Abstract

Starting from a methodological introduction on the role of archaeology in the multidisciplinary context of off-site research, the paper aims to reflect on the possible dialogue between history and archaeology and their contribution to the study of historical ways of management and appropriation of collective resources. The discussion is focused on some results of a Marie Curie IEF research project devoted to the archaeology of common-lands in the mountains of Southern Europe, and aims at analyzing the changes, in the long duration, of what has been defined as the more impressive - ritual and concrete - possession act: temporary cultivation. Through the comparison of the archaeological and documentary evidences of temporary cultivation from a well defined area of the Basque Country (the eastern Álava plateau), this paper tries to bring out the issues generated by the combination of such different documentary series and to outline some of the results (or research paths) derived from this comparison.