Crops on the Rocks: Production, Processing, and Storage at the Early Medieval Site of Senhora Do Barrocal (Municipality of Sátão, Central Portugal).

Luís Seabra,Catarina Tente,Cláudia Oliveira,João Pedro Tereso,Lara González Carretero,Filipe Costa Vaz

doi:10.3390/plants11040471

Abstract

Small rural places are largely absent from early medieval written sources, but they were profuse and relevant in regional settlements and economies. Only through archaeological and archaeobotanical investigation is it possible to unveil their structure and productive strategies; however, this kind of investigation is still uncommon in Iberia. Here, the assemblage of fruits/seeds, wood charcoal, and food remains from Senhora do Barrocal (SB) (Sátão, Portugal) will be presented and discussed in order to understand the crop production, processing, and storage. The site was destroyed by a fire somewhere between the 10th and the 11th centuries AD, which allowed the preservation of abundant plant remains in a storage area. Charcoal analyses suggest that the building was made with oak and chestnut timber. The massive fruits/seeds assemblage was dominated by cereals, mostly oat and rye, but also barley, millet, and naked wheat, some fully dehusked, others still hulled. Furthermore, evidence of food products has also been found, suggesting that the area was used for the storage of multiple foods and crops at different processing stages. SB is a good example of how communities adopted a diverse set of crops and multifaceted storage strategies to prevent food shortages and to endure in a harsh environment.

Highlights

The early Middle Ages was a complex period of instability in Iberia, due to the Muslim conquest and the incorporation of most of the peninsula’s territory in the Umayyad Caliphate in the beginning of the 8th century AD
The results show an overwhelming assemblage of fruits/seeds, mostly cereal grains (90.6%) (Figures 4 and 5, Table 3 and Tables S3–S5)
The results from Senhora do Barrocal (SB) contributed to closing a gap regarding early medieval agriculture and consumption of plant-based products in western Iberia

Summary

Introduction

The early Middle Ages was a complex period of instability in Iberia, due to the Muslim conquest and the incorporation of most of the peninsula’s territory in the Umayyad Caliphate in the beginning of the 8th century AD. The definitive Christian conquest of the region only took place in the mid-11th century, following the collapse of the Cordoba Caliphate amidst internal turmoil [1,2,3,4]. This warring period and the inherent political instability permeated throughout this area and its communities. Such conditions allowed them to shape and define their own territories, configuring a fragmented and unstructured landscape, as they could freely explore local resources and establish their own internal and external relations [5,6]. Rural communities kept the daily and seasonal activities which their survival depended on, where the exploitation of natural resources assumed a great relevance

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion