The research design of the Potentino Exploration Project (PXP) and Field School combines heritage studies, excavation, archaeobotany, biodiversity studies, land survey, and archaeometry as part of an interdisciplinary regional landscape analysis of the area around Potentino Castle and the Seggiano Valley. The project, through timely publication and a broad program of education and community outreach, will explicate and increase awareness of the ethical management of endangered cultural and natural heritage.
A significant goal of the project is to communicate our research to a broad international audience while also connecting to, collaborating with, and respecting the local community. It is our belief that if ecological and archaeological sciences are to engage with new emerging ethics of the Anthropocene, they will have to develop a broader, more inclusive base of support and will have to avoid communicating in the manner of elite and esoteric disciplines understood by only a chosen few. Heritage sites and ecosystems are increasingly endangered by climate change, land development, and other anthropocentric pressures that run the gamut from neglect to outright vandalism and looting. We hope that over the years, through our research, we will train and inspire new advocates of responsible heritage and biodiversity management and conservation.
