Mauro Cremaschi

University of Milan | UNIMI · Department of Earth Sciences "Ardito Desio"

Morphogenetic surface processes and anthropogenic landscape alterations have been tied together throughout the ages in the so-called human-environmental nexus since the inception of humankind as an active agent in the shaping of ecosystems. Here, we present instances of such interactions from an archaeologically paramount area west of the lower Whi...

Coastal lagoon systems are highly sensitive environments currently experiencing the impact of climate change and human pressure, which are triggering alteration of pristine biodiversity and geomorphic dynamics. Climate- and/or tectonic-induced changes in sea-level and shifts in the base level and/or flow rate of rivers connected to inlets heavily a...

Studies concerning the human response to changing climate in the arid region of South East Arabia are currently scarce and rarely based on geoarchaeological data. The detailed geoarchaeological study of the sedimentary filling of ditches, channels and wells at the Bronze Age tower site of Salūt-ST1, in central Oman, provides the opportunity to star...

We present a review of the latest framework achievements in geoarchaeological sciences applied to microstratigraphic and biomolecular studies of prehistoric archaeological contexts, highlighting the importance of musealized archaeological stratigraphies. We assess how today's scientific and technological accomplishments can be tailored for archaeol...

Archaeological shells have a great potential for reconstructing past environments and human–environment interactions. The Inqitat plateau (Khor Rori Archaeological Park, Oman) shows rich mollusc assemblages, present in the HAS1 settlement and in a shell midden nearby (Iron Age). By analysing the environmental requirements of the species identified...

Proglacial lakes are complex environments that can unravel the sedimentary dynamics of glacier, giving a crucial insight during the deglaciation phases. In this optic, the interplay between proximal and distal glaciolacustrine facies is a fundamental record of paleoenvironmental, paleoglaciological and paleoclimate changes that occurred to glacier...

Archaeological investigations of the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene human occupation of the nearly 3 million square kilometres that make up the vast and diverse landscapes of the Arabian Peninsula are hampered by a series of shortcomings. Some of the problems when trying to reconstruct human occupation and behaviour based on material cultu...

Identifying potential dust sources of Loess-Paleosol-Sequences (LPS) is important to understand past climatic and environmental conditions. For loess deposits of Central Italy different hypothesis on particle sources have been proposed, but none of them has been tested using a comprehensive geochemical approach yet. Here we present geochemical, min...

Scenari di ricostruzione delle interazioni uomo-ambiente-clima in Lombardia (N-Italia) dal Paleolitico medio all’età del Ferro Characterising key issues in human–environment interactions in Lombardy (N-Italy) from the Middle Paleolithic to the Iron Age. - This contribution aims to provide an updated and concise overview of the main events and devel...

Mollusk shells from archeological deposits are often exposed to high temperatures through human-caused or natural heating events. While heat exposure affects reliability of mollusk shells for environmental reconstructions based on geochemistry, it can provide a valuable source of information on past human behaviors and human–environment interaction...

Grotta Guattari is a key cave site for Mediterranean prehistory. It is where a perfectly preserved paleo-surface, littered with bones and containing a Neandertal cranium, was exposed in 1939. Recent research, moreover, has yielded even more Neandertal remains in a side chamber that had remained unexplored. This paper gives an account of the stratig...

The Noceto ‘Vasca Votiva’ (votive tank), discovered in excavations on a terrace at the southern edge of the Po Plain, northern Italy, is a unique well-preserved wooden (primarily oak) structure dated to the advanced through late Middle Bronze Age (~1600–1300 BCE). This complex monument, comprising two super-imposed tanks, is generally linked with a...

We present the geomorphological map of the northwestern part of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where the landscape expresses the tectonic activity associated with the Arabia-Eurasia convergence and Neogene climate change. These processes influenced the evolution of landforms and fluvial pathways, where major rivers Tigris, Khabur, and Great Zab inci...

We present the geomorphology of the Southern Atbai Plain (Eastern Sudan) and the western edge of the Eritrean Highlands (Western Eritrea), in the eastern Sahel. The mountainous area consists of Paleo-Proterozoic gneiss and Neo-Proterozoic igneous rocks and meta-volcanic assemblages shaped as inselbergs and whaleback landforms by weathering. Bare-ro...

