Land Use in Central-Eastern Sardinia during the Bronze Age. Environmental Study, Experimental Archaeology and Ethnographic Comparison as Hypothesis of Demographic Calculation

Abstract

This paper is considering the area of exploitation of Campu Doinanicoro settlement (Municipalities of Dorgali and Orgosolo, NU) in the Supramonte region. From its environmental characteristics it is possible, through a territorial analysis with GIS software, to simulate the different ways of using land in antiquity. On the basis of the cereal consumption of a family group, in relation with the data collected by experimental archaeology on the cereals productivity (wheat and barley) and on ethnographic and archeozoological analyses on breeding (sheep and goats, pigs and cattle), the territory of the site is exploited in its various ecological areas: it allows to built some hypotheses on demography estimated by the capacity of food production. The result of the simulation of exploitation around the settlement and the carrying capacity can be useful elements for the reconstruction of land use and for the analysis of relationships among different settlements.