Palaeolinguistics and Ancient Eurasian Pulse Crops

Abstract

Traditional pulse crops such as pea, lentil, field bean, bitter vetch and chickpea were a part of the human diet in hunter-gatherer communities and are one of the most ancient cultivated crops. It was found that the Proto-Indo-European language had the largest number of roots directly related to pulses, such as *arnk(')- (a leguminous plant), *bhabh- (field bean), *erəgw[h]- (a kernel of leguminous plant; pea), *ghArs- (a leguminous plant), *kek-, *k'ik'- (pea) and *lent- (lentil), confirming their essential place in the nutrition of Proto-Indo-Europeans. Pea was most important among the Proto-Uralic people, while pea and lentil were most significant among the Proto-Altaic people. Pea and field bean were common among Caucasians and Basques, and field bean and lentil among the Afro-Asiatic peoples. Palaeolinguistics may contribute to archaeobotany in understanding the role of traditional Eurasian pulse crops had in the everyday life of ancient Europeans together with plant scientists and archaeobotanists.