must be detected from the description of the ground: sedimentological and pedological characters. Other knowledge of geomorphology and quaternary geology are also important. In this course we will deal with the geological aspects and more particularly the sedimentological ones. After a brief parenthesis on the composition and classifications of rocks, we will see which are the main processes of meteoric degradation and erosion and which are the main characteristics of the soils; we will introduce micromorphology or micropedology, while a more substantial portion of the course will cover geomorphology, sedimentology, sedimentary environments and general concepts of stratigraphy; particular emphasis will be given to continental environments of geoarchaeological interest. Finally, indications will be provided on the measurement of time in geoarchaeology as its definition allows to understand more fully the relationships between paleoclimate, paleoenvironments and human activities.