The course aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the research methodologies used in geoarchaeology, to introduce students to the various tools of the Earth Sciences (rocks and minerals, sedimentology, geomorphology, pedology, absolute dating techniques, micromorphology, and laboratory analysis) and their application in the context of archaeological research.
April 18-19, 2024
Luca Forti, a geologist at the University of Milan, will present several case studies showing the application of geoarchaeological methodologies in different environmental, climatic, and chrono-cultural contexts. In particular, case studies deriving from archaeological excavations conducted in different regions such as the Middle East, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and Italy will be examined, covering a time from the Palaeolithic to the Roman period. In this context, the dynamics of human peopling, subsistence strategies, and settlement patterns implemented by different archaeological communities in response to climatic changes (through data from speleothems and lake sequences) and environmental changes (such as the evolution of river and coastal systems and cave environments) occurring during the Late Quaternary will be analysed.