Ethnopedology in The Study of Toponyms Connected To The Indigenous Knowledge On Soil Resource

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Ethnopedology in the Study of Toponyms Connected to the Indigenous

Knowledge on Soil Resource
Article in PLoS ONE · March 2015

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 · Source: PubMed
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Ethnopedology in the Study of Toponyms

Connected to the Indigenous Knowledge on
Soil Resource
Gian Franco Capra1*, Antonio Ganga1, Andrea Buondonno2, Eleonora Grilli3,
Carla Gaviano4, Sergio Vacca1
1 Dipartimento di Architettura, Design e Urbanistica, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Colombo n° 1,
Nuoro, Italy, 2 Dipartimento di Architettura e Disegno Industriale “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Seconda Università degli
Studi di Napoli, Abazia San Lorenzo ad Septimum, Borgo San Lorenzo, Aversa (Caserta), Italy
3 Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università degli
Studi di Napoli, Via Vivaldi n° 43, Caserta, Italy, 4 Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche,
Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Via Trentino n° 51, Cagliari, Italy
* pedolnu@uniss.it
a11111
Abstract
In taking an integrated ethnopedological approach, this study aims to investigate the mean-
ing of the distribution of the toponyms used in traditional and recent cartography of Sardinia
(southern Italy). It is particularly, but not only, focused on those related to soil resources.
Sardinia is particularly interesting in this respect, as its unique history, geography, and lin-
OPEN ACCESS
guistic position makes it one of the Italian and Mediterranean regions with the greatest num-
Citation: Capra GF, Ganga A, Buondonno A, Grilli E,
ber of toponyms. This research investigated the toponyms belonging to an important sub-
Gaviano C, Vacca S (2015) Ethnopedology in the
Study of Toponyms Connected to the Indigenous region of Sardinia, called Ogliastra (central-eastern Sardinia). The research was conducted
Knowledge on Soil Resource. PLoS ONE 10(3): through the following integrated approach: i) toponymy research and collection from differ-
e0120240. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 ent sources; ii) database creation and translation of toponyms from the Sardinian language
Academic Editor: Andrew C Singer, NERC Centre (SL); iii) categorization of toponyms; and iv) graphical, statistical, and cartographic data pro-
for Ecology & Hydrology, UNITED KINGDOM cessing. Distribution and diversity of toponyms were assessed using the compiled data-
Received: October 3, 2014 base, coupled with a geographical information system (GIS). Of around 7700 toponyms
Accepted: January 20, 2015 collected, 79% had already been reported in SL, while just 21% were in Italian. Of the topo-
nyms in SL, 77% are of known meaning and 54% of these toponyms were characterized by
Published: March 19, 2015
a meaning directly and/or indirectly connected to specific environmental features. On the
Copyright: © 2015 Capra et al. This is an open
whole, morphology would appear to be the primary environmental factor able to explain the
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits complex, articulated presence, distribution, and typology of the investigated toponyms.
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any A least squares regression analysis of pedodiversity vs. topodiversity shows a very closed
medium, provided the original author and source are distribution, with an impressive high correlation index (R2 = 0.824). The principal factor anal-
credited.
ysis (PFA) shows that such a connection may be morphologically based, thereby confirming
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are that pedodiversity and topodiversity are strongly linked each other. Overall, the research
within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
shows that an integrated ethnopedological approach, combining indigenous and scientific
Funding: These authors have no support or funding knowledge may be of great interest in order to mitigate the impressive phenomena of the in-
to report.
digenous knowledge lost.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared
that no competing interests exist.
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 1 / 20

Toponyms and Soil Indigenous Knowledge
Introduction
Ethnoecology [1] is the cross-cultural study of how people perceive and manipulate their envi-
ronments. It has traditionally focused on linguistic analyses of terms for plants, animals, habi-
tats, and other ecological phenomena in a bid to reveal underlying structures of the human
mind that influence human behaviour [2]. One of the first approaches taken in ethnoecology
studies is to assess what natives consider as "worth attending to" [3] in their daily relationships
with the environment.
As a part of ethnoecology, ethnopedology [4], is a hybrid discipline structured as the combi-
nation of natural and social sciences, such as soil science (including geopedological surveys),
social anthropology, rural geography, agronomy, and agro-ecology [5]. Ethnopedology aims to
document and increase understanding of local approaches to soil perception, classification, ap-
praisal, use, and management [6]. This discipline deals with the consideration that pedodiver-
sity is strongly related, not merely to physical-chemical behaviour and soil taxonomic
properties, but also to anthropic management, historical uses, cultural practices and, indeed,
the whole of the indigenous knowledge that characterizes a specific area.
From an international perspective, ethnopedological studies mainly regard Africa, America,
and Asia, covering more than 60 countries and around 200 different ethnic groups [6]. By con-
trast, Pacific areas and Europe have been less investigated. Specifically, of all tropical and Euro-
pean areas, the Pacific and the Mediterranean are the most neglected, although they are
characterized by an important rural population, many ethnic groups and amongst the greatest
level of linguistic diversity. For example, as concerns the Pacific areas, out of a worldwide total
of 5000 different endemic languages, 1600 are spoken in the Pacific islands [6]. In examining
the Mediterranean, in the eleven European countries directly overlooking the Mediterranean
sea, approximately twenty different primary ethno-cultural areas are recognized.
Toponymics or toponymy (from the Greek tópos meaning “place” and ónoma meaning
“name”), a branch of onomasticsis (the study of names of all kinds), is the study of place names
(toponyms), their origin, meaning, use, and typology [7]. As reported by Siderius and de Bak-
ker [8], an ethnopedological approach can help better understand the connection of local field
and place names with soil resources. Indeed, as argued by Elerie and Spek [9] toponyms are an
excellent research topic at the interface between local/rural and expert/scientific knowledge,
containing many elements gathered from the physical, social, and inner dimension of
the landscape.
Of all Mediterranean regions, the island of Sardinia (southern Italy) is one of the most inter-
esting areas, for several historical, geographical, and linguistic reasons. Quantitatively, the terri-
tory as a whole has around 200,000 place names [10], making for more than 8 toponyms/km2.
In comparison with other Italian regions and Mediterranean areas characterized by neo-Latin
languages, the Sardinian toponymy heritage is noticeably more conservative, since many topo-
nyms continue to be reported, used, and known in their original or pseudo-original form, de-
spite the changed linguistic, historic, and cultural conditions. Indeed, many Sardinian
toponyms are of pre-Latin and pre-Punic origin [11]. For instance, in some sub-regions of Sar-
dinia, the percentage of such indigenous pre-Romanic toponyms can be as high as 50%, as
compared with a European mean of 2% of prehistoric toponyms [12].
From a linguistic point of view, such indigenous toponyms represent an example of the “Sa
Limba Sarda”, i.e. “The Sardinian Language” (SL), a Romance [13] or archaic neo-Latin lan-
guage [14]. Generally speaking, the term SL is used to group together all vernacular linguistic
varieties spoken in Sardinia [15]. Among the tongues of Latin origin, SL is considered the most
characteristic of all Latin languages since it represents the best preserved traits and words from
the mother tongue, including lexical and phonetic factors, as well as morphological aspects

[13]. At the same time it also reveals many other influences, including Phoenician, Catalan,
Spanish, and Italian, bearing witness to the island’s rich history and the numerous rules that
Sardinia has been subjected to [13–14]. Linguists recognise two main language varieties (Logu-
dorese and Campidanese), yet SL is actually fragmented into numerous dialects and sub-
varieties, which vary considerably from zone to zone and often even from one town to the next.
Indeed, although the morphological and syntactical differences between Logudorese and Cam-
pidanese are not substantial, every major variety of Sardinian parlance has its own grammatical
and orthographical system [16] in addition to significant phonological differences [17]. The
fragmentation of the SL is the consequence of various, complex events that have characterized
Sardinia’s history [14]. It is not only the result of the numerous invasions and waves of domi-
nation (Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Aragonese and Catalan Spanish, and final-
ly mainland Italians), but also of the geographic and cultural isolation particularly applicable to
the central areas of Sardinia [14], [18–21] such as Barbagia and Ogliastra.
From a sociolinguistic point of view, SL is a minority language mainly spoken in the villages
and in private life. Most Sardinians are bilingual, speaking both SL and Italian [22], which
today is the main language used in the cities and almost the only language used for official pur-
poses. SL is also one of the fifteen European minority languages with more than one million
speakers [23], but it suffers from a serious decline of language ability from one generation to
the next [24]. This is why SL is considered an endangered language by UNESCO [25], a fact
that urges core and applied studies on the multifaceted uses of SL, including through an ethno-
pedological approach. Indeed, linguistic diversity parallels ethnopedological richness [6], since
oral tradition conveys local wisdom and knowledge on environmental resources from one gen-
eration to the next [26]. This means that as many endemic languages are threatened with disap-
pearance, ethnopedological knowledge will also become lost [6].
This study aims to take an integrated ethnopedological approach to investigate the mean-
ing of the distribution of the toponyms used in traditional and recent cartography of the re-
gion of Sardinia (southern Italy). It is particularly, but not only, focused on those related to
soil resources.
Materials and Methods

Ethics statement
No written permission or authorisation was required to conduct this research. All the investi-
gated areas are freely accessible and not restricted for research purposes. This research did not
involve any endangered or protected plant species.
Study area
The island of Sardinia (southern Italy) lies in the Mediterranean Sea covering an area of 24,090
km2. This research investigated a sub-region of Sardinia (Fig. 1), called Ogliastra (9°16’- 9°44’ E,
39°32’- 40°13’ N). Indeed, together with Barbagia, Ogliastra (central-eastern Sardinia) is the
sub-region that best preserves the original traits and words of the Sardinian language [13].
Ogliastra is mainly hill country, both inland and along the coast, with just a few plains char-
acterizing the coast. It numbers 23 small municipalities of which just two consist of more than
4000 inhabitants. With around 58,000 inhabitants and an area of 1856.6 km2 [27], it is the Ital-
ian province with the lowest population density (31 inhabitants/km2). By way of comparison,
the provinces of Cagliari (the capital of Sardinia) and Rome (the capital of Italy) have popula-
tion densities respectively as high as 121 and 751 inhabitants/km2.

