Carbonized Cereal Grains and Weed Seeds in Prehistoric Houses—an Experimental Perspective

Abstract

The results of two field experiments involving the carbonization of cereal grains and weed seeds have shown that the proportions of charred grains of various types of cereals vary between each experiment. Taking the average numbers of charred cereal grains found in repeated experiments, it was found that similar quantities of each type of cereal grain were carbonized. These results can be used to interpret the archaeobotanical material found in prehistoric houses in Scandinavia, as these are often carbonized and have been deposited continuously throughout the period during which the house was occupied. The experiments also show that different types of seeds, from different cultivated plants and weeds, are carbonized to different extents. This depends upon the structure of the seeds. It is also shown that gentle handling and flotation of the earth samples is critical.