The Sicilian Countryside in the Early Middle Ages: Human–Environment Interactions at Contrada Castro

Within the project ‘Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani Landscapes’, this paper aims to reconstruct human–environment interactions in the inland areas of Western Sicily during the Early Middle Ages through a comparative analysis of environmental archaeological data. We analyse carpological and anthracological finds and faunal remains originating from different layers of the rural settlement of Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo), excavated in 2017–2019. The site was mainly occupied between the Byzantine and Islamic periods (late 8th to 11th c. AD). The examination of wood charcoal enabled the identification of plant species selected and exploited in the landscape of the site for each main chronological period. The archaeobotanical data indicated a precise, qualitative picture on the historical vegetation of this area, accompanied with the agricultural practices of the communities. The zooarchaeological data added further information on the reconstruction of rural economy and animal exploitation patterns. An integrated comparison of the characteristic landscape and the archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data presented the dynamics of agricultural strategy, wood exploitation, and management of animal resources of an early medieval rural community in Western Sicily

Arcifa, L. 2010. “Indicatori archeologici per l’alto Medioevo nella Sicilia orientale.” In Piazza Armerina. Villa del
Casale e la Sicilia tra tardoantico e medioevo, edited by P. Pensabene, 105–128. Roma: L’Erma di
Bretschneider.
Arcifa, L. 2016. “Rocchicella di Mineo: il sito tra età proto bizantina ed età tematica.” In Dopo l’antico. Ricerche di
archeologia Medievale, edited by L. Arcifa, and L. Maniscalco, 17–28. Catania: Assessorato Beni Culturali e
Identità Siciliana.
Arcifa, L. 2018. “Insularità siciliana e Mediterraneo altomedievale. Dati archeologici e quadri territoriali tra VIII e
IX secolo.” In Southern Italy as Contact Area and Border Region during the Early Middle Ages. ReligiousCultural Heterogeneity and Competing Powers in Local, Transregional and Universal Dimensions, edited by K.
Wolf, and K. Herbers, 125–148. Köln Weimar Wien: Böhlau Verlag.
Arcoleo, L., and L. Sineo. 2014. “Analisi Archeozoologica di Due Contesti della Città Antica di Palermo: La Gancia
e i ‘Sili’ di Via Imera (Palermo, IX–X Secolo d.C).” In Les dynamiques de l’islamisation en Méditerranée
centrale et en Sicile: nouvelles propositions et découvertes récentes, edited by A. Nef, and F. Ardizzone,
301–306. Roma-Bari: Edipuglia.
Asouti, E., C. Kabukcu, C. E. White, I. Kuijt, B. Finlayson, and C. Makarewicz. 2015. “Early Holocene Woodland
Vegetation and Human Impacts in the Arid Zone of the Southern Levant.” The Holocene 25: 10. . Crossref.
Barone, R. 1976. Anatomie comparée des mammifères domestiques. Tome 1, Osteologie. Paris: Atlas. Vigot frères.
Bazan, G., A. Castrorao Barba, A. Rotolo, and P. Marino. 2019. “Geobotanical Approach to Detect Land-Use
Change of a Mediterranean Landscape: A Case Study in Central-Western Sicily.” GeoJournal 84 (3): 795–811. .
Crossref.
Bazan, G., A. Castrorao Barba, A. Rotolo, and P. Marino. 2020a. “Vegetation Series as a Marker of Interactions
between Rural Settlements and Landscape: New Insights from the Archaeological Record in Western Sicily.”
Landscape Research 45 (4): 484–502. . Crossref.
Bazan, G., P. Marino, R. Guarino, G. Domina, and R. Schicchi. 2015. “Bioclimatology and Vegetation Series in
Sicily: A Geostatistical Approach.” Annales Botanici Fennici 52 (1–2): 1–18. . Crossref.
