The earliest human occupation of Sicily: A review

Maida, Gianpiero Di

doi:10.1080/15564894.2020.1803460

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 46 publications

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“…The upper and lower temporal bounds of our study are the Last Glacial Maximum and an arbitrary date of 1 BC/AD 1, as a point by which the vast majority of islands for which data exist had witnessed some form of agropastoral activity. Accordingly, we here avoid the controversy surrounding pre-LGM island colonization by our species and pre-Upper Palaeolithic island colonization by other hominin species [53,54]. Our analysis of both hunter-gatherer and agropastoral settlement took different forms.…”

Section: Methodological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Island Colonization and Environmental Sustainability in the Postglacial Mediterranean

2021

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Island environments present challenges to human colonization, but we have a poor understanding of how environmental difference drives heterogeneous patterns of insular settlement. In this paper, we assess which environmental and geographic variables positively or negatively affect the long-term sustainability of human settlement on islands. Using the postglacial Mediterranean basin as a case study, we assess the impact of area, isolation index, species richness, and net primary productivity (NPP) on patterns of island occupation for both hunter-gatherer and agropastoral populations. We find that models involving area most effectively accounts for sustainability in hunter-gatherer island settlement. The agropastoral data are noisier, perhaps due to culturally specific factors responsible for the distribution of the data; nonetheless, we show that area and NPP exert profound influence over sustainability of agropastoral island settlement. We conclude by suggesting that this relates to the capacity of these variables to impact demographic robusticity directly.

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Section: Methodological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Island Colonization and Environmental Sustainability in the Postglacial Mediterranean

2021

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The Establishment of the Agricultural Landscape of Central Sicily Between the Middle Neolithic and the Beginning of the Iron Age

Speciale,

Giannitrapani,

Mercuri

et al. 2024

Hum Ecol

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The possible co-variation of human occupation and vegetation from the Middle Neolithic to the beginning of the Iron Age (7.5–2.8 ka BP) in Central Sicily in the context of the central Mediterranean between Middle and Late Holocene are analysed in this paper to provide new insights on Sicilian prehistoric demography. The demographic and economic trends during these millennia were reconstructed using archaeological, Accelerator Mass Spectrometry 14C dates, palynological, archaeobotanical, and zooarchaeological data from the northern, central, and southern sectors of Central Sicily through a diachronic comparison with variation in Arboreal Pollen, Anthropogenic Pollen Indicators, Olea-Juglans-Castanea pollen, microcharcoals, and Sporormiella from four pollen cores from sites in different ecosystems. A very significant spread of farming activities was found at the end of the Neolithic, together with an apparent demographic gap during the Middle Copper Age, and the emergence of agricultural landscapes at the end of the Copper Age associated with a striking increase in population. A combination of cultural and climatic changes during the late phase of the Bronze Age resulted in a subsequent overall decrease in population.

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Plant Biogeography and Vegetation Patterns of the Mediterranean Islands

Mèdail

2021

Bot. Rev.

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With about 11,100 islands and islets of which ca. 250 are regularly inhabited by human, the Mediterranean Sea represents one of the regions of the world with the most islands and archipelagos. These numerous islands represent a significant component of the Mediterranean biodiversity, notably with the presence of range-restricted species and peculiar vegetation types. The aim of this review is to provide a balanced view of this highly diverse phytoecological heritage, but also taking into account the medium sized islands and the smaller ones that have not been highlighted so far. Mediterranean islands constitute both a museum for ancient lineages (paleoendemic taxa) and cradle for recent plant diversification. The complex historical biogeography (paleogeographical events of the Neogene, Messinian salinity crisis, climatic and eustatic changes of the Pleistocene, influence of glacial events) has profoundly influenced the current patterns of plant diversity. These insular landscapes were also precociously impacted by prehistoric man, possibly by Neanderthals. Among the 157 large Mediterranean islands (i.e. with a surface area exceeding 10 km 2 ), 49 have a surface greater than 100 km 2 .The main patterns anddynamics of vegetationon the largests islands (Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Croatian islands, Greek islands, Crete, Cyprus) are summarized. Then, the specific ecosystem functioning (disturbance, plant-animal interac-tions) and vegetation structures of the small Mediterranean islands (i.e. a surface area less than 10 km 2 or 1000 ha), are highlighted by evoking successively the small rocky islands, the volcanic ones, and the sandy and flat islands. Owing to their uniqueness and fragility, Mediterranean islands urgently need some integrated and ambitious conservation planning, aiming at the long-term preservation of their outstanding biotic and cultural heritage.

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The earliest human occupation of Sicily: A review

Cited by 8 publications

References 46 publications

Island Colonization and Environmental Sustainability in the Postglacial Mediterranean

Island Colonization and Environmental Sustainability in the Postglacial Mediterranean

The Establishment of the Agricultural Landscape of Central Sicily Between the Middle Neolithic and the Beginning of the Iron Age

Plant Biogeography and Vegetation Patterns of the Mediterranean Islands

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