Sunday 9 February 2014

Managing Fieldwork Data 3

The elaboration of the data collected during the summer fieldwork is going on.

Geostatistical methods have been applied to the intrasite spatial data of the seasonal dry-stone huts of the Val della Brignola (Val Maudagna, Cuneo province, Italy). They provided interesting results, that will help to understand whether or not the distribution of artifacts and ecofacts mirrors the actual spatial behaviour of herders that used (and still use) these structures. The first results and the preliminary interpretations will be presented in a seminar at the end of this month.


 Density maps (kernel intensity surface, 30 cm sd) of artifacts/ecofacts distribution on the internal surfaces of two huts of the Val della Brignola (Val Maudagna, Cuneo province, Italy)


The study of documents collected in French and Italian historical archives enabled to know something more about the exploitation of the alpine pastures in the Modern Age, and to find interesting information about the construction, the management and the use of alpine seasonal structures in the 18th and 19th century. The transformations occurred in the landscapes of the western Alps during the last three centuries have been related to the transition from the "old regime" to the contemporary socio-economical framework.

Besides, the analysis of the soil samples collected within the aforementioned huts has just begun.