The chapter summarizes the new results of the Bàsura Revisited Interdisciplinary Research Project. The integrated interpretation of recent archaeological data and palaeosurface laser scans, along with geoarchaeological, sedimentological, geochemical and archaeobotanical analyses, geometric morphometrics and digital photogrammetry, enabled us to reconstruct some activities that an Upper Palaeolithic human group led inside a deep cave in northern Italy within a single exploration event about 14 ka calBP. A complex and diverse track records of humans and other animals shed light on individual- and group-level behaviour, social relationship and mode of exploration of the uneven terrain. Five individuals, composed of two adults, an adolescent and two children, entered the cave barefoot lightening the way with a bunch of wooden sticks (Pinus t. sylvestris/mugo bundles). While proceeding, humans were forced to move on all fours, and the traces they left represent the first report of crawling locomotion in the global human ichnological record. Anatomical details recognizable in the crawling traces show that no clothing was present between limbs and the trampled sediments. Our study demonstrates that very young children (the youngest about 3 years old) were active members of the human groups, even in apparently dangerous and social activities, shedding light on behavioural habits of Upper Palaeolithic populations.

The idea that landscape fulfils many different functions and provides multiple benefits for human society is gaining strength. This new vision of landscape changes both, the interests and the needs of the persons involved and the use and management of the landscape itself. The objective of this paper is to study landscape conservation in a particular mountainous area of Italy, which requires an institutional, non-generic approach. Using the contingent valuation method, we investigated whether there is a relationship between experts’ and casual observers’ evaluations of ten different scenarios in the Leno Valleys. Results show that direct knowledge of the site characteristics increases the awareness of the importance of the site, significantly impacting on conservation choices and strategies.

Based on the integration of laser scan, sedimentology, geochemistry, archeobotany, geometric morphometries and photogrammetry, here we present evidence testifying a Palaeolithic group that explored a deep cave in northern Italy about 14 ky cal. BP. Ichnological data enable us to shed light on individual and group level behavior, social relationship and mode of exploration of the highly uneven environment. Five individuals, two adults, an adolescent and two children, entered the cave barefoot and with a set of wood chips to illuminate the way. Traces of crawling locomotion are documented for the first time in the global human ichnological record. The anatomic details recognizable in the crawling traces show that no garment was interposed between the limb and the trampled sediments. Our study demonstrate that very young children (the youngest less than three years old) were active members in the Upper Palaeolithic populations, even in seemingly dangerous activities and social ones.

In the Alps as in many mountain areas, livestock farming has constituted an important source of income, especially since the Middle Ages. The importance of livestock farming within the Alpine economy has changed over time due to the dynamics of supply and demand combined with evolving environmental, technological and institutional constraints. This paper focuses on the latter aspect and attempts to reconstruct how the relative importance of the production factors of land, labour and capital changed throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in a mountainous area of eastern Trentino. The underlying objective of the investigation is to provide a micro-level empirical basis for hypotheses advanced in the literature regarding the evolution of a crucial sector in the Alpine economy, drawing attention to the long-term role of exogenous and endogenous factors as well as elements of continuity and change. The work is grounded in multiple sources drawn from local archives and official statistics. It demonstrates the flexibility of local communities in managing to sustainably utilize local resources over several periods.