THE DOUBLE ROLE OF ORAL SOURCES: FROM OBJECT TO SUBJECT OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS IN BOSCO FONTANA SITE (LIGURIAN APENNINES)

This presentation offers a methodological reflection about the role of oral sources within archaeological research through the case study of Bosco Fontana site (Val d’Aveto, Rezzoaglio, GE) which has been owned by members of the Fontana family since the mid- 15th century and now by their heirs united in the “Family Communion of Bosco Fontana”. This study focuses on the archaeological analyses of the traces of past forms of environmental resources management and the transformations that affected them over the centuries, especially in relation to the rights of access and use of environmental resources that has sometimes generated jurisdictional conflicts. The interest of the research stems precisely from the role that these people play: this study, in fact, originated thanks to the local community's urging to analyse and reconstruct its own history not only to make it usable to a wider public but, above all, to reaffirm and legitimize its rights of use of the resources that constitute a shared heritage, whose value is emphasize by the research operations. The community represents an important source because it preserves the collective memory of the history of the area, and, at the same time, becomes an active part of the research process by helping to construct its paths and aims. This strong bottom-up drive allows researchers to create a space for dialogue to establish collaborative relationships with the local community and think deeply about the very concept of community and how different social configurations are defined and redefined around resources use. This duality constitutes the focus of the presentation, which aims is to reflect on the research perspectives and challenges that the involvement of living actors (who then become oral sources) poses to archaeological research.