Bazan, G., C. Speciale, A. Castrorao Barba, S. Cambria, R. Miccichè, and P. Marino. 2020b. “Historical Suitability
and Sustainability of Sicani Mountains Landscape (Western Sicily): An Integrated Approach of Phytosociology
and Archaeobotany.” Sustainability 12 (8): 3201. . Crossref.
Beolchini, V., G. Mandatori, M. Moreno García, L. Peña-Chocarro, G. Pérez-Jordà, and J. Russo. 2018. “Economia,
commerci e consumi in area tuscolana, alla luce della cultura materiale.” In VIII Congresso Nazionale di
Archeologia Medievale, Volume 2, Sezione III Territorio e Paesaggio, edited by F. Sogliani, B. Gargiulo, E.
Annunziata, and V. Vitale, 309–312. Firenze: All’Insegna del Giglio.
Boessneck, J. 1970. “Osteological Differences Between Sheep (Ovis aries Linné) and Goats (Capra hircus Linné).”
In Science in Archaeology, edited by D. Brothwell, and E. Higgs, 331–358. New York: Praeger.
Bossard-Beck, C. 1984. “Le mobilier ostéologique et botanique.” In Brucato. Histoire et archéologie d’un habitat
médiévale en Sicile, vol.2, edited by J. M. Pesez, 615–671. Rome.
Cambini, A. 1967. “Riconoscimento microscopico del legno delle querce italiane.” In Contributi scientifico-pratici
per una migliore conoscenza del legno, 10, edited by G. Giordano, 51–80. Roma: C.N.R.
Cappers, R. T. J. 2018. Digital Atlas of Traditional Food Made from Cereals and Milk. Groningen: Barkhuis and
Groningen University Library.
Cappers, R. T. J., and R. Neef. 2012. Handbook of Plant Palaeoecology. Groningen: Barkhuis and Groningen
University Library. Crossref.
Cappers, R. T. J., and R. Neef. 2016. Digital Atlas of Traditional Agricultural Practises and Food Processing.
Groningen: Barkhuis and Groningen University Library.
Carver, M. O. H., and A. Molinari. 2016. “Sicily in Transition Research Project: Investigations at Castronovo di
Sicilia. Results and Prospects 2015.” FOLD&R FastiOnLine Documents & Research 352: 1–12.
Carver, M. O. H., A. Molinari, V. Aniceti, C. Capelli, F. Colangeli, L. Drieu, G. Fiorentino, et al. 2019. “Sicily in
Transition: New Research on Early Medieval Sicily, 2017–2018.” FOLD&R FastiOnLine Documents &
Research 437: 1–35.
Carver, M. O. H., A. Molinari, V. Aniceti, F. Colangeli, N. Giannini, F. Giovannini, M. Hummler, C. Mangiaracina,
A. Meo, and P. Orecchioni. 2018. “Sicily in Transition: Interim Report of Investigations at Castronovo di Sicilia
2016.” FOLD&R FastiOnLine Documents & Research 412: 1–25.
Castiglioni, E. 2008. “I resti botanici.” In Il Santuario dei Palici. Un centro di culto nella valle del Margi, edited by
L. Maniscalco, 365–386. Palermo: Regione Siciliana.Castiglioni, E., and M. Rottoli. 1997. “I macroresti vegetali.” In Segesta II. Il Castello e la Moschea. Scavi
1989–1995, edited by A. Molinari, 235–257. Palermo: Flaccovio editore.
Castrorao Barba, A. 2015. “Entroterra tra due mari: il territorio di Castronovo di Sicilia (Palermo) tra età romana e
periodo bizantino.” In Storia e archeologia globale 2. I pascoli, i campi, il mare. Paesaggi d’altura e di pianura
in Italia dall’Età del Bronzo al Medioevo, edited by F. Cambi, G. De Venuto, and R. Goffredo, 253–267. Bari:
Edipuglia.
Castrorao Barba, A. 2016. “Sicily before the Muslims. The Transformation of the Roman Villas Between Late
Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, Fourth to Eighth Centuries CE.” Journal of Transcultural Medieval
Studies 3 (1-2): 145–189. . Crossref.
