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In the field of botany applied to archaeological and palaeoecological studies, the multi- and inter-disciplinary nature of this research produces a lack of data sharing and scattered articles in the specialty literature or in national and international journals. The vast production of archaeobotany and palynology data makes it necessary to develop a tool for the availability, accessibility, and dissemination of existing research. Many databases exist on palaeoecology, archaeobotany or pollen data. There are no collections focused on archaeological sites and human-induced environments and centred on Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. BRAIN - Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network is the first database listing sites from which all types of plant records are available in Italy and nearby Mediterranean regions. BRAIN represents the largest integrated collection of archaeo/palaeo-botanical data and a range of descriptive information that makes data recovery FAIR ready. This unique network hosts data on the availability of anthropogenic pollen, palynomorphs and plant macroremains in the same database, and experts of different research fields may contribute to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renaissance herbaria may provide precious information on exotic plants known or even introduced in Italy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries AD. In the Erbario Estense, preserved in the Archivio di Stato di Modena (northern Italy), there are 14 species considered as allochthonous neophytes or not present in the Italian flora. First, we accurately verified the taxa identification; then, we searched for the same species in the other coeval Italian Renaissance herbaria and collected the information present in the written sources of the second half of the 1500s (concerning, above all, the use of these species as medicinal plants); finally, we paid attention to their current uses in ethnobotanical tradition and their market value. For 12 taxa, we could confirm the former identification; whereas for 2, we came to a different conclusion; the comparison with other Renaissance herbaria, particularly Aldrovandi's, greatly helped this evaluation process. The species treated here are not placed according to a precise order nor do they have particular medicinal values in common: probably, the specimens were simply added to the existing nucleus, as the species were known or were proven to be rather useful. We shall be able to gain further knowledge when it shall be possible to study all the remaining species. In any case, the Erbario Estense is an important testimony for sixteenth-century botany, that contains some of the most ancient specimens of exotic species that are of common use in large parts of the world today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 15th century cross-vaults of the medieval Modena Cathedral (UNESCO site) consist of intricate patches of different masonry portions bound by three types of lime mortars and at least two types of gypsum mortars. Such anomalous structure suggests multiple repair works over time after damaging earthquakes. The absolute dating of lime mortars (14C) and bricks (TL) integrated with the pollen record of mortars allowed to clarify the construction and restoration history of the vaults and to link the repairs to the earthquake chronology for the area. The results reveal that the original construction of the vaults (1404–1454) was carried out using lime mortar binding reused Roman and medieval older bricks. Lime mortar was used also for later repairs caused by earthquakes in the 16th and 17th centuries. Gypsum mortars were then used to entirely rebuild some vaults and to repair others in the 18th and 19th centuries. The study indicates that unexpected damage could be revealed by the detailed chronology of masonry binders. These data represent fundamental steps to implement earthquake risk assessments and strengthening projects of ancient buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Brassica includes some of the most important vegetable and oil crops worldwide. Many Brassica seeds (which can show diagnostic characters useful for species identification) were recovered from two archaeological sites in northern Italy, dated from between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We tested the combined use of archaeobotanical keys, ancient DNA barcoding, and references to ancient herbarium specimens to address the issue of diagnostic uncertainty. An unequivocal conventional diagnosis was possible for much of the material recovered, with the samples dominated by five Brassica species and Sinapis. The analysis using ancient DNA was restricted to the seeds with a Brassica-type structure and deployed a variant of multiplexed tandem PCR. The quality of diagnosis strongly depended on the molecular locus used. Nevertheless, many seeds were diagnosed down to species level, in concordance with their morphological identification, using one primer set from the core barcode site (matK). The number of specimens found in the Renaissance herbaria was not high; Brassica nigra, which is of great ethnobotanical importance, was the most common taxon. Thus, the combined use of independent means of species identification is particularly important when studying the early use of closely related crops, such as Brassicaceae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of several waterlogged plant remains in a Middle Ages context (1330–1360 AD) in Sassari (NS, Sardinia, Italy) enabled the characterisation of archaeological plum fruit stones and watermelon and grape seeds through computer image analysis. Digital