Fig 1. Location of the study area.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240.g001
The Sardinian language

In order to fully understand why SL has been better preserved in Ogliastra and why it repre-
sents a unique idiom, with no comparison with any other languages worldwide, S1 Table gives
a brief overview of Sardinia’s history. Clearly, SL characteristics are strictly connected with the
historical vicissitudes of Sardinia, which influenced its development. Indeed, even if the SL is,
of all Latin origin languages, the one that best preserves traits and words from the mother ton-
gue, it also reveals many other historical influences. Doubtless, the entire history of the SL de-
velopment highlights the great political influence that conquerors have on both language and
local knowledge.
The roots of the Sardinian language (sometimes referred to as Paleo-Sardinian, i.e. the SL
spoken before the Roman dominion and the subsequent latinization), remain still obscure. In-
deed, there are often substantial differences between theories about the development of SL,
hence opposite results have been produced. This explains why there is not, as yet, any complete
theory. As argued by Paulis [28], difficulties in fully understanding the origin of SL are also due
to the fact that the language has a high capacity to transform allochthonous words into Sardin-
ian, bestowing a typical Sardinian habitus upon them. This means that it is often extremely dif-
ficult to understand whether a particular type of word was indigenous rather than a
transformation of, for example, an Italian or Spanish word.
Generally, as argued by Vona [21] the Paleo-Sardinian language has a pre-Roman or Medi-
terranean substratum which is still present in modern Sardinian. In particular, according to
Sanna [29], it would appear that on one hand, there are some morpho-syntactic elements of
clear Semitic origin (spoken by a restricted number of people who came to Sardinia in around
2000 BC) and, on the other hand, some of Indo-European origin.
Pittau [30] has claimed to have found the etymology of many other Latin words in the
Etruscan language, after comparison with the Nuragic language. This implies that the Etruscan
culture probably exerted a major influence over Sardinian people, who thus were likely to have
received many elements from Etruscan that are instead usually considered to be of Latin origin.
Pittau [30] has argued that both the Etruscan and Nuragic languages are descended from the
Lydian language, therefore both being Indo-European languages, as a consequence of the

alleged provenance of Etruscans/Tirrenii from that land (as in Herodotus). Pittau [30] also sug-
gests, as a historical point, that the Tirrenii landed in Sardinia, whereas the Etruscans landed in
modern-day Tuscany.
Blasco Ferrer [31] hypothesizes immigration from the ancient Iberian peninsula to Sardinia
dating back from the Mesolithic to the entire Neolithic period, with a subsequent derivation of
the Paleo-Sardinian language from paleo-Basque and paleo-Iberian languages.
As clearly explained by Wagner [13], the greatest linguistic expert on SL, Sardinia is located
in the centre of the Mediterranean sea and, as a natural consequence, it has been influenced by
several different cultures from the surrounding areas. More specifically, the Libyan-Sardinian-
Iberian front (from south to north) is most connected with the north African toponymy, while
the Anatholic/Lydian-Sardinian-Iberian front (from east to west) appear to be closest to the
Hellas and Anatolia areas. However, the real origins of the SL remain shrouded in mystery
[13].
Whatever the origin of the SL, the scientific community agrees that the sub-regions of Bar-
bagia and Ogliastra represent the areas where the linguistic, ethnic, and genetic specificities are
best preserved [19], [32–33]. Aboriginal Sardinians did not mix with the foreigners who pri-
marily conquered the island’s coastal and plain areas [14], [33–34]; quite the contrast, they
abandoned those areas to settle in the mountainous inland areas of central Sardinia, and pre-
cisely in the areas today called Barbagia and Ogliastra, which remained mainly inaccessible to
foreigners [19], [32–34]. As a consequence of the geographical isolation, together with the un-
avoidable inbreeding due to the small population, a genetic and linguistic drift, both within the
island and the rest of Europe, has been scientifically recognized [32], [35–36].
Ethnopedological approach
Ethnopedological investigations can be conducted in three main ways, i.e. ethnographic, com-
parative, and integrated [5], [37].
Very briefly, in the ethnographic approach, the ethnopedological information is not com-
pared with scientific soil information. The comparative approach aims to establish similarities
and differences between local knowledge and scientific information, with no consideration for
the socio-cultural contexts from which perception, beliefs, cognition, and practices derive. In
this research, we took an integrated approach with the main goal being to link soil and land
perception and knowledge in order to promote feasible, sustained local endogenous develop-
ment from an interdisciplinary perspective [6].
The research was conducted in four main stages.
Toponyms collection. A variety of data collection strategies was used. Toponyms were
collected from the following sources: i) from the Sardinia Geoportal [38], which contains all
toponyms belonging to different cartographic sources such as the Regional Technical Maps at
10k, the National Maps (25k, 50k, 100k, 1000k), the Italian Touring Club Map, the DBPrior at
10k, the Cadastral Maps (200k and 400k), the Historical Map of Sardinian Toponyms [39];
ii) from the Municipal Library and State Archives of Sardinia; and iii) from personal narratives
recorded during informal interviews conducted with the attenders and/or the owners of the
areas characterized by toponyms of unknown meaning.
Database creation and toponyms translation. A total of 7742 toponyms were collected.
All toponyms were entered into a database comprising twenty-three spreadsheets (one for
each municipality of the investigated area) giving a complete list of collected toponyms. Each
toponym (as originally reported in the map) was characterized by an identification code,
the original cartographic source (name and scale), the geographic position (geo-referenced),
the meaning as obtained through translation (obviously only for those toponyms reported

in Sardinian language), the bibliographic source of translation, and the assigned category
(vide infra).
The toponyms were translated using two main strategies. The first approach used some of
the most important research conducted to date on Sardinian toponymy [13], [40–43]. This as-
pect was particularly awkward because, as previously explained, there are often substantial dif-
ferences between the various theories on the development of SL, meaning that opposite results
have sometimes been produced. Indeed, in some cases, different meanings have been attributed
to the same toponym by different authors. In order to avoid incongruence in the translation of
toponyms, only the most accepted research among etymologists was considered [13], [40–43].
As a further strategy, toponyms of formally unknown meaning, for which an official transla-
tion is still lacking, were deciphered and recorded through direct discussions with attenders/
owners of the areas of interest, as illustrated previously.
Toponyms categorization. Toponyms with a similar prevalent meaning were grouped
into the following seven reference categories (C):
1. soil (SC): a meaning that clearly reflects a generic and/or specific soil behaviour such as tex-
ture, fertility, colour, and permeability;
2. soil/geology (SGC): a meaning directly and/or indirectly connected with geological and
pedo-geological features such as soil stoniness, type of rock, and their prevalent colour;
3. soil/morphology (SMC): a meaning connected to morphology and pedo-morphological fea-
tures such as the form of the relief, the soil position along the relief, the kind of morphology,
and the appearance;
4. morphology/vegetation (MVC): a meaning describing a connection between morphology
and vegetation such as, just to mention one of the most common cases, the type of plant spe-
cies and their location in the relief;
5. morphology/fauna (MFC): a meaning with a clear reference to morphology and fauna such
as the kind of animal and their location along the relief;
6. vegetation (VC): a meaning having a direct reference with the vegetation and/or simply to a
peculiar kind of plant species;
7. soil cover/land uses (SLC): a meaning describing a connection between soil cover, vegeta-
tion, and land uses such as the type of soil use and the main kind of plant species used for
such purpose.
Obviously, these categories are a massive simplification but one which was necessary indeed.
The meaning of some toponyms was not always related to just one feature and/or category, but
rather can represent a multiple meaning thus falling at the edge of two or more of the recog-
nized categories. In such cases, the category was assigned according to the prevalent meaning.
Moreover, many other toponyms do not belong to any of these categories, such as those in
Italian or, generally speaking, those in Italian and SL identifying the names of a water course,
the name of the landowner (often reported as the family name), the name of the streets, the
building, mines, and the infrastructures (such as schools, main roads, airports, pipelines, and
railway stations). Such toponyms were simply identified as belonging to other toponyms in SL
not otherwise classified (OTSL) or as toponyms in Italian (OTI).
Finally, toponyms that are still of unknown meaning and/or obscure origin were classed as
“untranslatable” (UT).
Data processing. All data collected by categorization, as well as all cartographic elabora-
tions (distribution and diversity of toponyms) were managed using the compiled database

coupled with a geographical information system (GIS). The database was implemented with
the addition of the soil map of Ogliastra [44], also in order to draw comparisons between local
soil knowledge (deducible from toponyms meaning) and scientific information provided by
the soil map. Additionally, with the information provided by the soil map, a pedodiversity
index, according to the Shannon's entropy or diversity index, was prepared as following re-
ported [45]:
X
S
H¼ pixlnpi ð1Þ
i¼1
where pi is the proportional abundance of class i and s is the number of soil units.
Using the same formula, a topodiversity index was also prepared (in this case s represents
the number of toponymy units).
An overall correlation between pedodiversity, topodiversity, altitude, municipality surface,
and toponym categories was performed by means of principal factor analysis (PFA). Principal
factors were rotated using the varimax method, thereby maximizing variance distances
between groups.
Results and Discussion