Castrorao Barba, A., R. Miccichè, F. Pisciotta, P. Marino, G. Bazan, C. Aleo Nero, and S. Vassallo. 2018b.
“Archeologia nel territorio dei Monti Sicani (Harvesting Memories Project). L’insediamento di lunga durata di
Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo). Prima campagna di scavo 2017.” FOLD&R the Journal of Fasti Online
416: 1–21.
Castrorao Barba, A., R. Miccichè, F. Pisciotta, P. Marino, G. Bazan, C. Aleo Nero, and S. Vassallo. 2018c. “Un
nuovo insediamento rurale nel territorio dei Monti Sicani tra epoca bizantina e normanna: dati preliminari sul
sito di lunga durata di Contrada Castro (Corleone, PA).” In VIII Congresso Nazionale di Archeologia Medievale,
Volume 2, Sezione III Territorio e Paesaggio, edited by F. Sogliani, B. Gargiulo, E. Annunziata, and V. Vitale,
254–258. Firenze: All’Insegna del Giglio.
Castrorao Barba, A., R. Miccichè, F. Pisciotta, C. Speciale, C. Aleo Nero, S. Vassallo, P. Marino, and G. Bazan.
2020. “Nuovi dati sull’occupazione altomedievale dell’insediamento di Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo)
nell’area dei Monti Sicani.” FOLD&R the Journal of Fasti Online 468: 1–15.
Castrorao Barba, A., A. Rotolo, G. Bazan, P. Marino, and S. Vassallo. 2017. “Long-term Human Occupation of a
Rural Landscape in Central-Western Sicily (Castro/Giardinello Valley and Mt Barraù): Harvesting Memories
Project Case Study.” ArkeoGazte. Revista de arqueología – Arkelogia aldizkaria 7: 175–192.
Castrorao Barba, A., A. Rotolo, G. Bazan, P. Marino, and S. Vassallo. 2018a. “The Harvesting Memories Pro-ject:
Landscape Archaeology in the Castro/Giardinello Valley and Mt. Barraù (Corleone, Palermo).” In Studi in
memoria di Fabiola Ardizzone 2, Scavi, Topografia e Archeologia del paesaggio, edited by R. M. Carra, and E.
Vitale, 53–78. Palermo: Antipodes.
Chabal, L. 1994. “Apports récents de l’anthracologie a la connaissance des paysages passés: performances et
limites.” Histoire & Mesure 9 (3–4): 317–338. Crossref.
Costantini, L., and L. Costantini Biasini. 2010. “Archaeobotany.” In The Chora of Croton: v. 1: The Neolithic
Settlement at Capo Alfiere, edited by J. Morter, 175–189. Austin: University of Texas Press.
D’Alpoim Guedes, J., and R. Spengler. 2015. “Sampling Strategies in Paleoethnobotanical Analysis.” In Method and
Theory in Paleoethnobotany, edited by J. M. Marston, J. d’Alpoim Guedes, and C. Warinner, 77–94. Boulder:
University of Colorado Press. Crossref.
Davis-Secord, S. 2017. Where Three Worlds Met: Sicily in the Early Medieval Mediterranean. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press. Crossref.
Decker, M. 2009. “Plants and Progress: Rethinking the Islamic Agricultural Revolution.” Journal of World History
20 (2): 187–206. . Crossref.
Dobney, K., and K. Rielly. 1988. “A Method for Recording Archaeological Bones: The Use of Diagnostic Zones.”
Circaea 5 (2): 79–96.
Gianguzzi, L., and G. Bazan. 2019. “The Olea europaea L. var. sylvestris (Mill.) Lehr. forests in the Mediterranean
Area.” Plant Sociology 56 (2): 3–34. . Crossref.
Gianguzzi, L., and G. Bazan. 2020. “A Phytosociological Analysis of the Olea europaea L. var. sylvestris (Mill.)