seed/endocarp images were acquired by a flatbed scanner and processed and analysed by applying computerised image analysis techniques. The morphometric data were statistically elaborated using stepwise linear discriminant analysis (LDA), allowing comparisons among archaeological remains, wild populations and autochthonous cultivars. Archaeological samples of plum were compared with 21 autochthonous cultivars of Prunus domestica from Sardinia, while archaeological watermelon seeds were compared with 36 seed lots of Citrullus from Europe, Africa and Asia. Moreover, archaeological grape seeds were compared with 51 autochthonous traditional cultivars of Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera from Sardinia, 16 cultivars from Tuscany, six cultivars from Liguria, and eight cultivars from Catalonia (Spain). Archaeological plum remains showed morphological affinity with five cultivars of Sardinia. Seed features of the archaeological watermelon remains demonstrated affiliation with a proper sweet dessert watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, and similarity with some Sardinian cultivars. Regarding the archaeological remains of grape, morphometric comparisons showed a high similarity with autochthonous cultivars from Catalonia and Liguria. This study provides new information about ancient fruit cultivated and consumed during the Middle Ages in Sardinia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Erbario Estense, preserved in the Archivio Segreto Estense (Modena State Archives, Italy), is one of the very few sixteenth century herbaria still existing today. Among its exsiccata are a dozen species coming from the Americas, one of which is tobacco. The author of the specimen calls the plant Tabacho, ouer Herba Regina; Camus and Penzig, in the late nineteenth century, identify it as Nicotiana tabacum and affirm that it could be the most ancient direct proof of the presence of this plant in Italy. Today, attribution of the specimen to the above-mentioned species is certain and, according to the studies carried out for the present research, only three other sixteenth century exsiccata of N. tabacum still exist, all of them preserved in the Erbario Aldrovandi in Bologna. Therefore, the specimen of the Erbario Estense is extremely precious from a historical and scientific viewpoint. Tobacco was certainly known by the simplists who were working at that epoch in the lively scientific and medical environment of Ferrara, even if, according to documentary sources, real pharmacological use of the plant seems to have taken place only in successive phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a review of the seeds/fruits obtained from about one hundred Roman period archaeological sites (ca. 3rd century bc to 6th century ad) located in Northern Italy. The types of deposit involved are various, and come from residential, productive and other structures (A sites), and cemeteries and cult areas (B sites). The aim of this study is to highlight the seeds/fruits of food plants that have been found in the Roman archaeological sites in this area. Only cultivated and wild plants that, according to Latin literary sources, were used for food are considered. The result is a list of about one hundred plant taxa. There are four principal categories: cereals, pulses, fruit s.l. and vegetables/spices. Moreover, finds of "bread" were recorded in several sites. The subdivision of most detailed data into four chronological phases ("Romanization"/Republican Age, Imperial Age, Late Roman, Late Antiquity) shows clearly the evolution of plant food consumption that attained maximum complexity during early Imperial times and progressively changed and fragmented in subsequent periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is not one of the founder crops domesticated in Southwest Asia in the early Holocene, but was domesticated in northeast China by 6000 bc. In Europe, millet was reported in Early Neolithic contexts formed by 6000 bc, but recent radiocarbon dating of a dozen 'early' grains cast doubt on these claims. Archaeobotanical evidence reveals that millet was common in Europe from the 2nd millennium bc, when major societal and economic transformations took place in the Bronze Age. We conducted an extensive programme of AMS-dating of charred broomcorn millet grains from 75 prehistoric sites in Europe. Our Bayesian model reveals that millet cultivation began in Europe at the earliest during the sixteenth century bc, and spread rapidly during the fifteenth/fourteenth centuries bc. Broomcorn millet succeeds in exceptionally wide range of growing conditions and completes its lifecycle in less than three summer months. Offering an additional harvest and thus surplus food/fodder, it likely was a transformative innovation in European prehistoric agriculture previously based mainly on (winter) cropping of wheat and barley. We provide a new, high-resolution chronological framework for this key agricultural development that likely contributed to far-reaching changes in lifestyle in late 2nd millennium bc Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first pedoanthracological study carried out on two mountains of the Northern Apennines, Monte Cimone, and Corno alle Scale, where the results provided new palaeoenvironmental data. The pedoantracological sampling followed an elevation gradient from the current timberline to the highest possible elevation, also adapted to the geomorphological characteristics of the study areas. Based on radiocarbon datings (16 at Monte Cimone and 9 at Corno alle Scale), the soil charcoal fragments provided data about the vegetation dynamics and plant landscape reconstruction, primarily indicating the Late Holocene. The landscape over the last 3000 years appears very similar to the current one with very small altitudinal variations of the timberline and treeline. The present study shows a lack of radiocarbon dates for the Middle Holocene and two hypotheses are discussed to explain this finding. Data suggest that past fires were locally linked to periods of climate optimum and possibly with the management of natural resources (especially animal grazing) by human societies. Some questions concerning the absence of Abies alba, today only present as plantation and normally associated with Fagus sylvatica at these latitudes, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologia Medievale: Cultura Materiale, Insediamenti, Territorio is the property of All'Insegna del Giglio s.a.s. