The archaeobotany of Qaratepe, Azerbaijan 2nd–13th century

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an archaeobotanical analysis of plant macro-remains recovered during excavations of a rural tepe site at Qaratepe, Azerbaijan, occupied during the Sasanian and Islamic periods between the 2nd and 13th centuries ad. The material derives from a 4 year Oxford University expedition which occurred between 2015 and 2018, ‘The Archaeological Exploration of Barda Project (AEB)’, established to investigate the provincial structure of the eastern Caucasus region in the Late Antique and early Islamic periods. Traditionally, archaeological practice in Azerbaijan has not embraced environmental archaeological techniques and despite the region’s importance to the understanding of early agriculture and the diffusion of crop species during the Islamic period, little archaeobotanical research has been conducted there to date. This assemblage therefore forms a rare and unique contribution to the field of archaeobotany in the Late Antique and Islamic periods in Azerbaijan and provides the first archaeobotanical evidence of crop husbandry at a rural settlement during these periods. In total, 8,676 carbonised plant remains representing a minimum of 60 species were recorded from 80 samples analysed, providing important insights into plant utilisation in Azerbaijan (Full taxonomic list available in on-line supplementary material (ESM)). Archaeobotanical evidence has revealed the range of crops cultivated and consumed at the site between the 2nd and 13th centuries. Results demonstrate that naked wheat (Triticum aestivum/durum/turgidum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) were the primarily cultivated crops between the 2nd and 6th centuries, key crops that have been present in the Southern Caucasus for several millennia. The study has also identified the cultivation of rice (Oryza sativa), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), and melon (Melo sativa) in the 13th century, indicating a change in agricultural production in the Islamic period and the introduction of several new cultivars and agricultural adaptions.