Lehr. forests in Sicily.” Plant Biosystems 154 (5): 705–725. . Crossref.
Grant, A. 1982. “The Use of Tooth Wear as a Guide to the Age of Domestic Ungulates.” In Ageing and Sexing
Animal Bone from Archaeological Sites, edited by Bob Wilson, Caroline Grigson, an
Grant, A. 1982. “The Use of Tooth Wear as a Guide to the Age of Domestic Ungulates.” In Ageing and Sexing
Animal Bone from Archaeological Sites, edited by Bob Wilson, Caroline Grigson, and Sebastian Payne, 91–108.
Oxford: BAR Brit Ser 109.
Grayson, D. 1978. “Minimum Numbers and Sample Size Invertebrate Faunal Analysis.” American Antiquity 43:
53–65. Crossref.
Habermehl, K. H. 1975. Die Altersbestimmung bei Haus und Labortieren 2. Vollständig neubearbeitete Auflage.
Berlin and Hamburg: Paul Parey.
Hanot, P., and C. Bochaton. 2018. “New Osteological Criteria for the Identification of Domestic Horses, Donkeys
and their Hybrids in Archaeological Contexts.” Journal of Archaeological Science 94: 12–20. . Crossref.
Lentjes, D. 2016. Landscape and Land Use in First Millennium BC Southeast Italy: Planting the Seeds of Change.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Mercuri, A. M., M. C. Montecchi, A. Florenzano, E. Rattighieri, P. Torri, D. Dallai, and E. Vaccaro. 2019. “The Late
Antique Plant Landscape in Sicily: Pollen from the Agro-Pastoral Villa del Casale-Philosophiana System.”
Quaternary International 499: 24–34. . Crossref.
Molinari, A. 2015. “‘Islamisation’ and the Rural World: Sicily and al-Andalus. What Kind of Archaeology?” In New Directions in Early Medieval European Archaeology: Spain and Italy Compared Essays for Riccardo
Francovich, edited by H. R. Gelichi Sauro, 187–221. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers. Crossref.
Molinari, A. 2016. “Fortified and Unfortified Settlements in Byzantine and Islamic Sicily: 6th to 11th Centuries.” In
Fortified Settlement in Early Medieval Europe: Defended Communities of the 8th–10th Centuries, edited by H.
H. Christie, 320–332. Oxford: Oxbow. Crossref.
Molinari, A. 2019. “Sicily from Late Antiquity to Early Middle Ages: Resilience and Disruption.” In Change and
Resilience: The Occupation of Mediterranean Islands in Late Antiquity, edited by C. M. F. M. Cau Ontiveros,
87–110. Oxford: Oxbow books. Crossref.
Montecchi, M. C., and A. M. Mercuri. 2016. “When Palynology Meets Classical Archaeology: The Roman and
Medieval Landscapes at the Villa del Casale di Piazza Armerina, UNESCO Site in Sicily.” Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences 10: 743–757. . Crossref.
Nardi-Berti, R. 2006. La struttura anatomica del legno ed il riconoscimento dei legnami italiani di più corrente
impiego. Firenze: IRL-CNR, II edizione.
Nef, A., L. Arcifa, and A. Bagnera. 2012. “Archeologia della Sicilia islamica: nuove proposte di riflessione.” In Villa
4 Histoire et archéologie de l'Occident musulman (VIIe-XVe siècle): al-Andalus, Maghreb, Sicile, Université
Toulouse-Le Mirail, edited by Philippe Sénac, 241–274. Toulouse: Colección Méridiennes, Serie de «Études
Médiévales Ibériques».
O'connor, T. 2000. The archaeology of Animal Bones. Stroud (Glos.): Sutton Publishing Ltd.
Payne, S. 1973. “Kill-Off Patterns in Sheep and Goats: The Mandibles from Aşvan Kale.” Anatolian Studies 23:
281–303. Crossref.