Lors d’une prospection archéologique menée en Palmyrène occidentale par la Mission syro-italienne ont été mises au jour 16 bornes milliaires, dont certaines portaient des inscriptions encore lisibles. Découverts sur la route menant de Palmyre à Apamée sur l’Oronte, ces milliaires datent principalement de l’époque des Sévères, avec une première inte...

Digital documentation of archaeological evidence represents a crucial tool in the study, preservation, management, and promotion of archaeological sites in remote regions and in fragile landscapes. In marginal environments, the knowledge related to archaeological heritage can quickly disappear, especially when policies to protect cultural heritage...

The systematic survey of petroglyphs in the area of the ancient oasis of Salūt, in central Oman, highlighted a rich repertoire of representations that are here discussed against the background of Arabian rock art in general. The region displays an extremely rich number of engravings along the slopes of the Jabal Hammah, north of the main site of Sa...

We present the results of the geomorphological mapping of a region of the Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman) including two contrasting physiographic units sharing a common drainage system into the Arabian Sea: the Jebel Qara limestone massif and the coastal plain of Salalah. Neogene to Quaternary tectonic activity controlled the formation of an extensive s...

The sequence exposed in a road cut near Malnate (Varese, North Italy) records Neogene paleoenvironmental changes in the Southern margin of the Alps. The "Gonfolite" Formation (Oligo—Miocene) was deeply weathered in intertropical wet environment in Late Miocene. During Messinian a deep valley has been excavated into the "Gonfolite". During the Early...

A single Northern Hemisphere calibration curve has formed the basis of radiocarbon dating in Europe and the Mediterranean for five decades, setting the time frame for prehistory. However, as measurement precision increases, there is mounting evidence for some small but substantive regional (partly growing season) offsets in same-year radiocarbon le...

Although archaeological exploration of Eastern Sudan is in progress since 1980, very few data on the paleoenvironmental history of the region were made available so far. In this paper the results of recent geoarchaeological investigations conducted at the site of Mahal Teglinos (K1, Kassala) are discussed. It is suggested that arid conditions emerg...

A synthetic history of human land use Humans began to leave lasting impacts on Earth's surface starting 10,000 to 8000 years ago. Through a synthetic collaboration with archaeologists around the globe, Stephens et al. compiled a comprehensive picture of the trajectory of human land use worldwide during the Holocene (see the Perspective by Roberts)....

The preservation of rock art in open-air contexts is a global issue controlled by several environmental processes, which are less investigated than the cultural significance of engravings and paintings. For that reason, we discuss the age, preservation, and palaeoenvironmental context of petroglyphs discovered on the flat, almost vertical face of a...

The authors’ family names/first names have been inverted.

Alluvial plains represent preferable areas for human settling for their suitability to agriculture activities, and many studies strengthen the interpretation of floodplains as complex human–water systems. The Late Holocene development of the Central Po Plain has a long-lasting connection with anthropogenic activities. In the study area, human land...

Fluvial environments have always played a crucial role in human history. The necessity of fertile land and fresh water for agriculture has led populations to settle floodplains more frequently than other environments. Since anthropogenic activities started altering the evolution of natural landscapes, floodplains represented complex and dynamic hum...

We present the multidisciplinary investigation of pigments and artefacts with traces of colour from the Early- Middle Holocene site of Takarkori, located in the Tadrart Acacus Mountains (central Sahara, SW Libya). Here, geological, archaeological, taphonomic and chemical studies (Raman, Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray powder diffraction, gas...

The final Middle Palaeolithic of northern Italy is almost exclusively known based on pluristratified sites in caves or rock shelter, which attest a certain technological variability within the Mousterian through the adoption of different knapping methods focused on the production of flakes or blades. The almost total lack of specialized and/or short-te...

This backstory article deals with the SUCCESSO-TERRA Project (2017–2020), an interdisciplinary research program aiming at reconstructing the land-use transformations that occurred during the development of the Terramare culture in the southern-central Po Plain of Northern Italy. Topics include climate-environment changes, human impact and exploitat...

High mountain environments are peculiarly vulnerable and sensible to change, especially when human pressure on natural resources is high. These landscapes are highly resilient but respond to external impact with fast and intense fluctuations: in such cases the contemporary combination of both natural and anthropogenic factors is at times able to fo...