Toponym collection, translation, and categorization
Generally speaking, the investigated traced etymologies and the linguistic links yield very inter-
esting languages patterns (S2 Table), ranging from Asian to Mediterranean regions, including
Northern Europe. Clearly, several words (S2 Table) are linked to Latin. However, this language
had already spread prior to the expansion of Roman empire. On the other hand, as explained
later, the etymon of several words still remains unknown today. As was to be expected, most of
toponyms refer to environmental features, satisfying, as will be explained more fully, the pri-
mary needs of mankind and possibly representing the relict of the old linguistic substratum,
foregoing the later fluxes of foreign peoples and idioms.
Table 1 summarises the results of the collection, translation, and categorization of
the toponyms.
On the whole, the Ogliastra sub-region was characterized by more than 7700 toponyms
(4 toponyms/km2) 79% of which were in SL, whereas just 21% were in Italian (IL). In order
to avoid the influence of the area dimension that varies considerably from one municipality
to another (Table 1), toponym distribution was analysed in terms of density (Figs. 2–4).
It is immediately clear that the distribution differs tremendously, both in terms of quantity
and quality, between inland and coastal areas. In terms of quantity, total toponym density is
greater along the coast than in the inland. Indeed, total toponym density (Fig. 2) ranges be-
tween 4–5 toponyms/km2 along the inner part of the sub-region, yet exceeds 6 toponyms/km2
along the eastern coastal area. In terms of quality, toponyms in SL were more widespread in
the inland areas than along the coasts (Fig. 3), whilst the opposite is true for toponyms in IL
(Fig. 4). Both quantitative and qualitative distribution patterns appear to be closely connected
with the historical vicissitudes that characterized the investigated area. Certainly, as briefly de-
scribed in S1 Table, all the invaders that succeeded each other in the sub-region were able to
conquer mainly the coastal areas, whereas the inner part of the sub-region remained under the
dominion of the indigenous community. Consequently, there was increasing fragmentation of
the coastal territory with a subsequent conation of new toponyms in order to identify the pres-
ence of new areas, buildings, and infrastructures realized from the new civilization. By contrast,
the inner part of the sub-region remained preserved from such colonization and the

Table 1. Categorization of Ogliastra toponyms.
Municipality Toponyms in Sardinian language Toponyms in Toponyms per Area Elevation

Italian municipality (kmq) (m a.s.l.)
Environmental categories Others
a b c d e f g
SC SMC SGC MFC MVC VC SLC OTSLh UTi OTIk
Arzana 28 65 14 19 51 43 5 175 181 127 708 162,4 672
Barisardo 0 16 10 0 4 18 3 27 22 64 164 37,5 51
Baunei 16 133 20 35 68 33 4 254 288 57 908 212,1 480
Cardedu 1 5 7 1 4 5 2 22 14 90 151 31,9 40
Elini 2 5 2 0 0 8 0 16 7 16 56 10,6 472
Gairo 8 20 22 6 40 29 2 76 47 65 315 78,8 685
Girasole 1 3 2 1 1 4 1 10 4 44 71 13,2 8
Ilbono 4 7 6 0 6 16 0 42 39 43 163 31,1 400
Jerzu 17 28 12 14 23 43 5 117 38 108 405 102,6 427
Lanusei 3 14 5 3 6 28 2 78 28 76 243 52,6 595
Loceri 0 11 5 0 3 12 0 20 7 27 85 20,9 190
Lotzorai 5 3 2 1 2 5 2 11 2 38 71 16,5 11
Osini 5 10 3 5 11 15 5 47 15 57 173 39,6 645
Perdasdefogu 10 31 15 0 10 28 7 119 18 59 297 77,1 599
Seui 6 30 26 16 39 50 8 254 111 80 620 148,1 820
Talana 18 34 19 8 42 48 9 136 99 64 477 118,0 682
Tertenia 6 31 9 16 18 42 3 147 41 140 453 116,7 121
Tortolì 1 7 8 1 8 16 6 52 17 133 249 40,5 13
Triei 2 13 8 4 7 13 1 28 16 42 134 32,9 140
Ulassai 25 44 22 10 23 27 14 130 93 61 449 123,3 775
Ussassai 7 7 16 1 12 23 4 62 47 34 213 47,6 511
Urzulei 29 45 30 9 27 36 12 110 164 42 504 131,5 710
Villagrande 29 88 34 22 70 98 13 218 107 154 833 210,9 700
Toponyms for 223 650 297 172 475 640 108 2151 1405 1621 7742 1856,6
category
Reference Categories (C):

a
SC = soil.
b
SMC = soil/morphology.
c
SGC = soil/geology.
d
MFC = morphology/fauna.
e
MVC = morphology/vegetation.
f
VC = vegetation.
g
SLC = soil cover/land uses.
h
OTSL = other toponyms in Sardinian language.
i
UT = untranslatable.
k
OTI = other toponyms in Italian.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240.t001
subsequent environmental fragmentation. This means that during the same period, the topon-
ymy heritage characterizing the inner areas remained unaltered both in terms of quality and
quantity. Conversely, along the coastal areas, the toponymy heritage was heavily influenced,
not only in terms of quantity but also in term of quality, since the autochthonous language was
progressively lost and/or changed in favour of the language(s) of the conqueror(s). It was the
Pisans and Genoese (1215 AD-1326 AD) who first embarked upon an intensive campaign of

Fig 2. Distribution (toponyms/km2) of total toponyms. TDAGD = Toponym distribution (toponyms/km2)

along the geographical directions. The graphic representation of the TDAGD was achieved by positioning the
centre of the graphic over the municipality of Elini, representing the geographic centre of Ogliastra.
“Italianization”, which was definitively resumed in the 18th century under the dominion of the
House of Savoy, primarily affecting the coastal areas (S1 Table). In contrast, the mountainous
interior areas of Barbagia and Ogliastra remained linguistically and culturally isolated and
strongly averse to any such changes [21].
On the toponyms in SL, 77% were characterized by a well-recognized etymological meaning,
while for the remaining 23% the meaning remains obscure. Of the toponyms in SL with a rec-
ognized etymological meaning, the largest proportion (54%) was characterized by a meaning
directly or indirectly connected to specific environmental features, such as those reported in
the seven recognized categories (Table 1). Such a high percentage of toponyms connected to
environmental features clearly shows that the inhabitants of the Ogliastra sub-region had his-
torically named sites mainly according to the characteristics of their surrounding environment

Fig 3. Distribution (toponyms/km2) of toponyms in Sardinian language. TDAGD = Toponym distribution

(toponyms/km2) along the geographical directions. The graphic representation of the TDAGD was achieved
by positioning the centre of the graphic over the municipality of Elini, representing the geographic centre of
Ogliastra.
(S2 Table). More specifically, the environmental categories with the highest quantity of topo-
nyms (Table 1) were the soil/morphology category (SMC) and the vegetation category (VC).
Relief [46] and vegetation are some of the most important and recognisable environmental fea-
tures characterizing the whole of Ogliastra [44]. Indeed, this territory has an extremely com-
plex and articulated/irregular geomorphology, mainly consisting of a Palaeozoic metamorphic
and igneous rock basement with an overlying Mesozoic calcareous formation [47], where small
plains (from 0 to 300 m a.s.l.), hilly areas (from 300 to 700 m a.s.l.), calcareous-dolomitic pla-
teaus (till to 1300 m a.s.l.), and mountain chains (over 700 m a.s.l.) are often concentrated in
just a few square kilometres [27]. An analysis of acclivity [27] clearly shows that 66% of the ter-
ritory is characterized by slopes > 20% and that the most widespread acclivity classes (covering
around 31% of Ogliastra’s surface area) are those with slopes between 30% and 50%.

