New Aspects of Archaeobotanical Research in Central European Neolithic Lake Dwelling Sites

Abstract

In the Neolithic lake shore site of Arbon-Bleiche 3 on the southern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) 27 houses were excavated, all built in the short time span between 3384 and 3370 B.C. (dendrochronological dating). During the excavation, a surface sampling for archaeobiological investigations was carried out. For this preliminary report we present the results of plant macrofossil analyses based on 17 samples, including some taken from parts of two houses and the spaces in between. The most important methodological results are that there were no differences between random and systematic sampling of the cultural layer. To obtain a statistically high enough number of remains in the bigger sieve fraction (≥2 mm), sample sizes should be much bigger than previously thought (>3litres). A Rarefaction Analysis (RA) showed that a minimum of eight samples per unit should be analysed to provide a representative spectrum of the most important useful plants. The economy of Arbon-Bleiche 3 was based on the growing of cereals (mainly tetraploid naked wheat, emmerand barley), flax and opium poppy, and many wild plants were collected as well. Comparing the spectra of cultivated plants with those from other sites, the results from Arbon bear a closer resemblance to spectra of the late Neolithic Horgen culture, from which the first traces are found starting from around 3400 B.C. onwards in eastern Switzerland. Inside the two investigated houses the concentrations of plant remains were lower than in the areas between the houses. In addition, there are relatively clear differences in the useful plant spectra between the two investigated houses.