The Mt. Cusna ridge, located in the Northern Apennines (North Italy), is a mountain area of relevant geological interest for the interaction through time of distinct geomorphic processes, acting since the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. A geomorphological map at the 1:10,000 scale was produced to characterise the main landforms and processes ident...

Fluvial environments have always played a crucial role in human history. The necessity of fertile land and fresh water for agriculture has led populations to settle in floodplains more frequently than in other environments. Floodplains are complex human-water systems in which the mutual interaction between anthropogenic activities and environment a...

Le interazioni tra uomo e ambiente hanno fortemente condizionato l’assetto del territorio della Pianura Padana per tutto il Medioevo. Dal V sec. d.C., i cambiamenti climatici unitamente a un calo del controllo antropico sulla regimazione dell’idrografia padana, hanno profondamente alterato il paesaggio con conseguenze sulle pratiche agricole e selv...

The paper describes the micromorphological and mineralogical properties of earthen architectural elements from the excavation of the Garamantian compound of Fewet (Central Sahara, SW Libya), settled between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD, and compares this evidence with a set of samples from historical to modern context of Saharan and Su...

Upper Pleistocene (MIS 4-2) loess sequences occur in most of continental Europe and in Northern Italy along the Po Plain Loess Basin. Loess is distributed along the flanks of the Po Plain and was deposited on glacial deposits, fluvial terraces, uplifted isolated hills, karst plateaus, slopes and basins of secondary valleys. Loess bodies are general...

This paper presents the results of the geoarchaeological study of a medieval motte known in historical documents as “Castrum Popilii” (Poviglio, Northern Italy). The Castrum Popilii motte, for its particular environmental characteristics, represents an exceptional case study for the Early Medieval Age in Po Valley. In 1989 an archaeological rescue...

The landscape development of the Central Po Plain has a long-lasting connection with human activities. After the collapse of the Roman Empire that coincides with a climate changing phase, the natural depressions on the right side of the Po River turned in vast swamp basins. This lacustrine environment characterised the landscape until the land recl...

This backstory article deals with the SUCCESSO-TERRA Project (2017–2020), an interdisciplinary research program aiming at reconstructing the land-use transformations that occurred during the development of the Terramare culture in the southern-central Po Plain of Northern Italy. Topics include climate-environment changes, human impact and exploitat...

The Terramare civilization spread in the middle of the Po plain during the middle and recent Bronze Ages (1550-1150 BC). It resulted in a complex and articulate culture that promoted a innovative territorial exploitation strategy, introducing for the first time in the Po plain the intensive agriculture based on irrigation. The area of Terramare was...

On the grounds of geomorphological evidence, core stratigraphy, and archaeological and historical sources, the relationships between the urban development of Reggio Emilia (Po River plain, Northern Italy) and the adjoining Crostolo River are reconstructed over the last two millennia. The town of Reggio Emilia was established in the second century B...

Soil micromorphology in thin section was applied to the study of processes in the water management of the “Terramara Santa Rosa” located in Fodico di Poviglio (N Italy). In this site have come to light numerous structures and wells intended to draw and distribute water. Their number, size and complexity show precise planning, a considerable investm...

This paper presents the results of the geoarchaeological study of the stratigraphic sequence exposed during excavations in the historical center of the village of Poviglio (Emilia Romagna, N Italy), located in the vicinity of the Po river. The area, also referred to as “Santo Stefano di Poviglio”, revealed an exceptionally well-preserved Anthropoge...

The study area witnessed alternate paleoenvironmental and population events influenced by glacial/interglacial conditions. Paleosols, relict fluvial bodies, lacustrine carbonatic deposits, sand dunes, and other features underline the severely fluctuating activity of water resources. The study region (SW Libya) provides two different data sets: (1)...

Large lithic workshops from the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic in the Apennines at Monte Lama-Castellaccio-Pràrbera (Bardi, Parma) – We present the results of research carried out in Apennine area, in the Ronco del Gatto locality, on the western slope of Monte Pràrbera, at an altitude of about 1150 m. Investigations revealed large ateliers referable to...

Jasper quarries and lithic workshops from the Early Metal Age in the Parma Ap- ennines – Excavations and surveys carried out at Monte Lama-Castellaccio-Pràrbera (Bardi, Parma), in the Parma Apennines, where large outcrops of Radiolarite (jasper) emerge, highlighted quarries and lithic work- shops destined primarily to the production of arrowheads a...

