Living near the water. Environment, wetland economy and fishing techniques of the Mesolithic site Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca in the Adige Valley (South Tyrol, Italy)

The Mesolithic faunal record recovered from the Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca rock-shelter at Salorno/Salurn (Bolzano/South Tyrol, Italy, Eastern Alps) allows the reconstruction of the landscape and local environmental conditions in the Adige valley bottom during the Early Holocene thanks to the analysis of the species ecology. The predominance of a highly differentiated spectrum of species related to wetland contexts, largely the result of human predation, indicates a reduced catchment area with a high biodiversity exploited by the Sauveterrian fisher-hunter-gatherer groups repeatedly occupying the site. Data converge towards a habitat of slack and slow moving waters, bordered by abundant submerged and shore vegetation, and surrounded by forested areas. The intensive exploitation of some fauna such as the pike, the Cyprinidae, small mammals as the beaver and the wild cat as well as Unionidae and Emys orbicularis suggests specialized activities practiced near and on the site. Some particular choices, as the increasing preference for the pike rather than for the Cyprinidae, could possibly be related to consumption habits.