Fig 4. Distribution (toponyms/km2) of toponyms in Italian. TDAGD = Toponym distribution (toponyms/

km2) along the geographical directions. The graphic representation of the TDAGD was achieved by
positioning the centre of the graphic over the municipality of Elini, representing the geographic centre of
Ogliastra.
The importance and specificity of the Ogliastra landscape has been also demonstrated by
the following important aspects based on the presence of: i) Natural Monuments instituted by
regional laws [46]; ii) a specific proposal [46] for the institution of a Geomorphologic Reserve
aiming to preserve the calcareous-dolomitic plateaus (commonly referred by the local popula-
tions as Tacchi or Tonneri, meaning “heel”, due to their specific shape); iii) several national and
international scientific research undertakings about the Ogliastra geomorphology [46], [48–
52]; and iv) the presence [46] of important Geosites or Geomorphosites, i.e. landforms with a
specific shape that alone or in connection with other bioecological or anthropic elements, can
become objects of heritage [53]. Consequently, the shape of the relief, constituted by many
long-distance recognizable morphological elements, had historically represented an important

visual point of reference for the Ogliastra inhabitants [43]. For all these reasons, many topo-
nyms make specific reference to pedo-morphological aspects.
In terms of vegetation, the Ogliastra sub-region was historically characterized by the pres-
ence of extended Mediterranean woody formations, mainly belonging to the thermo-
mesomediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) and cork oak (Quercus suber L.) series [27].
However, such potential series are often substituted, along with changing of pedo-environmen-
tal conditions, by different series with a consequent creation of an extremely fragmented and
articulated vegetational landscape [27]. This means that vegetation, together with the shape of
the relief, represents the most recognizable environmental elements of the Ogliastra landscape.
As expected, such elements are often recognizable at a glance, i.e. from a very long distance,
since they were formerly utilized as specific geographic reference points. Indeed, such a func-
tion attributed to specific environmental elements and consequently to their toponyms, was
particularly important for an area where an extremely complex morphology makes the orienta-
tion along the space an unsolvable problem if specific environmental references are not avail-
able. For such reasons, there is an ancient tradition in naming a place according to specific
attributes connected to a peculiar shape of the relief and/or the presence of a particular kind of
vegetation both in terms of species or vegetal associations. Such an ancient tradition has been
demonstrated by the fact that such types of toponyms are mainly of pre-Latin origin [13], rep-
resenting some of the oldest historic evidence of the ancient Sardinian language [13], [43].
Toponyms and soil features

The specific conformation of Ogliastra probably also represents the main explanation underly-
ing the reasons for soil toponym types (Tables 2 and 3) and distribution (Fig. 5).
On 223 toponyms connected to soil behaviour (Table 2), 29% describe attributes regarding
soil texture (gravelly, sandy, or clayey), 27% are connected to soil management (cultivation and
pasture), 23% are toponyms with a more or less strict reference to soil fertility (high, good, and
extremely low), and 11% clearly refer to low soil permeability. All these categories and their re-
spective sub-categories, represent soil attributes that were easy to describe for users interested
in soil practical uses such as grazing and agriculture. This is why soil toponyms were coined in
order to immediately describe a few extremely important aspects of soil attributes representing
possibilities (high and good fertility) or obstacles to the exploitation of the soil resource
(Table 3). There is clearly a greater presence of soil toponyms describing soil limitations rather
than soil qualities (Table 2). Intuitively, there was an extreme need to immediately recognize
these areas that, due to their significant soil limitations, were unable to be used for human daily
needs. This hypothesis is also borne out in considering the extremely complex conformation of
Ogliastra. Indeed, the grounded prospect of covering huge distances in a morphologically artic-
ulated territory with the final perspective represented by an area characterized by important
soil limitations, was probably one of the key factors in defining those areas by toponyms con-
nected with soil attributes linked to important limitations for practical everyday uses. The re-
maining 10% of soil toponyms (Table 2), even if representing a clear indication of the intimate
indigenous knowledge of the landscape, are linked to soil properties generally more difficult to
describe (soil salinity, soil reaction, and soil consistency), or less clearly connected to soil uses
for human needs (soil texture/colour, soil colour, and soil appearance). The fact that morphol-
ogy had an important influence on soil toponyms characteristics is also clear from the way soil
toponyms are distributed throughout the territory (Fig. 5). Indeed, only 4.5% of soil toponyms
(ST) are located along the coast, whereas the distribution of ST is clearly abundant in the inland
areas, especially heading south-west and north-west, i.e. towards the hilly and mountainous
areas of Barbagia and Ogliastra.

Table 2. Categories and sub-categories of soil toponyms and their correspondence with prevalent soils.
Prevalent soils Texturea Texture Colorc Fertilityd SAe MAf LPg pHh EXi SCk Total for
and prevalent
colorb soil
G S C WC RC W R B H G EL CU PA AC AL
Typic Palexeralfs and 0 1 21 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 15 2 0 0 0 48
Typic Haploxeralfs
Typic, Dystric and 2 7 12 0 0 1 0 0 9 1 2 0 37 14 1 0 1 2 0 89
Lithic Xerorthents
with Dystric Typic
and Lithic
Xerochrepts
Lithic and Typic 0 0 9 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 20
Rhodoxeralfs
withTypic
Haploxerolls
Lithic Xerorthents 1 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 3 6 0 1 0 0 26
Typic, Vertic, Aquic 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 23
and Mollic
Xerofluvents
Typic Xerumbrepts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 14
Typic and Aquic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Xeropsamments with
Typic Fluvaquents
Total for soil n 3 19 42 2 5 5 2 1 35 5 11 1 41 19 25 2 2 2 1 223
toponyms sub- % 1,3 8,5 18,8 0,9 2,2 2,2 0,9 0,4 15,7 2,2 4,9 0,4 18,4 8,5 11,2 0,9 0,9 0,9 0,4
categories
a
Texture: G = gravelly, S = sandy, C = clayey.
b
Texture and color: WC = white clay, RC = red clay.
c
Color: W = white, R = red, B = black.
d
Fertility: H = high, G = good, EL = extremely low.
e
Salinity.
f
Management: CU = cultivation, PA = pasture.
g
LP = Low permeability.
h
pH: AC = acid, AL = alkaline.
i
EX = Exposure.
k
SC = Soft consistence.
The localization of areas characterized by peculiar kind of soil attributes was probably cru-
cial in order to achieve a better utilization of the surrounding extreme environment. By con-
trast, there was probably no particular reason to localize, through specific soil toponyms, a
suitable area along the coast (especially for the plains), since such areas were far easier to reach.
From this point of view, the use of soil toponyms was historically intended to meet the commu-
nity needs in terms of making better use of environmental resources.
Indigenous and scientific knowledge of soil resources. Tables 2 and 3 clearly show that
indigenous knowledge of soil resources was highly comparable with modern scientific knowl-
edge. The indigenous knowledge represented by the meaning of soil toponyms is effectively
pretty consistent with the scientific information provided by the area’s soil map, e.g. the taxo-
nomic allocation of the prevalent soils at the Subgroup level [54]. For example, 71% of soil

Table 3. Comparison between some selected soil toponyms (indigenous knowledge) and the corresponding prevalent soils (scientific
information) according to the area soil map.
Toponym in Soil category and Simplified linguistic root Translation and meaning Prevalent soils
Sardinian language sub-category
Accu lassinosu Texture and color; Baccu (La): valley; Lapsare A slippery valley due to the Typic Palexeralfs and Typic Haploxeralfs
Red clay (La): slip presence of red clay [10]
Bacu su ludas Texture; Clayey Baccu (La): valley; Lutum Valley of mud [40] Typic Palexeralfs and Typic Haploxeralfs
(La): mud
S'orgosa manna Low permeability Orgosa (Pr): wetland, A large valley characterized Lithic Xerorthents
swamp; Magna (La): greater by temporary pond [40]
Tulargius Fertility; High Tula, Tabula (La): seedbed, An area that can be sown in Typic, Dystric and Lithic Xerorthents with
flowerbed just one day [40] Dystric Typic and Lithic Xerochrepts
Mainesa Texture; Clayey Maina (La): clayey A clayey area [40] Typic Palexeralfs and Typic Haploxeralfs
Ludu Texture; Clayey Lutum (La): mud The mud [10] Lithic and Typic Rhodoxeralfs withTypic
Haploxerolls
Nessicuru Fertility; Extremely low Nesigu, mesigu, mezzo(It): Soils without any value [43] Lithic Xerorthents
rotten
Serra terralba Color; White Serra (La): ridge; Terra (La): The ridge of the white soils Typic, Dystric and Lithic Xerorthents with
soil; Alba (La): white [42] Dystric Typic and Lithic Xerochrepts
Solanas Exposure Solanus (La): sunny Sunny soils [42] Typic, Dystric and Lithic Xerorthents with
Dystric Typic and Lithic Xerochrepts
Martana Soft consistence Unknown Mushy soil [42] Typic Xerumbrepts
S'aspro Fertility; Extremely low Asper (La): rugged A rugged area with unfertile Lithic Xerorthents
soils [42]
Settile Management; Séttile (Pr): small hill A flat surface with soils Typic, Dystric and Lithic Xerorthents with
Cultivation suitable for cultivation [42] Dystric Typic and Lithic Xerochrepts
It = italian.
Pr = pre-roman, proto-sardinian.
La = latine (Roman origin).
toponyms with a prevalent meaning identifying a clayey soil texture fall within areas character-
ized by Alfisols, i.e. soils with an argillic horizon. Soil toponyms with a meaning indicating the
presence of red clays are often located in areas characterized by Lithic and Typic Rhodoxeralfs,
i.e. Alfisols with a red argillic horizon. In terms of soil fertility, areas delimitated by toponyms
indicating highly fertile soils are prevalently characterized by Xerofluvents, Xerumbrepts, and
Haploxerolls. Conversely, areas characterized by infertile soils, such as Lithic Xerorthents, were
clearly marked off by soil toponyms indicating this important limitation. Clearly, this is not
surprising in conceptual terms, however such a high correlation between indigenous and scien-
tific knowledge clearly shows that the ancient peoples of the sub-region were very intimate
with their territory, showing an in-depth understanding of the environmental resources with-
out any specific formal competence. In examining the toponyms indicating some aspects of
soil management, a seeming contradiction with the previous toponyms on soil fertility immedi-
ately becomes clear. Even if the ancient populations had a specific familiarity with highly fertile
soil locations, agricultural activities were mainly located in areas featuring less productive soils
such as Xerorthents and Xerochrepts. However, this contradiction is merely apparent, since
areas characterized by more fertile soils were often located in constraining morphological con-
ditions, or characterized by a reduced spatial extension. On the other hand, highly fertile soils
often fell into areas of temporary ponds, i.e. small and shallow water bodies characterized by al-
ternating phases of drought and flooding. The high presence of toponyms (11%) indicating

