Identificare strutture e aree di stabulazione negli abitati protostorici: un contributo metodologico da casi studio dell’età del Bronzo italiana

Identifying Stabling Structures and Animal Penning Areas in Protohistoric Settlements: A Methodological Contribution from Italian Bronze Age Case Studies. – How can the discrepancy between the well-documented importance of animal husbandry in the economy of the Italian Bronze Age and the scarcity of archaeological evidence for structures dedicated to livestock within settlements be explained? Although zooarchaeological and paleoenvironmental studies have clearly demonstrated the centrality of herding, stables, pens, and other livestock-related structures remain remarkably elusive. This study aims to clarify the reasons for this gap and proposes an innovative methodological approach to enhance the identification of animal husbandry practices in prehistoric and protohistoric contexts. By combining a critical review of existing evidence with new geoarchaeological data from the waterlogged site of Oppeano 4D (Verona) and the terramara of La Muraiola di Povegliano Veronese (Verona), the study integrates detailed field observations with micromorphological, sedimentological, chemical, and mineralogical analyses. This approach allows the identification of sedimentary and post-depositional indicators signalling the presence of livestock even when architectural traces are minimal or ambiguous, such as laminated deposits of trampled dung and phosphate crusts. These deposits, often overlooked during excavation, constitute key proxies for reconstructing livestock enclosures and multifunctional structures where domestic and animalrelated activities coexisted. The case studies demonstrate that livestock significantly influenced intra-site depositional processes and that its archaeological visibility is often constrained by taphonomic and interpretive factors. The proposed approach highlights the value of sedimentary evidence and encourages its systematic integration at both macro- and micro-scales, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of spatial organization and livestock management in prehistoric and protohistoric communities.