Archaeological record in mountain environments: the reasons of its elusiveness.

Mountain environments exhibit a set of features, including elevation, relief, climate, vegetation, and soil, which increase erosion and weathering dynamics, thus resulting in harsh conditions for the integrity of archaeological deposits and remains. On average, the archaeological evidence from upland sites is poorer than that from lowland sites, in both quantity and quality, and is sometimes diffcult to detect. This chapter presents the main environmental and geomorphological factors that control surface dynamics in the mountains, summarizes the formation processes at upland sites, and discusses the consequences for archaeological stratifications and remains from a geoarchaeological perspective. This is done with the help of selected case studies of prehistoric and historic sites, mainly from the Alps.