Daniela Festi

Was the Iceman really a herdsman? The development of a prehistoric pastoral economy in the Schnals Valley

Abstract The discovery of the Iceman in 1991 led to considerable speculation about the reason for his presence at such a remote location in the high Alps. One theory suggested that he was engaged in transhumant pastoralism when he met his death. Recent archaeological and palynological studies, however, have found no evidence of pastoral activities in this region during the Chalcolithic period. Regular exploitation of this upland landscape appears to have begun no earlier than the Middle Bronze Age. The theory that the Iceman was a high-altitude herdsman therefore appears to be untenable.

Between the Forest and the Lake. The Open-Air Late Epigravettian Site of Arco Via Serafini (Trento, Northern Italy)

The open-air multi-layered site of Arco Via Serafini (Trento, Northern Italy), is situated in the flood plain of the River Sarca (80 m a.s.l.).The stratigraphic sequence allowed documentation of two phases of Late Epigravettian occupation with 14 structured areas in the context of the Younger Dryas.