Periodic Reporting for period 2 - InAndAround (Patterns of land-use and human mobility in a time of climate changes (Italy, 6th to 10th cc.))
Période du rapport: 2023-08-15 au 2024-08-14
1.PROBLEMS AND ISSUES ADDRESSED
The action investigates human-environmental and human-climate interactions, including their effect on migratory flows, in Tuscany (Italy, 6th to 10th cc.). It integrates into the traditional debate on the socio-political actors responsible for shifting settlement patterns the role of climatic constrains. It uses different kind of dataset: physical/natural proxy data from lake sediments; historical/documentary texts and archaeological records. These independent sources are combined through a consilient approach. For conceptual and theoretical aspects, new analytic tools from the most recent sociological literature on climate mobilities are taken into account.
2.RELEVANCE FOR SOCIATY
As the ongoing European migration crisis and global climate challenge demonstrate, the project bears contemporary relevance. It seeks to develop conceptual paradigmatic pathways that can foster comparative analysis against other historical periods, including present-day societies, as to get a better “understanding of the causes of climate change and to pave the way for pathways and solutions to address them”.
3.OVERALL OBJECTIVES
The overall objectives are: A) filling in a major gap in current scholarship, where Italy in the early Middle Ages is understudied; B) refining our theoretical comprehension about the climate-migration nexus and go beyond a neo-deterministic approach; C) fostering the consilience between natural sciences and humanities.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The action has produced a new broader historical syntheses which casts light on the socio-climatic dynamics of medieval societies. The main scientific achievements can be summarized as follows: in-depth study of the written documentation related to land-cover in central Italy; acquisition of new physical/natural proxy data from 2 lake sediments and a new independent long-duration and high-resolution climate record from fossil pollen; comparison between extant climatic and land-use modelings and the environmental observational reconstructions; theoretical sophistication of the interpretation and fostering of the dialogue between medievalists and hard scientists.
The action investigates human-environmental and human-climate interactions, including their effect on migratory flows, in Tuscany (Italy, 6th to 10th cc.). It integrates into the traditional debate on the socio-political actors responsible for shifting settlement patterns the role of climatic constrains. It uses different kind of dataset: physical/natural proxy data from lake sediments; historical/documentary texts and archaeological records. These independent sources are combined through a consilient approach. For conceptual and theoretical aspects, new analytic tools from the most recent sociological literature on climate mobilities are taken into account.
2.RELEVANCE FOR SOCIATY
As the ongoing European migration crisis and global climate challenge demonstrate, the project bears contemporary relevance. It seeks to develop conceptual paradigmatic pathways that can foster comparative analysis against other historical periods, including present-day societies, as to get a better “understanding of the causes of climate change and to pave the way for pathways and solutions to address them”.
3.OVERALL OBJECTIVES
The overall objectives are: A) filling in a major gap in current scholarship, where Italy in the early Middle Ages is understudied; B) refining our theoretical comprehension about the climate-migration nexus and go beyond a neo-deterministic approach; C) fostering the consilience between natural sciences and humanities.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The action has produced a new broader historical syntheses which casts light on the socio-climatic dynamics of medieval societies. The main scientific achievements can be summarized as follows: in-depth study of the written documentation related to land-cover in central Italy; acquisition of new physical/natural proxy data from 2 lake sediments and a new independent long-duration and high-resolution climate record from fossil pollen; comparison between extant climatic and land-use modelings and the environmental observational reconstructions; theoretical sophistication of the interpretation and fostering of the dialogue between medievalists and hard scientists.
1.WORK PERFORMED AND RESULTS ACHIEVED
The work performed over the whole period was organized in 4 Work Packages and was meant at acquiring professional maturity in financial/management; enhancing my teaching/communication skills and reaching proficiency in historical climatology/environmental history; producing a new border historical syntheses on the socio-climatic dynamics of medieval societies through the integration of written/archeological records and natural proxy data; disseminating the results toward the academic and non-academic community. Here below a summary of the main results achieved per WP.
• WP1 – MANAGEMENT: I was involved in all the management aspects of the project, including the financial part. I participated actively in the allocation of the money for the organization of the final conference. I reviewed the project budget and reallocated the resources for the completion of the project.
• WP2 – TRAINING: I attended events on public speaking and media communication. I taught 2 graduate and undergraduate courses of my own design. I also developed supervisory skills serving as member of the Dissertation Committee of a graduate student. I trained on historical climatology and environmental history, by pursuing research in a multidisciplinary environment and simultaneously by attending conferences, courses, meetings and the participation in fieldwork activates (i.e. a drilling camping leading to the acquisition of new proxy data from lake sediments in two localities of the Lucca Plain, Italy).
• WP3 – RESEARCH TASK – I studied extensively primary sources, i.e. written texts and archeological evidence and I combined this study with palynological evidence. I produced a new broader historical synthesis which combines these two sets of data and uses a more sophisticated theoretical framework.
• WP4 – DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION: I disseminated and communicated the project's results and specific aspects of it through publications in scientific journals, the participation in conferences and workshops, and the organization of other outreach activities.
