Associate Professor of Environmental and Applied Botany in the Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF) at the University of Palermo.
His research focuses on landscape ecology and, as a botanist, his principal interest is in the role plant communities play in understanding the formative processes of the land mosaic. By combining field studies on plant biodiversity and G.I.S. techniques, his research addresses many complex aspects of landscape at both spatial and temporal scales.
Address: Palermo, Sicily, Italy
His research focuses on landscape ecology and, as a botanist, his principal interest is in the role plant communities play in understanding the formative processes of the land mosaic. By combining field studies on plant biodiversity and G.I.S. techniques, his research addresses many complex aspects of landscape at both spatial and temporal scales.
Address: Palermo, Sicily, Italy
less
Related Authors
InterestsView All (10)
Uploads
Papers by Giuseppe Bazan
From 2017 to 2019 a new rural settlement has been investigated in Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo). The excavation in Contrada Castro (1) showed a clear case of long-term occupation of a hill-top site during Late Archaic/Classical age (6th-5th c. BC) and the Byzantine and Islamic period (7th-11th c. AD).
Soils from the archaeological excavation were sampled to obtain evidences about paleo-vegetation and vegetal paleo-diet. Archaeobotanical data (seeds and charcoal remains) represent an informative source in human-environmental dynamics to collect specific data on a small scale in terms of chronology and topography (2). Furthermore, presence of edible plants as cereals, pulses and fruit characterize their use as economical resources. Unfortunately, archaeobotanical analyses from archaeological sites in Sicily are still not very common (4).
For the reconstruction of the paleo-environment and the use of woody resources from the three chronological phases of the site, a total of 239 liters of soils were analysed.
Taxonomical identification was made by optical microscopy through the comparison with the reference collection and specific atlases (4). More than 400 wood charcoals were observed, about 80% of them was identified. Thanks to comparisons with the current vegetation, so far 9 species have been identified: Quercus ilex L., Quercus cfr. pubescens Willd., Pistacia terebinthus L., Rhamnus alaternus L., Fraxinus ornus L., Ulmus minor Mill. subsp. canescens (Melville) Browicz & Ziel., Acer campestre L., Ostrya carpinifolia Scop., Populus nigra L. Identification reached the detail of genus or family in 5 cases, Phillyrea sp., Sorbus sp., Pyrus sp. and maybe one species belonging to the family of Moraceae.
The woody vegetation is therefore represented by evergreen oaks, semi- and deciduous oaks, maples, ash trees, associated with riparian species such as elm, poplar and hornbeam, and shrub species such as backthorn, terebinth, sorb and plum.
Cultivated species are mostly not represented. Despite the widespread presence of the evergreen oaks in the whole record, differences between the three chronological phases were identified, highlighting a selective use of the wild species present in the area and a specific collection of wood for the hearths. Archaeological layers from last phase of occupation of the site are characterised by the presence of pulses and cereal kernels, notably concentrated in some hearths. Their analyses allows to identify staple sources for the village and agricultural techniques in the area.
References
1) A. Castrorao Barba, R. Miccichè, F. Pisciotta, P. Marino, G. Bazan, C. Aleo Nero, S. Vassallo (2018) The Journal of Fasti Online, 1-12.
2) C.A. Hastorf, V.F. Popper (1988) Chicago. ISBN: 978022631893.
3) BRAIN Network (2018) http://brainplants.successoterra.net/sites.html.
4) D.M Pearsall. (2009), Walnut Creek. ISBN-10: 1598744720.
Aknowledgements
We express our gratitude to Bona Furtuna LLC who entirely supported this research
In order to quickly outline the history of the territory with an acceptable precision, our survey aimed at covering and sampling as much surface as possible, according to time and human resources available. To reach this goal, in the research design we opted for qualitative surveys. The choice of the fields to be surveyed was based on GIS analysis — our predictive model took in consideration slope, water sources and presence of points with high visibility in the landscape —, that helped us to forecast the likelihood of finding archaeological sites in each part of the study area.
the Protohistory (Middle Copper Age/Aeneolithic and Bronze Age) and the Middle Ages (10th–12th c. AD) and 4 areas with productive structures related to the Modern Age pastoral activities.
The final goal of this analysis is to elucidate the relationships between landscape ecological processes and history of land-use change.