Pensabene, P., and P. Barresi. 2019. Piazza Armerina. Villa del Casale: scavi e studi nel decennio 2004–2014. Roma:
L’Erma di Bretschneider.
Prigent, V., and A. Nef. 2006. “Per una nuova storia dell’alto medioevo siciliano.” Storica 35-36 (XII): 1–55. .
Crossref.
Rizzo, M. S. 2014. “Agrigento ed il suo territorio in età tardoantica e bizantina: primi dati da recenti ricerche.” Sicilia
antiqua: International Journal of Archaeology 11: 399–418.
Rowley-Conwy, P., U. Albarella, and K. Dobney. 2012. “Distinguishing Wild Boar from Domestic Pigs in
Prehistory: A Review of Approaches and Recent Results.” Journal of World Prehistory 25: 1–44. Crossref.
Salvagno, L., and U. Albarella. 2017. “A Morphometric System to Distinguish Sheep and Goat Postcranial Bones.”
Plos One 12 (6): e0178543. . Crossref. PubMed.
Schweingruber, F. H. 1990. Anatomy of European Wood: An Atlas for the Identification of European Trees, Shrubs
and Dwarf Shrubs. Bern: Paul Haupt.
Silver, I. A. 1969. “The Aging of Domestic Animals.” In Science in Archaeology, edited by D. Brothwell, and E.
Higgs, 283–299. London: Thames & Hudson.
Stika, H. P., A. G. Heiss, and B. Zach. 2008. “Plant Remains from the Early Iron Age in Western Sicily: Differences
in Subsistence Strategies of Greek and Elymian Sites.” Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 17: 139–148. .
Crossref.
Terranova, F., C. A. Accorsi, M. Bandini Mazzanti, A. M. Mercuri, P. Torri, E. Manicardi, M. C. Montecchi, et al.
2009. “Indagini archeopalinologiche in Sicilia a Taormina, Piazza Armerina e Mozia.” In Diagnostica e
Conservazione. Esperienze e proposte per una carta del rischio, edited by Assessorato BB.CC.AA. e P.I,
284–296. Atti del III convegno internazionale di studi “La materia e i segni della storia” (Palermo, 2007).
Palermo: Regione siciliana.
Thery-Parisot, I., L. Chabal, and J. Chrzavzez. 2010. “Anthracology and Taphonomy, from Wood Gathering to
Charcoal Analysis. A Review of the Taphonomic Processes Modifying Charcoal Assemblages, in
Archaeological Contexts.” Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 291 (1–2): 142–153. .
Crossref.
Vaccaro, E. 2017. “Philosophiana in Central Sicily in the Late Roman and Byzantine Periods: Settlement and
Economy.” In Encounters, Excavations and Argosies: Essays for Richard Hodges, edited by J. Mitchell, J.
Moreland, B. Leal, and R. Hodges, 300–313. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Vassallo, S. 2009. “Le fortificazioni bizantine del Kassar di Castronovo di Sicilia: indagini preliminari.” In Immagine
e immagini della Sicilia e di altre isole del Mediterraneo antico, 2, edited by C. Ampolo, 679–696. Pisa:
Edizioni della Normale.
von den Driesch, A. 1976. A Guide to the Measurement of Archaeological Bones from Archaeological Sites.
Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum Bulletin 1.
White, T. 1953. “A Method of Calculating the Dietary Percentage of Various Food Animals Utilized by Aboriginal
Peoples.” American Antiquity 18: 396–398. Crossref.
Zeder, M., and H. Lapham. 2010. “Assessing the Reliability of Criteria Used to Identify Postcranial Bones in Sheep,
Ovis, and Goats, Capra.” Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 2887–2905. . Crossref.
Zeder, M. A., and S. E. Pilaar. 2010. “Assessing the Reliability of Criteria Used to Identify Mandibles and
Mandibular Teeth in Sheep, Ovis, and Goats, Capra.” Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 225–242. .Crossref.