Adapting to Mediterranean island environments: prehistoric human interaction with plants and animals at Piano dei Cardoni (Ustica) and Mursia (Pantelleria)

This study investigates prehistoric human adaptation to small Mediterranean island environments through the archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological analysis of two key sites: Piano dei Cardoni (Ustica, Neolithic) and Mursia (Pantelleria, Bronze Age). Both volcanic islands, differing in size, landscape features, and chronology of occupation, offer an ideal framework to explore how early human communities managed limited insular resources, navigated ecological constraints, and established sustainable subsistence systems. On Ustica, permanent settlement during the Middle Neolithic (c. 4800–4300 BCE) is reflected in a diversified exploitation of local vegetation and faunal resources