The plant economy of the Northern European Bronze Age—more diversity through increased trade with southern regions

Abstract

Until recently the plant economy of the Northern European Bronze Age was only investigated locally or within modern boundaries. New results from the project “Settlements of the Bronze Age” by the Academy of Science and Literature Mainz allow us to now fill part of the remaining gaps in research. Summarizing all available data concerning the plant economy of the Northern European Bronze Age has shown that it constitutes a time of innovation and continuous change. In addition to the omnipresent Triticum dicoccum (emmer) and Hordeum vulgare (barley), this period is marked by the emergence of various new cultivars like T. spelta (spelt) or Camelina sativa (gold-of-pleasure). A comparison between the cereal spectra from several regions in Northern Germany and Scandinavia revealed differences and similarities which allowed for the reconstruction of multiple possible contact zones and various influences from adjacent cultures. Northern Germany and especially Schleswig–Holstein served as an important link for trading over land and by water between the southern areas and Scandinavia. The rising diversity of crop plants in the Late Bronze Age, which is for the first time comparable to the southern regions, reflects the increased trade and therefore stronger influence from beyond the Northern European Bronze Age, which resulted in an accelerated assimilation of innovations and new technologies.