The role of marginal landscape for understanding transhumance in Southern Tuscany (twelfth-twentieth century AD) : a reverse perspective integrating ethnoarchaeological and historical approaches

Archaeological and historical studies of Mediterranean pastoralism have focused primarily on large-scale transhumance centred around a mountain-to-plain perspective. This particular concentration is the result of a variety of different conditions. First, pastoral practices have always been considered highly mobile. As a result, they are virtually impossible to identify in the archaeological record. Moreover, it is not easy to detect different kinds of pastoralism through written sources. The case study discussed in this chapter takes the long-term historical phenomenon of transhumance in southern Tuscany (1100–1950) as its subject. In so doing, it diverges from the traditional image of pastoralism which is present in the extant literature. It sets aside mountain-to-plain ideas and promotes the concept of integrated agro-sylvo-pastoral practices. Analysis of the archaeological records and ethnoarchaeological and historical data show us the decisive role played by marginal areas in the history of late medieval and early modern transhumance in southern Tuscany. Those landscape zones which are humid, including both lagoons and marshes are markedly instable. We argue that mobility and seasonality are key concepts in creating an understanding of transhumance as a socio-economic phenomenon.