Grinding in a hollow? Phytolith evidence for pounding cereals in bedrock mortars at Paliambela Kolindros, an Early Neolithic site in Macedonia, North Greece

Abstract

This paper applies phytolith analysis to bedrock installations at the Early Neolithic site of Paliambela Kolindros in Northern Greece. The phytolith remains retrieved from these installations document for the first time in Greece that the cylindrical cavities dug into the bedrock were used as mortars for pounding and dehusking wheat inflorescences. Shallower basins around, or next to these hollows, were probably used for grinding grain, while the working surfaces in between were used for several purposes related to food preparation and consumption. The detailed examination of phytoliths offers the possibility to reconstruct aspects of agricultural practices which often remained undocumented, particularly valuable for a site dated to the earliest phase of the Neolithic in Greece.