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The spikenard is a plant mentioned since early antiquity, mostly known for its intense and pungent aroma that made it a precious ingredient of many cosmetic recipes for luxury perfumes. The nature of the spikenard has been controversial since the ancient era and, still today, there is the need for a correct attribution of such a name to a currently accepted botanical species. Thanks to a specimen from the Este Herbarium (Erbario Estense), preserved in the Modena State Archives (Italy), we tried to bring our contribution to the debate concerning this topic. We checked all the Italian ancient herbaria in search of samples of spikenard, analysed past literary and medical-pharmaceutical sources from classical antiquity to the XIX century, and searched former and present ethno-botanical uses. Our investigation allowed us to ascertain that the spikenard samples preserved in the Renaissance Italian herbaria belong to Nardostachys jatamansi (D. Don) DC., a herbaceous species belonging to the Valerianaceae, native to alpine regions of the north-western Himalaya, still used in Ayurveda medicine and as a component of cosmetic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic Botany is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Atti della Società dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena is the property of Societa dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Atti della Società dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena is the property of Societa dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Atti della Società dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena is the property of Societa dei Naturalisti e Matematici di Modena and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Integration of pollen data from both marine and terrestrial cores contributes to the understanding of the timing of the climatic and human forces that shaped the cultural landscapes in the Italian peninsula. This paper focuses on the relation between natural and human landscapes, and the development of the cultural landscape from the Bronze Age to the medieval period and modern times. Two records were studied within independent projects, first the marine core RF93-30, from the central Adriatic, with a sediment source area including the Po valley and which spans the last 7,000 years, and secondly, material from the site of Terramara di Montale, a Bronze Age settlement on the Po plain, which was occupied from approximately 3550-3200 cal. b. p. The original chronology of the marine core was developed by using the magnetic inclination of the secular variation record and two C dates carried out on benthic and planktic foraminifera at depths of 527 and 599 cm. Its pollen record shows a gradual irreversible trend towards increasing aridity since 5700 cal. b. p. and, just after around 5100 cal. b. p., a Picea decline and a Quercus ilex type increase indicate less cool conditions. Human impact introduces rapid changes, such as the decrease of Abies alba, thinned by the reduction of precipitation and further cleared before or during the Early Bronze Age, followed by the fall of oaks. The latter started after around 3900 cal. b. p., and became evident at around 3600 cal. b. p. The gradual increase in signs of open landscape and woodland clearance correspond to the onset of Middle Bronze Age settlements in the Po valley, and to the development of the cultural landscape in the region. The impact of the terramare people includes woodland management by coppicing, and division of the territory into a patchwork of pastures and fields. Dry environments are indicated mainly by Cichorioideae, resulting from the continued human pressure, and these spread since the Recent Bronze Age. Of the possible causes for the decline of the terramare, we suggest that climate would have been less important in the decline than in the onset phases. The later cultural landscapes are mainly indicated by the trends of the Olea, Juglans and Castanea (OJC) records, besides those of cereals. At around 700 cal. b. p., the 'chestnut landscape' spread while modern times are shown by the finds of Zea mays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the city centre of Modena (Emilia Romagna, Northern Italy) a noteworthy amount of carpological remains attributable to flax and weld came to light dated to the Imperial Age (first half 1st century a.d.). Flax remains, i.e. capsules and extremely small seeds, suggest the presence of either immature seeds and fruits of cultivated flax ( Linum usitatissimum L.) or of a wild flax species ( Linum bienne Mill.). The quantity of these remains along with the co-presence of seeds of Reseda luteola, an important dye plant, leads to the hypothesis of the cultivation of both flax and weld for textile manufacturing purposes, which are attested as important in the economy of the Roman period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]