Dr. Angelo Castrorao Barba (University of Palermo); Roberto Miccichè (University of Palermo); Filippo Pisciotta (University of Palermo); Giuseppe Bazan (University of Palermo); Carla Aleo Nero (Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Palermo); Stefano Vassallo (Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Palermo); Pasquale Marino (Bona Furtuna LLC); Steve Luczo (Bona Furtuna LLC).
The development of hill-top sites or sites in at locations that are optimal for controlling valleys and defendable is a phenomenon that characterised many parts of Sicily between the archaic and the Hellenistic periods. The discovery of a new site in Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo) paves the way for new knowledge of the dynamics of settlement patterns in Sicilian rural landscapes in a long-term perspective. The first period of occupation of the elevated plateau of Contrada Castro is attested by the late archaic period probably related to the presence of a rural community linked to the exploitation of agro-pastoral resources. A shift in settlement pattern with the rise of agglomerated hill-top settlements during the Early Middle Ages is a global phenomenon that is also documented in the Sicilian landscape. The excavation in Contrada Castro, carried out with in the “Harvesting Memories” focused on Ecology and Archaeology of Sicani Mountains landscapes, showed a clear case of re-establishment of an ancient site located in hilly position between Byzantine, Islamic and Norman periods (7th – 12th c. CE). The site of Contrada Castro could reflect the dynamics of a rise in hill-top settlement in changed socio-economic contexts that marked a shift compared to the Roman villa system and the later phase characterised by the emergence of large villages/agro-towns that were probably related to Church estates. The investigation of this new rural site provided insight into longue durée patterns at hilltop rural settlements in Sicily between Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
landscapes. These landscapes are the result of complex interactions between biodiversity (at all levels,
including species richness, ecosystem and biotope diversity) and cultural diversity, including material
and immaterial aspects (architectural heritage, traditions, customs, local traditional agricultural
practices, dialectal culture, etc.). The main theme is the traditional use of water related to traditional
hydraulic systems, which in some areas date back to medieval times. Traditional agricultural
landscapes grant a variety of ecosystem services and play a key role in biodiversity conservation. They
support the persistence of a rich heritage of cultivated plant varieties and, at the same time,
determine an ecosystem infrastructure that preserves wild animal and plant biodiversity.
The challenge of approaching Medieval Sicily with this proposal is to analyse and interpret the materiality of these many 'transitions' on archaeological records.
This session aims to show the main results of those ongoing archaeological and historical works at medieval suburbia and rural sites of Sicily. It is thus intended to update traditional views regarding the evolution of this territory from Late Antique to the Middle Ages by bringing into consideration new data recovered from archaeological excavations undertaken in several sites across Sicily, new information coming from the review of written accounts and new reflections from contrasting both material and documentary records.
In particular, the session will address the following topics:
- Dynamics of rural settlement patterns.
- Suburbium between countryside and city.
- Landscape of power: churches, monasteries and palaces.
- Material culture and economic trajectories beyond the cities.
This session will be therefore a necessary space of discussion between the different European scholars currently engaged in the study of Medieval Sicily in order to compare data, results, methods and new theories.
La città di Palermo e la sua valle circostante sono un importante paesaggio storico irriguo, caratterizzato da strutture idrauliche sotterranee e da una lunga tradizione di sistemi di irrigazione ereditati dalla presenza islamica in Sicilia nel medioevo (IX-XI secolo). La “rivo- luzione verde” islamica ha radicalmente innovato i sistemi di irrigazione siciliani e questo portò all’introduzione e alla diffusione di nuove specie coltivate. Nell’area suburbana di Pa- lermo sono stati indagati 63 infrastrutture idrauliche e tunnel di scolo, classificati in 4 ca- tegorie: 1) qanāts; 2) qanāts ciechi; 3) pozzi collegati; 4) gallerie di scolo emergenti. Que- ste strutture, nonostante alcuni dubbi circa la loro esatta datazione, sembra siano tipici del periodo medievale. Il castello normanno di Favara / Maredolce e il suo parco (XII secolo) è un interessante caso studio per valutare il ruolo del patrimonio islamico nella gestione dell’acqua nella valle palermitana ed è uno straordinario esempio di come l’ingegneria idrau- lica islamica fosse usata per dimostrare il potere reale.
Parole chiave: sistemi idraulici storici, idro-geologia, ecologia del paesaggi storici, archeo- logia islamica, Sicilia medievale