Missing plant macro remains as indicators of plant exploitation in Predynastic Egypt

Abstract

Tubers, leaves and mericarps are underrepresented plant remains in most archaeological sites either due to their tissue softness or small size and fragility. The more resilient and hard cereal remains, drupes, seeds and grains are frequent at most archaeological sites. The remarkable preservation status of organic material retrieved from archaeological sites in arid regions across the world, such as Egypt, increases the possibility of observing such missing botanical material. The present study discusses results of analysing the contents of a basket recovered within an intact grave (Burial 333) of the Predynastic period (3600 B.C.) in cemetery HK 43 at Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt. The basket was found beside the elbows of the flexed burial of a woman, 40–50 years of age. The cemetery at HK 43 served the non-elite segment of society, as indicated by the overall paucity of grave goods. Children and older women appear to have been most favoured with gifts and among these better endowed graves, Burial 333 stands out for the variety of materials, suggesting that she was a woman of some standing within her community. Botanical contents of the basket include remains of Cyperus (sedge tubers), Anethum graveoloens L. (dill mericarps) and drupes of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile (balanites) as well as narrow slivers of coniferous wood and other types of plant remains. In addition, objects found in and around the basket include a cosmetic palette, five awls of polished bone, an ivory comb, pendants and amulets, which may be part of a cosmetic kit. In terms of palaeoethnobotanical investigations, this basket is another source of plant macro remains to be added to previous sources recovered from the same cemetery, such as the contents of pottery vessels, matting and viscera contents. This evidence shows that the Predynastic inhabitants adopted a subsistence strategy based on the cultivation of cereals, emmer wheat as the likely staple, and the gathering of wild fruits and tubers as well as herding of livestock. The botanical assemblage identified from the basket suggests the exploitation of wet swamp habitats to collect wild tubers of Cyperus esculentus L., C. rotundus/laevigatus and culms of Juncus sp. On the other hand, the nearby desert habitat was a source of edible fruits like Balanites aegyptiaca, Cordia sinensis Lam. and Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. The outcome of this study is evidence for the existence of a mixed strategy of subsistence involving herding, gathering and farming in Predynastic Egypt.