Fig 5. Distribution of soil toponyms. TDAGD = Toponym distribution (toponyms/km2) along the
geographical directions. The graphic representation of the TDAGD was achieved by positioning the centre of
the graphic over the municipality of Elini, representing the geographic centre of Ogliastra.
low soil permeability was linked to the presence of such ecosystems, that extensively character-
ize the Ogliastra sub-region, due to the presence of favourable geologic (impermeable underly-
ing rock), morphologic (undulating topography), and pedologic (clay-enriched subsurface
horizons or the prevalence of a lithic contact) conditions [55]. In ancient times, such sites were
left in their original state and human activities located far from their borders, due to the pres-
ence of environmental conditions conducive to malaria. For all these reasons, agricultural and
pastoral activities were prevalently based in territories with favourable morphological condi-
tions, larger spatial extension, and safer environmental conditions, even if with potentially less
fertile soils. In point of fact, in their ante litteram Land Evaluation criteria, ancient Sardinian
people considered that soil fertility alone was much less relevant than the overall agricultural
feasibility of a land, including geomorphology, extension, and environmental safety against en-
emies and diseases.

Topodiversity and pedodiversity

The PFA results relating to pedodiversity, topodiversity, altitude, municipality surface, and
toponym categories are shown in Table 4.
Such a multivariate statistical analysis confirms that morphology was the main environmen-
tal factor underlying the presence, typology, and distribution of the investigated toponyms.
Two factors were extracted through PFA, both related to morphological aspect. Factor 1, ac-
counting for 44.9% of total variance, links all morphology-related toponyms (soil/morphology,
morphology/vegetation, and morphology/fauna categories) positively to total toponyms and
municipality surface. Therefore, Factor 1 can be interpreted as the “influence of municipality
surface on toponym abundance”. This factor simply shows that by increasing municipality sur-
face, a total increase of total toponyms was expected, with particular reference to those con-
nected to morphological features. Factor 2, explaining about 36.8% of the variance, extracts
altitude, pedodiversity, and topodiversity, all positively concordant. Thus, this factor can be in-
terpreted as “the influence of morphology on pedodiversity and topodiversity”. Such a factor
clearly implies that both pedodiversity and topodiversity increase with altitude. As previously
explained, Ogliastra is characterized by an exceptionally multifaceted/irregular morphology.
This complexity is particularly enhanced along hilly areas and mountain chains, which are
characterized by a huge variability of morphology, often featuring different gradient slopes,
substrates, and vegetation cover. Such an extreme environmental fragmentation obviously re-
sults in different pedo-environmental conditions, with the consequent formation of peculiar/
Table 4. Factor loadings of a factor analysis (n = 23).
Factors
Parameters F1 F2
SC 0,567 0,664
SMC 0.912 0,240
SGC 0,559 0,695
MFC 0.942 0,178
MVC 0.860 0,432
VC 0,658 0,571
SLC 0,394 0,673
Total toponyms 0.917 0,376
Municipality surface 0.846 0,402
Altitude 0,266 0.803
Pedodiversity 0,197 0.911
Topodiversity 0,209 0.812
Variance (%) 44.9 36.8
Eigenvalues 5,391 4,415
Extraction Method: principal factor analysis (PFA); Rotation Method: Varimax; bold loadings > 0.7.
SC = soil.
SMC = soil/morphology.
SGC = soil/geology.
MFC = morphology/fauna.
MVC = morphology/vegetation.
VC = vegetation.
SLC = soil cover/land uses.

Fig 6. Least squares regression of pedodiversity vs. topodiversity.

specific kinds of soil for each environment. As a whole, such conditions end up being reflected
in greater pedodiversity.
For these reasons, such environments are characterized by different kinds of toponyms, due
to the need, in ancient times, to immediately recognize different parts of the territory character-
ized by different environmental features. From this point of view, the least squares regression
analysis (Fig. 6) of pedodiversity vs. topodiversity shows a strictly close distribution, with a
highly significant correlation index (R2 = 0.824).
This confirms that, even if only indirectly, pedodiversity and topodiversity are consistently
linked each other. Thanks to the PFA analysis and in agreement with the previously presented
results, it would appear that such a connection could be morphologically based.
Conclusions
This study took an integrated ethnopedological approach with a view to investigating the
meaning and distribution of the toponyms used in traditional and recent cartography of Sar-
dinia (southern Italy).
Morphology appears to be the main environmental factor explaining the presence, distribu-
tion, and typology of the investigated toponyms. In particular, a highly significant correlation
among the number and meaning of toponyms, altitude, pedodiversity, and topodiversity was
ascertained, highlighting the fact that such a connection may be morphologically based.
From a purely linguistic point of view, several local languages, now used by small ethnic
groups, are likely to vanish during the twenty-first century. This highlights the magnitude of
the effort needed to compile an inventory of and to analyse the specific forms of indigenous per-
ception, familiarity, and management of the soil and land resources before they disappear en-
tirely. Clearly, such disappearances are particularly enhanced in conditions where indigenous
expertise is no longer transmitted (both as oral or written information) over the generations.
Overall, the research shows that an integrated ethnopedological approach, able to fully com-
bine ancient indigenous and modern scientific knowledge, could be of great interest and value
in hindering the massive loss of indigenous knowledge. For these reasons, ethnopedological in-
vestigations may represent one of the possible approaches by which to best preserve such
indigenous knowledge.

Supporting Information
S1 Table. A schematic overview of the main historical events of Sardinia.
(DOC)
S2 Table. Etymology and linguistic links of selected toponyms in Sardinian language.
(DOC)
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: GFC AG SV. Performed the experiments: GFC AG
CG. Analyzed the data: GFC AG CG EG. Wrote the paper: GFC AB EG.
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l'evoluzione carsica. In: Associazione Gruppi Speleologici Piemontesi, editor. Atti del 18° convegno
nazionale di speleologia. Chiusa Pesio; 1998. pp. 139–143.
52. Marini A, Ulzega A. Osservazioni geomorfologiche sul Tacco di Ulassai. Rend Sem Fac Sci Univ Ca-
gliari. 1977; 47(1–2): 192–208.
53. Ilies DC, Josan N. Geosites-geomorphosites and relief. Geo J Tourism Geosites. 2009; 1(3): 78–85.
54. Soil Survey Staff. Keys to soil taxonomy, 12th ed. Washington, DC: USDA-NRCS. U.S. Gov. Print. Of-
fice; 2014. PMID: 12146645
55. Caria MC, Capra GF, Buondonno A, Seddaiu G, Vacca S, Bagella S. Small-scale patterns of plant func-
tional types and soil features within Mediterranean temporary ponds. Plant Biosyst. 2013.

