Subsistence Economy and Animal Management in the Bronze Age Lagoon Site of Ca’ Baredi-Canale Anfora near Aquileia

This paper presents the results of an integrated archaeological and bioarchaeological investigation at the Bronze Age site of Ca’ Baredi/Canale Anfora (eastern Friuli plain, northern Adriatic), aimed at exploring animal husbandry practices, subsistence strategies, and patterns of mobility within a lagoonal environment. The site, strategically located near the mouth of a river flowing into the lagoon at the interface between the Alpine piedmont and the Adriatic coast, developed between Middle Bronze Age 2 and the early Late (Recent) Bronze Age (ca. 1550-1200 BCE). The analytical results of stable isotope investigation (strontium, oxygen, and carbon) conducted on domestic and wild faunal remains, are here integrated with other multidimensional data aimed at environmental reconstruction. Results indicate a diversified and dynamic subsistence economy structured around mixed farming and herding, intensive exploitation of aquatic resources, and early and sustained cultivation of millet (C4). Isotopic evidence reveals moderate variability in livestock management strategies and identifies cases of long-distance animal mobility. These data suggest that Ca’ Baredi functioned not only as a subsistence-oriented lagoonal settlement but also as a node within multidirectional exchange networks connecting sub-Alpine, inland, and maritime regions. Variability in faunal exploitation, the integration of C4 crops in animal diet, and isotopic signatures of mobility point to adaptive and flexible economic strategies embedded within broader systems of connectivity. The results contribute to ongoing discussions on animal management, environmental adaptation, and the role of lagoonal landscapes in fostering mobility and interaction in Bronze Age northern Italy.