Abstract

El yacimiento de la Edad del Hierro de Crastoeiro (Mondim de Basto, Vila Real, Norte de Portugal) reveló un interesante conjunto de fosas excavadas en la roca. De su interior se recogieron muestras de sedimento y se realizó un estudio carpológico con el objetivo de obtener información sobre la diversidad de cultivos y prácticas agrícolas y de caracterizar las estructuras de almacenamiento. Los resultados del estudio de 19 muestras procedentes de 4 fosas son relevantes para la comprensión de la agricultura y las prácticas de almacenaje en el Crastoeiro. La espelta (Triticum spelta) fue el cultivo predominante en el interior de las fosas estudiadas. La presencia de espiguillas sugiere que el grano se almacenó parcialmente procesado, o bien se trató de una estrategia que permitía un almacenaje a largo plazo. Se han encontrado otros cereales, entre ellos, el mijo (Panicum miliaceum), la cebada vestida (Hordeum vulgare), el centeno (Secale cereale) y el panizo (Setaria italica). Fechas de radiocarbono a partir de granos de centeno mostraron que éstos son los más antiguos de la Península Ibérica, lo que sugiere que el centeno se introdujo en la región hacia el final de la Edad del Hierro, en el marco de los primeros contactos con los romanos. Desde una perspectiva regional los resultados obtenidos en el yacimiento de Crastoeiro se corresponden con el uso de cultivos poco exigentes, bien adaptados a entornos adversos, incluyendo los climas fríos y suelos pobres.

Highlights

  • The hillfort of Crastoeiro (Mondim de Basto) is a well-known archaeological site located in Northern Portugal

  • The importance of the pits from Crastoeiro was well understood from the moment these structures and their carpological remains were first published (Dinis 1993-1994; Dinis 2001; Pinto da Silva 2001) because, pits were found in other sites, Crastoeiro was one of the first Iron Age hillforts in the region where crops were found inside the pits and studied by archaeobotanists

  • The samples collected in the pit XVIII.5 provided few carpological remains

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Summary

Introduction

The hillfort of Crastoeiro (Mondim de Basto) is a well-known archaeological site located in Northern Portugal. Crastoeiro has been frequently mentioned in regional syntheses as an example of storage practices due to the presence of Iron Age pits with cereals (e.g., Bettencourt 1; Oliveira 2; Tereso 2012). The importance of the pits from Crastoeiro was well understood from the moment these structures and their carpological remains were first published (Dinis 1993-1994; Dinis 2001; Pinto da Silva 2001) because, pits were found in other sites, Crastoeiro was one of the first Iron Age hillforts in the region where crops were found inside the pits and studied by archaeobotanists. The presence of direct evidence for agriculture in well-defined and dated archaeological contexts makes Crastoeiro a determinant site in addressing Iron Age agriculture in Northwest Iberia (Bettencourt 2001; Tereso 2012)

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