1 S1 Table. A schematic overview of the main historical events of Sardinia.
Period Age Main aspects Additional information
Lower Paleolithic 450–120k BC Earliest finds of the Genetic and population genetics studies have shown
presence of hominins, that Sardinians are an ethnically distinct and
who probably came from homogenous group [33-34] representing one of the
the Italian peninsula and most ancient populations of Europe [34], [56] with
specifically from Etruria, origins lie in an early split in the Caucasoid group [33]
perhaps via the island of with a particular genetic make-up that differs from
Corsica that of other Caucasians and even mainland Italians
[18], [56]. This is mainly due to genetic drift, though
other reasons, such as relations with pre-Indo-
European Neolithic peoples may also have contributed
to this distance.
Neolithic 6000 BC First permanent Sardinia was inhabited by the Nuragic Sardinians, also
settlements called Ioalei or Ilienses, a population of presumed
Libyan origins [13].
Early Bronze Age 1800–1600 BC A culturally and The Nuragic Civilization built the Nuraghi, i.e. fortified
technologically advanced stone towers mainly intended for defence and
culture (Nuragic habitation [21], [56]. They were amongst the most
Civilization), had its important metal producers in Europe [57-58] with
origins major commercial exchanges involving several
populations [21] both in the Bronze Age (Balearic
Islands, Corsica, France, the Iberian Peninsula,
Mycenae and Cyprus) as well as in the Iron Age
(Phoenicians and Etruscans).
Late Bronze Age 1500–1300 BC Nuragic Sardinians spread For some author [59] they were known by Egyptians as
in the Mediterranean Sea the “Sea People”, also called “Shardana”, or Sherden.
Final Bronze Age 1000 BC Phoenicians began
and Iron Age visiting Sardinia
509 BC Phoenicians conquered A war broke out between the native Nuragic people
the coastal areas and the Phoenician settlers. The settlers called for help
from Carthage and the island became a province in the
Carthaginian Empire. However, the central
mountainous land (Barbagia and Ogliastra) remained
under the rule of the Nuragic Sardinians [57-58].
The Roman Empire 238 BC–455 AD; The Roman and Vandalic The end of the Nuragic Civilization has been dated by
and the Vandalic 455–534 AD invasions represented the archaeologists and historians to 476 AD with the
invasions end of the Nuragic “official” beginning of Middle Ages. This means that
civilization Nuragic Civilization would not only have partially
survived the Roman invasion, but in part also the
Vandalic conquest. The Roman domination brought
Latin to Sardinia, which from this historical moment on
was to represent the main linguistic base of the SL.
However, Latin was not able to completely supplant
the Paleo-Sardinian language and some obscure roots
remained unaltered [13]. This was particularly true for
those Nuragic populations located in the inner part of
the island, such as Barbagia and Ogliastra.
The Byzantine 534–900 AD; Sardinia was
Empire and the From 900 AD characterized by an The Sardinian language (SL) developed in its own way
Mediaeval period administrative form and was fairly homogenous and compact [13] with
called Giudicato (derived only two major varieties of Sardinian, Campidanese
from the Byzantine (south) and Logudorese (north). This is why these are
magistrate title of considered the archetype of all modern varieties of
“iuidici”, literally judge, or Sardinian [21].
magistrate)
The first Italian 1215–1326 AD Pisans and Genoese The linguistic frame was strongly influenced by Pisans
influence dominion and Genoese, who embarked upon an intensive
campaign of “Italianization”, primarily affecting the
coastal and plain areas of Sardinia, whereas Barbagia
and Ogliastra continued to remain linguistically and
culturally isolated and averse to the linguistic
innovation [21].
The Spanish period From 1323 AD Through an intensive The Crown of Aragon began with an impressive
military campaign process of acculturation that profoundly modified the
Sardinia was occupied by pre-existing social, cultural, and linguistic make-up of
the Crown of Aragon Sardinia [13]. In this way, for the first time, a real
situation of diglossia was created [13], where there
was an overlap between the language of the
conqueror and the language of the conquered [21].
From 1479 to As a result of the The island remained under the Iberian dominion for
1720 AD personal union of Ferran four hundred years, assimilating a number of their
II of Aragon and Isabel of traditions, customs, linguistic expressions, and
Castile (the so-called lifestyles. The acculturation process carried out by the
Catholic king and queen) Catalans (Crown of Aragon) was so intense, that it was
ten years previous, difficult to uproot the Catalan language and culture. In
Sardinia fell under actual fact, strong traces of that language can still be
Spanish dominion found in modern north-western Sardinian [21].
From the political In 1718 AD Sardinia became an
unification to independent vassal
contemporary era kingdom under the House
of Savoy, rulers of
Piedmont
In 1861 AD Sardinia became a region At that time, Sardinian was in a state of great language
of Italy fragmentation [21], an atypical situation for Romance
languages [13] which are generally characterized by a
relative homogeneity [60]. From the political
unification of Italy onwards, there was an ongoing
process of Italianization and acculturation underway in
Sardinia.
In 1946 AD; In Italy became a republic; The Italianization process proceed and progressively
1948 AD Sardinia was recognized brought the SL into disuse in several areas [21].
as an administrative Consequently, some social classes, with particular
autonomous region reference to the middle and more privileged classes,
supported by a special abandoned the use of SL completely [21]. In addition,

statute the state of great language fragmentation of Sardinian
and the sometimes vast linguistic differences between
the various Sardinian varieties facilitated the diffusion
of Italian which is now used as a kind of “lingua
franca”, viz. a vehicular language to communicate with
the different dialectal communities [13].
1
1 References
2 56. Contu D, Morelli L, Santoni F, Foster JW, Francalacci P, Cucca F. Y-chromosome based
3 evidence for pre-neolithic origin of genetically homogeneous but diverse Sardinian
4 population: inference for associations scans. PLoS One. 2008;3(1): e1430.
5 57. Lilliu G. La civiltà dei sardi dal neolitico all’età dei nuraghi. Torino: ERI Edition; 1967.
6 58. Lilliu G. La civiltà nuragica. Sassari: Delfino; 1982.
7 59. Montalbano P. Shrdn. Signori del mare e del metallo. Nuoro: Zenia editrice; 2009.
8 60. Bolognesi R, Heeringa W. Sardegna fra tante lingue. Il contatto linguistico in Sardegna dal
9 Medioevo a oggi. Cagliari: Condaghes; 2005.
10
1 S2 Table. Etymology and linguistic links of selected toponyms in Sardinian language.
Toponym in
Simplified phonetic
c
Municipality Sardinian Translation
No b
transcription
a
language
Soil/morphology category
“àc(c)u” ≡ “bàc(c)u”; cfr.
<Βάκχος> {Bàkchos} [Gr.]
and <Bacchus> [LAT.], both
linked to the name of the
Thracian-Phrygian deity of
A clean (mundau) or cleared away
wine [61]; by extension, the
valley (accu) [40]. Reference is
SL root <BAKKO> also
1 Arzana Accu mundau probably made to a valley
signifies the wine bowl, as
characterized by low stoniness, as
well as a geomorphological
windswept
hollow [42] --- “mùndau”;
cfr. <mundus> [LAT.] =
clean, swept [43]; unknown
origin, perhaps linked to
Etrurian [62]
“pìzzu” ≡ “pìttu” ≡ “pìttsu”;
from an onomatopoeic
series <p…zz> associated to
the noun <punta> [It.] =
point, as well as to the verb The mountain (monti) top (pizzu)
2 Barisardo Pizzu 'e monti <pizzicare> [It.] = to pinch [40], i.e. a sharp, steep summit
[62] --- “mònti” ≡ “mònte”; morphological position
cfr. <mons> [LAT.] =
mountain, mount [42],
linked to the Celtic root
<MON> [62]
3 Arzana Bruncu masedu “brùncu” ≡ “brùnku” ≡ A gentle (masedu), squat (bruncu)

“frùnku” ≡ “rùnku”; cfr. mountaintop [43], i.e. a blunt
<ρόγχος> {rònkos} [Byz.], summit morphological position,
<ῥύγχος> {rùnkos} [Gr.], resembling the snout of a boar; a
<grùgno> [It.] = pig/boar mountaintop that is smooth, easy
snout [43]; also linked to to climb and to run across
the onomatopoeic series
<gr…gr> [62] --- “masédu” ≡
“masétu”; cfr.
<ma(n)suètus> [LAT.],
<masèto> [Arag.] = tame,
referred to animals and,
figuratively, docile, mild [43]
“canàli” ≡ “kanàle” ≡
“kanàli”; cfr. <canàlis>
[LAT.] = canal, but also
hollow, furrow, gorge [43];
from <κάννα> {kànna} [Gr.]
4 Arzana Canali enna = reed, and figuratively pipe Gorge (canali) mouth (enna)
[62], linked to <kànnu> [Asr.
Bab.] [63] --- “ènna” ≡
“yènna” ≡ “yànna” ≡
“gènna”; cfr. <iànua> [LAT.]
= door, access [43]
See also (accu) toponym no
1 --- “èna” ≡ “vèna” ≡

A valley (bacu) characterized by a
5 Baunei Bacu sa ena “bèna” cfr. <vèna> [LAT.] =
temporary pond (ena) [42]
vein, spring of water, in
particular marsh [43]
“còa” ≡ “kòda”; cfr. <càuda,
còda> [LAT.] = tail, queue --- The final part (coa) of a ridge
6 Arzana Coa 'e serra
“sèrra”; = literally, saw; by (serra)
extension, a ridge jagged

like a saw; cfr. <sèrra>
[LAT.] = saw
“còsta” ≡ “kòsta”; cfr.
<còsta> [LAT.] = rib, but also Mountain (monte) slope (costa)
hillside; linked to <kòsti> [40], i.e. reference is made to the

7 Arzana Costa 'e monte
[anc. Slv.] = bone [43], [62] - back slope morphological
-- See also (monti) toponym position; knoll, hillock
no 2
See also (costa) toponym no
7 --- “selui”; we guess a
possible link with <sälvi>
8 Jerzu Costa de selui {salui, selui} [Antl.] = tree, Woody (selui) hillside (costa)
cypress in particular [64];
cfr. <silva, sylva> [LAT.] =
forest, shrub
“forada”; cfr. <foràtum>
[LAT] = gorge, deep [43];
also linked to <faùrhs>
[Got.] = furrow [62] ---
“mànna, mànnu”; cfr. A valley with a huge extension

9 Arzana Forada manna
<màgnum> [LAT.] = great, [10]; a large gorge
large [43]; linked to <μέγας>
{mégas} [Gr.], from the root
<MEGH, MEG(H)E> [I.E.]
[62-63]
“tèccu” ≡ “tàkku”; small Calcareous-dolomitic plateaus
dolomitic jagged plateaus; commonly referred by local