Lemignano: an Aurignacian site on the Apennine fringe in the province of Parma – The site is located about 5 km to the south-west of Parma, in the Lemignano district, at an altitude of about 90 metres. Several hundred artefacts, mainly in jasper, were collected in a ploughed field at the top of a terrace; they were covered by pedogenized aeolian se...

The Palaeolithic site at Ghiardo Cave: Industries, chronology, environment –The Ghiardo site consists of lithic artefacts found in situ at the top of a paleosol buried by a weathered loess cover. Recent palaeoenvironmental research and TL and OSL dating suggest a sufficiently time-constrained period for human frequentation of the area, which occurr...

Past research in the Acacus mountains has been mostly concerned with studies of rock art (Mori 1965) and site-oriented investigations, particularly rock-shelters in the central and northern Acacus (Uan Muhuggiag: Mori 1965; Barich 1987; Ti-n-Torha North: Barich 1974; 1987; Wadi Athal: Barich & Mori 1970). This important research disclosed the aston...

Fumane cave, located at an altitude of 350 m.a.s.l. in the Monti Lessini in the Veneto Pre-Alps, northeastern Italy, is a reference site for southern Europe for the study of the behaviour of Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) from Marine Isotope Stages 5 to 2 (MIS5-MIS2). It is one of the few well-dated and closely studied sites in t...

This paper explores the possible links between rapid climate change (RCC) and social change in the Near East and surrounding regions (Anatolia, central Syria, southern Israel, Mesopotamia, Cyprus and eastern and central Sahara) during the ‘long’ 4th millennium (~4500e3000) BC. Twenty terrestrial and 20 marine climate proxies are used to identify lo...

Cryogenic loess disturbance features have a key role in the recognition of climatic variations within Quaternary sequences, but in N Italy loess deposits are generally interested by few pedofeatures (mostly evident at the microscale) related to frost or permafrost. In a sequence of loess and periglacial slope deposits situated at Gajum, Po Plain Lo...

The “Terramare” are banked and moated villages dating to the Middle and Recent Bronze ages (1600–1150 year BCE), located in the alluvial plain of the Po river, northern Italy. They are witness to a complex society, whose subsistence was based on intensive agriculture, pastoralism, and long-range trade (Barfield 1994). The Terramare people first car...

The sedimentary infilling of the moat surrounding the Villaggio Piccolo of the Terramara Santa Rosa di Poviglio was analysed in order to obtain palaeoenvironmental inferences from sediments and pollen assemblage. The high-resolution stratigraphic sequence preserves evidence of the environmental changes that occurred in the Po Plain, in Northern Ita...

(IN PRESS) Numerous palaeoenvironmental and archaeological studies from southern Arabia (Yemen and Oman) have revealed strong relations between phases of human settlements and climate change linked to the Indian monsoon system. Analyses on speleothems, cave fills, lacustrine deposits and palaeo-mangroves have shown that during the Early to Mid-Holo...

Rock shelters in the central Saharan massifs preserve anthropogenic stratigraphic sequences that represent both a precious archive for the prehistory of the region and a powerful proxy data for Holocene palaeoenvironments. The geoarchaeological (micromorphology) and archaeobotanical (pollen analysis) approaches were integrated to investigate the an...

a b s t r a c t The significance of two loess profiles located in the Ghiardo area (Reggio Emilia, northern Italy) along the southern margin of the Po Plain is discussed on the basis of sedimentary and pedological data, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, and archaeological context. Loess sedimentation occurred during cold and arid glac...

Here we present a geomorphological map of the Tadrart Acacus Massif and Erg Uan Kasa (SW Libya, central Sahara). The geomorphological mapping of the area was carried out by means of satellite imagery analysis followed by detailed control of units in the field. The Tadrart Acacus is a sandstone massif delimited to the West by a high scarp and cut by...

The Terramara Santa Rosa is a Middle and Late Bronze Age archaeological site located in the Po alluvial plain, northern Italy. It is constituted of two moated villages delimited by earthen ramparts. The peripheral structures of the site are sealed by fine-textured flood plain deposits and they have not been fully explored through excavation due to...