Soil exploitation and early agriculture in Northern Italy

The current state of research on the environmental impact of early agriculture in northern Italy is reported with particular reference to the region between the Emilian Apennines and the Lombard Pre-Alps. Cultural and palaeoenvironmental evidence supports the view that the location of Neolithic settlements largely depended on the distribution of soils suitable for agriculture. This is particularly evident for the late 7th millennium BP (Fiorano) and the 6th millennium BP (square mouthed pottery) sites, which are located on well drained, silt-clay-loams. -Authors