2.EXPLOITATION/DISSEMINATION OF THE RESULTS
The exploitation/dissemination activities was meant at addressing the academic and non-academic community. Here a summery of the activities per category:
- 9 conferences/workshops (of which 2 organized by myself)
- 1 peer reviewed single-authored article
- 4 public events other than conferences
- 1 project's web site
- 1 informative video
The work performed over the whole period was organized in 4 Work Packages and was meant at acquiring professional maturity in financial/management; enhancing my teaching/communication skills and reaching proficiency in historical climatology/environmental history; producing a new border historical syntheses on the socio-climatic dynamics of medieval societies through the integration of written/archeological records and natural proxy data; disseminating the results toward the academic and non-academic community. Here below a summary of the main results achieved per WP.
• WP1 – MANAGEMENT: I was involved in all the management aspects of the project, including the financial part. I participated actively in the allocation of the money for the organization of the final conference. I reviewed the project budget and reallocated the resources for the completion of the project.
• WP2 – TRAINING: I attended events on public speaking and media communication. I taught 2 graduate and undergraduate courses of my own design. I also developed supervisory skills serving as member of the Dissertation Committee of a graduate student. I trained on historical climatology and environmental history, by pursuing research in a multidisciplinary environment and simultaneously by attending conferences, courses, meetings and the participation in fieldwork activates (i.e. a drilling camping leading to the acquisition of new proxy data from lake sediments in two localities of the Lucca Plain, Italy).
• WP3 – RESEARCH TASK – I studied extensively primary sources, i.e. written texts and archeological evidence and I combined this study with palynological evidence. I produced a new broader historical synthesis which combines these two sets of data and uses a more sophisticated theoretical framework.
• WP4 – DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION: I disseminated and communicated the project's results and specific aspects of it through publications in scientific journals, the participation in conferences and workshops, and the organization of other outreach activities.
2.EXPLOITATION/DISSEMINATION OF THE RESULTS
The exploitation/dissemination activities was meant at addressing the academic and non-academic community. Here a summery of the activities per category:
- 9 conferences/workshops (of which 2 organized by myself)
- 1 peer reviewed single-authored article
- 4 public events other than conferences
- 1 project's web site
- 1 informative video
1.PROGRESS AND EXPECTED RESULTS
The project has contributed to substantial progresses in current scholarship, in terms of acquisition of new data and the refinement of the methodology used. A better understanding of the complexities surrounding the interactions between climate/environmental variability and human mobility in relation to the shifting political regimes and land management systems in early medieval Italy has been achieved. The research has obtained new palynological records from lake sediments extracted in 2 localities. Through the integration of historical records and physical evidence a major synthesis has been produced, as to filling a spatiotemporal gap in current scholarship. The project has contributed to mitigate the challenges which interdisciplinary research poses, through a conceptual sophistication in the study of the migration-climate change nexus, and testing best practices for future research.
2.POTENTIAL IMPACTS
The impacts of the project are in that the research has been conceived as an initiative to overcome the challenges of the interdisciplinary research and to contribute in expanding our knowledge into new regions and periods. The project has fostered national and international research cooperations. Bonds between scholars based in the USA, and Italy and the research team of the ERC-founded project SSE1K, run by Prof. Helen Foxhall Forbs, have been established. New academic collaborations have also been built between Italy, the researchers of the University of Jerusalem in Israel, and two outstanding climatologists, i.e. Dr. Elena Xoplaki and Prof. Jürg Luterbacher. Finally, the project has brought benefits for the society through the education of young generations of citizens by setting parallels between past climate vatiability and the ongoing global climatic crisis.
The project has contributed to substantial progresses in current scholarship, in terms of acquisition of new data and the refinement of the methodology used. A better understanding of the complexities surrounding the interactions between climate/environmental variability and human mobility in relation to the shifting political regimes and land management systems in early medieval Italy has been achieved. The research has obtained new palynological records from lake sediments extracted in 2 localities. Through the integration of historical records and physical evidence a major synthesis has been produced, as to filling a spatiotemporal gap in current scholarship. The project has contributed to mitigate the challenges which interdisciplinary research poses, through a conceptual sophistication in the study of the migration-climate change nexus, and testing best practices for future research.
2.POTENTIAL IMPACTS
The impacts of the project are in that the research has been conceived as an initiative to overcome the challenges of the interdisciplinary research and to contribute in expanding our knowledge into new regions and periods. The project has fostered national and international research cooperations. Bonds between scholars based in the USA, and Italy and the research team of the ERC-founded project SSE1K, run by Prof. Helen Foxhall Forbs, have been established. New academic collaborations have also been built between Italy, the researchers of the University of Jerusalem in Israel, and two outstanding climatologists, i.e. Dr. Elena Xoplaki and Prof. Jürg Luterbacher. Finally, the project has brought benefits for the society through the education of young generations of citizens by setting parallels between past climate vatiability and the ongoing global climatic crisis.