Charred root tubers of lesser celandine (Ficaria verna HUDS.) in plant macro remain assemblages from Northern, Central and Western Europe

Abstract

New finds of lesser celandine (Ficaria verna HUDS.) root tubers from Neolithic sites in Northern Germany and Denmark are presented here and compared with a literature-based compilation of further archaeological finds. The fact that archeological finds of charred lesser celandine tubers are primarily dated within the Mesolithic and the Neolithic, especially in the Early Neolithic, indicates that the occurrence of tubers was closely linked to the gathering of wild plants which still played an important role at the onset of the Neolithic. The discussion about the origin and interpretation of the charred tuber finds, focussing on related site functions and archaeological contexts, suggests that tubers in domestic contexts can widely be interpreted as wild food, at least for Stone Age periods, whereas those from cremation graves stem probably from accidental burning of the natural vegetation associated with heating of the topsoil.