Herding Strategies, Dairy Economy and Seasonal Sites in the Southern Alps

Ethnoarchaeological Inferences and Archaeological Implications

Abstract

This paper investigates one of the main issues of the archaeology of pastoralism in the southern Alps: the decrease of upland archaeological evidence in the late Iron Age (IA) and the Roman period. A novel interpretation is proposed using ethnoarchaeological, ethnographic and ethnohistoric data collected in different areas of the French and Italian Alps. These data document the existence of two pastoral strategies: Alpine pastoralism (focused on dairying activity) and transhumance (mainly focused on the exploitation of wool and primary products of livestock). The sites related to the first strategy are usually permanent and complex, while those related to the second are simple and ephemeral. On the basis of this information, the decrease of upland archaeological evidence during the late IA and the Roman period has been interpreted as a consequence of the decrease of dairy activity and increase of transhumance. These inferences allow us to rethink the evolution of human exploitation of high mountain environments, as well as to tackle the bias of archaeological invisibility in specific pastoral contexts. Furthermore, they also confirm the important role of ethnoarchaeology as a method of improving archaeological interpretation.