10 Barisardo Teccu
the root is probably pre- populations as Tacchi, meaning
Roman [43] heels [10]
“orgòsa”; a marshy, moist

S'orgosa de su The marsh (orgosa) in the valley
11 Arzana site; a pre-Roman noun [43]
accu (baccu)
--- See also (accu) toponym
no 1
Soil/geology category
“pèrda” ≡ “pèdra” ≡
“pètra”; cfr. <pètra> [LAT.] =
stone [43]; linked to
<πέτρα> {pètra} [Gr.] =
stone --- “rùbia, rùbiu” ≡

12 Elini Perdarubia The red (rubia) stone (perda) [40]
“rùyu” ≡ “rùggiu” = red [43];
cfr. <russus> and <ruber>
[LAT.], with the same
meaning; linked to the roots
<REUDH/RUDH> [I.E.] [62]

The stony (praida) valley (baccu)
13 Gairo Baccu e praida 1 --- “pràida” = stony (cfr.
[40]
“pèrda” in toponym no 13)
“cùccuru” ≡ “kùkkuru”; from
the root <COCCA, CUCCA>
[P.E.] = point, peak [43],
[62]; the best translation of
“cùccuru” into Italian is The red (rubiu), very sharp,

14 Ilbono Cuccuru rubiu
<cocùzzolo>, tracing back to acuminate peak (cuccuru) [40]
<COCCA>, which refers to a
very sharp mountain top ---
See also (rubia) toponym no
12
See also (perda) toponym The stony (perdedu) peak (punta,

15 Lanusei Punta perdedu
no 12 <punta>[It.]) [40]
See also (perda) toponym The dead (morta, <morta>[It.])

15 Osini Perda morta
no 12 stone (perda) [42]
“coròna” ≡ “koròna”; cfr.

The conical-shaped (corona) peak
17 Perdasdefogu Punta corona <κορώνη> {koròne} [Gr.] = a
(punta, [It.])
curved-shape object,
<coròna> [LAT.] = krown,
but also a cornice, a circular
object
See also (bruncu) toponym
no 3 --- “cogònis” ≡
“kogòne” = loaf; cfr. The peak (bruncu) of smoothed
<κόκκος> {kòkkos} [Gr.], pebbles (cogonis) [42]. In this
18 Seui Bruncu cogonis <còccum> [LAT.] = fruit context, the term suggests the
stone; by extension, a presence of rounded, loaf-shaped
rounded, spherical object; stones or pebbles
“kogòne” also refers to a
stale, hardened loaf [43]
1 --- “nièddu” ≡ “nigèddu” =

The black (nieddu) valley (bacu)
19 Talana Bacu nieddu black; cfr. <nigellus> [LAT.] =
[40]
blackish [43], <nìger> [LAT.]
= black
See also (monti) toponym

The iron (ferru) mountain
20 Tertenia Monte ferru no 2 --- “ferru”; cfr.
(monte,<monte>[It.]) [42]
<fèrrum> [LAT.] = iron [43]
1 --- “tònara” ≡ “tònneris”;
dolomitic cones, with

The valley (baccu) of “tonneris”
fantastic forms, resulting
21 Tortolì Baccu 'e tonara (tonara), conical-shaped dolomitic
from karstic erosion of
formations
calcareous massifs, tyical of
Ogliastra region; the root is
probably pre-Roman [43]
The mountain (monte, <monte>

Monte See also (perda) toponym
22 Ulassai [It.]) of the long (longa) stone
perdalonga no 12
(perda) [40]
Morphology/fauna category
“àrcu”≡“àrku”; cfr. <àrcus>
[LAT.] = bow, as well as arch

A mountain pass (arcu)
--- “còrre” ≡ “kòrru”; cfr.
characterized by an ox (boi) horn
<còrnu> [LAT.] = horn; from
(corre) shape [10]; the “arc” is a
the root <KER> [I.E.] =
23 Urzulei Arcu correboi peculiar morpho-geological
protuberance, protrusion
formation that frequently occurs
[62] --- “bòi” ≡ “bòe” ≡ “òe”;
in calcareous rocks where karstic
cfr. <bòs> [LAT.] = ox; from
processes are intensive
the root <GwOUS> [I.E.] =
bovine [62]
“colòrvos” ≡ “kolòvra” ≡
“kolòvru”; cfr. <còluber, The arc (arcu) of the snakes

24 Villagrande Arcu is colorvos
còlubra> [LAT.] = grass-, (colorvos) [43]
water-snake
See also (accu and boi)

25 Jerzu Baccu de ois The oxen (ois) valley (baccu) [40]
toponym no 1 and 23
“sìnsulu” ≡ “sìntsulu” ≡
“tsìntsulu” = jujube; cfr. The arc (arcu) of the jujube

26 Lanusei Arcu su sinsulu
<zìziphus> [LAT.], <ζίζυφον> (sinsulu)
{zìzufon} [Gr.]
no 3 --- “géspis” ≡ “gèspe” ≡
“èspe” ≡ “èspu”; cfr.

The peak (bruncu) of the wasps
27 Osini Bruncu de gespis <vèspa> [LAT.] = wasp; likely
(gespis) [40]
linked to the missed
<vopsa> from German and
Baltic areas [62]
no 2 --- èbba” ≡ “ègwa” ≡

The broodmare (ebba) mountain
28 Seui Monte 'e s'ebba “ègua”; cfr. <èquus> [LAT.]
(monte, <monte> [It.]) [40]
= horse; from <EKWOS>
[I.E.], also linked to the

Sanskrit <AÇVAS> [62]

The peak (bruncu) of the bees
29 Talana Bruncu abes no 3 --- “àbe” ≡ “àpi”; cfr.
(abes) [40]
<àpis> [LAT.] = bee
See also (teccu) toponym no The plateau of the owl

30 Tertenia Taccurrulu
10 (taccurrulu, E.n.A.) [42]

The cat (attu) mountain (monte,
31 Tortolì Monte attu no 2 --- “àttu” ≡ “gàttu”; cfr.
<monte> [It.]) [42]
<càttus> [LAT.] = cat
Morphology/vegetation category
“àzza”≡“àtta”≡“àttsa”; cfr. The craggy mountain shoulder
<àcies> [LAT.] = cutting (azza) characterized by the
32 Triei Azza selimba edge; by extension, a presence of carob (silimba) [40].
craggy, sharp mountain The carob is the fruit of the carob
flank tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.)
See also (serra) toponym no

The jagged peak (serra) of the
6 --- “suèrgiu” ≡ “subèriu” ≡
cork (suergiu) [40]. The cork is the
33 Ulassai Serra su suergiu “suèrgu” = cork; cfr.
bark of the cork oak (Quercus
<sùber> [LAT.] = ork, as well
suber L.)
as cork oak
The valley (bacu) of the helichryse

34 Urzulei Bacu gadalattu (gadalattu, E.n.A.) [42].
1
Helichrysum Italicum Roth (Don)

A squat mountain summit
no 3 --- “paùli” ≡ “padùle” ≡
(bruncu) characterized by the
“paùle” = marsh; cfr.
presence of temporary pond or
Bruncu pauli <pàlus> [LAT.] = marshland;
35 Villagrande marshes (pauli) and Montpellier
gosti linked to <πλάδος> {plàdos}
maples (Acer Monspessulanum L.)
[Gr.] = extreme moistness,
or box trees (Buxus sempervirens
aquosity [62], referable to
L.) (gosti, E.n.A.) [42]
the root <PELD> [I.E.] [63]
36 Baunei Funtana bacu “funtàna”≡“puntàna” = A spring (funtana) in the valley

arangius spring, fountain; cfr. <fòns> (bacu) of the orange trees
[LAT.] = spring, as well as (arangius) (Citrus sinensis (L.)
spring water --- See also Osbeck.) [42]
(accu) toponym no 1 ---
“aràngiu” ≡ “aràntsu” =
orange; cfr. <nàrang> [Pers.]
See also (canali) toponym
no 4 --- “murdègus” ≡ A narrow-stretched valley (canale)
Canale “mutèclu” ≡ “mutrècu” = characterized by the presence of

37 Girasole
murdegus various cistus species; a pre- Montpellier rock rose (murdegus)
Roman noun, related to the (Cistus monspeliensis L.) [40]
Etrurian <mùtuka> [43];
The peak (bruncu) of the
Bruncu de See also (bruncu) toponym asphodels (issarbussus, E.n.A.)

38 Jerzu
issarbussus no 3 (Asphodelus microcarpus Salzm.
et Viv.) [40]
A mouth (genna) with nettle

See also (enna) toponym no
39 Lanusei Genna ortiga (ortiga, assonant to <ortica>[It.])
4
(Urtica dioica L.) [40]
no 2 --- “lùa” = euphorbia;
cfr. <lùes> [LAT.] =

The mountain (monte) of the tree
venomous liquid, contagion;
40 Loceri Monte lua spurge (lua) (Euphorbia
Wagner [43] argues that
dendroides L.) [40]
“lùa” is utilized to poison
water, then to knock out
fishes
See also (cuccuru) toponym
no 14 --- “ollustìncu” ≡
Cuccuru The peak (cuccuru) of the oil
41 Osini “ollustìnci” ≡ “òdzu ‘e
ollustincu lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus L.) [40]
listìnku” = oil from lentisk,
once utilized for lamps; cfr.

<òleus> [LAT.] = oil, and
<lentìscus> [LAT.] = lentisk
[43]
Vegetation category
See also (nieddu) toponym Black (niedda) fig (figu, assonant

42 Osini Figu niedda
no 19 to <fico>[It.]) (Ficus carica L.) [40]
“lionàgis” ≡ “lisàndru” ≡
The oleanders (lionagis) (Nerium
“olisàndru” = oleander; cfr.
43 Perdasdefogu Is lionagis oleander L., or Smyrnium
<(h)olus atrum> [LAT.] =
olusatrum L.) [42]
Smyrnium olusatrum L.
“tìpparo” ≡ “tsìppiri” = Rosemary (tipparo) (Rosmarinus
44 Talana Ponte tipparo rosemary; likely a Punic officinalis L.) bridge (ponte,
language relict [43] <ponte>[It.]) [42]
“cuìle” ≡ “kubìle”; literally,
den, burrow; but also
stockyard, sheep fold; by
extension, bed, field; cfr.

The fold (cuile) of the strawberry
<cubìle> [LAT.] = couch,
45 Tertenia Cuile lionis trees (lionis) (Arbutus unedo L.)
pallet, bed --- “liònis” ≡
[40]
“olidòne” ≡“lidòne” =
arbutus, strawberry tree;
cfr. <unèdo(nis)> [LAT.] =
Arbutus unedo L.
Cucumber (cugumeru, assonant to
46 Tortolì Cugumeru <cocomero> [It.]) (Cucumis sativus
L.) [40]
The river (riu, assonant to <rio>
[It.]) of the narrow leaf phillyrea

47 Triei Riu arridellu
(arridellu, E.n.A.) (Phillyrea
angustifolia L.) [43]
The European wild pear (pirastru,

48 Ulassai Su pirastu
assonant to <perastro> [It.])
(Pyrus pyraster (L.) Burgsd) [40]
“òrgiu” ≡ “òrju” = barley;
cfr. <hòrdeum> [LAT.] = The cut (fresu) barley (orgiu)
barley --- “frèsu”; from (Hordeum vulgare L.) [43]; more

49 Ussassai Orgiu fresu
“fresare” = to chap, to probably, milled (fresu) barley,
crack; cfr. <frèndere> [LAT.] barley flour
= to grind
“mùrta” = myrtle; cfr. The field (campu, assonant to

Campu 'e sa
50 Urzulei <μύρτος> {mùrtos} [Gr.], <campo> [It.]) of myrtles (murta)
murta
<mùrta, mùrtos> [LAT.] (Myrtus communis L.) [40]
“sammucchèddos” ≡ The river (riu, assonant to <rio>
Riu sos “sabùkku” ≡ “samùkku” = [It.]) of the small elders

51 Villagrande
sammucheddos elder; cfr. <sambùcus, (sammuccheddos) (Sambucus
sabùcus> [LAT.] nigraL.) [42]
Thorny broom (teria, E.n.A.)

52 Barisardo Teria
(Calicotome spinosa (L.) Link) [42]
Soil cover/land uses category
“padènti” ≡ “patènte” =
“public or private oak wood

The spring (funtana) in the oak
Funtana 'e where pigs are allowed to
53 Lanusei wood where swine are allowed to
padenti eat acorns” [43]; cfr.
eat acorns (padenti) [40]
<pàtens> [LAT.] = open, free
access
“bìngia” ≡ “bìndza” ≡
“vindza”; cfr. <vìnea> [LAT.]
= vineyard; from the

The great (-manna) vineyard
54 Lotzorai Bingiamanna Mediterranean root
(bingia-) [40]
<(w)ÒINOS>, hence <οἶνος>
{òinos} [Gr.] [62] --- See also
(manna) toponym no 9
The river (riu, assonant to <rio>

55 Seui Riu girinedda
[It.]) in the last part of an
uncultivated field where the
plough turns back (girinedda,
E.n.A.) [40]

A valley (bacu) characterized by
1 --- “orgiàres” ≡ “ordzàle” =
56 Talana Bacu orgiares soils suitable for the barley
soil suitable for barley
production (orgiares) [42]
cropping; cfr. “òrgiu”
“ortàlis, derivative of “òrtu” The house (casa, <casa> [It.]) in

Casa ortalis
57 Tortolì --- See also (manna) the great (mannu) garden (ortalis)
mannu
toponym no 9 [40]
See also (cuccuru) toponym
no 14 --- “argiolas” ≡
Cuccuru is “arjòla” ≡ “ardzòla” = The sharp peak (cuccuru) of the

58 Ulassai
argiolas threshing area; cfr. <arèola> threshing area (argiolas) [40]
[LAT.] = small open space,
court
The squat peak (bruncu) of the

59 Urzulei Bruncuolevani bovine pasture (olevani, E.n.A.)
no 3
[10]
“òrtu”; cfr. <hortus> [LAT.] =
enclosure, garden, park;
also cfr. <χόρτος>
{chòrtos}[Gr.], from the root

The garden (ortu) of the Holm oak
60 Villagrande Ortu eliai <GHÒRTO> once spread in
(eliai) (Quercus ilex L.) [42]
Oscan-Umbrian and Celtic
areas [62] --- “èliai” ≡
“èlike” ≡ “èlige” = holm oak;
cfr. <ìlex> [LAT.]
1 a
“de, ‘e” = of; “ s’, su, sa, is, sos” = the.
2 b
“…” denote Sardinian words (SL); <…> denote words in other languages, as well as root logatomes and onomatopoeic phonemes; ≡
3 denotes a linguistic equivalent variant; cfr.: confer (compare); {} denotes a transliteration; [Gr.]: Greek; [Byz.]: Byzantine; [LAT.]:
4 Latin; [It.]: Italian; [Arag.]: Aragonese; [Asr. Bab.]: Assyro-Babilonian; [anc. Slv.]: ancient Slavic; [Antl.]: Anatolian; [Got.]: Gothic;
1 [I.E]: Indo-European; [P.E.]: Paleo-European; [Pers.] Persian; = denotes the current meaning; --- separates the phonetic
2 transcription of two terms belonging to the same toponym.
3 c
<…> [It.]: Italian noun; E.n.A.= Etymon not Attested by current bibliography.
4
1 References
2 61. Calonghi F. Dizionario Latino-Italiano. Torino: Rosenberg & Seller ed; 1962.
3 62. Devoto G. Avviamento alla etimologia Italiana. Dizionario etimologico. Firenze: Le Monnier ed;
4 1968.
5 63. Rocci L. Vocabolario Greco-Italiano. Roma: Società Editrice Dante Alighieri Srl ed; 2011.
6 64. Rocchi L. Il dizionario Turco-Ottomano di Arcangelo Carradori (1650). Trieste: EUT-Edizioni,
7 Università di Trieste ed; 2011.
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Ethnopedology in the Study of Toponyms Connected to the Indigenous

Article in PLoS ONE · March 2015

Gian Franco Capra Antonio Ganga

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Andrea Buondonno Eleonora Grilli

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Ethnopedology in the Study of Toponyms

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 1 / 20

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 2 / 20

Materials and Methods

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 3 / 20

Fig 1. Location of the study area.

The Sardinian language

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 4 / 20

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PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 6 / 20

Results and Discussion

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 7 / 20

Table 1. Categorization of Ogliastra toponyms.

Municipality Toponyms in Sardinian language Toponyms in Toponyms per Area Elevation

Reference Categories (C):

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 8 / 20

Fig 2. Distribution (toponyms/km2) of total toponyms. TDAGD = Toponym distribution (toponyms/km2)

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 9 / 20

Fig 3. Distribution (toponyms/km2) of toponyms in Sardinian language. TDAGD = Toponym distribution

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 10 / 20

Fig 4. Distribution (toponyms/km2) of toponyms in Italian. TDAGD = Toponym distribution (toponyms/

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 11 / 20

Toponyms and soil features

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PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 13 / 20

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 14 / 20

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 15 / 20

Topodiversity and pedodiversity

Table 4. Factor loadings of a factor analysis (n = 23).

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 16 / 20

Fig 6. Least squares regression of pedodiversity vs. topodiversity.

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 17 / 20

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 18 / 20

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 19 / 20

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120240 March 19, 2015 20 / 20

Period Age Main aspects Additional information

presence of hominins, that Sardinians are an ethnically distinct and

Corsica that of other Caucasians and even mainland Italians

[18], [56]. This is mainly due to genetic drift, though

other reasons, such as relations with pre-Indo-

European Neolithic peoples may also have contributed

settlements called Ioalei or Ilienses, a population of presumed

Libyan origins [13].

technologically advanced stone towers mainly intended for defence and

Civilization), had its important metal producers in Europe [57-58] with

origins major commercial exchanges involving several

populations [21] both in the Bronze Age (Balearic

Islands, Corsica, France, the Iberian Peninsula,

Mycenae and Cyprus) as well as in the Iron Age

(Phoenicians and Etruscans).

Final Bronze Age 1000 BC Phoenicians began

and Iron Age visiting Sardinia

Carthaginian Empire. However, the central

mountainous land (Barbagia and Ogliastra) remained

under the rule of the Nuragic Sardinians [57-58].

civilization Nuragic Civilization would not only have partially